Mylo’s gaze flicked to our hands, then back up the Aedan. “Garven told me there was a crack in the fortress’s water reservoir and that a rupture was imminent. He said another messenger had already gone to get Corva, so I rushed to the reservoir to make sure the water stayed contained.”
“They took you to the opposite side of the fortress,” Aedan summarized.
Mylo nodded. “It turned out there was no crack. Garven had been misinformed by Porter who had been misinformed by someone else.” He waved his hand. “There was a chain of at least eight people, and the first was wearing a glamor.”
Aedan’s brows wrinkled. “How did you figure that out?”
Mylo rolled his eyes. “Because he looked like me.”
“What?”
Mylo ran a hand through his hair. Very uncharacteristic. “The last person I interviewed was confused by my questions and finally explained that I’d told him to get help because the reservoir was about to burst.” He shook his head. “I was in this hall the entire time, until Garven came to get me.”
He turned to me. “When I realized what had happened… I’ve been sick it about all afternoon. I thought maybe you survived in the washroom or Aedan’s room, but the washroom had burned and Aedan’s door had melded with the wall—you could not have gotten into it if you’d tried. So then…”
He glanced away from both of us. “I searched outside under the balcony. When I couldn’t find you, I feared that…”
I felt bad for this sweet soldier who had spent a third of his days for months guarding my door or escorting me around the castle. “Mylo.”
He turned back to me.
Tightening my fingers around Aedan’s, I looked at the captain. “Mylo, I don’t blame you. You couldn’t have known.”
He bowed his head, and I squeezed Aedan’s hand. “I do not hold you responsible either,” the king said. “It was a well-calculated attack, and we will need to be just as precise as we hunt the perpetrator.”
Mylo bowed. “I’ve been lurking in the Dining Hall to see if I overheard anything useful, but when I realized the hour, I came up here to try to catch you before you discovered what I thought was… a horrible tragedy. I… What would you likeme to do now?”
Aedan kept his fingers firmly wrapped around my hand, but his thumb traced the length of mine while he spoke slowly. “Listening for any loose tongues is a good idea, but do not spend the night there. Spend it with your wife. I think… I take you away from her too often.”
Mylo’s jaw fell, but he whipped it back into position and dipped his head. It was a lot more bowing than he normally did, but he probably wasn’t sure what else to do with such a generous king.
“I… Your Majesty, are you well?”
“No.” Aedan growled almost as low as his drekkan. “I will not bewelluntil I remove this threat. But that is not a reason for you to be unwell also. I will guard Callista until we figure out who did this.” His tone softened. “Enjoy some time with Corva, as much as you can arrange. You’ve spent much more time here than normal lately.”
The king’s thoughtful instructions to Mylo mixed with the slow motion of his thumb on my hand and warmed my heart. These moments, where he did something for someone else that was not mandated by his honor or duty, made him seem vulnerable—like he was risking a new behavior. It was a chance for someone to consider him weak, to think that he cared, but he did it anyway. And that effort made me want to throw my arms around his neck and give him a hug so tight he’d actually feel it through his thick skin.
And maybe I should be a little less judgmental of his thick skin. He’d lost his parents close to when I lost mine. I took care of my brother; he’d taken care of his kingdom. And then he’d been cursed… but was it really so hard to imagine him worrying so much that he’d tried to protect himself from my mother?
It wasn’t.
At least, not anymore.
After Mylo left, Aedan led me out of my room, into the hall, and into his room.
We stopped just inside the door.
His room was monstrous—big enough for his drekkan to sprawl across the empty floor space like a dragon might in a throne room. On the far left, a bed big enough for four adults filled the center of the wall. That entire side of the room looked like its own room—the bed, a large chair, a long couch, a table, wardrobe, and a few other pieces of furniture were all arranged in such an ordered and structured format that I was sure it had been done by my monster king. It looked like it should have had a wall separating it from the rest of the space, but it did not.
On the right side of the room, a desk leaned against the wall that held a door to my room. Behind the desk was a large meeting table, a set of couches, and a window.
An entrance in the far corner led to what I assumed was a washroom.
The entire suite had been completely untouched by the flames, confirming without any doubt that it was a magical attack on me.
After I had time to silently survey Aedan’s personal chambers, he cleared his throat. “This used to be a sitting room. I had the walls removed after the curse because my drekkan fit better without them.” His voice tapered off. “Though it might make things awkward now.”
He swallowed loudly. “It doesn’t need to be awkward.” He hadn’t let go of my hand since I’d taken his in my room. Now, he turned toward me and wrapped it in both of his hands. “Callista.” His voice dropped into a hoarse, emotional tone. “Iwant to give you my room.”
