Their War (The Reluctant Royals #3)
1. Chapter One Rhowyn
Chapter One: Rhowyn
I didn't know what I was expecting when I entered the throne room. Maybe accolades or snide and sneaky comments, but it sure as hell wasn't the chaos that ensued. My sense of foreboding, the one I had willfully ignored, had come true in an epic way. Sometimes, I wished my gut would be wrong. That for once, my senses of doom wouldn't come true.
Unfortunately for me, I had ignored the feeling that something was wrong. I had brushed it off as if it were simply my anxieties and PTSD from having dealt with the Queen and her ideas of punishment . And because of my ignorance, I now found myself before her, awaiting the full brunt of her fury.
When I realized that she planned to execute Arryn, I knew I couldn't stand by idly. There was no way I was going to let that bitch rip one of the only people in this world that mattered to me away. I could count on the one hand the number of people I could trust, and she would not take this from me.
So, I did the only thing I could do. I reacted. Somehow finding Brannoc's smoky visage in the room watching us from a distance, I begged him to save my men, needing them all safe. I was nothing, a nobody that didn't truly fit into either world that was somehow pulled into a mess I had never wanted, and I couldn't let them be dragged down with me. I wouldn't have them be held responsible for what I was about to do because, in my opinion, I was expendable. I’d rather die than try to move on without a single one of them.
I prayed to any God or Goddess that would listen, honestly not believing that I’d get an answer. Who was I to receive such notice from them, but I felt the need for that extra guidance, a hand to keep us safe while we navigated this treacherous landscape. At this point, I would take anything they could give me. Taking action, with or without that guiding presence, I snapped the knife out that the Lady had given me. My blade sank deep into the Winter Consort's chest as a shocked look bloomed across his face. He dropped to his knees, grabbing his chest as red started blossoming from the point of impact, spreading out like a macabre flower against the pale blue fabric of his tunic. That single movement had him releasing Arryn's arm, now more focused on himself than the so-called traitor.
But that left one other of the Queen’s Consorts still holding Arryn. If Brannoc were to succeed, I’d need to get Arryn fully freed from their grasps. I don’t know how I knew, but some instinct was telling me that what I was asking of Brannoc was well within his powers. This time, I wouldn’t ignore those instincts. I’d never doubt them again. Not after this.
Not waiting for them to react, I charged forward and tackled the remaining Consort, slamming us both into the hard marble floor and knocking the wind from me. When I rolled off the top of the man, my eyes darted to where I had last seen Arryn, nearly collapsing in relief when I saw that Brannoc had listened. My men were no longer in sight, swept away and hidden in the shadows, but no longer in the throne room. Reaching out, I couldn’t feel the smoky presence of him like I had before, and I was certain they were long gone. Brannoc’s actions today proved to me that he could now join the small list of people that I trusted, not just with my life, but with the pieces of my heart that were my Consorts.
I didn't fight the guards as they snatched me by my arms, their fingers digging into my biceps painfully, and pushed me forward until I was kneeling. I held my head high in defiance, no longer willing to bow to this tyrannical sadist, as they dragged me toward the raging Queen who still stood on her dais, her face reddened in anger and fists clenched as she struggled to control her reaction to my impudence.
The crowd had backed away at the first sign of trouble, hugging the perimeter of the room, desperate to stay out of the path of the Queen’s rage. However, as the Queen stalked toward me, her magic lashed out as a tangible force, buffeting against my now vulnerable body as she barely restrained her fury. The courtiers pushed back even further until they were literally against the walls, flattening and compressing until there was no space between them all.
The Queen's eyes flicked to her Winter Consort, who was being tended to by a servant, most likely a healer that would erase the damage my knife had done. I tried to turn to look more closely, but the guards held me firmly, forcing my head down until I was prostrated before her.
“You dare interrupt these proceedings? To harm my Consorts, the equivalent to attacking your Queen?” she hissed out at me. I didn't bother answering her questions, choosing to remain silent. Sure, I was in trouble, but I didn't need to make it worse with my smart-ass mouth.
“While you may have been raised in the human realm, I am still your Queen, even as the trials proceed to find my replacement. Until such a time as a new Queen has been selected, I am the one you must answer to.” She spoke the words loudly, ensuring everyone present heard her declaration, reiterating her power and control.
She started to speak again, but a servant interrupted, “Y...Your M...M...Majesty?” His voice shook as he kept his head bowed, cowering in fear and shivering under the weight of her glare.
“You dare interrupt me?” she asked, her voice seething as she prepared to punish him, her body coiling to deliver a physical blow.
“It's your Consort,” he rushed out, ducking further and squeezing his eyes shut tightly, preparing for the blow that didn't come. After a moment, he peeked one eye open, realizing the Queen had stopped herself and was fuming, waiting for him to continue. “We can't remove the blade. And we can't heal him until the blade is removed.”
Her head whipped to mine, understanding dawning on her. She narrowed her eyes at me in anger before she turned to the servant. “What do you mean?” Not waiting for the man to explain, she stormed over to her Consort, who was still laid out on the ground, the knife sticking out of his chest with blood pooling under him. The guards’ hold on my body relaxed as they turned to follow this development, and I was finally able to look at him.
His face was pale and furrowed in pain as one after another servants attempted to grasp the blade to pull it from him, only to fail. Their hands seemed to slip over the handle time and time again.
I couldn't keep the smirk off my face, pleased that the Lady's true boon was able to help me. As the Queen whipped around to glare at me, she caught the tail end of my smile even though I had tried to wipe it from my face. Angered further, she stomped back over to me, and I couldn't help but be reminded of a toddler stomping her feet when not getting what she wanted. Which, of course, caused me to fight another smile that threatened to emerge. The corners of my lips twitched as I barely contained it.
She grabbed me harshly by the hair, jerking me to my feet easily, and I fought the urge to reach up and remove her grip. My own anger spiked in response as she hissed in my face, “You will remove this dagger before I end you.”
As most of the fae did, she towered over my diminutive human form, her strength able to drag me around like a rag doll. She forced me over to Bernard, flinging me down to the ground, hair ripping from my scalp in the process. I sucked in a breath of pain as my knees slammed into the marble floor, and I could feel more bruises forming. Reaching out my hands to remove the blade instinctively, I hesitated, pulling back instead. “What's stopping you from retaliating after I remove the dagger?”
“You will remove it or else. You are not in any position to bargain.”
“Actually, I’m in the perfect position to bargain. Seems to me that your Consort will bleed out if I don't remove this blade, but if his life is so inconsequential to you, then I am happy to leave it in place. I'll be punished either way.” I paused for a moment as I let my point sink in. “Unless, of course, I gain some reassurances that you won't harm me or my men after I remove the dagger.”
“You filthy gutter rat!” she screeched at me, her face starting to turn an angry shade of red as she trembled from holding herself back. “You dare try to make demands of me?”
I leaned back on my heels and shrugged, holding up both hands. “It's your decision what happens next, but I'm happy to sit here until he either dies, or you make a promise before everyone present that me and my men will be safe from harm.” I answered her calmly, reiterating her choices.
She growled in anger, knowing that she truly had no other choice. Not taking her eyes from mine, I saw the promise in them as we stared each other down. She would do everything she could to make me pay for this moment, and I would need to be on guard. As conniving as she was, she would find a way around her next words. She’d submit now, but she’d find a loophole to come after me. At least this bought me some time to regroup and figure out another way out of this mess.
“You have my word that you and your Consorts will be safe from physical harm,” she said, her words barely more than a whisper.
Knowing it would only piss her off more, I stated, “Louder. They all need to hear you.” If the courtiers didn't hear it, she couldn't be held accountable to her vow.
Narrowing her eyes again, she projected her voice, “Rhowyn Hunt and her Consorts will not be harmed physically in retaliation for this offense toward the crown.”
Satisfied, I leaned over and grabbed the blade, pulling it from the Winter Consort's chest with a sucking noise. As the dagger cleared the wound, the healers immediately laid their hands on the Consort, healing his wound. He promptly passed out from either pain or blood loss; I couldn't be sure, but he would definitely need time to recover.
Hands grabbed my arms again as the guards jerked me to my feet. Their grips were gentler now that they were bound by the Queen’s promise. Deciding to go along, not wanting to do anything else to earn retaliation and negate our deal, I rose at their prompting to face Titania.
Now it was the Queen's turn to smirk. “I promised that I wouldn't physically harm you, but that doesn't mean you are free to go.” I hadn’t thought I would get out of here scot-free, but my men would be okay, and that was all that really mattered to me.
She turned to face the crowd that still cowered against the walls. “Rhowyn Hunt is remanded into custody until such a time that punishment for her crimes against the Crown and Avalon can be determined.”
Turning to the guards, she instructed, “Remove this filth from my sight. I will deal with her later.”
As the guards dragged me from the throne room, my feet barely touched the ground, and I struggled to keep up with the speed they were marching at. They held me aloft between them with two guards in front and behind, forcing me onto my tiptoes. We descended past tunnels that were formed from rough, hewn stones, barely lit by the flames of the torches we passed. From everything I had ever learned on Earth, through books and movies, I just knew I was about to find myself in a dungeon.
The guards confirmed my suspicions by opening an iron cell, throwing me in until I landed with an oomph and rolled to prevent breaking any bones from the impact. As I lay on my back, a giggle escaped me.
Quickly, I wrapped my arms around my middle as loud guffaws fell from my lips. I heard the slamming of the dungeon's outer door, my eyes squeezed shut through my laughter. The lock turned with a snick, and still, I laughed. Somehow, I had landed in a fairy tale medieval situation, and the absurdity of it all had me laughing until tears rolled down my face.
My situation wasn’t funny, I knew that. I also knew the danger I was now facing, but something had broken inside of me, and it seemed my reaction to that was laughter. I gasped for breath between giggles, my arms still clamped around my abdomen that was now starting to ache. After everything I had been through, everything I had faced, I had finally lost it.
I didn’t know if it was overwhelming despair at my lot in life or the freedom I had somehow been gifted. Sure, I was currently locked in a dungeon, but in a way, I was free. Free to finally be myself. There’d be no turning back from this; no way we could resolve our standing in the Court. However, it also meant that I no longer had to tiptoe around the Queen’s moods. The lines had been drawn, and I was liberated to know that whatever happened next was to be my own decision.
After what felt like forever, my laughter faded as the truth sank into my bones just as easily as the damp, cool stones had seeped through my clothes, both chilling me thoroughly. As much as I might have found the idea of my situation to be fantastical and unbelievable, it was very much real, and I had no idea just how I was going to get myself out of this heaping pile of shit I had landed in. Not literally, although in these conditions, I wouldn’t have been surprised if it had been. My newfound freedom meant nothing if I couldn’t find a way out of here.
All I did know, though, was that I wouldn't make it easy for the Bitch Queen. If she wanted my head, she was going to have to fight me for it. Because I would be coming for her now.
Up until now, I had been fine with sitting in the background, trying to creep under everyone's notice, taking their shit and not responding. I vowed to myself that I would take everything that had ever mattered to her, tearing her from her throne piece by piece. For everything she had done to me and everyone I had come to care for, I would make the bitch pay. Another smile crept up, and I found myself smiling sadistically in the darkness.
What she didn't know was that now, I was here to play for keeps.