Page 76 of Lady of Starfire (Lady of Darkness #5)

Callan

“S he’s nearly here,” Juliette said, sticking her head inside the tent that Callan shared with Azrael.

They had entered a rather odd daily routine.

With Drake and Tava only able to make their way here in the dead of night, Callan found himself getting a few hours of sleep in the evenings and then falling back onto his bedroll in the hours before the sun rose.

Tava and Drake weren’t able to come every night, and Drake had far more freedom than Tava did.

He had been here last night, but it had been three nights since he’d last seen her.

Not that he’d had much time to think about it.

If he wasn’t getting those few precious hours of sleep, he was training with Azrael or Juliette, attending endless strategy meetings with rebel leaders, or just helping around the camp wherever he could.

It had taken a few days for the rebels to even come close to him, and it took Ezra talking to some of the men the second night to get them to discuss their plans around him.

Callan couldn’t blame them. The third night, when the Tyndells were able to return again, it had only taken seeing them to include him without worry, and suddenly they welcomed him into the fold without another word said about it.

Callan grabbed his cloak and swung it around his shoulders as he ducked out of the tent, Azrael passing him a tin cup of some watered-down stew as they moved through the camp.

“Did you get enough rest?” Callan asked him.

“Enough to bolster my reserves for the night, but after this meeting, I do need more to fill them completely,” he answered.

They’d spent all of last night rescuing a group of people being brought in from outlying villages.

With the poorer districts all but emptied, they were seeing more and more people being brought into the capital in wagons.

The rebels in the city would report that they were being brought in to work since they could not pay their share of the newly increased taxes.

But there were never any wagons taking those same people back to their homes.

The wagons always left empty and returned full.

Men. Women. Children. It didn’t seem to matter.

Azrael had to be exhausted. He was using his magic to create diversions, cover tracks, whatever he could really.

He was training mortals in the camps, and this morning he’d had to leave to go create a portal for Eliza.

It had been a fast trip. He’d only been gone a few minutes, but the distance drained him more than anything.

Tonight they were meeting to discuss what they were going to do with their growing numbers.

They couldn’t keep everyone here, and many of the people couldn’t fight.

The women and children being rescued. The elderly.

With so many people, they would surely be discovered soon.

Juliette had wards around them, but they were being stretched thin.

They had just stepped beyond a copse of trees and into a semi-private clearing when Azrael cursed soundly.

“Watch your mouth. There are children nearby, Plant Prince,” admonished a voice of silk and honey.

“This is not the ‘her’ I thought you were referencing,” Azrael said tightly to Juliette.

Nuri was leaning against a tree, flipping a dagger in her hand. Mordecai stood nearby, arms crossed and eyes constantly scanning …everything. Their surroundings. The sky. His wings rustled slightly, and his gaze skimmed over Juliette.

“Where is the other Witch?”

“Arantxa is collecting the Tyndells,” Juliette answered. “Nuri, a moment?”

Death’s Shadow paused her dagger-flipping, eyeing her sister curiously as she pushed off the tree and followed her into the trees.

“Do you know what that is about?” Mordecai asked, eyes narrowed on the spot where the two had disappeared.

“Do we know what they are up to?” Azrael asked, his lip curling slightly. “I am certain they do not even know what they are doing half the time.”

The seraph didn’t answer.

“I did not know you and Nuri were to join us today,” Callan ventured, keeping well away from Mordecai.

They may have explained how they had been working on the inside all this time, but the male was …

unnerving. Callan had seen a lot of immortal beings at this point—Fae, Avonleyan, Shifter, Witch—and despite that, there was something about Mordecai that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“We bring undesirable reports,” the seraph commander said.

“Did something happen?” Callan asked.

Mordecai nodded once, his gaze going back to where Juliette and Nuri had disappeared.

“Are you going to share the reports?” Azrael asked, crossing his arms and glaring at the male.

“When everyone has arrived,” Mordecai said. “I do not like to repeat myself. It is inefficient.”

“And what, exactly, is efficient about the three of us just standing here?” Azrael countered.

The seraph’s wings rustled again, flaring slightly.

“You’re annoying him, Flower Fae,” Nuri chided, stepping back into the clearing. “It’s rude.”

The hoot of an owl had all of them stilling. It sounded again a moment later. Paja swooped overhead, flying to a low branch. Arantxa stepped into view, Drake, Tava, and Ezra behind her.

The dark-skinned Witch had arrived a few days ago, along with news of Sawyer’s death and reports of Ashtine and Talwyn. The former was not doing well, and Talwyn had been offered the choice of coming here with Arantxa, but had stayed to tend to the Wind Princess.

The Witch surveyed them all shrewdly before striding to Juliette. Tava reached for a satchel Drake was carrying. She met Callan’s gaze, giving him a soft smile, before she also moved to Juliette.

“I have those herbs you requested,” Tava said, untying the bag as she went. She wasn’t in a witchsuit tonight, but she was in tight-fitting pants and a close-cut tunic, her cloak billowing out behind her.

“Did you two find anything on your scouting the last few days?” Drake asked, coming to stand with Callan and Azrael. “Rumors are beginning to spread about rebel camps. We need to get people moved out of here.”

“We found some decent areas farther north in the forest. It took us a good day’s ride. With so many people, it’ll take a few days,” Azrael said.

“Wouldn’t it be wiser to take them even farther north? Even a day’s ride is too close at this point. They are spreading forces out to the northeast to cover all the towns and villages. Two camps that close together will be noticeable,” Drake said.

“If we go much farther north, I worry about the camps getting too close to the Fire Court border,” Azrael said. “Until we know if Eliza can take that seat from Bastien—”

“Eliza won’t fail at that,” Callan interjected.

“We just need to give her time. You took them there this morning. She’s obviously going to be making her move soon.

” Callan pulled a small, folded-up piece of paper from his pocket.

He’d drawn a crude map of Windonelle on it to take with on their scouting to mark areas of interest. “I’m not saying we need to set up camps right on the border, but if we can get them a little farther north, when Eliza does take back the Fire Court, the people will easily be able to cross the borders into the Court and safety. ”

“What makes you think they’ll be safe in a Fae Court?”

They all turned to Ezra, who was standing a few feet away. He reminded Callan a lot of Tava. Always quiet and blending into the background. Hearing and seeing everything.

He stepped forward. “You think they will suddenly welcome mortals into their lands?”

“They will,” Callan said. “I’ve spent nearly a year building a rapport with all the Fae Courts. I know each of the sitting royals well, including the one standing with us right now.”

Ezra’s eyes flicked to Azrael. “He is Earth Court, not Fire.”

“I spent months in the Fire Court.”

“Chasing a woman,” Ezra countered.

Callan’s lips pressed into a thin line. Yeah, he’d deserved that. He’d expected this. To have to prove himself to his people, but the need to prove himself to Sloan’s son was an extra heavy weight on his soul.

“That’s fair,” Callan conceded. “But that is clearly over, and that same woman is one of the most powerful beings in this world and is now the wife of the Fire Prince. They will welcome us across the border once they regain control of their territory.”

“And until then?”

“We hold the lines with the allies we have in Rydeon and Toreall, as well as the Witches and Shifters,” Callan said firmly.

“Is everything all right?” Tava asked, coming up behind them.

Ezra didn’t look convinced in the slightest, but he didn’t say anything else, turning to face her. “Fine,” he relented. “What do we need to do tonight?”

“All those plans need to be put on hold,” Nuri interrupted, shuffling closer to Mordecai. “We have news, and then we need to go. Alaric has been in a rage since Scarlett destroyed the cliffs and stole Briar back.”

“Briar is back?” Azrael asked.

“We do not know where he is, but he did not return with Alaric from the Southern Islands,” Mordecai said. “The Maraan Prince is certain he did not perish in the desecration of the cliffs.”

“Which leaves Scarlett,” Nuri said with a shrug.

“What are these reports then?” asked Arantxa, her voice carrying the same icy edge Hazel always spoke with.

Nuri’s eyes darted to the surrounding vegetation, and it was Mordecai who said, “Two of your camps were discovered in Toreall, along the Wind Court border.”

“When?” Drake demanded.

“I do not know how long the Maraans have known of it. I was informed of their discovery while Alaric was in the Southern Islands. We were in discussions of how to handle the camps, but when Alaric returned in his rage …” Nuri trailed off, eyes fixed on her boots.

“He had them all killed today. Some Wind Fae crossed the border and attempted to help. They were also slaughtered,” Mordecai said. There was no emotion in his tone. A warrior reporting facts.