Page 47

Chapter 46

Callan

C allan and Tava were seated next to each other around a council table in the Avonleyan Castle. In fact, the only people not here were Scarlett, Sorin, Cassius, and Razik. Callan had been told they wanted everyone else gathered before they alerted them that the others had returned.

Most of the others that is.

Cyrus and Neve were notably missing, and Princess Ashtine had also not joined their company. If she was with child as he had been told, perhaps she was resting, but Callan did not think that was the case with Briar seated at the table looking tense.

“They are coming,” Razik said tightly when he entered the room. “You are ready?”

Cethin nodded, getting to his feet. Kailia remained in her seat to his right.

Callan heard muf?ed chatter before the doors opened again, and Sorin was ushering Scarlett in ahead of him. She smiled at them, her eyes scanning the room and brightening as they ran over Rayner and Briar. But they quickly dimmed when she stopped halfway to the table.

“Where are Cyrus and Neve?” she asked carefully.

“Sit, Scarlett,” Cethin said. Razik had undoubtedly briefed his king before summoning them here.

“Where are they?” she demanded again. Her gaze swung to Rayner. “Answer me.”

Rayner held her stare, grey eyes swirling. “Your former master has them.”

Scarlett stumbled back, bumping into Sorin who instantly slid an arm around her waist.

“What happened?” the Fire Prince asked, voice harsh and commanding.

“Sit and we will ?ll you in,” Razik said, already in his seat to the left of Cethin.

They all sat and listened as Razik told them what had happened in the Southern Islands. Callan admittedly did not know much about the islands. He had been taught they were uninhabitable. Rocky cliffs and sweltering jungles that offered no natural resources or other necessity to their kingdom.

“You are telling me we sent seven of you, and Alaric managed to best you all?” Scarlett hissed, her palms ?at on the table before her.

“He had Ashtine,” Briar said. “None of us were about to risk her life or the babes.”

Her furious eyes went to Razik. “You could do nothing?” Then to Rayner. “Or you? The male I saw rip organs from bodies? Neither of you could do something? Anything? ”

“He had my power locked down from the moment I entered those cliffs, Scarlett,” Rayner said. “His magic was latched onto mine just enough to keep me from moving among the ashes.”

“And if I had done anything, the princess’s life would have been the cost along with her children,” Razik added.

“What are these demands he made?” Sorin asked, reaching over and interlacing his ?ngers with Scarlett’s.

Razik had skipped over this part when he had been relaying the events. He had only mentioned that Alaric had tried to negotiate for several things.

“He wanted Callan and Hale. He initially was going to keep Sawyer and Neve for that trade. I told him no,” Razik answered.

“Excuse me?” Scarlett asked.

Razik leaned forward so he could see the queen better. “I know they are friends of yours and part of your Courts, but the mortal kings are more important here. If they fall back into their hands, those wards we took down will go right back up.”

“But Sawyer sits here and Neve does not,” Sorin cut in.

“I managed to distract him from the mortal kings, and he moved on to the prisoner in our cells. He wants Talwyn back. Alive. Should you agree, he will exchange Cyrus and Neve for her.”

Scarlett sat back in her chair, ?ngers drumming on the table. “And Ashtine?”

“I offered to take her place, to take him into the Water Prison if he released her,” Briar said.

“He declined?” Sorin asked, a brow arching.

Briar shook his head. “He agreed, but that was only one life. There were two more to be exchanged.”

“The babes,” Scarlett whispered in realization.

Briar nodded, then his icy blue eyes settled on Drake. “He wants you and Tava. Or rather, Lord Tyndell wants you.”

“No,” Callan said. The words were out of his mouth before he’d even realized he was speaking. All heads turned to him, and he gripped the arms of his chair. “It was just stated they cannot have the mortal kings. We cannot give them Tava or Drake for the same reasons.”

“He makes a point,” Razik said. “With the Necropolis in Rydeon, that is the last place we want magical wards going back up.”

“So you will sacri?ce unborn children?” Kailia asked sharply.

“I never said that,” Razik replied. “But we need to look at all sides of this before decisions are made.”

“We also need to think about the fact that either way, he has access to the prison,” Azrael cut in. “If we give him Talwyn, he can and will release the Sorceress.”

“He said if we refused to make the trades, he would start killing innocents,” Sawyer added. “That he had access to more than the Black Syndicate now.”

Callan glanced at Scarlett. Her face was unreadable, features hard and lips slightly pursed as she listened to the debates around her. He didn’t know what she was thinking, but if it had to do with trading Tava, he would argue against it until the end.

“He has killed already,” Tybalt said from down the table. “It is not said to be callous, but this is the start of a war. There will be lives lost and sacri?ces made.”

“Not the lives of my children or Ashtine,” Briar growled.

“What makes your children more important than the others that will be lost if the trades are not made?” Callan argued. “What makes one life more worthy than another to be saved? Who gets to decide that?”

“We do,” Scarlett said quietly. She lifted her eyes to Callan’s. There was something soft and sad in them. “We do,” she said again. “It is a burden as a ruler. We have to make the hard calls. The choices that leave blood stains on our souls. You made that choice when you killed Sybil to save Eliza. You chose one over the other.”

“That was different,” he sputtered.

“Perhaps,” she conceded, “but you still decided. Sometimes the choice is an easy one. Sometimes it is an excruciating one that will haunt you for the rest of your days.”

“She is not well, Scarlett,” Briar pleaded from across the table. “I cannot leave her in his hands. I will not do it.”

“I understand, Briar,” she said. “We will not leave her there. We will ?gure this out. A different agreement can and will be reached.”

“He said he will only negotiate with you in regards to Talwyn from here on out,” Razik supplied.

“I am sure he did,” she answered.

Callan relaxed the smallest amount. For now, it appeared Tava was not going back to Lord Tyndell, that she would ?gure something else out. Of course she would. This was Scarlett. She had ?gured out ways out of harder situations than this. She had outsmarted the Assassin Lord before. She could do it again.

Beside him, Tava was watching everything unfold around her. Listening to every detail like she always did. Hands in her lap, shoulders back and poised. Ever the Lady she was raised to be. Drake was at her side. Hale was next to him. Both of his fellow kings had solemn looks on their faces as they listened to the Fae and Avonleyans debate the merits of meeting Alaric’s demands. Then the conversation turned to what counteroffers could be made.

But if Alaric’s demands were a life for a life, how could they possibly meet them?

The light knock on his door had him setting aside the book he’d been reading. Or was trying to read. It was well into the night, but he couldn’t sleep. Like every other night. If it wasn’t the memories of the last few months, it was that they had left that meeting with nothing decided. There had not been mention again of agreeing to trade Drake and Tava, along with Briar, for Ashtine and the babes she carried, but the fact that nothing else had been agreed to told him the possibility was still on the table.

He padded barefoot to the door, not surprised in the slightest to ?nd Tava on the other side. He was surprised, however, to ?nd her in her robe rather than a dress or even pants and a tunic.

She gave him a small smile. “I thought you would likely be awake.”

“You thought right,” he said, stepping aside so she could enter.

She slipped past him, and he closed the door behind her. “Are you all right?”

“Fine,” she answered dismissively, already settling onto the sofa.

He didn’t believe her though. She’d hardly said anything at that meeting outside of formalities. When they had all ?nally departed from the council room, it had been late. They’d all taken dinner there, not wanting to pause discussions for a formal meal. Then he, Drake, and Tava had been taken back to the Greybane estate afterwards, and he hadn’t seen her or Drake since.

“What do you think of everything that was discussed today?” he asked, settling down beside her.

“I think there are a lot of hard decisions to be made,” she answered.

“What do you think those decisions should be?”

“I do not think there is a right or wrong choice to be made here. No matter what decisions are made, people lose. Lives are risked. Some are sacri?ced. There is no answer where everyone wins.”

He reached over, brushing golden hair over her shoulder. “Scarlett always seems to ?nd a way to win.”

“Does she?” Tava asked, eyes falling to the sash of her robe she was ?ddling with.

“What do you mean by that?”

“The things she has achieved? Her wins? They have come with great sacri?ces, Callan. You look at her and see a queen who has won, but do you think of what it has cost her?”

“I was not insinuating things were handed to her.”

“And you see her wins, but what of her losses?” Tava continued. “She did not win when she was forced to kill Juliette. She did not win when she was forced to ?ee Baylorin to escape Mikale. She did not win when Tarek found her. She is not winning when her twin ?ame is about to lose his magic.”

“Tava, slow down,” Callan said in alarm when her voice started quavering the more she spoke. He slid closer, pulling her into his arms. “Tell me what is wrong.”

She let loose a shuttered breath. “I am sorry.”

“Do not apologize to me,” he insisted, hand running up and down her back. “But please tell me what is wrong.”

She shifted slightly, her cheek pressing to his shoulder. “It was an intense discussion today. For both Drake and me. He was never part of these types of discussions back home.”

“We were not on the brink of war back home,” Callan said gently.

“You know what I mean. This is new. For both of us. New expectations have been placed upon us.”

“No one is expecting anything of you.”

“Of course they are, Callan. Drake has been shoved onto a throne, and if you think it is not expected that I will marry you or Hale, you are sorely mistaken.”

“And that matter has already been settled,” he replied tightly.

“But they do not know that yet,” she said. “And when they learn of it, I would guess it will only make these decisions even harder.”

Callan tensed at what she was implying. “They are not handing you over to him, Tava. I will not let them do that.” When she didn’t say anything, he tipped her face up to his. “Is this what is worrying you? That they will ask this of you? Because I will not allow it to happen.”

She smiled sadly at him. “I know.”

“You do not believe me?”

“I know you will not let them force me into something, Callan.”

Something eased in his chest, and he brought his lips to hers. She relaxed further into him, and his hand slipped into her hair, cupping the back of her head. A small contented sigh left her and had him pulling her closer, his tongue gently running along the seam of her lips. She instantly opened for him, letting him slide his tongue along hers. He angled her head, taking the kiss deeper, and he swallowed down his groan of want.

He tried to pull back, but one of her hands had slid to his cheek, and her ?ngers tensed, trying to keep him there. He smiled against her lips, kissing one corner of her mouth and then the other. But when he tried to pull back farther, she followed, sliding all the way onto his lap. He couldn’t swallow down his groan this time.

Because she was in a robe.

And those were bare legs visible beneath it.

“Tava,” he rasped, not knowing what else he was going to say. He had kissed her plenty since their talk in the gardens around that pond, but nothing like this. Nothing with her in his rooms in the middle of the night. Sitting in his lap. In a robe.

“Can I stay here tonight?” she whispered. “That...”

Gods, he wanted nothing more than that. But she had told him he was only the second person she had ever kissed. He was certain she had never been with anyone in any other way either. She was a Lady, raised to save herself, even if she had snuck out with Scarlett on occasions.

He cleared the gravel from his throat, cupping her jaw. “You can have the bed. I will sleep out here. Like we have done before.”

But she held his gaze, shaking her head slowly in refusal of that arrangement.

“Tava,” he rasped. “I do not think you understand—”

“I understand,” she whispered, leaning in and brushing her lips on his. “I understand that the world is on ?re.” Another feather-light kiss. “I understand that we could wake up tomorrow and the world could look different.” Another kiss. “Tonight, I just want some light, Callan.”

His hand was still on her cheek, and he brushed his thumb over her bottom lip, staring into turquoise eyes. “Are you sure about this, Tava?”

“This is the only thing I am sure of in my life right now,” she replied, pushing off of him. She got to her feet, grabbing his hand and tugging him up.

He took her face in his hands, tipping her head back, bringing his mouth back to hers. Her ?ngers gripped his wrists, her lips moving tentatively against his. He pulled back just enough to see her face. “ You are my light, Tava.”

She smiled softly, and then there were no more slow kisses. There was the desperate meeting of lips and exploring touches. He walked her back towards the bedchamber, his ?ngers reaching for the sash of her robe. She let go of him to let it slide down her arms while he turned to close the bedroom door behind him. When he turned back, his mouth went dry.

The nightgown she was wearing was the same color as her eyes. Its straps were thin, mere strings, and the front plunged between her breasts. The silk material was sheer, and he could see the faint outline of her peaked nipples through it. It clung to her torso and hips, stopping mid-thigh. If he’d had any doubts about her knowing what she was doing, he didn’t anymore. She came here tonight knowing this would happen.

Wanting this to happen.

His eyes swept over her again, taking in every inch of her, memorizing the way she looked right in this moment. When he made it back to her face, he found a slight blush on her cheeks.

“I have been shopping with Scarlett a few times,” she murmured. “I have seen her buy similar things, and she has spoken of how Sorin likes them.”

Callan’s brow arched, and he fought the satis?ed smirk trying to form on his lips. “Did you go shopping for me, Little Fox?”

Her cheeks ?ared brighter, and her eyes dropped to the ?oor.

He chuckled, pulling his tunic over his head as he made his way over to her. He heard her breath hitch when the tunic landed on the ?oor beside their feet. His hands settled on her hips, and he skimmed his ?ngers up her sides, the silk cool and smooth. He could feel her trembling, and he slid his ?ngers into her hair once more, tilting her face back up to his.

“You are breath-taking, Tava Tyndell,” he said, his voice low and gruff. “I am going to ask you one more time: Are you sure aboutthis?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

He slid his other arm around her waist, pulling her into him. He kissed her shoulder, moving along her collarbone and up her throat, exploring the taste of her, until he found his way back to lips. She was gripping his upper arms, and when she ?nally loosened her grip and slid a shaking hand to his chest, a shiver rolled up his spine at the touch.

He kissed her cheek, bringing his brow to hers, and she looked up at him from under her lashes. There was a hesitancy in her eyes that he didn’t like, and he skated his ?ngers down her arm. “What are you thinking?”

“That I do not know what I am doing?”

He huffed out a breath of laughter. “I assure you, Tava, you cannot do this wrong.”

A small frown formed on her lips. “This seems like something you could do wrong.”

He chuckled again, brushing hair off her face. “For someone who tends to overanalyze everything, I can see how you would think that. But this, Tava?” He kissed her temple, along her jaw. When his lips moved to a spot behind her ear, he felt her suck in a sharp breath, stumbling forward into him. “This is just feeling, Little Fox.”

“Just feeling?” she breathed.

“Mhmm,” he hummed onto her neck as he worked his way down it. Her ?ngers began moving again, and he buried his nose in the crook of her neck, letting her explore. Her nails scraped lightly along his chest, down his stomach, around his sides, and up his back. He wanted to give her time, take his time, but he was already reaching for the hem of that nightgown she’d bought, thinking of him when she did so.

“Tava,” he breathed, ?ngers slipping under the hem, grazing the smooth skin of her thigh.

“Callan, if you are about to ask me if I am sure again, don’t,” she said, her ?nger tracing the waist of his pants. “I want this. I want this with you.”

And he was pulling the nightgown up and over her head before walking her back to the bed. He nudged her backwards, letting his hands skim over bare ?esh as she went. Flesh only he had touched. Skin only he would ever see. Her cheeks were ?ushed for a different reason now, and he liked it.

He liked it a whole lot.

He slipped his pants off as she scooted up the bed, and he crawled up after her, kneeling at her feet. He stared down at her, golden hair fanned across the pillows, turquoise eyes warring between lust and anxiousness.

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

“Looking, Tava,” he rasped. “I am just looking.”

She blushed again. “Well, stop and do something. This is...”

“Is what?” he asked, ?ngers brushing her ankles and climbing up her calves.

“I have... never been this exposed with someone,” she gasped when his ?ngers reached her inner thighs.

“I know,” he answered. “I like that.” Her legs parted as he moved his ?ngers higher, gliding over her hips, her bare stomach. “But I want you to know that I would be content to simply look at you the rest of the night, even if we did nothing else.”

“I would not be,” she replied breathlessly.

He barked a laugh. “Always so candid,” he murmured, and then she was arching up off the bed as he cupped her breasts in his hands. Her hands ?ew to his sides, and her ?ngers dug into his ribs. He bent down, taking one nipple in his mouth. The small sound that came from her had him moving to the other breast to hear it again. She did not disappoint. He peppered kisses across her chest and back up to her lips until he was bracing himself above her on his elbows.

“Tava—”

“I took the monthly aid,” she blurted.

Callan blinked down at her. “You did?”

To be honest, he hadn’t been thinking about that at all. He hadn’t been with anyone since Scarlett, but he’d continued taking his own monthly aid just to be safe. But of course Tava had thought of that.

She nodded, biting down on her bottom lip. “I asked Magdalena to get it for me. If that is what you were about to ask. I just did not want you to be worried about that if—”

He silenced her with his lips. The woman only rambled when she was anxious. Normally he would listen to her and talk it through with her, but there was only one way he was going to calm this anxiousness.

She froze beneath him as he started kissing his way back down her chest, pausing at her breasts again before continuing down her torso. When she realized what he was doing, her entire body went taut.

“Callan, no. I— This is not—”

He lifted his mouth from her skin, looking up at her with a soft smirk. “You may not be able to do this wrong, but I certainly can.” A small crease formed between her brows. “Trust me, Little Fox,” he murmured, brushing a kiss near her navel. “If I do anything you do not like, I will stop. Or...” He paused, pressing another kiss to her soft skin a little lower. “In the alternative, you can tell me when I do something you like, and I will keep doing it.”

Her hands ?ew to her face, and he bit down on another roguish grin at the embarrassed noise she made. He knew her cheeks were bright red beneath those hands. It likely made him somewhat of a prick, but he enjoyed teasing her like this. Getting her a little ?ustered.

Helping her learn what she likes.

He sat up, running his palms along her thighs, her muscles tense beneath his hands. “Take a deep breath, Tava,” he coaxed. “Relax. This is just feeling. Feel , Tava.” She nodded, her hands still on her face, and he huffed another laugh before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her center. Her hips jolted, and he splayed a hand across her stomach to keep her still.

When he kissed her again, he heard her suck in a sharp breath. And when he slid his tongue over that bundle of nerves before sucking gently, he heard the soft “oh” that came from her too as her hands slowly started sliding from her face.

He kissed and teased and explored, his other hand softly stroking her thigh, feeling her relax more and more with every passing glide of his tongue. He took his time, learning what she liked. How she squirmed away when he would up the pace. How these little gasps would come from her when he would tease her, alternating between long, languid licks and hot, open-mouthed kisses. How she would rock against him when he would suck lightly on her center.

Slow and steady. It didn’t surprise him that this is what it took to get her to the brink of pleasure. It was how she did everything in life, and he certainly would not complain. He’d spend all the time she needed between her legs, tasting her, devouring her.

A soft, keening whimper came from her when his lips closed around her sensitive center again, and when she ground against his mouth in sheer desperation, he groaned hungrily. She was getting closer. Her breaths were becoming more erratic, these small staccato gasps. Her hands were ?sting in the sheets, and he idly wondered when she’d get the nerve to slip them into his hair while he gave her whatever she needed and more.

He slid his hand down her inner thigh again, but this time when he reached the apex of her thighs, he slipped his ?nger into her and groaned again when she instantly clamped around it.

“Oh my gods,” she gasped. “That. I like that.”

He huffed a laugh, lazily thrusting his ?nger in and out, going deeper and deeper while his tongue continued its ministrations. Yeah, he could de?nitely do this all night and be just ?ne.

“Callan,” she said hoarsely, his name more a garbled sound than the actual word. It was desperate and unsure and wanting.

“I know, Tava,” he replied, his own voice husky. “Just feel, Little Fox.” This time when he sank his ?nger back into her, he curled it just right and felt her come apart. Her entire body shook as she clenched around his ?nger, a muf?ed cry ?lling the room.

When she had gone still, her breathing still somewhat erratic, he dropped soft kisses to her inner thighs as he sat up. Heavy-lidded turquoise eyes met his, and he brushed his ?ngers along her legs, over her hips. He couldn’t stop touching her.

She lightly cleared her throat. “I do not know what the appropriate thing is to say after... that.”

“Nothing, Tava,” he answered, ?ngers skating higher. “The look on your face is more than enough.”

“Oh,” she whispered, eyes darting to the side. She was still ?ushed from what he’d done to her, and he licked his lips, tasting her again.

“Tava?”

“What?” she breathed.

His hand was at her breast now, ?ngertip circling her nipple. “You taste delectable.”

“Oh my gods, Callan!” she gasped, hands ?ying back to her face as her ?ush deepened for a different reason.

Callan laughed, leaning his weight on one elbow as he settled over her.

He gently tugged on a hand, pulling it from her face. “I cannot believe you said that,” she murmured.

“I was just speaking truth,” he replied, tracing along her hairline.

“It was very... crass.”

“It was,” he agreed, running the tip of his nose along her temple, breathing her in.

“I think I liked it.”

He barked another laugh. “We will discover everything you like and more, Little Fox.”

She shifted slightly under him, and her hip grazed against his cock. She went utterly still when he hissed under his breath at the contact. Cupping her jaw, he held her gaze when he said, “I will understand if you have had enough ?rsts for one night, Tava.”

She shook her head, her hand coming up and ?ngers brushing along his cheekbone. “I want to do it all,” she whispered. He opened his mouth to ask if she was sure, but her ?nger pressed to his lips. “I want this, Callan.”

He brought his mouth to hers, distracting her with a deep kiss while he lined himself up with her. “It will hurt for a moment,” he said softly.

“I know,” she breathed.

He felt her tense when he pushed slowly inside her. Gods, she was tight. He tried not to grip her hip too hard, as he worked in a little more while simultaneously trying to lessen the discomfort. Tava buried her face in his neck, muf?ing her sharp breath of pain. “I know,” he murmured, cupping the back of her head. He eased in the rest of the way. “Breathe, Tava. Take a breath.”

She was nodding against him, and he lifted off of her enough to see her face. He was trying to hold perfectly still, give her a moment to adjust and just breathe. Her eyes were squeezed shut tight, tears leaking from the corners. He brushed his lips along her brow, her nose, her cheeks, salty liquid coating his lips and mixing with the sweet taste of her.

He felt her inhale deeply before her eyes ?uttered open, unshed tears glimmering. “You still with me, Little Fox?” he whispered.

She nodded, her hips moving experimentally beneath him, and he groaned at the movement.

“Tell me when you are ready,” he said tightly, because gods, he could feel his muscles trembling with restraint at being buried deep inside her and not godsdamn moving. It was tight and hot and bliss. She was pure and utter bliss.

“Ready for what?” she asked, her brows pinching together.

“For me to move, Tava.”

“To move?”

He pulled out slightly before sinking back in, and she sucked in a sharp breath, her hands clinging to his shoulders. “Yes,” she rasped. “I am ready for that.”

He smoothed her hair back before pressing a tender kiss to her lips, and then he did move. Slow thrusts at a steady rhythm that had a shaky noise coming from her. Her ?ngers dug in harder to his shoulders, nails pressing crescents into his skin.

“Are you all right?”

She nodded. “Yes, Callan. I am good. So good.”

He increased his pace then, and a groan came from him at the same time a soft moan came from her. He shifted slightly, watching her eyes widen when the small change in position hit a different spot for her, and the turquoise went hazy with lust and pleasure. Heran a hand down her chest, over a breast. The movement had her arching into him even more.

Eventually she unlatched her hands from his shoulders, ?ngers beginning to tentatively explore. They brushed down his back, up his sides, over his arms, and she had started moving with him. The hand he had on her hip slid down, hooking around her thigh.

“Wrap your leg around me,” he rasped.

She instantly did so, and the moan that came from her lips at the new angle had him thrusting faster. Her touch was becoming almost frantic, as if she couldn’t decide where exactly to touch him, and he knew the feeling. He couldn’t decide where to put his mouth, moving from her neck to her breasts to her collarbone.

He felt her beginning to tighten around him, and she didn’t seek out any reassurance this time. His thrusts were erratic and frenzied now, and he slid his hand down to rub her center and push her over the edge again. When she came this time, his lips were back on hers, swallowing down every sound of pleasure she made, drinking her in. All her light. All her warmth. All of her. He wanted all of her, his and his alone.

She was still trembling beneath him when he found his release, groaning deeply into her neck. He was breathing as hard as she was, and he propped himself back on his elbows. Her ?ngers drifted up, brushing back a lock of hair from his eyes before tracing his jaw and over his lips. He kissed the tips of her ?ngers, bringing his hand to hers and interlacing their ?ngers. Kissing her knuckles, he asked, “Are you all right?”

“I am perfect, Callan,” she said with a contented sigh. “Absolutely perfect.”

He slowly eased out of her, kissing her brow at the slight wince, before climbing from the bed to get a warm cloth from the bathing room. He helped her clean up before climbing back into the bed and settling in beside her.

She rolled into him as she whispered, “Thank you, Callan.” He stroked a hand down her hair. “For what?”

“You gave me a choice.” Her ?ngers traced down his torso, his belly caving in as they skated lower before moving back up. “I would have married Hale if Drake had asked me, but this? I got to choose this, Callan. I got to choose all of this.”

He kissed her brow, pulling her in closer to his side. Her smooth bare skin pressed against him, and she nestled into his chest.

“Sleep, Callan,” she murmured. “The world may look different when we wake, but for now, the dark cannot ?nd us.”

He didn’t know when he had ?nally drifted off to sleep, ?ngers dragging up and down Tava’s arm as her breathing deepened, but he did know it was the best sleep he had gotten in months. Did she realize what she had done? That now he would want her next to him every night?

He rolled over, hand seeking the warm body that had fallen asleep in his arms, but when it found nothing but cold sheets, he shot up.

“Tava?”

He ?ung the blankets off, scooping his pants from the ?oor as he climbed out of the bed.

“Tava?” he called again, stumbling as he attempted to walk and slide a leg into his pant leg at the same time. Maybe she had gone back to her room to bathe? He knew she didn’t regret last night. Tava did nothing without thinking it through ?rst. She wouldn’t have initiated any of that without being sure of herself. That had been clear by the nightclothes she had been wearing when she came to his rooms.

But those nightclothes were not on the ?oor where he had dropped them. Nor was the robe in the sitting room where it had slid from her body.

He ?nished getting his pants on before he pulled open the main door, rushing down the hall to her rooms. He rapped his knuckles on the wood.

“Tava? Are you in there?”

“She is not here, your Majesty.” Callan turned to ?nd Magdalena standing in the hall holding a bundle of linens in her hands. “She mentioned you might need new bedding this morning.”

“Do you know where she went? Did she go to help with the children?”

“I do not know,” she answered. “She and King Drake left before dawn.”

Before dawn?

“But Queen Scarlett is in the dining room,” Magdalena added. “Perhaps she knows.”

Scarlett was here? None of the Fae had stayed here since Eliza had been injured. They’d all been staying at the castle.

“Thank you, Magdalena,” he said, hurrying back down the hall to his room.

He quickly ?nished dressing before he rushed down to the dining room where Scarlett was indeed seated at the table. She was not eating though. She was sitting at the head of the table, one leg crossed over the other, her ?ngers wrapped around the ends of the armrests. She was completely in black.

She was dressed as Death’s Maiden.

“Scarlett,” he said, unease already blooming his gut. “What are you doing here?”

She rolled her lips, eyes darting to the side, before she met his stare. “I just returned from the Water Court.”

Callan felt the color drain from his face. “What did you do?”

“They came to me, Callan. I did not ask this of them.”

“When?” he demanded. “When did they come to you?”

“Last night. After the meeting in the council room.”

“They came back here with me.”

“They returned to the castle. Sorin and I were in our rooms with the rest of the Fae, discussing matters further. They came to me,” she said again.

“Where is Tava, Scarlett? Where is she?”

“This was her choice, Callan,” Scarlett said calmly. Too calmly. “She wanted to do this. None of us asked. We all told her we could ?nd another way.”

“Where is she?” Callan bellowed, unable to move.

“The Water Court,” Scarlett said. “She is with Briar and Drake in the Water Court. To trade themselves for Ashtine.”

He had never hated the Wraith more than he did at that moment.