Page 93 of Their Chosen

“Why? In a couple of weeks, a new Queen will take the throne, right? So, it doesn't really matter all that much as long as this bitch is no longer Queen,” I asked him.

“That's the thing, though. I don't think she has any plans to actually step down.”

“What?! But she doesn't really have a choice, right?” I was sitting up again.

“If any Queen can hold onto her power, it will be Titania. She's more conniving and manipulative than any other being I've ever come across. She's got something in the works, I know it. She's too calm about these trials. There's no way she will give up the power she has and certainly not without a fight.”

Not sure how to respond to that, we sat there in thought. My mind started turning, and I couldn't help but worry about actually surviving the trials again. If the Queen was out to get me, then I didn't stand a chance. I was just a nobody, with barely any access to my magic, and she was the most powerful person in this realm.

“Shit. I'm screwed,” I said to myself, barely above a whisper.

“You don't know the half of it,” Callum replied, no malice in his tone, just fact.

A soft burn started across my shoulder, pulsing in my new Chosen tattoo and aggravating my wounds. I hissed in pain, my arm lifting to touch my burning shoulder.

“What is it?” Callum asked, standing to come to my side.

“My shoulder just started burning. Fuck. It hurts.”

“Shit!” he hissed, stomping out of the room, leaving me alone with my pain.

I felt the panic in my bonds, one by one before the guys rushed to my room. “It's not that bad, guys. I'll be okay,” I told them, not quite comfortable with the concern and fear I saw.

When they didn't reply, my own fear started to rise. “What? What is it?”

“Rhowyn,” Arryn started before fading off.

“The trials are starting,” Callum told me with a growl.

Fuck. We were so screwed.