Chapter 19 Lily
LILY
Now that I knew the relationship was really over, I was devastated.
As devastated as when he told me the news of his betrayal for the first time.
So devastated that I wasn’t as concerned about the destruction of the portal as I should have been.
I was still angry with him and I hadn’t forgiven him for his treason, but now that the relationship was over, I realized how much I’d wanted it to survive.
I would never love anyone else the way I loved Callum Riverside.
He was…the love of my life.
We were doomed from the start, but that hadn’t stopped me from falling to my knees and worshipping him as the god of my heart. Even when he was a servant of the underworld and inaccessible to me, I still believed in us.
And now, that belief was destroyed.
A knock sounded on the door and snapped me out of my thoughts. “It’s open.” I was on the couch, back to where I started, wine bottles scattered everywhere.
Viper stepped inside, halting by the door as he adjusted to the darkness of my home.
All the curtains were drawn closed to block out the sunshine on a beautiful day.
He approached the couch and stopped at the sight of me.
“You’re back at the beginning.” He moved to the armchair and took a seat at the edge.
“What’s happened between you and Callum? ”
I stared at the collection of empty wine bottles on the table before I told him what had happened.
Viper didn’t say anything, even after I finished speaking.
“Every step of the way, there’s been a dead end.”
He gave a slight nod. “The whole relationship has been a dead end. But every time you conquer one, there’s another one to take its place. And you deserve to have someone who feels like an endless road of possibilities.”
“What I deserve is the man I love, but I’ll never get that.” I stared at the wine bottles again.
Viper said nothing, just sitting in the silence with me.
After a couple minutes went by, he spoke again. “Your father and his allies are forming a plan for the battle. He asked me to bring my army, but I told him I’m unable to do that.”
I shifted my gaze to him. “Because your men are still weary from battle?”
“No. My brother said he wouldn’t come to the aid of an ally on a second occasion in such a short amount of time. But he would come to the aid of my future wife as many times as she needed it.”
I was suddenly cold, like it was a winter afternoon rather than a fall morning. I understood his words and the meaning behind them perfectly, but it took my mind several seconds to process it. “I just told you that I love Callum—”
“And it’s a dead-end relationship that was doomed from the start,” he said without a hint of emotion.
“I understand the broken shards of your heart need to be healed before you can give it to someone new, but I’m okay with broken shards.
I can settle for your friendship for as long as you want until the conditions are right for it to deepen into something more.
But I need a commitment if I’m going to ask my brother to do this. ”
“Wow, that’s romantic. My love in exchange for your army in our time of need.”
“That’s not how it is—”
“That’s exactly how it sounds.”
“My brother is annoyed with me for abandoning my post and spending all my time in a realm far away for a woman who loves another man. He doesn’t understand it, so there’s no way he’s going to provide his aid for a woman who continues to reject his brother.
I understand it’s premature and you’re in the throes of grief, but those are our circumstances. ”
I’d struck rock bottom after my final conversation with Callum, so I didn’t have the patience to be sympathetic or understanding.
“Together or apart, Callum is the man I love, and it will take me decades for me to move on. I know we both have eternal life, but neither of us has the time to wait around for that. You said that you gave your love to me freely, but now you’re demanding it for a price. ”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Just go, Viper. Go back to your kingdom and move on with your life, while I figure out what to do with mine.”
He remained in the chair, still staring at me. “You and your father both misunderstand me. I’m not leaving the Southern Isles. I will stand and fight with you. But to secure my brother’s army is a different scenario—that’s all I’m saying.”
I turned my attention to the dead fireplace, the stone hearth cold since the fire went out last night.
“I am sorry about how things ended with Callum.”
“I’m sure.”
“Lily.”
I kept my eyes on the fireplace.
“Lily.”
Against my better judgment, I turned to look at him.
“I mean it.”
I felt the sincerity in his gaze and heard it with my ears at the same time, and maybe I was an idiot for trying to see the good in people, but I believed him. For some reason.
“I’ll ask my brother for the army, but that’s the most I can do.”
It took me days to finally put on my armor. To get out of bed and bathe and stand on my own two feet and feel the bones struggle to hold my weight. My last set of armor had been left behind in the underworld, so I was given a new set.
It was identical to what I’d worn before, except the vambraces were intact.
I was given a new sword as well, but instead of it possessing Khazmuda’s scales, it had Zehemoth’s.
I forced myself to leave the villa. Forced myself to go to the castle and face the evil forces that had come for us head on. I assumed my father would be in the study, so that was where I headed, but I hesitated in the doorway when I saw him.
In the black armor of the Southern Isles, the Rothschild crest in the center with the dragon soaring above it, he was taller than my father, the pieces of armor on his arms and shoulders bigger than anyone else’s.
He didn’t notice me right away, standing at the table and looking down at the large map on the table my father had hardly ever used since I could remember. But now, his study was a war room.
Callum’s eyes subtly flicked to the door, clearly expecting someone else, but they immediately hardened at the sight of me. He grasped me in his hold without touching me, the energy from his presence quickly changing when I breathed the same air as him.
My father noticed Callum’s distraction and followed his gaze to where I stood by the door. “Lily, everyone else will be here any minute.”
My father’s voice snapped me out of my reverie, and I approached the table at my father’s side, across from Callum.
I looked at the map that was weighed down in the corners by little wooden statues of dragons, and I surveyed the other dragon pieces my father had placed on the map to denote different locations.
I focused on that map as hard as I could and tried to ignore Callum across from me, but being in the same room with him was like trying to breathe in smoke without having to cough. When the tension became too much, I lifted my eyes to his face.
He stared at me the same way he always had, like I was a painting.
I flicked my gaze away again in embarrassment, but I felt his stare anyway as if he couldn’t care less.
Footsteps sounded from outside, and Hawk walked in first, followed by Aunt Eldinar and her husband, General Ezra, along with my mother. Some of the commanders came in too, and we took our places around the table.
Viper was the last one to step inside.
It was one of the rare times I was in the room with both men at once.
When I looked at Callum’s expression to see his reaction to Viper, he was looking at me as if nothing had changed. As if he didn’t care about anyone else in the room but me.
Aunt Eldinar led the meeting. “Callum, where do you think the portal will open? Last time, it was in Riviana Star. Do you think it’ll be the same location?”
Callum finally took his eyes off me. “They don’t seek the Realm of Caelum, so I believe their focus will be here.”
“But can they open the portal anywhere they choose?” Uncle Ezra asked.
Callum nodded. “I believe so. What they want is here, so they’ll hit us first. If they defeat us, they’ll occupy the mortal world and harvest every soul they collect to replenish what they lost. They know taking the Realm of Caelum will require additional resources, so they’ll recover before Leviathan challenges Riviana. ”
“What do they want that’s here?” I asked, addressing Callum directly.
Callum held my stare.
“They want revenge against all of us,” my father said. “For rescuing both you and Callum. Their prides and egos are bruised.”
“The Southern Isles is a poor choice for a battle,” Aunt Eldinar said. “With the cliffs up high and the village and valleys below surrounded by the sea, it’ll be difficult to anticipate our enemies. It’s not an easy place to defend or claim.”
“The dragons will be instrumental in this,” Uncle Ezra said. “Dragons are the offspring of the earth. They’re the greatest opponents to the demons and everything else below.”
“I’d rather not risk the dragons we have left,” Dad said. “But we don’t have a choice.”
Aunt Eldinar turned her hard gaze on Callum before she looked at my father once more. “Will Callum’s involvement be an issue?”
My father held her gaze for a while before he answered. “Right now, it’s just about survival. We can sort out their differences later.”
“I’m leaving for my kingdom as soon as this meeting has concluded,” Viper said. “I’ll petition my king for his army, but I suspect his answer will be no. You should recruit all your allies in this endeavor because it’s unlikely you’ll be able to rely on our aid.”
“The outcome of the battle affects us all,” Aunt Eldinar said. “And you feel uncertainty?”
“Not uncertainty on my part,” Viper said. “But it’s hard to relay the stakes to someone who’s never seen your land or your people. All he has to rely on is my word, and it doesn’t mean as much these days.”