35. Callum
CALLUM
The moment I stepped through the open window, I knew something was wrong. The lights were off in Raelyna’s living room, with only a soft glow coming from her bedroom. Even the stars-damned fox, Loxl, was nowhere in sight.
I pushed out my vitas affinity, feeling for heartbeats as I stopped where I was, not moving until I confirmed the coast was clear.
I’d already given the signal to both Axel and Eleana to proceed with caution as they remained on the outskirts of the desert, just out of range, until I gave the all clear.
I frowned as I scanned the room, only sensing one heartbeat in the apartment, and the starbound mark on my wrist was pulsing with a force that led me to believe Raelyna was the only one here.
Lowering my hand to the pistol on my thigh, my fingers rested on the handle as I moved through the shadows, heading toward her door.
I debated the possibility that a trap might be in place as I stopped before her bedroom door and listened in. Only, I didn’t have any other options. With only one pulse in the apartment, I pushed the door open, confident that I could handle one attacker, should it be an ambush.
The door had barely opened before something flew through the door frame, hitting me firmly in the chest. I stumbled back slightly, a flare of dull pain stemming from beneath my combat vest. Still, I’d already drawn my pistol, weapon raised as I entered the room, eyes assessing as I stepped further into the space.
Another object flew in my direction. This time, I sidestepped the assault, catching a glimpse of pages in my peripheral vision as a book flew past me, landing with a thud in the apartment hallway.
I whirled in the direction the object had flown from, gun raised as I caught sight of Raelyna, book raised in hand as she prepared to throw another toward me.
I lowered my gun and reholstered it as I took a step forward, then reconsidered as the female raised the book higher in my direction . . . then threw it.
I side-stepped, easily avoiding the volley. “I’ve got to admit,” I spoke lowly as I leveled a stare at her. “Of all the welcomes I was expecting, this was not one of the options.”
She laughed, a kind of harsh sound I despised hearing fall from her lips. “Did you know?”
My brow pinched in confusion as I studied her. “Did I know what?”
“Did you know?” she repeated the question, and a growl of frustration nearly burst from my lips.
“For the love of Aeternus, Raelyna. I’ve got no stars-damned idea what you’re talking about. If you want to be mad at me, throw books at me, go ahead. But at least clue me in to what it is I supposedly know.”
Her eyes narrowed as she stalked toward me, the scent of jasmine rolling off her as she stopped before me, raising her left arm and pointing to a mark.
A golden mark of three interconnected triangles.
Our starbound mark.
“Did you know about this?” she demanded, her nose scrunching in frustration as she studied me.
“Yes,” I answered honestly, unsure if that was the answer she was wanting at this moment in time.
“Humph.” She stepped back in frustration, pacing the floor as she stared at me.
Her hands dug into her hair, brown curls twisting before she whirled, grabbing a pillow from her bed and launching it in my direction.
“Should I just add this to the list of things you’ve kept from me since we’ve met?
” she demanded as the pillow flew across the room.
My jaw clenched as I stared at the female before me, unsure how to answer.
“Well,” she demanded.
“What did you want me to say?” I asked. “Would you have preferred I simply claimed you the moment the mark appeared on my skin? Mark you then and there so everyone in the vicinity would know you were mine and mine alone? Would you have preferred that, starlight?”
I watched her throat bob, her cheeks flushing a dusty pink color as her mouth opened, then closed, then opened again.
“I-I—” She stopped pacing for a moment before she finally spoke.
“I don’t know. I don’t know, okay?” She paused, her breathing stuttering as she looked up at me. “How long have you known?”
I held her gaze as I answered, “From the very moment you ran into me in the halls of Solis Court and insulted my wingspan.”
Her cheeks flushed at the reminder of her insult. I stepped forward, moving toward her until her back hit the wall in the bedroom.
“And you never once thought to tell me?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth,” I replied as I put my hands on the wall on either side of her, caging her in.
“I considered telling you many times, but I was in the middle of an assignment, and you had far too much going on. I didn’t think breaking the news about a starbound mark—that you couldn’t even see—was the right course of action. ”
She processed my words, her tongue subconsciously darting out over her lips, drawing my eyes to the movement, and it took everything in me not to kiss her then and there.
“I suppose I could see your point,” she admitted reluctantly. “At Brumalis, when you said you could feel my pain,” she said as her head tilted up to stare at me through lowered lashes. “You actually meant that you could feel my pain? Like, physically, right?”
I nodded, running a hand through my hair. “Yes, I did. It’s common for emotions and feelings to be felt between starbound mates,” I admitted.
She bit on her lip, thinking for a moment before she spoke. “Yes, I remember being taught that, but that would explain why my chest hurt when I threw the book at you.”
A bark of laughter fell from my lips as I stared at the female before me. “Yes, yes, it would.”
“That’s very inconvenient,” she admitted.
“Does that mean I can expect less book-throwing in my future?”
Her eyes twinkled in the soft lighting of her room as she replied, “I suppose I’ll just have to find other ways to express my frustration.”
“I look forward to seeing what you come up with,” I answered. “And, Raelyna,” I continued as I dropped one hand, wrapping it around her waist as she looked up at me, uncertainty flickering across her features.
“Yes?” Her voice was soft as she waited for me to speak.
“I would have told you . . . about the starbound mark, I mean.” I stared down at her, tracing over each feature on her face before continuing.
“I just . . . I wanted you to have a choice. I wanted . . . I don’t know.
I was in the middle of a mission—fuck, I still am.
And with everything that’s going on, I just wanted you to find out in a more normal way.
Not like this,” I said, gesturing around.
She laughed softly, her lip curving up in a grin. “Well, for the future, stalking me around the Quarter isn’t giving me a choice.”
“You’re hard to stay away from,” I replied as my own lip curved up slightly.
I hesitated briefly, despising the idea of what I was about to tell her, before I reluctantly spoke.
“Everything you need to break Orela out of the temple should be in here.” I gestured toward a bag I’d dropped by the door.
“You actually brought stuff. Thank you.” Her smile lit up the room as she unzipped the bag and sorted through its contents.
This was perhaps the other questionable part of my plan, seeing as Elion had no knowledge that I’d raided the armory, taking a multitude of high-tech tools with me—ones that had a good likelihood of not returning to the Guild for the foreseeable future.
Raelyna’s nose scrunched, and she turned, looking at me in confusion. “Um, what exactly does this one do?” She held a sleek, metal tool between two pinched fingers as though she were worried the tool would attack her.
A huff of laughter slipped my lips. “It’s a pulse omitter,” I answered.
“A what?” She stared at me in horror.
“No.” I shook my head as I explained. “If you set it in the room you’re standing in, it will push out waves in the air, cancelling out your pulses. That way, if there are any vitas in the building, searching for extra heartbeats, yours won’t be detected, and you can stay under the radar.”
“Oh.” Her lips formed a soft “O” shape as the word fell from her mouth in surprise. “I didn’t know such a thing existed. That’s actually . . . Well, that’s really useful.”
I nodded in agreement as I pulled a few of the other tools to the surface, explaining the purposes of each.
Thank you, again,” Rae said the words softly as she looked up at me. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have a chance to get Orela out.”
“You won’t have a large window of time to get her out,” I admitted. “Not with the Guild’s current plans.”
“And yet . . .” she drawled, eyes twinkling mischievously. “You haven’t told me the Guild’s plans.”
I laughed. “And I don’t plan to. Not fully anyway.”
“Why?” She pouted as she crossed her arms over her chest, looking at me. “I am your starbound.”
I huffed before replying, “Which is exactly why I won’t be telling you everything. I want you safe and out of danger.”
“So what will you tell me?” she asked.
“On the seventh day, you must stay inside of this apartment. It’s the only space in all of Solis that will be spared. Anyone inside this apartment will be evacuated by the Guild. You, your family, your friends, and the last few members of the Remnant.”
“How will the Remnant know to come here?” she questioned.
“I will make sure you get in contact with Iver. He will coordinate the rest. But this is important, Raelyna. Everyone must be inside this apartment before Solis falls, otherwise I can’t make any promises.”
“Why me?” She bit her lower lip as she asked the question. “Why go out of your way to save us?”
I sighed as I looked down at her. “Those gathered here will be spared because of their faith. The Remnant have never turned away from the Eternal. And you . . .” I gestured to the golden markings on her arm.
“Your faith in the Eternal has saved you as well. But also, Raelyna, you are my starbound. I would do anything for you.”
She nodded as she looked at me, her eyes focused.