Page 59 of The Call of Crimson (The Crimson & Shadows #2)

My footsteps falter, eyes squeezing shut as I fight the injustice and frustration at not understanding why. I struggle to remain in control, my shadows twirling around my fingers and forearm in thin, angry wisps.

A few deep breaths later, I regain composure, recalling the shadows. “There is nothing I can do here,” I confirm.

Ayden reaches for me, his hand grasping my shoulder in an attempt to soothe. There is no solace to be found in a situation like this. I don’t want to be comforted when I carry the guilt for my kingdom being in the situation to begin with.

Shrugging him off, I sigh. “Those are still my people, Ayden.” My eyes connect with his. “They’re my responsibility, and I am failing them. So, I’m pleading with you, Prince. Do something. Anything.”

The corner of his lips quirk in a subtle smirk. “I never thought this would be the first time I’d hear you beg, but fuck, does it sound good coming from you.”

“I draw the line at getting on my knees,” I retort, crossing my arms. “I bow for no male.”

“Very well. You don’t have to be dramatic.” His tone softens. “I already sent what food and supplies we could to your people. I wish I could spare the soldiers, but we’re stretched thin as it is.”

It wasn’t nearly enough, but it would have to suffice.

“Thank you,” I breathe, shoulders sagging in relief.

It’s late, but my mind refuses to calm. Sleep has evaded me for the past three hours as I stare at the ceiling while Ayden snores softly beside me.

The restlessness in my limbs draws me from bed, being careful not to disturb him as I slip on a robe and leave his chambers.

I silently curse myself for walking the halls barefoot as the chill from the marble floor numbs my toes. I relish the feeling of my bare feet against the ground, but despise the bite of the cold.

When I reach the council room, the door is already ajar. Guards patrol the hallways, leaving me with little concern for safety, but I form a shadow dagger in my palm just in case.

The door creaks, alerting anyone in the area to my presence, as I push it open. Soft light flickers from Faerie lights scattered throughout the dark room. They illuminate the room, casting a warm glow over the last person I expect to see.

Darian.

Slipping inside the room, I let the door click shut behind me as his blue eyes raise to meet mine.

He’s dressed similarly to me, a thick robe hanging open to reveal sleep pants and a bare chest. His disheveled hair further confirms my suspicion that I was not the only one unable to sleep.

“You too?” he grunts.

I lean against the table beside him, taking in the map he’s studying. “I’ve been staring at the ceiling for three hours, wondering what I’m missing.”

The map is the same from earlier, the markings still not showing any obvious pattern.

“What we’re missing,” Darian corrects, exhaling a sigh. “It was wrong of me to suggest you were stupid for not finding the pattern that I myself could not identify.”

“Careful, General,” I tease. “That sounds an awful lot like an apology.”

He scoffs. “I said I was wrong, not that I was sorry.”

And there it is. Asshole.

My fingers trace over the map, measuring the distance between attack locations and the towns surrounding them.

“Have they ever taken anything in their attacks?”

“Other than my soldiers’ lives?” Darian deadpans. “No. They don’t loot, pillage, or rape.”

Cocking a brow, I ask, “Does that not strike you as odd?”

“Of course, it’s strange, but nothing about this enemy is typical. The Fae have never played by the same rules.”

“An enemy that attacks with deadly intent, possesses a poison that could end the lives of every opponent, that they utilize only a fraction of the time, but they take nothing? None of this adds up.”

He grunts. “I’m well aware.”

The number of facts that just don’t make sense becomes overwhelming the more I think about it. It’s like I have pieces to a puzzle, but they’re all for different puzzles.

“What if we’re looking at too much?” I ask, worrying my bottom lip.

“How so?”

“Forget the lack of plundering, they’re not looking for our resources or weapons. Let’s just focus on the attacks with the poison. Do you have a blank map?”

Darian retrieves a fresh map, laying it atop the other. “What are you thinking?”

“Perhaps the pattern isn’t in the locations of the attacks. Can you mark where just the attacks with poison occurred in order of occurrence?”

He nods, slowly placing marks on the map, adding the dates beside each one. The earliest attacks start along the border between Prudia and Rimor. About halfway through, they shift towards the top of the map, towards the capital.

Darian continues marking as I read each date.

“They shifted focus… right after we arrived from Rimor.”

The realization sits heavily in my stomach.

“They’ve been tracking one of you,” Darian adds, finishing the last of the locations.

“Why did they spend so much time along our border?” I ask, recalling the first time I had encountered the Fae when searching for Julian’s body. “How is it possible they only broke through once?”

Darian’s jaw ticks. “Ayden has been protecting you far longer than you realize.”

“You’ve been keeping them out of Rimor,” I breathe.

He says nothing, his silence answer enough. Ayden had been so much busier than I ever realized.

I turn my attention back to the map. The last several are scattered, nowhere near the others.

“What changed here?” I ask, pointing to the last three.

He eyes the dates before pointing to one. “That’s the night Lord Aurelius appeared in the middle of my camp right before we were attacked.”

“He appeared?” My heart stumbles, breath catching in my throat. “You mean when Ayden sent him away from the castle?”

“No. I mean, he quite literally appeared in the middle of the camp just before we were attacked.”

“That’s not possible,” I whisper, shaking my head.

“I assure you that is exactly what happened,” Darian insists, his tone bordering on impatient. “One moment, he was just standing there, the next, we were being attacked. I didn’t exactly have time to ask questions on how he got there.”

“That was the night of the engagement ball. He was there with Charlotte. Ayden and I argued, and he sent Aurelius away from the castle as punishment… but that’s over a day’s ride from the castle. It’s not physically possible unless he Traveled with you.”

Darian sighs, running a hand through his mussed hair. “Look, I don’t know how it happened, but it did, Breyla. He’s been with me ever since, fighting alongside my soldiers at every attack.”

I drop it, deciding this topic was better broached with Aurelius himself. “Was he at the remaining two attack sites?”

He freezes, his gaze slowly sliding to mine. “He was.”

Dread fills me at the conclusion we’ve both come to.

My heart beats so fast, I hear the pounding in my ears like the torrent of a river about to pull you under. The muscles in my chest tighten and constrict as I whisper, “Aurelius is their target.”