13. Chapter Thirteen Rhowyn
Chapter Thirteen: Rhowyn
I sat there at the table, my meal forgotten, completely dumbfounded by the bomb Arryn had just dumped on me. Wheels turned in my mind, considering all the implications that this new information meant; for me, for my guys, and for the people of Avalon. I needed more answers before I could even begin to sort through it all.
“What does that mean for us?” I asked the guys, hoping they’d have the answers I needed. I was in over my head, and I needed them to help me figure out which way to go from here. How was someone like me supposed to go about becoming the Queen? Was I truly ready for something like this?
“On one hand, it’s what we had wanted. On the other, it also means that we now have a target on our heads. The Queen won’t like that you’ve been selected as her successor. It’ll mean a tense transition unlike anything else in the history of Avalon,” Arryn began to explain.
“I’m willing to bet that she’ll be trying to find a way to circumvent this decision. She’ll either want someone she can control on the throne, or she’ll find a way to keep the power herself. She could honestly go either way,” Callum chimed in. “Lennox, what do you think she’ll do?” He nudged Lennox’s shoulder with his, pulling Lennox from wherever his mind had gone.
“Huh?” Lennox asked.
Brow furrowing, Callum asked again, “What do you think your mother will do now that Rhowyn has been selected?”
“I don’t know. It’s not like she ever included me in any of her plans or discussions. She used me like she used everyone else around her,” Lennox said, shoving his chair back, the scraping of wood across wood almost painful to my ears. “I need to get some sleep,” he said, not looking at any of us, simply walking off down the hall, presumably to a bedroom.
When he was out of earshot, I turned to the other guys, puzzled by his behavior. “What’s going on with him?”
Baer shrugged, and Arryn looked just as perplexed. “He’s been acting differently since you left. He’s acting like he did when we first met him.”
“I’ll go talk to him,” Callum said.
“No,” I said. “Give him some space. I’ll talk to him later, but we need to figure out what we’re going to do. We can’t exactly stay here in Brannoc’s lair forever.” I turned to Brannoc and smiled. “No offense.”
He dipped his head. “None taken.” It was weird seeing him in his own home. Before, he’d always carried an air of danger, of barely restrained violence, but now, he was almost regal. Sitting there, his movements as he dined were cultured and relaxed. Here, he was truly in his element.
“So, is the plan to travel to this safe place and mount a rebellion? Is it the headquarters or base of operations for your rebellion? Or has the plan changed now that I’m supposed to become the next Queen?” I asked, trying to get us back on topic. If I were going to face the unknown future, I needed a plan. I needed to know where we were going and what we hoped to accomplish. Maybe then, I’d find my footing again.
Scratching his chin, Arryn glanced around the table, looking for answers from everyone, clearly at a loss of his own.
“I’m not sure exactly how we want to proceed,” Arryn admitted. “We had a hierarchy, but we had been too afraid to congregate or form an actual force before having more information. It’s why my assignment was so important. I needed to infiltrate Cashel Rí and feed information back so that we could progress. Which means, this place I’ve heard about is an unknown. We can’t be certain if it’s safe or a viable option to take to get you on the throne.”
“Okay. That’s out.” Turning to Brannoc, I asked, “You wouldn’t happen to have any other safe houses we can go to outside of the city, would you?”
He smiled at me. “A Raven is nothing if not prepared. Of course I have other homes. I was paid well for my work, so that won’t be a problem either.”
“I hate to have you foot the entire bill,” I said, protesting even though I knew the reality of the situation. We would need finances for whatever took place next. I surely didn’t have anything to contribute on that front.
“If it saves Avalon, then it has served its purpose. What’s mine is yours in this fight,” he told me. I searched his face for any sign that he was being insincere, but I couldn’t find anything but total honesty.
“In that case, thank you,” I murmured, touched by his generosity and assistance. I didn’t know why he was helping us so much, but I wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
“Of course, my Queen.” He dipped his head again in deference to me.
I laughed awkwardly. Wow. That sounded so weird . It was one thing for Baer to call me that when we were in bed, for Lennox to call me Princess, but those weren’t actual titles. The reverence in Brannoc’s tone now put me on edge. “Don’t. I’m not quite sure I’m ready for that. Just call me Rhowyn.”
He tilted his head, studying me briefly before giving me a nod of affirmation. “Now,” I started. “Where exactly are these homes located? Do we need to think about compiling an army to fight the Queen? Or should we just wait and see what her next move is?” I asked the guys, completely out of my league here. Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine that I would be talking about armies, rebellions, and saving an entire world. And yet, here I was, plotting the best way to overthrow the Queen so I could take her place.
It had only been a couple of months since finding out I was fae, and now here I was about to try and lead all of fae kind. It boggled my mind in ways I couldn’t even understand. However, looking around the table, I had to admit that Avalonia had done well selecting the men to assist me. Each of them brought something I so desperately needed.
My eyes landed on Lennox’s empty chair, still pushed back from the table from where he’d made his prompt exit. It broke my heart to see him struggling, wrestling with demons that I was all too familiar with. I might not know the specifics, but I could see the pain in his eyes. I needed him to open up to me, and I needed to show him how I felt about him. I couldn’t lose him just because I was busy trying to mount a full-fledged rebellion. It would all mean nothing without these men beside me.
“Honestly, I think the best thing to do is lie low for right now. See what she’s got in store, but I also think it’s wise to go ahead and start reaching out to my contacts,” Arryn said, thinking out loud as we all nodded along. “We need to be careful while still in the city. It’s probably best if we let Brannoc do our recon while we wait down here. He can also pass on messages to my people for now. They’ve worked with him in the past, so it shouldn’t raise any alarms, but I’m almost certain that they’ll all be on edge with the Royal Guard still searching for us and for any connections to me.”
“Are they safe?” I asked him, concerned that there might be ties that he was unaware of. After all, someone in the rebellion had to have ratted him out. Betrayed his confidence in them to report to the Queen. Could we really trust his network? I guessed it didn’t really matter. We needed help, which meant we’d have to take risks and trust people. That would most likely be the most difficult part for me.
“I was always careful to cover my tracks just in case a situation like this occurred, but since someone has betrayed me, I can’t be sure that others won’t be turned in as well.” His concern and worry weighed heavily on his slumped shoulders. Apparently, his thoughts were following my own, another indication that we were a good fit together.
I reached out and grasped his hand. “Whatever comes, it’s not your fault. They chose to take the risk and work with you. They knew what could happen if things failed,” I reassured him. He smiled at me gratefully, but I could still see the guilt. Heaven forbid something happen because this man would feel responsible no matter what I said. He put too much responsibility on his shoulders. I vowed that one day, he wouldn’t have to carry it all anymore. He’d told me once that they’d help me, which meant this went both ways. I just had to get him to see that.
I smiled back at him. “Plus, like you guys keep telling me, we’re all in this together. We’ll figure this out between us all.”
“I hope so,” he admitted before shoring up his defenses and putting back on the mask of leader, tucking his doubts and insecurities away.
Brannoc stood, drawing our attention. At our questioning looks, he said, “We needed some more supplies, so I might as well head out and see what I can hear. It'll probably be a few hours, so please, make yourselves at home. Whatever is mine is now yours.” He looked directly at me as he said that last part, even though I could tell he meant everyone.
A blush crept up my neck at the intensity of his gaze. Bowing slightly to me, he disappeared into a puff of smoke. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that,” I said when he was gone, staring at the now vacant spot.
Arryn laughed. “It took me a while to adjust to it as well. Ravens are the only fae who can disappear and transport, but they’re rare. Their powers are as strong as the High Fae, which makes many of the High Fae uncomfortable. They prefer to be at the top.”
“Wait, so he’s not High Fae like us?”
“No. He’s a different creature altogether. Usually, the lower fae tend to only have certain affinities for their own kinds of magic, but nothing on the same level as the High Fae. However, we are all dependent on each other,” Arryn explained.
“In the rural villages and the further out you get from the city, the more these distinctions don’t matter. But here, the High Fae treat the lower fae abominably,” Baer chimed in.
“Is that why I haven’t seen many of them around?” Their history and society fascinated me while also disgusting me. Just because they were different didn’t mean they had to be treated as less than.
“Yes. As free peoples, they choose not to subject themselves to such demeaning positions and prefer to live in the smaller villages near their own kind.” Arryn said.
“What about the humans? Obviously, they’re not from around here, so how did they end up working for the court?” I finally asked a question that had been plaguing me since my arrival.
“At one point in time, nearly a thousand years ago, we had a closer relationship to Earth, visiting and returning whenever we pleased. Even bringing some humans back to our world. We lived together without issues for a long time, until several humans who’d been working with a previous Queen tried to assassinate her, their greed for more getting the best of them. This Queen was beloved, nothing in comparison to what we have now.”
“That explains the hatred now,” I said, connecting the dots.
“After that, the humans who had actively rebelled were imprisoned, and others were removed from Avalon. Those that remained were later enslaved, their children forced to serve out terms of labor for the Crown. However, things got much worse under Titania’s rule. With her example, many of the courtiers started keeping and enslaving humans. As slaves, they are considered property and can be treated as less than the living things they are.”
As he told me this story, my anger rose. Sure, I could understand the suspicion, but to enslave an entire race for something they weren’t even a part of was despicable. The humans enslaved today were being punished for something that happened seven or eight generations ago. “That’s awful,” I said, trying to keep my cool. “Obviously it’s wrong, and when I get the chance, it will be one of the first things I get rid of.”
“Many members of the Court won’t appreciate you doing such a thing,” Callum warned me.
“I don’t care. They’ll have to learn how to pay living wages again. If they’re so much better than humans, then they should be above enslavement. That’s something that humans have mastered the art of,” I growled out.
Smiles were given back to me in response to my declaration, all my men on board with the decision. “It’s nice to see you accepting your role. What changed?” Arryn asked me.
Looking at the three still with me, I admitted, “You guys happened. Somehow, you’ve all grown on me. I’ve come to care about y’all and realized while I was imprisoned that I couldn’t go back to Earth. Back to living without y’all. It’s more than just the bond; it’s here.” I put a fist over my heart, hoping they could read into what I was saying.
“I decided that I was going to fight back. What kind of person would I be if I simply walked away, leaving all of Avalon to face such dire consequences. I will take down the Queen, one way or another. She thinks she’s untouchable, but she’s never met anyone like me before,” I vowed to these men who beamed at me.
Arryn stood first, coming to stand in front of me. Before I could ask him what he was doing, he knelt in front of me, his fist over his heart and head bowed. Baer and Callum quickly followed suit. “We vow to stand by your side, to protect you, to serve you, to be your generals and advisors. We vow to lay down our lives to ensure your safety and the safety of Avalon. We will serve you in any way you require so that you can raise Avalon to the future it deserves. Long live Queen Rhowyn.” Arryn said, and a wave of disbelief passed through me. Up until now, this entire situation had seemed so surreal. Until now, I hadn’t realized the depth of what it truly meant to be a Queen. But now, the weight of Avalon seemed to settle on my shoulders. Now, I was responsible for Avalon and these men. It was all on me to ensure their safety and futures.
I swallowed, fear threatening to swamp me as I realized the magnitude of such responsibility, but as I looked at these men kneeling in front of me, I knew that we could make this happen. That we stood a chance at making a difference, seeing this through to the end, and ensuring the continued survival of Avalon and Avalonia. With them, I could do anything.