27. Callum
CALLUM
My jaw ticked, eyes searching the female who stared up at me. The flecks of starlight in her eyes burned with a desperate desire, a plea I hadn’t seen in them before. She was searching. Seeking the truth . . . the answers that had been hidden from her.
“Okay.” The word was a soft note as I walked over toward the window in her apartment, studying the empty abyss that threatened to consume anyone who entered its depths. “But if this is going to work, you will have to follow my instructions verbatim. There is far more at stake than you realize.”
She nodded, her brown waves bobbing with her head as they fanned across her shoulders.
“What happens next?” she inquired, her honeyed voice a soft lilt as she looked up at me, hesitant trust visible in her irises.
“Next,” I replied. “You trust us.”
“Well, I’d say I trust you a decent amount, seeing as you’re in my apartment.”
“Fair enough.” I shot her a smirk as I leaned back against the wall of her apartment. “These caves, how far away are they?”
“Not far,” she answered as she rose from where she sat, walking over to the bar cart situated in her living room and pouring herself a glass of ambrosia. She turned, glass in hand, and raised an eyebrow at the two of us in invitation.
Pushing off the wall, I moved across the space, forcing myself to block out the scent of jasmine wafting around her as I poured two more glasses and handed one to Axel, before taking up a spot beside him.
“Once you reach the caves, you should stay there for three nights.”
“Why three?” Axel asked as he pulled out his phone, scrolling through various maps of Aurelia in an attempt to locate the caves she was referencing.
This had to be executed with precision and perfection. Not to mention that this timeframe would put us a good day behind Elion’s schedule. Eleana would kill us for being late once we made it back to the Guild.
“Searches last forty-eight hours throughout the Quarter.”
I chuckled. “You’re kidding.”
She let out a huff of air as she swirled her glass in her hand. “No. Luc read an article when we were younger about how most people who are missing have a low likelihood of being found after the first two days. I guess it really stuck with him.”
I hated the way his name sounded rolling off her tongue, the casual nickname that fell from her lips for a male not deserving.
My blood boiled at the familiarity, and I pulled a knife from my pocket, swirling the metal through my fingers in an attempt to calm the need to protect and defend that flowed through the starbound mark.
Once this mission was complete, I would need to devote a significant portion of my day to prayer at the Temple of the Eternal—if only in an attempt to figure out why Aeternus had blessed me with a starbound mark in such a situation as this.
“Why are we waiting an additional night then?” my second asked, pulling me back to the conversation at hand, as Raelyna replied.
“To be on the safe side,” she replied.
Axel chuckled as he reclined in his seat, his arms draping over the worn material. “What? Are you worried about us?” he teased.
“No,” she answered indignantly.
“Some might say it appears that way,” I chimed in, a devious grin spreading across my lips as she cut me a glance, and I watched her cheeks redden.
“Just . . . three nights, okay? I know what I’m talking about,” she huffed.
Raelyna shifted in her seat, folding her legs up to her chest as she tugged a blanket closer to her chest, nestling into it. I watched as her gaze shifted between the two of us, uncertainty washing across her features.
Her mouth opened and closed, then opened again.
“I know that I’m in no way a consideration in your future plans.
Plans that I’m assuming you still plan to proceed with”—she gestured toward the two of us with a wave of her hand—“seeing as you’re planning to head back to Aurum and the Guild.
But whenever you do move into action, I want to be included . . . if possible.”
I nodded, hearing her, but also knowing there was more at stake than she could have ever imagined. That she had so much more to discover before she could ever be privy to our next steps.
“Let’s just take it one step at a time,” I stated.
“It’s not like anything can happen until we get out of this stars-damned barricade of a Quarter anyway,” Axel grumbled, and a huff of laughter escaped my lips as Loxl chose that moment to spring onto the couch, landing on my second’s lap.
“Shoo,” he muttered, and I smiled as I heard Raelyna giggle from where she sat. The fox paid him no attention as he began to purr delightedly, his tail swishing and hitting Axel in the arm every few seconds as the creature stared at him.
“Fine,” Axel muttered eventually, his hand stretching out to begin petting the elusive creature.
“How can I be certain that I will be okay?” she questioned, eyes narrowing. “That my friends and family will be safe whenever whatever you’re planning occurs?”
“Just trust me, for once,” I said, holding her gaze and praying to Aeternus that she read the sincerity in it. “Until then, let us worry about everything.”
“We’ll see,” she muttered. “We’ll see.”
I woke to a flutter of overwhelming pain, my body jerking upright as my head burst into sharp stabs of pulsing pain points.
Rushing out into the living room, gun at the ready, I stopped as I caught sight of a soft lamp glowing by the couch. And there, on the worn material, was Raelyna, curled up in a ball, muttering to herself as she clutched at the tangle of wavy, brown curls that fell loosely around her.
I could see the markings on her forearm from this angle, watching as they flickered in and out, the faintest golden hue shimmering against the stark onyx of the ink that marred her bronzed skin.
I moved to her side as quickly as I could, crouching down in front of her as I gently slid my fingers up her forearm, until they entwined themselves around her rigid fingers. Slowly, I tugged her fingers free from her curls.
“Starlight,” I murmured as I tilted her chin up to look at me. “I’ve got you. What do you need?”
Unshed tears lined her irises, the echoes of pain evident across her beautiful features. Her nose scrunched, the scattering of freckles across her cheekbones tightly bunching in the action, and a small furrow appeared between her eyes.
“I just—” She struggled to breathe over the wave of pain—a layer of pain I could feel through the starbound mark even now, the agony demanding I do everything in my power to bring her comfort. “I need it to go away. I’m so tired of this happening—of the pain and nausea.”
Desperation flooded through her words, the plea laced in her tone, and my heart twisted.
“Okay,” I murmured as I rose to my feet, shifting her body on the couch before sliding in behind her and tugging her small frame into my larger one. I held her against my chest as my fingers trailed through her hair, and I began massaging her scalp.
Growing up, my youngest sister had battled with migraines more often than not, and I had quickly discovered certain pressure points could aid in relieving the building pressure.
I felt the moment she relaxed into me, allowing my fingers to massage through her hair. My brow furrowed, concern building in me as I watched her pinch the bridge of her nose briefly and then lurch forward, out of my grasp.
Every instinct rose to high alert as Raelyna groaned and then leaned forward. And that’s when I smelled the bitter bite of iron surrounding us. My eyes narrowed as she leaned forward, grumbling under her breath.
“No, no, not again.”
It took all of two seconds for me to spring into action, rushing to the kitchen and grabbing a towel before making my way back to her. Extending the soft material, hazel eyes briefly flitted up to me in gratitude before she clutched the material, pinching her nose.
Her affinity, whatever it was that had been hidden, was getting stronger, trying to claw its way to the surface. She needed to stop fighting it.
Needed to let the gold markings appear. Otherwise the nose bleeds and nausea would only get worse, until they reach a tipping point and her affinity would burst forth violently.
“Breathe, starlight,” I said as I moved behind her, pulling her hair out of her face, careful to ensure the waves didn’t touch the blood currently staining the front of her lounge set.
I could hear her ragged breathing, picking up on the slight shake in each breath as she struggled to calm herself amid a nosebleed. With my free hand, I began to trace slow circles across her back, feeling her heartbeat slow with every motion that I made across her skin.
I don’t know how long we sat like that, as she waited for the nausea to subside. Not that it mattered, I would have sat there for an eternity if it meant ensuring her comfort through this.
Raelyna shifted, moving back, and I took a full breath, relieved that the blood flow had slowed.
“Damn it, not again,” I heard her grumble softly under her breath as her head turned, my own hand still tracing delicate designs across her back.
Looking in the same direction, I spotted the cause of her frustration, as a few speckled droplets of blood now stained the material of the sofa we sat on, in addition to the stains now covering her lounge set.
The stars-damned female attempted to move, her movements wobbling, and I growled in protest.
“No.” The word was a guttural, fierce sound as my hands shifted to her curved hips, firmly pushing her back down to the sofa.
“I need to get the stains out,” she stated wearily.
I shook my head as I shifted out from behind her, my gaze piercing hers as I stated, “No. You need to rest. Your markings are attempting to rise to the surface. I felt your pain, Raelyna. You’re staying right here.”
“But . . .” she protested. “The couch. I can’t afford a new one. I need to get the stains out, not to mention . . .” She gestured down toward her clothing that was splattered with crimson droplets.