Page 101 of A Courage of the Chosen

“I’m not sure what you mean,” I lie.

Father steps forward, the shirt across his chest stretched tight over muscles he’s honed lethally. Just not as lethally as mine. “So your stunt has nothing to do with the fact your little plaything has announced herself as queen? Declaring you and I enemies of the realm?”

I shrug again. “Was bound to happen, surprised it took that long to be honest.”

After my first outburst when he mentioned Elsie, I’ve been very careful about what I give away when I’m around him. However, my father isn’t a man that’s easily fooled.

“You have talked around going to the barrier and now suddenly you take my men and send them into the human world? Bring bodies back and dump them on our land?” He leans over my chair, bracing his hands on the arms either side.

“You’re pathetically obvious, boy. She doesn’t want you, and now you’re lashing out.”

I fucking hate that he’s right. That he’s seen it for what it is. I don’t show it on my face, though, and hold steady where he glares down at me.

“If it wasn’t what I wanted, I’d be dragging her through these halls and making you suffer for it.” His mouth curls into the snide grin he saves only for me. Filled with cruelty and disappointment.

“She’ll be dealt with soon,” I respond flatly.

Father’s low chuckle sets a fissure of uncertainty running through my mind. “Yes, she will.”

Chapter 29

Elsie

“Come on, Elsie. I know you can do better than that,” Reyne goads as we circle each other in the training ring.

Fine drizzle mists the air, coating us in a cooling layer that mixes with the sweat stuck to our skin. Rach stands off to the side, and Erin has joined her to watch us train.

Our promise was kept, and we’ve had our first girls’ night in the last week. We ate pizza in our pajamas, and talked until her eyelids began drooping with sleep. It healed a small something in Erin, and she’s slowly coming out of her shell when it’s just me, her, Rach, and Reyne.

She joins the rest of us for dinner most nights, but is much more wary of the male members of my chosen family. Erin keeps her distance from them unless they speak to her directly and she chooses to sit by me every time we’re together. She’s still not let go of the bear Cal brought for her.

Erin has become particularly attached to Reyne and I, and has taken to following one of us about when we aren’t dealing with official crown business. This is the second day in a row she’s watched us train now, too.

“You’re too fast,” I grouse, panting harshly.

Her retort comes quickly and without hesitation. “Sounds like a you problem.”

“You’ve been spending too much time with Rach,” I grumble under my breath.

“I heard that,” Rach chimes in. “Quit crying because Reyne is handing your ass to you.”

Erin huffs a small laugh, and a smile is involuntarily pulled from me at the sound. She’s been through so much already, and her laughs are a rare thing. They normally slip out when we’re giving each other shit like this, and I find myself treasuring each time I hear them.

“Can . . . could I train too?” Erin squeaks. She hasn’t asked for anything beyond her two initial requests, and I think part of it is because she doesn’t feel at home here yet.

Callahan, who’s been sparring with Eòghann in the ring next to ours, pauses at her request. “Come over here, Erin,” he coaxes, with a tenderness he reserves for her specifically.

He’s been unexpectedly protective over her, hovering whenever she’s nearby. About a week after she arrived, we were woken by a timid knock at our door, and Cal sprung from the bed before I’d even opened my eyes fully.

It was Livvy, holding hands with the little girl who has quickly woven her way into all of our hearts. “I’m sorry to disturb you both,” she’d said sheepishly. “Erin is very restless, and has asked for Elsie.”

She hadn’t cried since her first night here, and I’d been waiting for the moment it would happen. When the reality would set in, and she would need someone to be there to help her through it.

I was there in an instant, holding my hand out to her, but she went right past it and threw her arms around my legs instead.

“I miss my mum and dad,” she’d whispered.

I’d told her about my family. That my mom and dad aren’t around either. And I think she understood what I was trying to say to her.