Chapter 26
Callum
I shove an unconscious Harold MacVeigh into my uncle’s arms the moment I step back into the hallway. “Get him to the safe house and get him a healer, as quickly as you can.”
It’s a testament to his trust in me that Alex doesn’t question my instructions. He nods, turning for the entrance. “I take it you’re going to find them?”
“I can’t leave without her.”
He doesn’t bother trying to argue with me, heading back the way he came on quick and quiet feet.
I make my way farther into the stone fortress, listening for any sound of Cate, for any sound of my sister.
For anyone at this point. I know Lady M is still here, with her army of Gifted likely surrounding her.
I stick to the shadows, hoping to avoid them at all costs, mostly because we don’t know what they are capable of.
But also because I know that hurting them will hurt Cate, and I’ve already done enough of that.
The air is musty and damp, like the rains have been seeping in and making a home among the blocks of the walls. I hit a corner and shift to turn around, to head in a different direction, the shadows so thick they are a trap unto themselves.
A voice from behind halts me in my tracks. “I was wondering when I was going to get to see you again, Callum Reid.”
My blood chills, but I stand up straight, pulling my shoulders back. If I interpreted Harold’s words correctly, this woman is more than just the person standing between me and my future. She is also Cate’s mother.
My stomach roils at the very possibility, turns even further when I imagine how Cate is going to handle the news.
A flare of light brightens the hall, and I have to shield my eyes from it. When I lower my hand, I see her before me.
Lady M is not alone.
Cate stands next to her, their arms linked together like a true mother and daughter. For half a second, I wonder if Cate already knows, if she has been in on it the whole time.
But there is no happiness in Cate’s eyes, only anguish. Anguish she is trying to hide, feelings she might be able to keep from another. Not from me.
Something here has gone seriously wrong. Everything tonight has gone seriously wrong. But there is one way I know it will all be right.
Lady M takes a step back and I rush for Cate, scooping her into my arms. When we are together, there is nothing more that can hurt us.
“Thank god you’re all right.” My hand finds the back of her head, swiping soothing strokes that are as much for her comfort as for mine. She’s here, I’m touching her, she’s alive. “Where’s Dom?”
She burrows herself into my embrace, and I know deep in my gut that the worst thing has come to pass.
Even when I thought everything had gone wrong, I hadn’t considered this.
My hold on her tightens, but after she doesn’t respond, I shift her away, moving my hands to clasp her elbows, keeping us connected but allowing me to look her in the eye. I need to hear the words out loud before I can believe them. “Caterine. Where is my sister? Is she safe? Did you find Andra?”
She visibly fights back tears that are clouding her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Callum.”
Not Dom. Not days after Father.
I have no one left.
The air is sucked from my lungs, and I don’t know if I will ever breathe again. It’s too much. A person is not made to endure so much pain, so much heartache. And it’s all my fault.
The urge to crumple is nearly overwhelming. What a relief it would be to drop to this cold stone floor and let Lady M end me, right here and right now.
But Cate would never forgive herself. She will inevitably come to the conclusion that she is better off without me, a man who brings nothing but ruin and destruction to those he loves, but right now, she still has faith in me.
I can see the sliver of it in her golden eyes, and I can’t be the one to destroy her, at least not yet.
So I take a page from her book and shield myself with a mask.
I tuck the news about my sister, the sting of my uncle’s betrayal, the loss of my father, into a tiny dark corner in the back of my mind.
I wipe my face of all emotions, putting on an impenetrable air that no one, not even Cate, can breach.
She is the one person I should never have to don a mask in front of. And yet here we both are, hiding our true selves from one another.
“We should go. We need to leave, Cate.” The words are hushed and harsh. I don’t know how long I can make this performance last, and I refuse to give Lady M the satisfaction of seeing me break.
“You should go, Callum.” She steps away from me, gently pulling her hands from mine.
My brow creases, confusion marring this flawed mask I’ve dropped into place. “I’m not leaving without you.”
“There is no more reason for you to stay.” She smirks, tilting up the corner of her perfect lips, lips that have trailed over every inch of my body. “The ruse is over, Callum.”
My hands clench into tight fists at my sides. “What the hell are you talking about?”
She laughs, too high-pitched. “We both know that’s all this was. You came to see me under false pretenses, I made you fall in love with me to make sure you weren’t the one to kill your father, and now the game is up.”
“False pretenses? What are you talking about, Cate? You know that’s not what this is.” I lower my voice, a stark reminder we are not alone here in this damp hallway. I’m not willing to give Lady M any more than she has already taken from me. “We’re Bonded.”
She throws her head back with laughter, and it’s vibrant and boisterous and rings completely false. “You believed that?” She reaches up to pat my cheek. “Oh, you are a dear one, Callum Reid.”
I push her hand away and even though her words are stinging barbs, I miss the touch of her instantly.
“Are you really going to stand here and tell me that all of this has been for nothing? My sister died, and it was all for nothing?” My voice cracks, and the tears I’ve been fighting back spring into my eyes.
The mask is slipping and I know I don’t have much time left to get out of here before I completely lose it.
Cate swallows thickly, like she is fighting back tears of her own. “I think it’s best if you leave,” she whispers.
Something is not right here. I don’t know what game she is playing, but I know that what we have is not all in my head. Yes, Cate makes a living pretending to be interested in her clients, but what we have is different.
It has to be.
I look her dead in the eyes, knowing she will never be able to do what I’m about to ask of her. “Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t love me, and I will leave right now and never come back.”
Her breath stills in her lungs, her eyes flickering with a hundred different emotions.
She can’t say it. I know she can’t. It would kill me to even think it.
She pushes her shoulders back. “I don’t love you, Callum. I never did.”
What’s left of my heart shatters.
I nod, dashing my clenched fists across my cheeks to clear away my tears. It’s time for me to go. Who knows how long it’s going to take me to fully process the events of the day, but the one thing I do know is I don’t want to be in the presence of Lady M when the emotions rise to the surface.
Then I remember that Cate is not the only one keeping secrets.
I lean in, as if to give her one final hug.
I don’t think I can bear it, her citrus scent igniting something inside me, but I know she needs to hear this, even if I owe her nothing more.
“Harold is alive. Alex has taken him back to the safe house. You might not want anything more to do with me, but I think you might want to hear what he has to say.” My eyes dart behind her, to where Lady M is watching.
I make my next words loud enough for the whole stone fortress to hear.
“I knew I should have never put my faith in a Gifted courtesan. I was right about you all along.”
A small part of me hopes my words cut her as deeply as hers did me. But the thought of hurting Cate doesn’t make me feel any better. If anything, it only widens the hole in my chest where my heart used to be.
I’m leaving it with her.
I turn on my heel, stalking out of the fortress without a look back.