Chapter 14
Elorie
Callum lifts off the wall when I walk into the palace, and it takes every bit of strength in me to pretend I’m not aching all over.
After Wilder finally left me alone with Greer, we trained until I couldn’t see straight.
My spine will be bruised from how many times I landed on my back, and my lungs are on fire.
Still, not a flicker of magic appeared in the ring today.
Guards circle us, ready to walk me back to my room. The security should be comforting, but it isn’t when I know they’re probably reporting my every move to the king.
“I’m guessing training didn’t go well?” Callum’s gaze pauses on my ankle when I limp a step.
“I don’t have the energy to fight with you, Callum.”
“Then don’t.” He reaches for my arm, pausing us in the hallway, and I notice the guards give us a little more space. “Let me be your friend right now. Fight with me later.”
The urge to tell him to screw off is strong, but I don’t have it in me to fight with him through my exhaustion. “Fine.”
Warmth swirls from his fingers. A breeze as hot as the breath of a fire encircles us. It wraps around me, not easing my pain, but relaxing me, nonetheless. On Alyssium, he couldn’t wield his magic, so I’ve never experienced it firsthand.
Or so I thought.
But strangely, his magic feels like him in every way. An extension of the Callum I’ve always known. Comforting. A reminder of home.
“I can walk.” I pull back when he offers me his arm.
I’m already at a disadvantage being a human surrounded by Fae. My half-Fae heritage offers me little in the form of strength or heightened senses. The last thing I need is another example of my weaknesses when I’m surrounded by the king’s guards.
Callum frowns but lets it go.
“How is it having access to your magic again?” I ask Callum as the guard leads me toward my room.
With every step, my ankle aches.
“It’s freeing, and also… not.” He glances at the guards ahead of us.
“You preferred being without it?”
“No, it’s not that. But the Fae on the continent rely heavily on their abilities.
Not like on Alyssium, where that isn’t an option.
Alyssium helped sharpen other senses, and it made me stronger in a different way.
I don’t want to forget that. Especially now that it might be necessary sooner than we’d all like. ”
“With magic dying?”
He nods. “There are places where it’s already less prominent, so those who have depended on it are weakening quicker than they would be otherwise.”
“Like in Rohldova?” I ask, remembering the map the king showed me.
Rohldova stretches the southeast border of Lyrichia, which means it’s closest to the Well.
I’m still wrapping my mind around just how vast Lyrichia is. Growing up, Alyssium was the center of the realm to me, but that’s nowhere near the case. Lyrichia has many territories. Lands, temples, forests. An entire realm I’m tasked with saving when I’ve barely seen any of it.
“Northeast Rohldova was hit the hardest by the Collision. That area emptied shortly after the initial impact, and the few that stayed died within the first century. The battlefront is farther south now.”
“So there is an active battle happening?” My eyebrows pinch. “When Wilder and the king were talking, they made it sound like traveling through the Arches is unpredictable. I can see a few rebels slipping through, but an entire army?”
“The battle is between us and the creatures crawling out of the Well.” Callum pauses at my door, the rest of the guards keeping their distance.
“Although there are still battles with rebels when they manage to slip through. The Arches are unpredictable but not impossible to use. At least, not between Lyrichia and Vaelier. Vaelier loses many each time they send a surge, but it’s worth it to them. ”
“To save their king?”
He nods. “Desperation makes loss more tolerable. They’ll do anything to protect their Crown, just as we will.”
“Yet King Malachi lets Wilder stay in his palace? He houses the enemy to our realm beneath his roof.”
“Even the king has no choice in that. Not now that Wilder is free.”
“Wilder is that strong?”
“Stronger.” He drags his hand through his dark hair, swallowing hard. “And he wants to destroy us. Don’t forget that.”
“What are you implying?”
Callum stands tall, taking a step back. “You’re trusting, Elorie.
I admire that about you, but Wilder is the enemy.
No matter what he tries to convince you of between now and the full moon, he can’t be trusted.
He has slaughtered entire villages. Innocents in this war.
Children. He did not go down without a fight a century ago, and I have no doubt we are about to see history repeat itself.
Do not trust him, no matter what side he shows you.
His charm buries his thirst for vengeance, and there is no shortage of blood on his hands. ”
“I’m not that easily manipulated. At least, not anymore. I learned my lesson. Father seemed to think I could trust you, and look how that turned out.” It might be harsh, but I’m still bitter.
Callum’s jaw tightens. “You can trust me.”
“But no one else?”
“The Fae realm isn’t what you’re used to back home.”
“I’ve lived my entire life in a Fae realm, Callum.”
“On a human island. There’s a difference. The Fae on Alyssium protected you because they needed something from you. Here, it’s not that simple.”
“It seems to me that here it is that simple. They need me just as much, if not more.”
Callum’s fingers brush the back of my elbow. He’s standing so close, I can’t help that my gaze falls to his full lips. That my belly swims with every thought I’ve tried to deny I’m harboring toward him. No matter how angry I am at him right now.
He swallows hard. “Things used to be simpler. The rules clearer. As the realms fuse, confusion swells. Not just in the royal lines, but within magic itself. I need you to promise me you’ll be careful. Many are desperate right now.”
“I know desperation. And I know how to fight to survive,” I remind him as his grip tightens.
It doesn’t hurt, but I sense him holding on in more ways than one. Physically trying to protect me when so much of this is out of our control. Fear blooms in his eyes. It’s hard to imagine Callum scared of anything.
“I didn’t know what you were capable of, Elorie. If I had, I would have tried harder to hide you. There was no magic on Alyssium; you should have been safe.”
“No one is.”
“Either way, I’m sorry for not telling you where you really came from. I was respecting your father’s wishes, and that was a mistake.”
I swallow hard, looking up into Callum’s eyes. “I appreciate the apology.”
His gaze falls to my lips. To my cheek.
My skin is burning up the longer he stares at me.
I want to hate him. To ball this anger into a knot so I don’t have to face my conflicting feelings. But it’s not Callum’s fault that my father hid my mother’s true identity. And it’s not Callum’s fault I ran into that prison and woke our enemy.
He’s caught in the middle of this battle between kingdoms just like I am. And he’s still at my side through all of it.
The warmth of Callum’s magic swimming around me settles my nerves, and I lean toward him. It would be so easy for him to dip down and for us to forget everything that’s happening. But the slight shift has his eyes refocusing. He takes a step back, breaking the moment.
“You’ll be training again tomorrow.” He’s speaking louder now, like he expects the guards not to have heard the rest of our conversation. “You should get some rest.”
Callum turns, leaving me in a bundle of knots like always.
“Callum,” I call for him before he’s gone. “Can you get something for me?”
He nods.
“A quill and paper.” My fingers twist in front of me. “I’d like to write.”
“Of course.” He turns to leave, and it’s colder with him gone.
Stepping into my room, I find it empty.
Maybe this is for the best. No strings. No attachments.
Greer was right today; I might not survive this, and for all I know, that might not matter when Lyrichia and Vaelier flicker out. When magic is gone, and immortality wanes. The stories of the two Fae realms that collided will fade like the Arch to the Mortal Realm did.
If that’s the case, I’ll remember what I had while I can.
I close my eyes and sink into my thoughts, remembering home.
How snow felt when it was knee-high, and my toes were numb. How lavender tea warmed the belly on the coldest days. How there was no joy like the gossip running wild through the market. How friends were like blood, and we all survived together or died together.
Mortality made every moment matter.
Father taught me that.
Being a human might make me weak, but today reminded me that there are still reasons being a human is good.