47. Chapter Forty Seven Callum
Chapter Forty Seven: Callum
While Titania’s attention was focused on Rhowyn in the temple, I was finally able to get a glimpse of my girl from under my brow. It had only been a few days, but that felt like a lifetime ago. Unable to rest while also enduring the beatings from Titania’s consorts, with the worst coming from Bernard himself, it was hard to remember that it was a temporary state. That I wouldn’t be under Titania’s thumb for much longer. The Autumn Consort, Ambrose, also had a nasty temper and took his anger out on me, but at least they hadn’t touched Jonathan nearly as much. With me there, I seemed to be the focus of their ire, an extension of Rhowyn herself.
They had kept us shackled with iron, the collars and chains keeping us weak and submissive. However, on more than one occasion, I feigned passing out to stop the assault on my body, listening to them discuss Titania’s plans openly. Never before had they been so careless. It wasn’t just our confrontation with her that was coming to a head, but it seemed that whatever she had been working toward for years was suddenly urgent.
During one conversation, they stated they needed an orb of some sort, something to do with Balor and becoming gods as promised. All they had to do was free him from his prison, and it was as good as done. They’d ascend and rule not only this world but others.
I had known about Earth and the realm from which Elves had come from, but I hadn’t known there were others. My thoughts and reasoning were sluggish and spotty, my ability to catch their conversations hit and miss due to me coming in and out of consciousness. However, the tone and theme of their arguments and discussions never changed. They were irate with Rhowyn, confused as to how and why she was still alive despite all they had tried to do to her.
At one point, the tone turned to confident, Titania having set a meeting with Rhowyn. They’d made a deal to trade me and Jonathan for the book Cyerra had rescued. At least she had made it out. I had done my duty by protecting her, and whatever happened was not because I had failed her. Titania felt assured that she had a plan to outsmart Rhowyn, but if I knew Trouble like I thought I did, she had a few tricks of her own.
After that, they had increased the frequency of their beatings simply for the fun of it. Titania watched as, one by one, her consorts took their turns with us. The Summer Court Consort, Samual, was half-hearted in his attempts, but with Titania and the others looking on, he had no power to stop it. There were times that his visage would blur into Arryn’s, my mind playing tricks on me as it tried to determine what was and wasn’t reality.
The iron shackles and collar kept us from healing, and each beating brought us closer to death. I feared that we wouldn’t survive long enough to make it to the meeting, especially if they continued on like they were. Without a doubt, I had a concussion, and one of my eyes was so swollen I couldn’t even open it. The burn on my chest reminded me that I still hadn’t had a chance to recover from the magical lashing I had taken when they had captured us.
Finally, they jerked us up from the cold stone floor, where we slept like dogs in our own filth. My hair was matted and tangled, dried flakes of blood falling from it as they forced us to move. They loaded us into a cart and set out, Titania’s full army at her back as we headed to the meeting spot. A temple from what I had overheard from one of their conversations, though I couldn’t tell you any other details about it. Titania smirked the whole way there, confident in her abilities and cunning as the cart swayed back and forth.
I smirked, earning a glower from the Spring Consort, Ellis. “What’s so funny, bastard?” he asked me, as if that slur would hurt my pride. At this point, I already felt I had fallen as low as I could go.
“Nothing. Just ready to see my Chosen again,” I told him.
“Yeah, well, it won’t be for long. Once we have what we need, the first thing we do will be to destroy you all. Then there will be no one left to stand in our way,” he bragged, but I still didn’t drop my smile. I had faith in Rhowyn. She had a plan of her own, something that would give her the upper hand.
After hours of torturous traveling, the cart hitting every bump and stone in the road along the way, we pulled up next to the temple. They dragged us both from the cart, letting us hit the packed soil as they dropped us, and then jerked us up, the cart rattling away as soon as we had exited. As they led us inside, I caught sight of Titania’s army sprawled out along the road and heading to the back of the temple.
Inside, four guards carried a marble throne, placing it at the front of the room. Titania took her seat on it, claiming the chains attached to our collars, jerking us forward before securing the ends to the throne. Ellis and Ambrose kicked the backs of our knees and caused us to collapse on the floor. I leaned back onto my heels, my head falling to my chest with fatigue and pain, a part of me giving up. After thirty minutes, I could no longer feel my feet, but I didn’t dare move for fear of reprisal. We just needed to wait a little bit longer, and then Rhowyn would be here. What would happen after that, I hadn’t a clue.
I felt the moment she arrived, our bond urging me to rush to her, to hold her and protect her. However, doing so would surely be the end of me, so despite my desire to be with her, I held still, head bowed. My brain swirled with her scent, the tone of her voice, and the magic I could feel buzzing between us now. Still, I kept my chin tucked to my chest, not wanting to set Titania off. My thoughts felt scattered as the two women spoke, and I couldn’t get it all to fit together in a way that my brain could process what exactly was being said.
Rhowyn moved closer as Titania stood from the throne, my body thrumming with energy I hadn’t had in days, the iron at my throat chafing. Finally, a jerk on the chains had Jonathan and I standing. Rhowyn’s gasp echoed around the temple as she caught sight of my face and the damage that had been done in such a short amount of time. I tried to peer at her, to take her in and bask in the glory that was her, but my vision swam. I caught sight of the armor she was wearing and was able to see the warrior I had known was there all along. However, I couldn’t make out the details of the design or her face, my vision swimming as I struggled to focus.
The collars were removed, and instantly, I felt my magic starting to trickle back in, a weight lifting from my shoulders. I caught Jonathan before he could fall, barely able to make out that they wanted us to go to Rhowyn. Our feet dragged and shuffled across the stone as we slowly made our way there, but Titania’s consorts cut us off, preventing the exchange. As they stood in front of us, blocking our way to Rhowyn, all I could see now was their backs. I wanted to fall back onto my knees in defeat, weak as a mewling kitten, as Jonathan and I swayed on our feet. The soldiers moved to take Rhowyn and the others, but she held them back somehow, drawing everyone’s attention. While they were distracted, I felt a hand land on my shoulder. Looking down, I caught sight of Brannoc and let him whisk me away, grateful for his rescue.
He deposited me in a field swarming with healers and other fae, Rhowyn’s army. Multiple hands grabbed me as Brannoc’s eyes met mine before he nodded and disappeared again. I gasped as magic surged through me, healers laying hands on bare skin and undoing all of the Consorts’ handiwork.
Finally, after days, I could breathe deeply, could see clearly, and could hear without that incessant ringing in my ears. Looking over, I could see the same being done to Jonathan. Though he had retreated into his head again, his way of protecting himself. He hadn’t spoken once since we had been captured, and I just hoped he hadn’t completely shattered.
As soon as I felt the last bruise turn back to pale flesh, I pushed through the healers to stand. Now that I was well and whole, I needed to find Rhowyn?to help her. My eyes scanned the crowd of people, catching sight of a young male rushing about. I grabbed him by the back of his tunic and halted his progress. “Armor. Now,” I growled out as my eyes flashed yellow, my wolf needing to find our Queen, to protect her.
He quivered in my grasp, unable to speak. Instead, he pointed a finger to a cart set up with additional weapons and armor. I marched over to it and started flinging supplies. The fae who had been keeping it tidy tried to stop me from making a mess, but when I growled in his face, my teeth elongating as I fought the shift, he backed off.
Finally finding the bare minimum I needed, I strapped the equipment in place. Looking at the fae at the cart, I demanded, “Which way to the temple?”
“O…over th…there.” He pointed a shaky finger over the hill. Without even waiting for him to finish, I was moving, my limbs climbing the hill. My magic was still weak, and my muscles were sore and tired, but I pushed through it. Nothing would keep me from getting to her.
I crested another hill just as Titania yelled, “Attack!” The armies clashed together upon her signal. However, I noted that not all of Titania’s forces were fighting. Instead, they pretended to strike and lunge, no force or intent behind their swings. Their movements were slow and without purpose. Even a few of Titania’s forces turned on their brethren to fight for Rhowyn. Ignoring them for now, unconcerned by that outcome until I could ensure Rhowyn’s safety, I let my eyes drift over the swarms of men and women. There, at the front of the temple, was my Queen, standing in her glory as she threw out lightning bolts to save our troops. Brannoc ended Bernard, using Titania’s magic against him, and then went to stand at Rhowyn’s back.
Running forward, I allowed momentum to carry me into the throngs of people, hacking and slashing my way through anyone who got in my way. Slowly, I made progress, the fighting thickest closest to Rhowyn. I shoved one of Titania’s soldiers out of my way, sending him to the ground where one of our men ended him with a sword through his chest.
Finally, I broke through to see Lennox, Baer, and Arryn fighting the remaining consorts. Baer was flagging with only one hand and his magic to rely upon, but he was holding his own against Samual, the Summer Consort. Moving in, I blocked the blade that was aimed at his gut, the angle too difficult for him to maneuver without his other hand. His eyes met mine in gratitude briefly before we pushed forward, swinging our swords. The sooner I could end Samual, the sooner we could get Rhowyn out of here.
Samual stumbled, Baer’s blade slashing his left side. It was a fatal blow, even if it would still take time for him to die, which was unacceptable. He needed to be ended now. We couldn’t allow him the peace to perish slowly. Taking advantage of his shock, I swung my short sword with all the might I had left, my muscles bunching as my blade swiped across his neck and decapitated him.
Before his body could hit the ground, Baer and I turned to the remaining two consorts to assist Lennox and Arryn. As I moved to help Lennox, the sky darkened, and I halted to find the cause. My eyes widened as I realized that Titania was reading from the book, dark magic and shadows swirling around her to be absorbed into her skin.
I watched as she finished reading, the air trembling with the amount of magic that Titania had consumed. Rhowyn stepped forward to face Titania, escaping Brannoc’s attempt to hold her back, determination lining her face. Fuck!
Needing to be by her side, instinct driving me, I ran forward to take on the Spring Consort, taking advantage of everyone’s distraction. Lunging, I jabbed my sword through the back of Ellis as he engaged Lennox, his attempt to avoid Lennox’s blade pushing him back into mine. Nox’s eyes met mine over Ellis’s shoulder. A fleeting part of me wondered what it must feel like for him to be fighting his own fathers and what damage this would do to his soul.
He simply nodded at me, sadness hanging heavy in his eyes as he shrugged off the scene of Ellis falling forward and dislodging my blade. That just left Ambrose, the Autumn consort who was holding his own against Arryn. He was the last thing standing in our way of taking down Titania. The last obstacle keeping me from my Queen.