Lady of Shadows (Lady of Darkness #2)

Chapter 15 Callan

CHAPTER 15

CALLAN

C allan watched the Prince of Fire finally coax a small smile from Scarlett and tug her closer to him. He watched her hold his gaze, as if there were no one else in the entire godsdamned world.

“You need to let her find her way, Princeling,” Eliza said, clearly noting where his attention still lay.

“What?” he asked, pulling his gaze from Sorin and Scarlett to the female he was dancing with.

“She is sorting through a lot of new information right now. You need to let her do so.”

“You mean I need to let him help her sort through it all.”

“Sorin. Cyrus. Prince Briar. The cook. The shop clerk in the city.” Eliza shrugged. “Whomever she turns to, not whomever shoves themselves into her path every chance they get.” She gave him a pointed look. “You could have just danced with her, but instead you pushed her. She will come to you. When she is ready. She cares too much about you to just walk away.” The song ended, and Eliza stepped from him. She opened her mouth to say something else, but her attention snagged on the entrance doors. Callan followed her gaze to see Cyrus and Scarlett walk through the doors. A moment later, a flash of shadows.

A flame had Eliza reaching up and snagging a note from it. Her lips formed a thin line, and she muttered a curse under her breath. She had pulled a lethal-looking hairpin from her hair as she incinerated the note and strode quickly for the doors. Rayner was already there as Sorin casually walked through, following Cyrus and Scarlett. Whatever had happened would apparently take all five of them to deal with it.

Callan turned and walked in the opposite direction, out through the mezzanine doors. Stone steps led from the balcony and wound down to a path that led to the main gates of the Fiera Palace. He found himself striding quickly down the path. He had been to the city with Finn and Sloan a few times and could find his way, even if it was dark. He would find a tavern and drink himself into oblivion for the night.

“Maybe we shouldn’t leave the palace at night,” Finn suggested, falling into step beside him, Sloan on his right.

“We’ve been told we’re not prisoners. We can do as we wish,” Callan snapped, ripping his mask from his face.

“They have alluded to dangers in these mountains numerous times, Callan,” Finn tried again.

“Do you not have swords?”

“Yes, but we do not have magic, ” Sloan drawled.

“Then stay here,” Callan bit back as he prowled past the entrance gates. The guards didn’t even acknowledge him.

“What is the plan here then, Callan? We’re to stay here until you convince her that you are meant to be together or until she convinces you that you’re not?” Sloan sneered after him.

“Shut your fucking mouth,” Callan snarled. The moonlight illuminated the road, but the shade of the trees still made his eyes strain as he followed it.

“This is her world, not yours,” Sloan growled.

But another growl made them all go still.

Two enormous black wolves emerged from either side of the road, snarling softly. Finn and Sloan immediately shoved him behind them, swords angled. Callan glanced over his shoulder. He hadn’t realized how quickly he’d been walking. He must have been near running for how far behind them the palace was now. There was no way they’d outrun wolves that big.

A beautiful female seemed to step from the very night right in between the wolves. She had flowing mahogany hair with white flowers woven into it that seemed to float on a gentle phantom breeze. She wore a cobalt blue dress that grazed the ground and had a bracelet around her wrist along with twin swords strapped to her back.

“Well, this is interesting,” she said, cocking her head to the side. The movement was as lupine as the wolves beside her. “What is a mortal Crown Prince doing in the Fire Court?”

“I am here as a guest of Prince Sorin,” Callan said, grateful he sounded more confident than he felt.

“Is that so? Interesting indeed,” she mused. She reached a hand out, scratching the ears of the wolf on her right. “I hope my pets did not alarm you?” When none of them spoke, she said, “You look like your father did when he was your age.” Callan started. His father? So he had indeed had dealings with the Fae in the past. “Did you come with her then?” the female continued when still no one spoke.

“With who?” Callan countered.

“The female who bears my sister ring,” she replied, holding up her right hand. The ring that glittered in the moonlight looked exactly like the ring he had often seen on Scarlett’s finger. The ring she had said her mother had given her.

“I do not know whom you speak of,” Callan lied.

The female clicked her tongue. “From royalty to royalty, Crown Prince, let’s not begin this relationship by lying to one another.” She took a step towards them but came no further.

Royalty?

“Are you the Princess of the Wind Court?” Callan asked, racing through all the history he had read the last few days.

A smile spread across her lips. “No, although the winds do obey me.” A gentle breeze blew past them, ruffling his hair in emphasis. “Along with the earth.” She held open a hand and a small white flower bloomed in the very center of it, which she then crushed in her fist, letting the pieces float away on her breeze.

“Then…” He started at the realization and bowed his head. “That would make you the Fae Queen.”

“Indeed it would,” she confirmed. She took a few steps to the right, almost like she was beginning to pace. “You have figured out your riddle. Now for me to figure out mine, hmm? A mortal prince is a guest of the Fire Prince.” She seemed to spit out the words ‘Fire Prince’ as if they tasted sour. “You have returned with him at the same time he brings a female and my ring home, which would suggest you are important to her.” She paused her pacing, her jade green eyes snapping to him and narrowing. “Are you her husband?”

“No.” The word came out more bitterly than he had intended.

Her smile became a knowing one. “No, but you wish to be. Interesting. She is your lover?”

“Yes,” he ground out from between his teeth.

“Still?” Her brows arched in surprise.

“That remains to be seen.”

“Interesting.”

“Stop saying that,” Callan hissed. Finn elbowed him in a clear warning to watch his tone.

“Do you have an objection to the word?”

“I have an objection to the repetition of it when you fail to explain what exactly you find so interesting.”

“Where are you off to in the night by yourselves?” the Fae Queen asked with a smile, resuming her pacing.

“If you must know, to the city to find a tavern and drink,” Callan drawled.

“There were not drinks at the festivities this evening?” she asked, noting the masks they now held in their hands.

“Why does it matter to you?”

“Callan,” Finn hissed.

“It matters to me when a mortal prince is in my lands, and I am not informed of it. Do you know the mess it would create if something should happen to you, Crown Prince of Windonelle? I’m sure the Prince of Fire did not think of such things when he brought you here with her,” she said with a sneer. “Who is she?” She leveled those jade eyes at him, and they seemed to glow.

Callan just stared back at the Fae Queen with a frankness he couldn’t hide. He wasn’t going to tell her anything.

“You care for her so much you would defy me? How charming. You are either very brave or very stupid,” she purred.

“What?” Callan asked, looking at her sharply.

“Who attempts to steal her affections from you?” the Fae Queen asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

“Who doesn’t?” Callan muttered under his breath.

Her brows rose again. “Is she that beloved by so many?”

Damn that Fae hearing.

“Yes,” Callan sighed. “She keeps many secrets and apparently bears many titles, but she is kind to those who cannot defend themselves, and her loyalty knows no bounds if you manage to secure it.”

“Tell me, mortal prince, should you succeed in winning her over, how shall you feel in ten years when you are aging and she is not? How shall you feel in twenty years? Fifty? When you are old and wasting away on your deathbed, and she does not look much older than she is now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Surely you know the Fae are immortal, do you not? Prince Sorin himself is centuries old. She will have a Staying in a few years, and her body will age no more,” the Queen said with a wave of her hand. “And your children? Will they inherit their mother’s immortality, or shall they too waste away while she remains young, seeing her grandchildren and their children and their children’s children die as well?”

“Stop,” Callan ordered quietly.

“Things you should consider, Crown Prince, should you not, if you are to pursue her?” the Fae Queen asked with a half smile. “Unless you believe she would bind her immortal life to your own? To die when you die?”

“I would never ask that of her,” Callan spat.

“Good,” she replied coolly, her face going cold. “Come, Prince, let me buy your drinks this evening.”

“I think we will just head back to the palace,” Callan said. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty.” He turned to head back to the palace, but soft growls emanated from the wolves at her sides.

“Oh no, your Highness,” the Queen purred. “I insist.”

The earth below his feet shook. The road itself was moving, drawing them to her. She stood, not coming any closer. Almost like she couldn’t. The wolves snapped their jaws, and Finn and Sloan angled their swords once more.

“Those are not necessary,” she said sweetly, and vines appeared from the very ground they stood on, wrapping around their swords and swallowing them down into the earth.

“And what would my father say of the Fae Queen taking me against my will?” Callan demanded, pushing down the fear in his gut.

“I shall not harm you, Prince,” she said with a smirk. “I only wish to visit more. I am sure there is much we can learn from each other, and I would like to discuss a matter I require your assistance with.”

“What could I possibly assist you with that you cannot do yourself?” Callan asked, as they were shoved next to the wolves.

“I need to learn if my suspicions as to who she is are correct,” the Fae Queen answered, “and now that you are outside his wards, we can talk more freely.”

His wards. That’s why she had been pacing and not coming any closer. “You are not free to go anywhere you wish in the lands you rule?” Callan asked casually, following her down the road.

“I suppose I am, but I do not want him to know I have been here. If I cross his wards, he will immediately be notified of my presence,” she replied tightly.

“Because you do not get along,” Callan said, recalling Eliza’s words.

“My dealings with the Fire Prince are not your concern.”

“As my relationship with the female is not yours.” The Queen glared at him. “Perhaps, your Majesty, if you would like my cooperation, we could start with names.”

“But I already know your name, Crown Prince Callan Solgard,” she answered. At his quizzical look, she added, “I do know the ruling families of each land, Prince. As a queen, it is my duty to know the reigning powers.”

“Has my father ever been here?” Callan asked. “I mean to any of the Fae Courts?”

“No. I have not had direct dealings with the mortal kings. We have eyes in the lands, but do not usually have direct contact, which makes it all the more interesting that you are here,” she answered. They could see the city entrance ahead, and she paused. “Rather than go to the city and have my presence immediately reported, may I suggest we go to my home? I assure you the drinks are just as woe-forgetting.”

Callan glanced at Finn and Sloan, who had remained quiet, letting him deal with the nobility as they always did. “I suppose that would be acceptable,” he said cautiously.

“Delightful.” And before he could say anything further, she took him by the arm, barely giving Finn and Sloan enough time to lunge for him before they were all pulled through the very air.