Page 38 of Sun, Moon & Shadow

“Callan, meet Liv, a very important member of my Court.”

Liv sauntered out from the edge of the shadows, stepping around the fire. Callan rose from his seat, and she dangled her hand before him as if she expected him to kiss it. He glanced down, and his intuition flared, cautioning him not to touch her. He bowed instead, and she dropped her hand to her side, an impish smile stretching across her full lips.

“Pleased to meet you, Your Grace,” she said, her words carrying the accent of her people.

Callan only nodded, holding her icy gaze as he returned to his seat.

“Liv was just leaving.” Thorn stood and guided her to the exit, placing a soft kiss on her lips before showing her out. “I’ll join you later,” he said, watching through the gap in the curtains as she slipped into the crowd and out of view.

“Is she your consort?” Callan asked once they were alone. His uncle returned to his spot on the sofa, lounging with one of his long legs stretched out across the cushions.

“Liv is my lover, yes,” Thorn said. “And a gifted seer. Had you taken her hand, she might have glimpsed something of your future.”

“Perhaps you should simply ask her what my future holds, since the subject interests you so greatly.” Callan leaned back and stared down at the well-worn creases on his boots.

“It doesn’t work like that, and you know it.” Thorn sighed, rubbing a hand over the bristly hairs on the side of his scalp. “Perhaps you should get on with it and ask what you’ve come to ask.”

“I need one of your boats and some of your sailors to work the oars.” Callan leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“For your friend’s journey north,” Thorn said, words sticky with skepticism.

“Yes. The journey should only take a few days if the weather is favorable.”

Callan waited as Thorn dragged his hand down the length of his beard, twisting the ends between his thumb and forefinger.

“It’s a dangerous journey to make.” Thorn leaned forward, mirroring Callan’s pose. “Tell me, why are you risking yourself to help her?”

“She is . . . important to me.” Callan didn’t fully understand his feelings for Nova, and he wasn’t eager to discuss them with his uncle.

“If you want to bed her, there are far less perilous ways to get between her thighs.” Thorn flashed his teeth in a lustful grin.

“That’s not what this is about,” Callan growled.

Thorn retracted his smile. “Of course not. But how much do you really know about her? She clearly has the look of a Silvergardian.” Thorn flashed his teeth again, his lip curling disdainfully. He spat into the fire, eliciting a hiss from the coals. “You know more than most what those beasts in the North are capable of. Even now she could be poisoning your thoughts. Controlling you. Please tell me the notion has at least crossed your mind.”

Callan gritted his teeth. He had been acting out of character since he’d met Nova. But his mind wasn’t dulled. Quite the opposite. He felt awake for the first time in a long while.

“Her mother hails from Sonnend,” Callan offered, hoping to ease some of Thorn’s distaste. “I suppose it’s possible her father had Lunar blood, but she has no connection to him.”

“Blood is everything, Callan. Does it not spark your intuition that a female who looks as she does has entwined herself with the rightful Noble Lord of Nivali?”

“Nova knew nothing of my obligations until I told her on our arrival here. She has no ulterior motives, I assure you.”

“Forgive me. As the regent, I have a duty to my subjects to be suspicious.” Thorn lifted his hands. His loose sleeves were rolled to the elbows, displaying the solid black cuffs inking both of his wrists.

“Will you loan me the boat or not?” Callan groaned, rising from his seat and looking down on his uncle. At this rate, he’d be better off renting a vessel from one of the fisher folk. Callan stood unflinching under his uncle’s appraising stare.

“I’ll loan you the boat since you seem so convinced.” Thorn threw up his hands in a show of surrender. “But I have one condition.”

“Which is?”

Thorn stood before him, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

“When you return, you must remain in Nivali for one year. Get to know your subjects, Callan. Allow them to get to know you. It’s what your parents always wanted. You’ve been away for far too long.”

“If memory serves, you voted in favor of my proposal along with the rest of the Council.”

“Because I thought it was what you needed at the time. I figured once you got it out of your system, you’d return home where you belong. Had I known you’d stay away this long, I never would have agreed.” He regarded Callan expectantly, for once abandoning his posturing. “Please, Callan.”