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“Saw you shift a few weeks ago in the early hours of the morning,” Miss Patricia said, cutting a barmbrack loaf.

“But you never said anything,” he whispered.

“Aye, not my business, so not much to say.”

Miss Patricia put the soup in front of him and a plate of bread. He didn’t feel like eating. His stomach twisted with guilt, frustration, and sadness. Not even Miss Patricia’s cooking could conjure an appetite.

“But tell me,” Miss Patricia said. “What’s your real name?”

“Kade Drengr.”

“Where ya from, Kade?”

“The Vadon Mountains, in Sorin.”

Miss Patricia nodded, her flyaway curls shaking. “And why’d you come to Callum?”

Kade mused. “To find . . . to find Evelyn, my betrothed, and convince her to return with me. I think I should mention that you know Evelyn as Miss Saige Ferriwether.”

A sad smile spread on Miss Patricia’s rosy face. “Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Kade blinked, eyeing the older woman. In minutes, she’d had him admitting who he was, and he hadn’t realized it.

He crossed his arms, sending her a glare. “It’s not that simple.”

The older woman chuckled. “Oh, things are always simple until we make them complicated.”

Kade ran a hand through his hair, leaning over the table and staring endlessly into the bowl of steaming soup. He blamed the murders. The never-ending clues. Evelyn for leaving her duty in the first place. The damn prophecy. But in the end, he had lied. He supposed he’d made this situation complicated by not telling Evelyn.

“Is that why you’re still in Callum?” Miss Patricia asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Are you still in Callum to convince Evelyn to leave with you?”

Kade’s heart skipped a beat, and he paused. That was what he’d told Evelyn, wasn’t it? He’d spoken of duty, fumbling over his words, saying the things he thought he should say. The wrong things.

Had he stayed for duty? At first, yes, he’d stayed to solve the murders and kill the vampyr. Yet, along the way, he’d lost track of that mission. He’d still wanted to kill the vampyr, but he’d wanted to learn why Evelyn had left, then he’d wanted to build their relationship, and—

“I’m in Callum for Evelyn. Not because she’s my betrothed, not to bring her home.” Kade still wanted those things, just in a different way. “But because I care for her.”

And that mattered more to Kade than his duty. Evelyn mattered more than his duty. He’d been so caught off guard by Evelyn’s admission, he hadn’t said the right things.

Miss Patricia sighed, pushing the bowl of soup and bread closer to him. “I think that’s what you need to tell her.”

“I don’t know how. How do I know she wants to talk, to even see me?” Kade shook his head, Evelyn’s tearful gray eyes flashing in his memory. He’d cared so much about his purpose, was so worried about losing the ability to fulfil the prophecy when he learned about her lost flame. He’d panicked. But Miss Patricia was right. He hadn’t stayed for his duty or the prophecy. He’d stayed for Evelyn, and not for her magic, but her beautiful bravery. Stars above, what had he done?

Miss Patricia sighed. “Well, look at it this way—you won’t make the same mistake twice. Saying nothing about that got you nowhere.”

Kade considered Miss Patricia’s words. It’d been three days since Evelyn learned the truth, and maybe it was time he tried again to tell her what he felt, that she was his mate, and that he was sorry. She might leave. He feared that more than anything. But in the end, he’d rather be rejected than let her go without trying.

“You’re right,” he said, standing.

“Oh, I know it,” Miss Patricia said. “But I suggest you take a good long shower before seeing her. You smell like dog.”

“Wolf,” Kade corrected.

Miss Patricia rolled her eyes, then shivered as a wind from outside wrapped around them and the inn’s door hit home in the frame with an unexpected bang. Commissioner Doyle approached, bringing the cold in with him, and he drummed his fingers down the bar as he walked.