I’ve managed to hold it together, but the sympathy in Callum’s voice has me slipping. My throat tightens, and my tongue is dry when I swallow.
From the corner of my eye, I see him watching me.
“It’s not your fault.”
“I know it’s not my fault,” I snap, shoving my books into a stack on the night table.
When I left with Greer, I harbored so much guilt for not being able to resurrect Isolde, but I’m not the one who snuffed out her life.
Callum’s jaw clenches at my steely tone. “Wilder has no limits. I’m sorry, Elorie.”
“Wilder?” I laugh. “Don’t you mean the king? You do know he’s the one who did it, right?”
“How do you think he knew you’d grown close with Isolde? The king doesn’t pay attention.”
“Wilder told him?” My cheeks drain of all warmth. “But how would he?—”
I shake my head, practically feeling him at the edges of my thoughts now. Always there, knowing what I’m thinking before I have the chance to say it out loud.
“You’re despicable.”I seethe through the thread before knotting it closed. “Of course it was him.”
A fresh wave of guilt moves through me.
While I was grieving Isolde, fighting by Wilder’s side on the beach, letting him drink from me to save his life, he was the one who had led me there in the first place.
I dip into my bathing chamber to slip into my leathers, and Callum waits in my bedroom. I take my time tying my hair in a thick braid for the journey. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but part of me wishes I could slip away and never come back. I don’t want to help either king after what they’ve done.
If only it wouldn’t damn the realms to leave them both.
For the kingdom, I’ll stay. I’ll harness this magic they both swear exists inside me, and I will help King Malachi heal Lyrichia for Alyssium’s sake.
When I step back into my bedroom, I find Callum seated on the bed with my training daggers in his hands.
“A gift from Greer.” He holds them out.
“She’s not coming to Tempest?”
“She took a Gateway there this morning, so she asked that I give these to you.”
I slide the slender silver daggers into their sheaths at my sides and take a deep breath. Today is a new morning. My eyes are open, and for the first time since I arrived at the palace, I am prepared to accept what I need to do.
“Elorie.” Callum reaches for my hand.
His grip is so different in the Ley Court than it was on Alyssium. It’s lighter and warmer. His aura swirls with his presence. The breeze. The calm after the storm. It’s home, and it’s comforting.
“Don’t forget who you are.” He looks up at me from where he sits on the bed. “There’s a reason I left the court when I did. I know how it is here, especially when they want something from you. You are more than the magic that stirs inside you. You are the girl who went toe to toe with rebels and fought her way out. Do not forget that.”
His hand reaches for my side, grazing over where he knows a rugged scar marks my skin beneath my leathers. It’s thankfully remained hidden, even in the revealing dresses the king makes me wear every night. But Callum knows it’s there because he was the one who came running for me after I got it.
He heard my screams across the island the moment he returned from Ruse Village.
By the time he reached me, I had already broken free, but I’ll never forget that look of genuine fear on his face.
When I close my eyes, I can still see his expression across the beach. His feet were so fast on the slippery rocks that I was worried he’d fall in, and that, without his magic, the brutal waves would claim him. Even after all that had happened in those days of darkness while he was gone, all I could think about was him running toward me on those slick stones, and I could not bear the thought of him dying for me.
“That girl was strong, Elorie, even without magic. And that girl is who you are. Don’t forget that.”
I press my lips together, nodding.
