Chapter 6
Callum
We arrive at the palace right as the sun starts to set, making the castle have an ethereal glow in the purple haze.
I asked Ginna earlier this morning to direct our carriage to the back entrance as I don’t want to draw attention any more than we already will.
Selfishly, I also don’t want Elia to be introduced to that many people who would no doubt hound her with questions.
“It’s smaller than I thought it would be.” The sound of Elia’s voice jolts me out of my thoughts.
“The castle?”
She nods.
“Ashven may be the largest kingdom in Erithia, but the past kings thought a huge palace would be too grandiose. This one does its purpose.”
“Do you live there? Or is this a stop on your way home?” Elia combs her fingers through her hair lazily. After our conversation earlier, she’s becoming more comfortable around me, acting more herself.
“No, I live there.” My eyes track every movement of her fingers in her hair as they work to form a loose braid. I find myself wishing I could do that for her.
She raises an eyebrow at me. “I guess I underestimated the importance of the King’s lead Hunter.”
I tilt my head and give a half shrug, but stay quiet. I should open my mouth, tell her that we’re the same, both alone in the world without our parents, but I don’t.
The carriage rolls to a stop. After a few minutes, the door swings open, and I see Ginna nearby. She’s still standing upright, but her shoulders are creeping forward as her exhaustion sets in. I climb out and offer my hand to help Elia down the steps.
“Your things are being delivered to your room. Is there anything else you need from me?” Ginna asks. The long journey shows in the bags under her eyes.
“No, thanks, Gin.” I clap her on her shoulders. “Take the night off and tomorrow too. Have Hanson cover your shift. We can regroup after.”
She smiles at me gratefully and stiffly nods before turning away.
“Thank you!” Elia shouts at Ginna’s back. Ginna throws a half wave in response and turns out of sight.
“I like her,” Elia comments. “Is she helping to search for the relic, too?”
I walk up the stone steps to the back door of the castle, leading to the kitchens, Elia trailing alongside.
“Yes, she and Hanson both are. Hanson stayed here to keep an eye on things, but you’ll meet him soon enough. Outside of the King and a few of his closest advisers, the three of us are the only people who know about the relic.”
Elia grins. “What did the rest of the Hunters think you were doing, then, picking up a random girl from the desert?”
As we pass through the kitchens, I pick up an apple from the bowl on the table and toss it to Elia. “Hell if I know. You’ll have to ask Ginna what she told them.”
We start the climb in the back stairwell to reach my chamber’s floor. Elia takes a bite from the apple, and I can see her already forming her next question.
“Am I sharing a room with you here, too?” She is completely unfazed, and I must be imagining the wistfulness in her voice.
I’m drawn back to the memory of the inn from last night, the towel, my shirt on her wet body. “Ah… no. You have a room made up next to mine.”
“Pity,” she smirks. “I’ll have to hope I wake up to another six-foot-five Hunter. A redhead might be nice next time,” Elia muses.
She’s joking, but the thought of anyone else in her room causes an irrational pang of jealousy to hit me. Especially because Hanson has red hair and would fit that description.
“If someone you don’t know is in your room, you should probably scream for help instead of measuring his – ”
“Callum!” Elia gasps, cutting me off. “You can’t say that.”
“His height,” I continue my sentence, eyeing her sternly. “You’re not very good with that, if I remember.”
“Still mad that I forgot three inches, huh?” She elbows me playfully.
“Just trying to keep you honest.” Elia laughs and for a second it feels like we’ve been friends for ages.
But I have to remember where my head needs to be.
My first priority is finding the relic. I am in no shape to even think about forming any sort of connection, no matter how badly I want and need to move on.
But Elia has this way about her. It’s as if she is the sun and I am a planet blindly circling around her, unable to free myself of her orbit.
Her personality is refreshing and warm, and I have been in the cold for so long.
We arrive on the fifth floor of the castle and walk down the long corridor of rooms, the sconces throwing flickering shadows down the path.
“Whose rooms are these?” Elia asks as we pass by several closed doors.
“This floor is mostly empty, besides mine. Ginna and Hanson and some of my other Hunters stay on this floor whenever they need to. Royal guests also stay here on occasion, but long term it’s only me.”
“What about the King and the Prince?” It had been more than a decade since the Queen had passed, and the King never remarried.
“King Corvin is in the highest tower for security reasons. He shouldn’t bother you.” In fact, one of the reasons I had chosen this floor was the distance between him. I want Elia nowhere near him, either.
“And the Prince?”
“Not here.”
We approach the last two doors at the end of the hallway.
I gesture to the black door made of solid mahogany, with the carving of the Ashven family crest, an overlapping crown and sword, that is crafted into all doors in the castle.
“That is my room, and this”—I open the door one room over; the twin of mine, except the wood is a dark cherry shade—“is your room.”
Elia takes a nervous step into the room.
Thankfully, I made sure her chambers were already prepared, with a fire roaring and everything dusted and clean.
You couldn’t tell that it has been unused for the last couple of years.
This room is decorated based on the cherry wood of the door, with tones of red and pink throughout.
It’s the mirror of mine, except with my room being shades of black and dark brown.
“It’s beautiful,” Elia exclaims, reaching her arms out and spinning around.
I point out the bathroom then indicate towards a third door. “That connects to my room. It’s locked on my side, but if you need anything yell or knock. I’ll only be a doorway away.”
“Seems to me that we’re practically sharing a room anyways.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me.
I give her a pointed look, but my mouth lifts at the corner despite myself. “Get some rest, it’s been a long day. We can start everything tomorrow.”
“And you’ll tell me about this mysterious relic then?”
“Promise.”
“You’ve made a lot of promises to me already, Callum.” Elia stops in front of me with her hands on her hips, tilting her chin up to meet my eyes.
I lick my lower lip. “Don’t worry, Siren, I intend to keep all of them.” I brush a piece of her hair that came out of her braid behind her ear. “Goodnight.”
With that, I exit the room before I do anything foolish. Well, anything more foolish than that nickname that had suddenly slipped out.
I allow myself a couple of minutes to pull myself together in the corridor. I lean against the cold stone wall, eyes closed, giving myself a chance to breathe and brace myself before my next task. Then I can allow myself to rest for the night.
I head towards the King’s tower, taking the flights of spiral stairs slowly to delay the inevitable.
When I reach the top landing, I decide that I can’t procrastinate any longer.
I nod at the two guards stationed on either side of the door, and knock twice.
I hear a grunt of assent and open the door.
King Corvin’s study and his rooms beyond are without a doubt the most opulent rooms of the castle.
Every surface is gilded, and on a bright sunny day it can hurt to look around the room, sun reflecting off every surface.
King Corvin is sitting in a plush armchair by the fire, sipping on what appears to be wine. I cross the room to take the highbacked chair opposite him, bowing slightly before sitting down.
“Callum, my boy!” The king booms, reaching forward and clapping me hard on my shoulder. “I didn’t hear you arrive.”
“We only did so an hour ago. I had to show our guest to her room.” My mask immediately slips into place, one I’m very familiar with in dealing with the King.
“Ah…yes, yes! Our lucky little Clover! This time we’re going to find it; I know it!” He gestures wildly, and I warily eye the cup in his hands, waiting for the first splash of wine to hit the floor.
“We’ll try our best, Your Majesty.” I should correct him, tell him her actual name, but I don’t want him to know. I don’t want to hear her beautiful name leaving his drunken lips.
“Any trouble on your journey?”
I recall what Elia had mentioned about the corruption in the labor camps and debate mentioning that.
King Corvin takes my silence as an opportunity to pour himself another cup, peering into the bottle as if wondering where all the wine went.
I decide to leave that conversation for another day until I have more concrete information and the King’s full attention.
“None, sir. Everything went according to plan. We’ll start the Hunt for the relic tomorrow with her.”
“Good, good,” the king slurs, sinking deeper into the chair. His head leans against the armrest.
“How have you been feeling?” I regret the question as soon as the words form on my lips. The king rushes to sit up, and the remainder of his wine is flung into the fire, sizzling where the liquid meets the flame.
“How am I feeling?!” He yells, standing to his feet now. I rise to meet him, and he points a finger in my face. “I would feel better if you found the fucking Stone! I have given you hundreds of chances, boy!”
He shoves me, hard, and I stumble to maintain my balance.
“I gave you this position under the assumption that you were the best! You were nothing before your Hunters! And what do I have to show for it? Nothing.” He closes the distance between us again. “You’re still only a boy pretending to be a man.” He spits on the ground, missing my foot by inches.
His yelling hasn’t fazed me since I was young. “The Stone will be yours within the year, Your Majesty.” I bow deeply.
“It had better be,” he seethes. “Now leave, and don’t come to see me unless you have better news.”
“Yes, sir.” I turn to swiftly leave, and I make the rookie mistake of giving the King my back.
The wine bottle shatters against the hard curve of my shoulder right before I manage to sneak out.
I close the door in one quick motion and remain calm as I wish the guards a good night, as if they hadn’t heard the yelling or glass shattering.
Once I’m out of sight of the guards, I sprint back down the stairs to my room.
I peel my shirt off to assess the damage, but thankfully the bottle was hurt more than me.
The shoulder area is tender, and a few shards of glass managed to nick the side of my neck, but I was relatively unscathed. This time.
The King has never been a friend to me, but his ire and wrath has become worse. He drinks almost constantly now, and I’ve never met a meaner drunk. I have to keep reminding myself that his health condition causes him a lot of pain, that drinking is his only relief.
I want to unlock the door to check on Elia to make sure she was able to fall asleep, but hold myself back. If she’s not asleep, this isn’t the state I want her to see me in.
Instead, I climb into bed and fall asleep, dreaming of the sun and its surrounding planets.