Page 131 of Lady of Starfire (Lady of Darkness #5)

Callan

“T ava?”

She started, shooting to her feet. She had been sitting in a chair near the window, looking out over the city below. He’d been watching her for a good minute now, wondering how in the world they had made it here.

“Callan, I did not hear you enter,” she said, smoothing her hands down her silk robe before clasping her hands in front of her. Habits that had been ingrained in her from childhood. Then, as if suddenly remembering such a thing was no longer required, her cheeks flushed.

His lips quirked to the side as he crossed the room, pulling her into him. A small sigh escaped her as she settled against his chest, and he ran a hand up her spine.

“What were you contemplating so deeply?” he asked.

“Nothing important,” she murmured. “Is Eva awake yet?”

“She still sleeps,” Callan answered, taking his wife’s hand and leading her out to their small private dining room.

Eva and the other children had returned from Avonleya when Scarlett took the Wards down a week ago.

Most of the children had returned to Baylorin with it being the only home they knew.

Nuri, Juliette, and Scarlett had been working closely with Callan and Tava to find them permanent homes, but there were so many of them, there were still a couple dozen to work through.

Those children were currently being housed in a wing of the castle with constant caretakers.

Tava spent most of her days there, and Eva was always excited to go see the other children the moment she woke.

But today would be different. At high noon, he and Tava would be officially crowned King and Queen of Windonelle. Soon there would be staff bustling around them. Tava would be rushed off to bathe and dress. They would send him off to do the same. But for the next hour, he had her all to himself.

There was a small breakfast spread laid out for them, and he pulled out a chair for her to sit before taking the seat across from her.

She was pouring them both tea as she asked, “When is everyone else arriving?”

The Lords of the various Windonelle territories had all been gathered since the war had officially ended, and Lords from Rydeon and Toreall had been making their way here after each coronation.

It was why they had started in Toreall and worked their way west. Drake and Hale themselves would arrive with one of the Fae Royalty using portals for Traveling.

“Throughout the morning,” Callan answered.

“And the celebration afterwards?”

Callan smiled at her. “Everything is being handled, Little Fox. There is nothing for you to do but enjoy the day.” She smiled, but it was tight as she turned her attention to fixing her plate. “Tava?”

“It is nothing, Cal.”

He was up, around the table, and sliding into the chair beside her in the next breath. He took a serving spoon from her hand and set it aside before taking both her hands in his as she twisted to face him. His thumb swiped along her knuckles and across the ring she now never took off.

“Tell me, Tava, and do not tell me it is nothing.”

“I am simply not used to so much attention,” she answered with a soft smile. “I was always a spectator at such events.”

“You are no longer in the background, Tava.”

“I know. It takes some …getting used to.”

“I will be beside you. All day. If you need a moment, I know the perfect small conservatory to get some air.”

She huffed a soft laugh, pulling a hand free of his to cup his cheek. “I truly do love you, Callan.”

He reached up and gently grasped her nape, pulling her to him. As her lips parted for him, he resented the fact the staff would be here soon to begin preparations when he’d much rather take her back to bed.

With willpower he did not know he possessed, he pulled back. Her turquoise eyes followed his lips and that willpower almost shattered. “Was this what you were thinking by the window?” he asked, swallowing down desire.

“What?” Her brows knitted together for the briefest moment. “Oh, that. No. I was thinking of Balam, as odd as that sounds.”

“I do not think it is that odd,” Callan replied, tucking golden hair behind her ear. “He did raise you.”

“True. And I think …” Her gaze fell to her lap for a moment before she said, “I think he truly loved my mother, and perhaps by extension, Drake and me.”

“I think he also loved you both,” Callan said. “Everything he did was to keep you both out of harm’s way, just as he vowed to your mother.”

“I think that is why he did it,” she said, fingers reaching for her amulet and dragging it back and forth along the chain.

“He made the comment he vowed that Drake and I would not know pain and suffering as our mother had, but he had known it too. He rarely spoke of her. I think it hurt too much to do so, and if you had …”

Callan thumbed away the single tear that had slipped free. “If I had what?”

“If you were gone, I would have known the same pain and suffering he had lived with for the last two decades.”

“Immortal beings do not seem to love the same way mortals do. I do not know if it is simply because they live for so many years or if it is something else, but I think you are right, Tava. I think Balam loved you both. If I have learned anything over the last year, it is that to love is to sacrifice.”

“I wish I knew her story,” Tava whispered, swiping at another tear. “I know this is silly. I have lived my entire life without my mother, but I wish I knew what happened.”

“It is not silly, Tava. From the sounds of it, her story was not an entirely happy one,” Callan said gently. “I think that was another way of keeping his vow to her. That you would not be burdened with the knowledge of her suffering.”

“That is a beautiful way to think of it.”

The door was thrown open, startling them both, and Callan turned to find Eva skipping into the room. She stopped suddenly, a frown appearing on her face.

“Why is Tava crying?” Then her eyes flew wide. “Are you leaving again, Cal?”

“No, Eva,” he said quickly, getting to his feet and going to his sister.

He crouched before her. There were still sleep lines on her cheek.

“We already discussed this. No more traveling for quite some time. When the time does come again, you and Tava will come with me.” She nodded a few times, worrying her bottom lip, and Callan reached up to tug it from her teeth.

“Would you like some breakfast before it is time to get ready for today’s festivities? ”

Her face brightened at that. “Yes, please,” she said, skirting around him and bouncing over to climb into the chair he had just vacated.

She and Tava were already in a deep conversation about dresses when he lowered back into his chair.

As he watched them, he found himself grateful for a Maraan Lord that had learned to truly love so that he could have these moments.

“Do I get to steal away a High Queen for a dance tonight?”

Scarlett looked up at him as she tried to hide her smile. “It would be foolish to refuse an invitation from a king, would it not? Although, I do prefer my invitations written on paper and left inside books.”

Callan barked a laugh, taking the hand she extended to him. He nodded at Sorin before he led Scarlett to the dance floor.

“Here we are,” Scarlett said while they moved seamlessly through the dance steps. “Back where it all began.”

“A lifetime older and perhaps a little wiser,” Callan agreed.

Scarlett scoffed. “A little? I have been told by many that I have become wise these last months. And you?” Her features softened as she looked up at him. “You have become a king worthy of his crown, your Majesty.”

“Thank you, Scarlett.”

“Are you happy?” she asked after a moment.

He scanned the room, finding Tava across the hall speaking with Drake and Ezra. Eva had been with Tula almost all evening, and he found them on the dance floor. Tula had apparently convinced Rayner to dance, and Eva had dragged Cassius to the dance floor with her.

Finally, he said, “Yes, Scarlett. I am very happy.”

“The light suits you,” she replied, releasing a hand to spin under his arm. Her black dress flared at her feet before he pulled her back to him.

“And you, Scarlett? Are you happy?”

“I am.”

“Are you free?”

She studied him for a long moment, and he could see the tears shimmering in her eyes. There was a thickness to her voice when she said, “I am, Callan. I am free.”

The song came to an end, and he bent to press a soft kiss to her cheek. “I am glad, Scarlett.”

There was a swirl of shadows before she was pressing a vial into his hand. “Should you ever need me, I will always come.”

He watched her make her way back to Sorin, but she never made it. Cyrus was intercepting her and swinging her back onto the dance floor as she tipped her head back in laughter.

Tava caught his eye, and she excused herself, making her way to him. Callan tucked the vial into a pocket before immediately pulling her in close.

“You were wonderful today,” he said, dipping his head to murmur into her ear.

He watched her cheeks turn a light pink. “You have told me that multiple times now.”

“You look beautiful.”

Her blush deepened. “You have said that multiple times as well.”

He hummed. “Did you go shopping for me for tonight, Little Fox? Something in blue and grey? Perhaps to celebrate the coronations?”

Her eyes went wide. “Callan!” she admonished in a whisper, that blush going even deeper.

He laughed. A real one that he felt in his soul as he bent to brush his lips across hers. “Do you need some air?” he murmured.

“Yes, please,” she whispered.

They made their way through the side room, and Callan led her down the hall to the conservatory. It was different from the last time they had been here. It had been cold and the middle of winter. Now it was late spring, and several of the windows were open.

He was watching her run her fingers along some new buds when he said, “I have been meaning to ask you: do you wish for Ezra to continue being one of your personal guards?”

“This again?” she sighed, glancing over her shoulder.

“You are a queen, Tava,” he answered. “A queen needs personal guards.”

“Not following me everywhere every moment of the day.”

He arched a brow. “I am going to assume there is no place to sneak off to anymore, and if there is, you will be taking me with you?”

She rolled her lips to hide her smile. “Of course. But since that is indeed the case, a personal guard seems silly.”

“Tava …”

She sighed again. “It would probably be better if Ezra was one of your guards instead. He could follow in his father’s footsteps, I suppose.”

“Why is that? I did not get the impression I was his favorite person, despite my relationship with his father.”

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks again. “Do you remember in the gardens in Avonleya when I told you I had only kissed one other?”

“What?” he demanded, taking a step towards her.

“We grew up together. He told you that when you learned of the rebel camps. We were friends. Balam was trying to arrange for something more before everything happened.”

Well, that explained a lot.

A noble being betrothed to a guard, even a royal guard was not common, but it would have kept Tava in the background.

She would have been safe, and any children they may have had would have not been considered noble.

He could see it all now. How thoroughly Balam had been trying to make sure the Middell heirs stayed safe and hidden away.

“He is a good man, Cal,” Tava continued, pulling him back to their conversation. “It would have been a fine match, but it would have never been this.”

Callan slid his hands into pockets, mainly to hide his clenched fists. “Captain of the Guard. We can promote him to Captain of the Guard. We will find new personal guards for both of us.”

Tava huffed a small laugh, making her way towards him. “As you wish, Callan.”

“It was only one kiss, right?” he asked when she came to a stop in front of him.

“Only one,” she answered, pushing up onto her toes. “The rest are yours.”

He could live with that, he supposed, as he wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her soundly.