He passes me my dress. “As much as I want you to stay like this all day…” He trails a lingering gaze across my naked body. “I don’t want anyone else to see you or else I’d have to put their eyes out.” He says it jokingly, but his stern expression makes me believe otherwise.
“A bit blood thirsty, are we? I would say the same for you, but I’m sure all your Hunters have seen you shirtless and I’d rather not hurt Ginna or Hanson.” He smirks but doesn’t contradict me, proving that I’m right. I let him help me into my dress and he pulls his shirt back on as well.
Callum stands and holds out a hand to help me on my feet. He is such a gentleman, and I’m worried that my time here has made me become a bit pampered.
“I’ll pack this up.” He nods to the blanket and the food, long since ignored and discarded. “Go ahead and grab however much lavender you need.”
“Do you have any shears?”
“In Gallant’s saddlebag – I can grab them.”
“No, it’s okay I’ll get them. You’re doing enough.”
I walk toward where the horse – Gallant – was hitched and reach into the bag until I grasp the sharp edge of the shears. I smile to myself, realizing that Callum thought of everything, even the smallest details, when he planned this trip.
I return to the field, humming to myself as I survey the flowers, trying to figure out how many of the flowers to cut. I definitely want to make some soap and oil. Callum seems to enjoy when I smell of the flower and want to continue to do so. Maybe I could also make a couple small pillows to keep in my room or even in the library to make a calming atmosphere. A small lavender satchel might be nice for Callum to carry with him, too, in that small bag of his that he carries.
I decide on five bunches and start searching the field for flowers that are not yet fully bloomed, as those would have the most concentrated oil.
Once Callum finishes packing up the picnic, he helps me cut the last several stems and carefully holds the flowers while I tie them into smaller bunches.
“Ready to go back?” Callum asks, leading my foot into the stirrup and helping me straddle Gallant.
I shake my head and grin, clutching the bunches gently against my chest. “Not in the slightest. This might have been the best day of my life.”
“Might have been?” He frowns, digging out some of the remaining food to feed to Gallant. “I’ll have to try harder for our third date, then.”
“Good luck beating this one,” I taunt. “Lavender fields are my favorite places to visit.”
Callum nuzzles Gallant and smirks up at me. “I don’t need luck – I have you now,Clover,” he jokes.
I roll my eyes. I guess with everything we learned about me, being one of the only people able to read relicswaslucky. Ironic, actually, considering the first relic I found was the –
I gasp. “Callum!” He’s at my side immediately.
“What’s wrong?” He scans my body for injury, brows furrowed when nothing is amiss.
“I know how to find the Eternity Stone.”
Chapter 17
Callum
The ride back to the castle is silent. After Elia blurted out those pivotal words, she insisted we hurry back. Whatever notion she thought of must be serious as she wants to tell Ginna and Hanson, too, all at once. I’m only slightly bothered that she doesn’t want to tell me first, but I brush that off as jealousy. Of course Ginna and Hanson should be involved; I only want Elia to myself after the day we shared together.
Speaking of earlier, today was one of the best days I’ve had. There was no judgment from Elia when I told her about Rafe, quelling a strong fear I had. Keeping Rafe and I’s relationship a secret back then was hard for the both of us. We were so in love that I wanted to shout it from every tower. Anytime someone flirted with him, which I begrudgingly admit was often, I wanted to claim him publicly, to show whose bed he would be in that night. But we had to keep it a secret for a multitude of reasons, the main being that a lot of people weren’t comfortable with our sexuality, especially the King. Ginna and Hanson never had an issue with us, and now that I know Elia doesn’t either, it makes it easier to envelop her into our family. To picture a future with her.
Seeing Elia unravel today under my mouth and fingers was a vision that is still lingering in my head. Embarrassingly, it’s been so long for me that I almost came from listening to her moans, from tasting her. She tasted of sunshine. Having her in front of me on this ride home is also not helping. I know she’s trying to leave space between us, but there’s no doubt she’s feeling my erection pressing against her. I’m a teenager all over again, giddy and with an insatiable lust.
When we reach the palace, Elia slides off Gallant before I can help her dismount.
“Come on!” She’s bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.
I hurry to find a servant to have them fetch Ginna and Hanson, and pass Gallant to the waiting stableboy.
“Alright, they’ll meet us up in the library.”
Elia squeals and grabs my hand as we head to the library. Her energyis contagious, but I try not to hope too much. There’s been many cases where I thought we had a strong lead, where I would’ve sworn our hunt would be over soon. But they all fell through, and I don’t want to be disappointed now either, especially with Elia involved.
