Lady of Shadows (Lady of Darkness #2)

Chapter 29 Callan

CHAPTER 29

CALLAN

C allan shot to his feet as Sorin, Briar, and Scarlett appeared from thin air. They had all been sitting in Sorin’s great room waiting. Eliza had nearly worn a path in the carpet from her pacing. He’d never seen the general so out of sorts. Judging by Cyrus and Rayner, who stood solemnly near the fireplace whispering amongst themselves, they hadn’t either. The princes had been gone well over an hour now, and all of Callan’s questions about this Sorceress had gone unanswered. The Fire Court was apparently too preoccupied with their own worries and thoughts to bother answering him.

Callan looked Scarlett over as she pulled her hand from Sorin’s. She appeared fine. No obvious injuries, but her eyes looked haunted and hollow. Her eyes looked like they had the night of the engagement dinner at Mikale’s. What had shoved her back to that place?

Her gaze swept over them all. “A welcome home party just for me? How unexpected. Although you could have put in a bit more of an effort into the decorations,” she quipped, bringing a hand dramatically to her chest with a feline grin that didn’t quite meet her eyes.

Eliza pushed past Callan as she strode for Scarlett. “Next time please just lock yourself in my rooms, and allow me to kick his ass for you,” she snapped as she pulled Scarlett into a fierce hug.

Scarlett gripped her back just as tightly. “Deal, my friend,” she whispered.

All the Fae males looked slightly shocked at the exchange happening before them, and Callan was inclined to agree. He had never seen Eliza convey any type of sentimental emotion.

After a few more moments, the females pulled back from each other, and Eliza’s gaze went to Sorin. The violence that entered her eyes told Callan exactly why she was the general of his armies. “If you ever—”

Sorin held up his hands placatingly, cutting his general off. “I do believe you will be the first in a long line of those who will come to her defense, Eliza dear,” he sighed, glancing around at everyone in the room.

Cyrus and Rayner came up behind Eliza, their faces just as hard and full of promised bloodshed as the general’s. It still took him by surprise, the irreverence they had for the fact that he was their prince and ruler.

“Damn, Prince,” Scarlett scoffed with a smirk, a hand going to her hip. “They really do prefer me over you.” Sorin threw her an unimpressed glance, which she completely ignored to Callan’s own satisfaction. Her attention went to Cyrus as she purred, “Hello, Darling.”

Cyrus closed the space between them, and he held Sorin’s stare as he bent down and gently kissed her cheek. He whispered something in her ear that Callan couldn’t hear, but the Fae in the room clearly could. Sorin’s face went from unimpressed to displeased. The others all snickered, and Scarlett’s cheeks turned slightly pink at whatever it was he said.

Finally, her gaze settled on Callan. Surprise flitted across her features at his presence, but it was quickly replaced by a grim resolve. She strode to him and said, “I have need of you.”

He didn’t fail to notice how Sorin straightened at her address to him. She had come to him, not Sorin, for whatever it was she was needing.

“Of course,” Callan answered, eyeing her curiously.

“Are you free? Right now?”

“I do not exactly have a lot of pressing commitments at the moment,” he replied with a half smile and raise of his brow.

“Then come with me.” She turned and headed for the main door, snatching up a dagger and buckling it to her waist as she went. Everyone was staring at her as she pulled the door open and turned to him. He stole a quick glance at Sorin, who was watching her closely, as if trying to read her.

Callan went to her side, and she gestured with a hand. “After you.”

“We will need an escort,” Callan said tentatively.

“ I am your escort,” she replied coolly, and her tone dared anyone to say otherwise. As she made to follow him out, he heard Sorin call after her, and Callan stopped, turning to watch.

Scarlett paused in the doorway, her back still to the Fire Prince. She closed her eyes and seemed to be breathing deep. She opened her eyes again and slowly turned to face him. Sorin took a few steps towards her, pausing as her shadows thickened.

The two stared at each other, and Callan could swear no one was daring to breathe as they observed them. She tilted her head to the side as if she heard something. Honestly, sometimes he thought they could read each other’s thoughts, but then she said, “You shall get no treats from me, Prince. Not for a long while. So speak if you have something to say.”

“Tonight. You will speak with me?” he asked tentatively. “We need to finish a conversation we were having.”

“That sounds like it would be a necessity,” she said slowly. Deliberately.

A flash of relief passed over Sorin’s features. He swallowed and only nodded mutely, understanding whatever meaning those words held.

Without another word to any of them, Scarlett turned and shut the door behind her. She grabbed Callan’s hand and began pulling him down the hall. When they had gone down a set of stairs, she let out a sigh. “There was a book,” she said.

Callan nearly stumbled a step. “A book?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied, pulling her hand from his and pushing back her hair from her face. He could still see the hollowness in her eyes.

He grabbed her wrist, bringing her to a stop in the stairwell. “What is wrong, Scarlett?”

She only shook her head. “It has been a long couple of days, Callan. I do not wish to speak about it right now.”

“You do not wish to but maybe you need to,” he pushed gently.

She shook her head again. “No, Callan. I— Mikale found us there, and he said some things…”

Callan’s eyes widened in surprise. “Are you all right?” he asked, looking her over again. He didn’t know why. Any injuries Mikale would impose would not be external. They would be internal…causing those haunted eyes that looked at him now. Without letting himself consider it, he pulled her to him. She stiffened for a moment, then relaxed against his chest. Her arms came up around his neck. Her head rested on his shoulder. He said nothing as the Wraith let him hold her for the first time in months.