Page 58 of The Reaping Rose

“I have faith in you,” I decide, opening my eyes. “Wilder is strong, and his court is capable, but you have heart. I’m not here for them. For Lyrichia or Vaelier. I think there’s a lot we shouldn’t have been able to do, and somehow, we got to where we are now because of the choices you’ve made. If anyone can break fate, it’s you.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.” She bites her lower lip. “Idunn said fate has a way of correcting itself.”

“Well then, if this is already written, we have no choice but to ride these threads to the end. Win or lose, I’m here. Greer’s here. We’ll figure it out together.”

She reaches across the table, placing her hand over the back of mine. “Thank you, Callum.”

There was a time when Elorie’s thumb brushing mine would have meant more. When her blood would have heated and her cheeks would have flushed. I wasn’t blind to her interest in me all those years. And I didn’t miss that it snuffed out the moment she walked into the prison and met Wilder.

An equal mix of happiness and disappointment swept through me when Elorie found her mate. A strange part of me wondered if she was mine and that’s why I couldn’t bear to turn down her father when he asked me to protect her. I wondered if, at some point, her Fae side would wake, and it would all be clear.

But that’s not the case. Elorie is Wilder’s, and I’m simply a half, waiting to be whole.

Some hope they never find their mate—like Greer. They worry a mate will influence their free will. I’ve stayed awake many nights wishing I felt that way.

I flip my hand over and squeeze Elorie’s, letting that worry go. I offer her my friendship. My loyalty.

I turned my back on my kingdom. On my father. On the guards who fought beside me for centuries. But I didn’t turn my back on my family. Not as Greer walks into the room and Elorie pulls back and smiles at her.

“Am I interrupting you two?” Greer’s eyebrow lifts. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re avoiding training because you’re scared I’ll embarrass you by putting you on your backs in front of the esteemed Vaelier warriors.”

A laugh bursts out of me. “If you’re so confident, why not just battle them and put them on their backs?”

“Because they’re flirts.” She crosses her arms over her chest and rolls her eyes.

If I had to guess, Atlas disappeared to find Greer after showing me to the archives earlier. The more she hates him, the more he orbits. It’s a common problem among warriors. They can’t help a challenge.

“I need to get through this stack of books, so training is going to have to wait.” I hold one up as Elorie stands. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

“I don’t understand why they call it such when none of them eat.” Elorie frowns. “I doubt they’ll even have food.”

Her eyebrows furrow, then smooth almost instantly as she gazes off. It’s getting easier to tell when Wilder is whispering in her mind because her cheeks turn the slightest shade of pink and her freckles brighten.

She blinks the room back into focus as she pulls her attention back to me. “Never mind. I’ve been promised food.”

I can’t help but chuckle because Fae don’t have the same hunger as humans, and Elorie is insatiable.

“I’ve been promised wine,” Greer adds, pulling her sword from her sheath and twisting it so it glints in the light streaming through an open archway. “But first, we’re going to work up an appetite.”

Elorie nudges my shoulder in goodbye as she disappears with Greer, and I stare at the doorway long after they’re gone, not looking away until a howl of wind in the distance has my fists clenching.

A whispered warning.

Death is coming.

Chapter 20

Elorie

In the Ley Court, parties filled my evenings. I grew used to being paraded around. To being nothing more than something for Malachi to show off. Curiosity followed me around every corner. I was more of an object than a person there.

While I know it’s not the same in Quietus, nothing settles my nerves as I head toward the dinner hall for my first public gathering since arriving in Quietus.

My fingers smooth down the front of my dress. White starlight silk flutters at my ankles, tickling my skin with every step.

Up until now, I’ve opted for leathers, terrified to let my guard down again in any way. I stood in the dressing chamber debating whether to wear them tonight, regardless of Aurora’s taunt in the hallway earlier. But then Greer stopped by my room in a silver dress that wound around her body like fine vines climbing a tower, and I knew it was time to let my guard down with my mate and his court.

If Greer can lower her defenses for the night, then so can I.