Page 58 of Unseen Eye (Aetherian Chronicles #1)

By the time we get back to Coire, the assembly is just wrapping up. Cal decides to make one last appearance—just for show. As I move to join him, he stops me with a knowing chuckle.

“Different clothes, remember? Let’s not make it too obvious.”

“Oh, right. Good point.” I watch him head back, but then he turns around again, catching me off guard.

“I meant what I said earlier,” he says, his voice softer.

“You really are brilliant. And... damn, you’re gorgeous.

” He steps toward me, his lips almost touching mine, but I angle my head, deepening it.

The kiss is slow, but it’s intense, the world fading around us until we’re both breathless.

Eventually, he pulls away, lips lingering near mine.

“Before I lose all motivation,” he murmurs against my lips, “I’ll meet you in the war room.” He starts walking away, throwing a wink over his shoulder. “We’ll continue this tonight.”

I stand there for a moment, watching him go, a heavy feeling settling in my chest. If I wasn’t already falling for him, I’d be head over heels now. Who am I kidding? I’ve already fallen. Hard.

By the time I reach the war room, Izzy’s already there, flipping through the papers and books we brought back.

“Find anything?” I ask, dropping into a chair and grabbing one of the papers.

“Unless you can read the gods’ language,” Izzy says dryly, still focused on the page in front of her, “then no. Most of this is gibberish.”

I flip through the book of runes we found. Izzy’s right—it’s like staring at a foreign language with no key to unlock it. The script is elegant, almost mesmerizing, with its intricate swirls and flourishes.

“I have no idea what any of this means.”

“Neither did Theo,” Izzy adds dryly, not looking up from the pile of papers she’s sorting through. “He tried before running off to check on his squad. We’re all in the dark here.”

I pick up one of the papers myself and frown at the dense text. It’s beautiful and otherworldly, but utterly perplexing.

“This might be harder than I thought,” I mutter, flipping through the pages. After a long stretch of sifting through the unreadable text, Cal and Theo join us.

“How’s the reading?” Theo jokes as he enters the room. I shoot him a look that makes him laugh.

“Yup, you’re definitely becoming one of us. That bad?”

“It’s all unreadable,” I sigh, setting the latest parchment down. “What if this was all for nothing?” I glance at Cal, who’s already inspecting the page I just discarded.

“It wasn’t,” he says, not looking up.

“And how do you figure?” I ask, sarcasm thick in my voice. “Unless part of your fucking legacy is reading this language.”

“Your lack of faith in me hurts,” he says with a snort, earning an eye roll from me. He glances at Izzy, who shakes her head. “It’s too risky,” she whispers. Then he looks at Theo, who responds, “I disagree.”

“Did you forget I’m right here?” I ask, already annoyed.

Cal turns to me with a grin. “Oh, darling, I could never forget.” He steps forward, sitting on the table in front of me, forcing me to look at him. “What if I said I knew someone who could decipher this for us?”

“Is it your father?” I ask, thinking of Drystan’s connection to Valtris.

“No,” he says slowly. “Someone else.”

“Do you trust this person?”

“Yes.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” I stand but notice all three of them are staring at me, still sitting. “Okay, what am I missing?”

“Eva,” Cal says, his tone suddenly serious.

He speaks slowly, as if making sure I don’t miss a word.

“What I’m about to tell you is... sensitive.

I trust you, undoubtedly,” he adds, his voice softening, “but no one outside this room knows. For the sake of everyone involved, it needs to stay that way.”

I open my mouth to protest, the familiar sting of hurt creeping in, but I see the severity in his eyes. In theirs. They’re not joking. I sit back down, my heart pounding in my chest.

“Is this the secret you mentioned that one night?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. “The one you said I’d have to accept if I wanted to be with you?”

“Yes,” Cal says quietly. He jumps off the table and crouches in front of me, taking my hands in his.

“The night Catalpa was attacked,” he begins, locking eyes with me. “Drystan ordered us to stand down, to not aid them.”

“I knew that,” I whisper. “That’s not a secret.”

“Well,” he continues, “We couldn’t bear the thought of those people perishing because my father was too cowardly to act. So we went ourselves. By the time we arrived, most of the kingdom was in ruins, but we found some survivors among the debris.” He pauses, and I can feel my heart pounding.

“And?” I urge, desperate to hear more, hoping he’s the hero I believe him to be.

“We blinked as many as we could to safety until we were exhausted. Tens of thousands died that night, but we managed to save a hundred and two.”

“But where are they now?”

“Remember the story in your journal about Valtris and the minor gods that betrayed him?” he begins. “It happened in a city on the outskirts of the kingdom, near the northern mountains—Ardu. After the attack, it was believed to be gone, destroyed by the drakos’ fire.”

He pauses, letting the weight of his words sink in.

“And it was, for a time. But Valtris’s followers rebuilt.

It wasn’t much, but it was something. The best part?

No one knew. Everyone, including us, thought it had been wiped off the map.

So we took the people from Catalpa there, to a place where I knew they’d be safe.

Using the ley lines, I crafted a shield around Ardu that’s still in place today.

It keeps anyone with ill intentions out. ”

It takes me a second to remember to breathe.

Izzy and Theo both nod in agreement, their expressions filled with a mix of pride and sorrow.

“Cal,” I say softly. “What you did... what you all did... it’s incredible. You saved so many lives.”

“It was risky,” Izzy adds, “but we couldn’t just stand by. They deserved a chance.”

“I wish we could have saved them all, but we were too late,” Theo says, his voice heavy with defeat.

“I have a question,” I say, breaking the silence.

“I would be shocked if you didn’t,” Izzy mutters.

“How did you know about the city?”

“Believe it or not,” Cal answers, “we stumbled across it when we were younger.”

“And dumber,” Theo chimes in with a wink. “We wanted to see the ruins for ourselves, obsessed with seeing a drakos in person. So we blinked as far north as we could, then hiked the rest of the way. Only to find the exact opposite of what we were looking for.”

“Were they mad?”

“I wouldn’t say mad, more skeptical,” Cal continues. “Especially because of who my father is, but as you very well know, no one can deny my charm forever.”

“Gag me,” Izzy mumbles.

“Anyway,” Cal says, shooting her a look, “we helped them rebuild as much as we could, taking as many supplies as we could from here. Food, weapons, medicines—as much as we could take without drawing too much suspicion. So after the Catalpa attack, it was the obvious place to take them, plus we knew they had the room.”

“You make it sound like it was so easy,” Theo says, then chuckles. “They were royally pissed off at first.”

“Well, yeah,” Cal says, matching his chuckle. “But like I said, they came around. They couldn’t deny the survivors a second chance at life.”

“Or a chance at a shield and protection,” Theo adds.

“That too,” Cal says with a grin.

I look between the three of them, utterly shocked by their selflessness in helping others, despite being ordered to stand down.

One hundred and two people are alive today because of them.

I love that he told me this, but I hate that it took this long and only because he had no other choice.

My emotions are a jumble of admiration for their bravery and frustration at the secrecy.

Cal looks back at me, studying my face. “What are you thinking?”

Before I can respond, Izzy says, “I’m thinking we need to make preparations to go to Ardu, find Quinn, and see what we missed. Come on, Theo,” she says, grabbing him. “I have a feeling you don’t want to subject yourself to this.”

“Coming, Mother,” he says with a laugh and follows her out the door.

Cal turns back to me, raising his eyebrows, expecting an answer.

“I’m not mad,” I say quietly, “just more disappointed than anything.”

Cal raises an eyebrow with a smirk. “Oh, because that makes everything so much better,” he says, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

I recall the conversation with Theo and Izzy from the first night. Well, Theo didn’t technically lie. It feels like a lie of omission.

Cal seems to sense this. “You know, you can’t really blame them for not spilling their deepest secrets on your first night here. It’s not exactly our habit to unload everything on newcomers.” He gives a wry smile. “If anyone’s to blame, it’s me for not telling you sooner.”

“Did you ever plan on telling me?” I ask, trying to gauge his response.

Cal’s expression softens, a hint of amusement still playing at the corners of his mouth. “Yes, I did. I meant to tell you the next morning—after, you know...” He gives a slight shrug. “But we got sidetracked by unexpected company.”

I consider his words, feeling the weight of the moment settle over us. The disappointment begins to ebb away, replaced by a different kind of intensity. Without a word, he captures my lips in a kiss, deep and demanding.

I let myself get lost in the sensation, wrapping my arms around his neck.

My fingers tangling in his hair. He lifts me from the chair and sets me on top of the table.

His kiss growing more intense, each breath he takes a silent plea for reassurance that I’m his.

A hunger begins to grow in me as he takes my bottom lip and nips on it, the same action that pushed him over the edge not too long ago.

“Way to change the subject,” I say against his lips.