“I was right, they did come back. Requesting the same service they had years before.”
Helaina looked like she might vomit. He almost didn’t want to continue, but he forced himself to get it out, even as the angry tears welled in his own eyes.
“They had been going back there, brutalizing others. So I followed them, found their room. When I walked in, they didn’t even know who I was. I dreamed of them every fucking night, and they couldn’t even place my face. I’ve never taken a lover because of what they did to me... They changed my life forever, and they didn’t recognize me.” His fingers dug into the boulder as he took a shaky breath. “But after that night, I made sure they would remember, even while they rotted in the six, their souls suffering for every crime they committed. I made my face something they could never forget, not even in death.”
A maniacal smile bloomed on his face through the tears. “They begged for mercy. I didn’t stop. I took my time with them, just as they had with me. Then I burned that entire place and every guilty soul in it to the fucking ground. I erased every single one of them. As if they never were.”
He grabbed her hand, hauling her up. She didn’t back away this time.
“Callum... I?—”
“My purpose through all that pain, Helaina, has been to make sure no one else has to feel that kind of suffering—no one else. Even if I have to spill a lot of blood to do it. There’s no righteousness in it, only coldhearted vengeance—but it’s my purpose.Mine.”
Not even Aaron knew where he had gone that night, what retribution he had achieved in that killing spree. But he needed her to understand it was possible. To survive that kind of pain and find a reason for its existence. Maybe she could do the same.
“I told you, I owe you my life, a debt I can never repay even with an eternity to try. But Iwilltry. I can train you, I can stand with you through all this madness. I can be your friend. If you’re in need of one.”
Her expression eased. “A friend?”
“A friend.” His hands squeezed hers as the fresh mountain air whistled through the trees. He smiled.
“Would my new friend be willing to cut this hike short and head back?” She coughed dryly.
Callum gave her a knowing look as he pointed up the path in their intended direction.
“Not a chance. Get your ass moving, we’re reaching the top.”
They in factdid notreach the top. She had gotten close, but after watching her hurl up her stomach contents, Callum felt the effort had been made and then some.
They trekked down the steep trails, Callum offering her a helping hand when she stumbled.
“What did you do before all this? When you were mortal?” She stepped over a rotted log.
“Survived,” Callum replied coolly. “We stole what we could, lived off scraps from kitchens mostly. There wasn’t much else other than that. Coming here meant everything to us. We’ve been here nearly two hundred years.” They were almost back to the training valley. Her eyes shifted back and forth between him and the ground.
“You have another question?”
“You said you’ve never... had anyone? Two hundred years is just such a long time...”
“Do you get this personal with all of your friends this fast?”
“I’ve never had a true friend outside of family. And to be fair, you did bring it up first.”
Callum laughed, though the sound was a bit forced. “You’re right, I did. You’re easy to talk to.” She smiled at that. “I’ve tried to get close to others, as a mortal and as I am now. It goes well for a time but gets difficult when it comes to... intimacy. Besides, once they find out the things I’ve done... once they see what I’m capable of, well, I don’t think any amount of romance can change their opinion of me then.”
He paused briefly, at the face he couldn’t keep from entering his mind. “There is one... if it were possible... there would be one, I think.” His sigh was heavy as he decided to pivot. “What did you like to do?”
Understanding this rather candid discussion had a limit, she followed the subject change. “Reading, mostly, to pass the time. Lessons with tutors and our healers when my father allowed it. I used to ride horses. I wasn’t the best, but I liked taking care of them. Listing it out loud makes it all seem really boring, actually.”
“It’s not boring.” He wiped some of his own sweat from his brow. “We have horses here.”
She perked up. “Really? I haven’t seen stables or anything.”
Callum rubbed the base of his neck. “It’s more of a free-range thing with them. They come when they’re called. If you wish to ride, we can always ask Theo.”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t... I don’t like riding anymore.” Her expression turned melancholy. There was a story there. He would not push her for it today.
“We should hurry. He won’t want you to be late.”
