Lady of Shadows (Lady of Darkness #2)

Chapter 19 Callan

CHAPTER 19

CALLAN

C allan felt a tug at his elbow at the Prince’s growled order. He looked down to find a female hand there. Eliza had a grim look on her face, jerking her head to the door. His feet felt like lead as he followed her from the room. His mind was reeling from the events of the last hour.

The Fae Queen had asked for his help in obtaining an audience with Scarlett. She had said she had been trying to speak with her since her arrival, but Sorin had been interfering. She had explained that the ring was a family heirloom and incredibly valuable to her family. She only wished to know how Scarlett had come across it. Then she had asked if Scarlett had any tattoos. When Callan had told her no and that he indeed had knowledge to know if there were any hidden ones, the queen had become somewhat more withdrawn. She had also asked about Sorin’s tattoos, but he had so many visible now that he couldn’t tell her if any were new or not.

Callan had not known her plan until minutes before. They had eaten breakfast at her home. The White Halls, she had called it. When she returned to bring them back to the Fire Court without warning, she had trapped them in some sort of soundless prison and portaled them. He could hear nothing of what was going on outside the inaudible bubble. He could see the screaming and yelling. He watched as Scarlett was shoved into a swirling vortex, her eyes wide in terror.

But when Scarlett had exploded with her magic, his own terror shifted from terror for her to fear of her. She had wielded those flames as if they were extensions of her. She had threatened a godsdamned queen for him. Her concern had been for him and his safety. Even when she was writhing in pain, she questioned if he was hurt.

They all walked into the sitting room in silence, Briar gently closing the door behind them.

“Bold move, bringing her down into that,” Eliza said softly.

“It was the only move we could make,” Cyrus replied gravely.

The Water Prince was standing off to the side and looking nearly as livid as Sorin had before Eliza had tackled him through a portal. His eyes were as hard as chips of ice as he stared at Callan.

“Drayce,” Eliza warned. “Perhaps it would be wise to go speak with Sawyer and make sure Talwyn doesn’t make a similar visit to your own Court.”

“I assume you two have things under control from this point?” Briar asked, his eyes dragging to her.

“We do. I doubt he will leave her side until she wakes,” Cyrus answered.

Briar only nodded before exiting through a water portal.

Callan immediately felt himself relax a touch being out of his presence. “Whose rooms are these?” he asked, looking around the sitting room. Finn and Sloan were waiting by the main door. Even Sloan still looked a little shaken by the whole ordeal.

“They are the prince’s private chambers,” Eliza replied. “Come, I will escort you back to your own.”

Callan obeyed, falling into step beside her. As they walked down the corridor, he steeled himself enough to ask, “Will you tell me if I ask which are her rooms? I assume they are not far from his.”

“You assume correctly,” Eliza said as they rounded a corner. “You were just standing in hers.”

Callan stopped short, Finn nearly running into him. “They share rooms?”

“There is more than one bedroom in those chambers, Prince, but yes, they share the space,” Eliza replied, not stopping for them.

“He does not even give Scarlett her own space?” Callan demanded, quickening his pace to catch up to her.

“He gave her the option,” Eliza said with a shrug. “Despite what you seem to think of him, he is not forcing her into anything. In fact, he is doing quite the opposite.” Her last words held enough of a bite to them that Callan knew not to press the matter, despite wanting to know what she meant.

Against his better judgment, he said, “It seems like he is deciding plenty for her.”

“Like what?”

They went down a set of stairs before taking another corner. “He keeps people from her for starters.”

“Like you?”

“Queen Talwyn said she has been trying to speak with her for weeks as well.”

“Ah,” Eliza said as the bridges came into view. “Tell me, Prince, what did the queen promise you in exchange for selling Scarlett out?”

“I did not sell her out,” Callan retorted, leashing his temper.

“No? What did she ask of you?”

“Why would she ask anything of me?”

“Because the queen does nothing without motive. The queen does not grant favors out of the goodness of her heart,” Eliza sneered.

“Maybe not to those who oppose her so openly,” Callan countered.

“Do not guess at things you know nothing of, Princeling. What did she offer you in exchange for your services?” When Callan was silent, she went on. “You accused my prince of not protecting her moments ago, of willingly allowing his— Someone he cares deeply for to be injured. The fact of the matter is, had you not been involved in this, things would have gone very, very differently. Had Scarlett not been distracted by you and your companions, her focus would have been on defending herself and not rescuing you.”

“I was not told of the queen’s plans.”

“Of course you weren’t. She doesn’t tell anyone her plans, except maybe her lover, but before you so brazenly trust her over our own Court, perhaps you ought to consider your own motives for doing so. What did she promise you in return?”

They had crossed the bridges and were nearing their own suite.

“She asked me if she had any tattoos. When I told her no, she seemed upset by that. Then she asked about Sorin’s tattoos, but I could not tell her anything about those. She was also very interested in Scarlett’s ring. She has a matching one and said it was a valuable Fae family heirloom.”

“Did she say why she was so interested in whether or not Scarlett had any Marks?” Eliza asked, following them into their rooms. She shut the door behind her, leaning against it. Finn and Sloan immediately departed for their own rooms, clearly not seeing a threat any more.

“Marks?”

“The tattoos,” Eliza said impatiently, gesturing to the swirls and ink that adorned her own skin.

“No.”

“And what was your reward for being her source of information?” Eliza asked. Callan just stared at her, holding her gaze. “Ah, a guessing game it shall be then.” She tapped her chin as if thinking long and hard. “Considering everything you’ve done since your arrival here has revolved around Scarlett, I’m going to guess it has something to do with her. Did she offer to help give you a private moment with her?”

“No,” Callan said through gritted teeth.

“Did she offer to send you back to your mortal lands and deliver her there?”

“No.”

“I don’t have time to guess all day, Princeling,” Eliza said, her tone going cold. “You can either tell me what happened, or Sorin will come to extract it himself.”

“I am not afraid of him,” Callan snapped. That was a godsdamn lie. He was terrified of the prince.

“You should be,” Eliza said, a cruel smile spreading across her face. “Our methods of obtaining information are most unpleasant, and because this has to do with her , he will use whatever means necessary.”

“He loves her?” Callan asked.

“I think you know the answer to that.”

Callan bristled inwardly at the answer. “Does she return the sentiment?”

Eliza paused, studying him carefully. “We all have our suspicions and opinions on that, but the truth remains to be seen,” she finally answered.

“Tell me your best guess,” Callan challenged.

“It is not my place. Tell me what she told you.”

“She did not tell me anything. She gave me access to a book for a few hours, which I spent all night reading.”

“What sort of book?” Eliza asked, her brows rising in surprise.

“A book of Fae customs and history,” Callan answered. The shock and adrenaline of the day’s events were wearing off, and exhaustion was sinking in. He crossed to the liquor cart in their sitting room, pouring himself a knuckle’s length of whiskey.

“Was that your asking price?” Eliza asked, watching him carefully.

“No. I asked her if Fae royalty were required to marry royalty and nobility as is custom in the mortal lands. From the little bit I’ve been able to observe since being here, the lands seem similar in that at least.”

Eliza noticeably stiffened at his words. “They can be,” she replied slowly.

“Instead of giving me a straight answer, which seems to be a common Fae trait, she pulled a book from the air and told me it was mine to peruse until she returned me here.” He took a sip of the alcohol.

“And what did you learn?”

“I learned that marriages are often arranged between powerful bloodlines to breed power into the royalty.”

“Did that ease your worry of their relationship?”

Callan clenched his jaw, a muscle feathering in it. “Not particularly, since it has been hinted that her own bloodline is powerful. Is that not why Mikale wants her? Is that why Sorin wants her?”

Eliza bared her teeth at him and a growl left her throat. “Careful, Princeling,” she warned. “What else did you learn?”

“I learned that Fae believe there are bonds between souls and that two in particular surpass any other type of relationship.”

“And…?”

“And that while Sorin has the twin flame Mark on his left hand, Scarlett does not.” When he had read those particular pages, he had sunk to the couch in his small room in relief. The twin flame bond took precedence over anything and everything. It was a bond deeper than marriage, deeper than love. It was an inexplicable union of the souls that persisted beyond death. The Marks were taken together, though. “Who is his twin flame then?”

Eliza’s eyes hardened. “That is not for me to say, especially since you seem so willing to divulge information to Queen Talwyn. If she knew that sort of information, she could use it against him.”

“You said if I found a book about the twin flame bond, you would answer my questions.”

“I did,” Eliza said with a nod.

“So they take this Mark and that’s it?”

“No,” Eliza said slowly. “The Mark is an offering of their souls to each other. A Claiming Rite is spoken when the Mark is given and initiates the Trials. They must face four Trials that strengthen their bond. If they complete them all, the bond is Anointed, sealing them as each other’s for eternity. It is rare to find one’s twin flame.”

“And what of one’s soulmate?” He had read about those, too. Twin flames were equals in every way. They were companions and lovers and linked in magic and soul. But a soulmate was one’s closest friend. There was no physical component with soulmates, just a kindred soul connection.

“What of it?” Eliza asked.

“Are they soulmates? Sorin and Scarlett?”

“What do you think?”

“I think it would make sense if they are. The connection they seem to have. How he can talk to her, help her. How protective he is of her.”

“If they are, would you hold it against them?”

“No. I would not like it, but I cannot control such a thing.”

“And you could control other facets of their relationship?”

He paused at her question. “Are soulmates ever lovers?”

“No. There is no romantic intimacy between soulmates. Only a deep love and connection of the soul,” Eliza answered.

“He wishes for more from her.”

“Does he?” Eliza asked, cocking her head to the side.

“It is evident in the way he looks at her. I am not stupid or blind to such a desire, as I am sure it is a mirror of my own,” Callan replied coldly. Eliza did not respond. “What does his twin flame have to say about his lusting after another female? Does she not live in this palace?”

“The twin flame bond is not always accepted by both parties,” Eliza answered with a shrug of her shoulders. “It does not happen often, but sometimes one or both do not want the bond, despite the pull of it. Sometimes the Fates get it wrong. Just because it exists does not mean one must submit to it.”

“She rejects the twin flame bond, or he does?”

“I did not say either of them rejects it. I do not know where she considers her home to be.”

“Could you be any more vague?” Callan asked in frustration, running a hand through his brown hair and pushing it back from his face.

“I’m sure I could,” Eliza replied with a smirk.

“Can you give me one straight answer? A yes or a no?” Callan asked, gripping his glass tighter.

“That depends on the question.”

“Are Sorin and Scarlett soulmates or not?”

“No, I do not think that they are,” Eliza answered.

“Will he reject his twin flame bond for her?”

“You said one straight answer. I have fulfilled my end of that bargain,” Eliza said, pushing off from the door. She pulled it open, looking over her shoulder. “I suggest lying low for a few days, Princeling.”

As the door clicked shut behind her, Callan hurled his glass at it. It shattered everywhere, alcohol sliding down the door. Finn came rushing from his room, a dagger in his hand.

“What the hell, Callan?” he barked, lowering his dagger at the empty room.

If Eliza wouldn’t tell him anything, he’d figure it out himself. “I am going to the library,” he growled to Finn, wrenching the door open, his boots crunching on the shattered glass.