Thirty-Six
Callum
Marcel is an old friend, someone that I’ve been able to rely on. I went to visit him to ask about the Demicrogen debacle, but there was a tinge of unease in our exchange that left me feeling wary. Nonetheless, I assured him it was taken care of, and there were no others as far as I knew. He was skeptical, but that’s not anything out of the ordinary—anyone would be. It’s peculiar for there to only be one. It’s not usually how they live, how they hunt, which was exactly what it was doing, and nothing short of killing it would ensure the prey’s safety. Kallie’s safety , I remind myself, knowing that’s exactly what the abomination was after.
Leaving Marcel’s castle, I don’t feel much better than when I arrived. I give myself a little peace of mind and check in on Kallie, who is still sound asleep in bed, not a speck of a nightmare to be seen.
The disturbances should only be dealt by my hand, and once I find the person responsible for the others? May the Gods be with them.
It was risky leaving her there, vulnerable and susceptible to whatever demons roam freely in her mind. But the alternative was even more of a risk I couldn’t take. She would have insisted on coming, and that wasn’t an option.
My mother’s shop comes into view as I fly above, and a few doors down is my father’s bakery, a line so long it wraps around the corner. Landing in front of the flower shop, I pull the door open and wait until she’s done checking out a customer. The bell chimes over the door, and out of habit, the customer turns around, curious to know who walked in. But when her eyes meet mine, her face twists in disgust.
It doesn’t bother me. I’m used to the lingering stares and hushed whispers. All I can do is hope one day they will understand. However, today is not that day. I hear her say something to my mother, which is really fucking stupid. My mother’s face transforms from a happy florist-shop owner to a badass woman in the blink of an eye.
“If you have a problem with my son, then you have a problem with me, Dawn. So tell me, do we have a problem?” My mother’s voice is nothing but pure venom.
“All I’m saying, Donni, is he’s a traitor. He’s working for him. How you can just welcome him back with open arms when he comes home with his tail tucked between his legs is absurd! I honestly can’t believe Marcel let him step foot in Nafarium after everything he’s done,” Dawn replies, very loudly, hoping to get support from the other customers in the store.
The flowers in Dawn’s hands begin to wilt before turning an ashy gray until she’s just holding a pot of dirt. “You will not talk about my son that way. Nor will you talk about how my husband and I decide to treat him, and you most certainly will never speak ill of our king and his decisions. Do I make myself clear?” My mother doesn’t raise her voice, keeping it cool and even with the raise of an eyebrow.
“Crystal.’’ The word is barely above a whisper, squeaking it out like the scared little mouse she is.
“Great, now get the hell out of my shop before I have Callum do it for me.” Dawn turns fast, beelining for the door, and I almost don’t move fast enough. She doesn’t spare me a glance before pulling the door open and hustling down the street.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“Oh, please. You think I’m going to sit here and let that hag say all those things about you? About your father and me, and not to mention Marcel? You must not know me at all.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“Oh, and don’t we all know it. Now, I don’t know what you have planned today, but I want to steal Kallie away for a bit.”
“I have some business to attend to today, but I instructed Kallie to stay home.” She cocks a brow at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“Uh-huh, and Kallie just went along with that?”
“She did,” I lie.
“Whatever you say, dear. You two have been spending a lot of time together.”
I let out a sigh. “Well, Mother, we are living together, and have you forgotten why she’s here in the first place?”
“I haven’t forgotten why she’s here, but I also recall how you look at her.”
“I don’t look at her any differently than how I look at anyone else.”
“Whatever you say, dear.” She pats me on the shoulder before continuing her paperwork.
“I was going to go see Dad, but he looks busy. If you see him, will you let him know I’ll stop by later?” My back is already toward her, reaching for the doorknob when I hear her reply, “I’ll let him know. Be safe.”
“Always am.” Apprehension fills me as I close the door. Glancing down the sidewalk, even though the line is still long, I think I should go say something—just in case.
But there’s no time. What good would it do anyway? I try to check in on Kallie, offer myself a little solace before my errands, only to find she’s blocked me off. Instantly, panic seizes me. I try to push through, break it down, to no avail.
How stupid of me to teach her that. This is my only insurance policy, the only thing that allowed me to leave her side. Fuck, there’s no time to go home.
If there was something wrong, she wouldn’t shut me out. She’s fine. Probably just pissed I left without her. She’ll get over it. At least, those are all things I tell myself to make me feel better, to allow myself to make the decision to leave. Spreading my wings wide, I launch into the sky, but the overwhelming nagging for me to turn around and go home never leaves, not even as I cross the barrier and head west.
The flight isn’t long. It never seems long enough. Dread fills my stomach as I get closer, the castle finally in my sights.
I land just beyond the steps, rolling my shoulders back, and take in my surroundings. A few birds chirp overhead, and the wind rustles the leaves on the surrounding trees. The burning sun beats down on me, sweat already pooling along my brow, and I’m already missing the shade the clouds offer back home.
Not bothering to knock, I push open the door, nearly knocking Ramon out as I do. Worthless waste of space, peasant. The urge to spit on him as I pass is strong, but I refrain.
I push past him without giving him a second glance. He stumbles, unable to move out of the way fast enough, and drops the metal tray he was holding. It meets the tile with a clatter, the glass cups that sat atop shatter on the ground, and the sound rings through the castle walls. Uncaring of the mess behind me, I continue my advance to find the king as the sound of scurrying footsteps accompany me.
I keep my pace leisurely, not wanting to rush through the castle to raise any flags. But the longer it takes me to find Ambroyss, the faster my patience wears thin. I hear the faint whispers, feel the quick glances of the staff, unsure if they should be alerting their king of the unexpected visitor.
Even if they wanted to, it’s too late. I’m already throwing open the door to his office, letting it slam against the adjoining wall.
Heads whip in my direction, multiple pairs of eyes staring at me, like they can’t believe I have the audacity to interrupt them. I don’t give a flying fuck. I don’t look at anyone else, my gaze permanently locked on the set at the head of the table.
“Callum, I wasn’t expecting you.” Ambroyss sits there, looking the perfect picture of cool, calm, and collected. But I see the slight twitch of his eye, giving away his irritation.
“Obviously.” I match his composure, seemingly relaxed.
“As you can see, I’m in the middle of a meeting.” He gestures around at the people sitting amongst him. However, my gaze doesn’t waver from his.
“I’m not blind. But I can assure you I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t of the utmost importance.” My words are coated with smugness, but they hit home. He quickly dismisses the other men in the room. They move hesitantly, not understanding what’s going on.
I flash them my award-winning smile as they each pass. When the last one leaves, the door is still opened. Stupid motherfuckers can’t even close the door. I see they lack common sense. Certainly Ambroyss should keep better company.
Without turning around, I fling out a shadow and slam the door shut, the force cracking the wall like spiderwebs around the frame.
I drop the smile, agitation written all over my face.
“Please enlighten me on what was so important you had to interrupt my business meeting.” I snicker at the term ‘business meeting.’ Whatever they were discussing was obviously classified, something that I wasn’t able to listen in on. Interesting.
“And what business were you meeting about? Surely if it was important enough to call a gathering, I would have been invited. Or did it just get lost in the mail?” I inquire.
Indignation flashes over his face. “Well, I remember giving you a very important mission, Callum. Getting my daughter back home where she belongs is your top priority. You can’t expect me to call you home every time I need to hold a meeting.”
Home. He means here. Astralis.
Nowhere has felt like home. Not really. Nefarium has always been my home, the place I grew up and where my family is. But it always felt like it was missing something. Then she stepped through the portal and for the first time, the kingdom glowed with the rays of a thousand suns, seemingly brighter and full at last.
I fight the urge to check in on her, wanting to know if she was a good girl and followed my very simple instructions. If she didn’t? I push the thoughts to the back of my head. This is not the time or the place.
“I understand. I just don’t appreciate being kept out of the loop.”
“You’re on a need-to-know basis, or have you forgotten? Anyway, let’s get a move on this. What is this urgent matter?” I let out a long, exacerbated sigh as I find my way to one of the newly empty chairs in front of his desk.
“There was a Demicrogen in Nefarium.” As soon as the sentence leaves my mouth, I’m met with such profound silence you could hear a pin drop.
“You were in Nefarium?” Obviously, that’s what I just fucking said. I fight the urge to roll my eyes at his ignorance.
He accepts my silence as my answer before continuing, “I see.” He gives a disapproving look, his jaw tightening for a second before relaxing into his usual cool features. “If you think that my loyalties lie somewhere else, think again. If they did, I wouldn’t be sitting here telling you what I have found.”
“Yes, well, I figured, given the circumstances, you wouldn’t be returning there. I’m surprised, is all. Especially since you are on a very important mission.”
“If anything was to arise in my absence, I can assure you it will still be there when I return. Frankly, I check on her every day, and when I know something, so will you.” I lie straight through my teeth.
“Now, if you’re done questioning my allegiance.” I take a pregnant pause, trying to maintain my composure. “The Demicrogen. You wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with that, would you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Where would I even get such a creature? A group of them, no less.”
I never said there was a group. My hackles rise, hanging on every word he’s willing to give me.
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
Adjusting my position on the chair, I sit forward, arms braced on my knees as I incline my head. “You said a group of them. I only specified there was one.”
I can almost see the gears working in his head, churning, trying to find a way to weasel his way out of this.
“Well, they normally travel in groups, do they not? When you kill one, there’s always another pouncing to rip out your throat.”
And there it is.
“Well, there was only one. I killed it, obviously, and there have been no other signs of any others in the area,” I clarify. I don’t mention the explosion of light that emanated through me or the way it worked its way from me and out the body of the beast.
“You’re sure?”
“As sure as I can be.”
“I’m assuming you talked to Marcel about this?”
“I went to see him before I came here. I thought if anyone was going to let something like that in, it would be the king, especially with the barriers surrounding the land.”
“I trust you’ll keep me up to date on anything that arises?” His brow quirks up, and I give him a curt nod in agreement. I stand from the chair, letting my wings stretch slightly.
“And the girl?”
“What about her?”
“It embarrasses me to say, I had a couple trusted men check up on you, to see how things were progressing,” he says hesitantly, as if I didn’t fucking know. “One didn’t return.”
“And he won’t.” I let that statement hang in the air, hoping he can paint his own picture, but just to make sure it hits the mark, I add, “I don’t appreciate being checked up on, Ambroyss.” With that, I turn to walk out the door.
“I’ll still be expecting you in two weeks with a full report,” he reminds me. I don’t acknowledge him or anyone else as I continue down the hallway and all the way out the front door.