“I will get her back, Cal,” I answered honestly. “With or without your help.”
The line fell silent for a moment.
Then another.
The silence stretched on.
“Cal?” I finally asked when nearly two full minutes had passed.
“I’ll see what I can do.” His voice finally cut through the silence of my room, and I released a collective breath.
“Thank you,” I replied earnestly before I hung up the phone.
I sat in silence for another minute, not daring to breathe as I processed what I’d just learned. I knew I needed to head out into the living room. That I needed to catch my friends up to speed with everything that had occurred. That I needed to tell them about my plans to get Orela back safely.
Yet, a singular thought ran through my mind over and over again . . .
I am starbound mates . . . with Callum Blackwood.
And he’d known.
For weeks.
I didn’t know how I felt about that. He’d known for weeks and hadn’t told me. But would I have believed him if he’d told me? Was I ready for that truth? Did I want to be starbound with him? Was that why I felt like I could trust him so easily? Would I be able to feel his emotions, his pain, now? Like how he felt mine?
I had far too many questions—questions I knew wouldn’t be answered anytime soon. With a frustrated groan, I pushed off the ground, holding Loxl in one arm as I made my way back out into the living room, finding four sets of eyes focused on me as I sat on the couch.
“So . . .” Finn’s voice broke the silence as he looked directly at me. “Is there anything else you want to let us in on?”
“I’m planning to free Orela,” I stated. “And before you say otherwise, she hasseenit.” And then, I proceeded to share what Orela had told me at the temple before I escaped, just a few hours earlier.
34
CALLUM
1 Day Until Mission
I strappedthe last firearm to my thigh holster, then secured my tactical vest, ensuring everything was in order. The doors to the Guild buzzed before they slid open, and we stepped out the front entrance into the courtyard. We would be meeting the commander’s battalions at the designated location alongside The Rift before venturing across the abyss.
“You ready for this?” Pierce inquired as he stepped up beside me, securing his own weapons.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I retorted, checking my pistol to ensure it was fully loaded.
“And Eleana’s on board with your plan to sneak into Raelyna’s apartment before we begin circling The Wall?” he confirmed, his eyes glancing over to where Eleana stood, speaking with Elion as the Guild’s flight quadrant lined up in formation in the courtyard.
“She said she is,” I said. “Although, she did threaten us with unending physical pain should this idea not go according to plan.”
“What level of pain are we talking about here?” Axel asked cautiously. “Because I could almost assure you this plan may go to shit.”
I leveled him with a straight look. “Let’s just say that neither of us wants this going to shit.”
“Fuck,” he muttered. “I was afraid of that. And Raelyna is expecting us tonight?”
I nodded, my jaw tightening as we began moving through the courtyard of the Guild’s headquarters. “She is.”
“And she hasn’t brought up the starbound mark yet?” Pierce inquired as his wings emerged, and I followed suit, tugging my own wings to the surface.
“No.” The word was a sharp sound from my lips. A huff of laughter sounded from beside me as Axel pushed off the ground. “What?” I nearly growled as I pushed off, my wings spanning wide while I caught a gust of wind.
