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Cold ice reformed around me, the cold making me shiver.
“You used me,” his voice trembled.
“That’s not true.”
“It is. I thought . . .” He shook his head, almost as if he was struggling with what to say.
Meeting his charged gaze, I reminded him of the only truth that mattered. “You have your freedom. That was the agreement and the only thing you wanted.”
My voice trembled on the words, and I felt myself breaking because I knew what he wanted from me and why he was angry. His forehead scrunched together as he read my reaction, understanding dawning in those beautiful light eyes.
“Don’t run from this,” he said in a soft voice as his grip on me loosened, bringing my arms down by my sides. “Don’t run fromme.”
“We can’t.” The response recklessly flew out of my mouth before I could stop it.
Those two words were enough to melt the anger between us, and Callum leaned his forehead against mine. “I spent decades in a prison with no chance of release. You showed up and not only set me free but gave me hope.” Taking my hand, he placed it on his chest. “Do you feel that? That’s what my heart does every time you’re near.”
“What are you saying?” The queen’s words played over in my mind.
“I’ll follow you straight into the Rift if you let me in here.” He tapped my chest, right where my heart beat a vicious rhyme.
Tears welled in my eyes. “I don’t know how.”
A lazy smile formed on his lips. “We’ll figure it out together if you give us a chance, and you’re crazy if you think I’d let you take the only remnant I have left of my daughter to face those monsters without me there to help you protect her. I’m going whether you like it or not. But this is more than that. I want you to stop hiding from what is between us. If I’m wrong and you feel nothing, then you tell me right here and now.”
Could I? What would happen when we arrived on the surface? What would the magi say? There was no time for fun or love.
Love . . . did he . . . no one loved me, not since losing my parents and siblings. Was I even capable of love? “I don’t know how to be anything other than myself.”
“I don’t want you to change.I love you exactly how you are.”
“Callum . . .” The tears fell freely, and when he leaned over to kiss me, I pressed against him, diving into the unknown. His hands slipped to my thighs, and he lifted me up and into his arms, holding me with ferocity and kissing me as if separating me would be the death of him. When I pulled back to breathe, he righted his grip on me and kissed my cheek.
One tear fell then another, and another, and another until I could no longer see. The emotion spilling out into an uncontrollable wave of agony. Thirteen years of pent-up emotion tumbled out in a wail. Callum brought us to the ground, taking me into his lap, his hold steady and warm.
“You’re right,” I sobbed. “I do pretend. It’s how I survived. Do you know what it’s like to watch your family be eaten by darkthings?”
Callum’s silver gaze widened. I wiped the tears off my cheeks.
“I was seven when it happened. At the same time the darkthings killed everyone I loved; my powers emerged. I had created a barrier around myself, and it only savedme.”
“You were just a child.” All anger and hubris had left his voice as he rubbed my back.
“I was in shock for weeks. The magi forced me to secrecy, and I didn’t have anyone . . . not a friend, nothing. I stopped caring. It was the only way to stop the pain and control the wild magic inside.”
“Kelia . . .”
“People respect those they fear. Acting the way I do protects me from ever being hurt . . . until you.”
Meeting his gaze, I forced out the confession. “I heard stories about you. Callum Deathstrike is a monster, trickster. Be on guard. I was ready. You were just a mission. Until I saw you.”
He went to speak, and I stopped him. “Let me finish.”
He swallowed, nodded, then gently placed his hand on my foot.
I recalled the moment I saw him. “You were beyond handsome, mystical almost . . . everything from your voice to your swaggering walk. I had never seen anything like you before. I had to ignore the emotions and when we went into the woods those odd emotions kept festering, and I couldn’t allow myself to feel.”
“Yet, you kept pretending.” There was no more anger, and I felt guilty for all the lies.
