Heat radiating off of Aedan filtered through my clothes and warmed my shoulders. He was hotter than usual. I glanced at the window. How had I missed the rising sun?
Koan and Jolter followed my gaze to the window and shared another look with each other. “We can wait in the hall.” Koan turned a raised brow to me. “Do you want to come with us?”
I turned to Aedan, easily spotting his clenched jaw and fire-like colors running along the blood vessels under his skin. “Don’t leave the hall,” he ground out. “Please.”
I squeezed his hand. “We’ll wait right outside the door.”
He drew my hand up to his lips and kissed the inside of my wrist, sending a burning heat into my skin and a fluttering thrill to my heart. “Thank you.”
Chapter 28: Aedan
Callista laughed and rolled onto her back on the bed. She’d been reading a book about humans. I’d brought it in here months ago to try and figure out her behavior—back when I thought everything about her could be explained by either her fae or her human origins. She’d been laughing about it all afternoon.
“This says that humans are driven by base, carnal instincts, and that they lack basic sympathies and affections that make relationships meaningful to elves.” She fixed a fake glare on me. “How can you believe this nonsense?”
I rolled my eyes. “It is nothing compared to what our literature says about fae.” She laughed again.
Spending the day as a drekkan with her in my room was a new kind of torture. I wanted to wrap her in my arms—my elf arms—and hold her again. I wanted to touch her face and kiss her. I wanted to talk with her about marriage, but I refused to do it when I could not hold her as we didso.
My curse had never been more cruel.
As the window outside darkened, I realized a new problem: I did not want Callista to be alone in the hall by herself, but I also did not want her to watch me shift back into an elf. Would she be upset if I asked her to wait in the washroom?
Just as I gathered up the courage to ask her, a knock rescued me. Mylo’s voice called in. “Your Majesty?”
I ignored him and turned to Callista. “It seems Mylo has arrived. Would you wait in the hall with him for a few minutes while I shift back into an elf?”
She turned to the window, and her eyes widened. “How did I miss that?” she mumbled to herself, crossing to the door and tightening my jacket around herself. She opened the door to Mylo, waved at me, and then slipped out into the hallway.
My transformation took only a few seconds, but the pain that burned through my bones as they dissolved and reformed left me breathless and shaking for at least a minute afterward. It was not something I wanted anyone to witness. But this pain brought me back to a form that would let me approach Callista. She had brought meaning to my eternal torture, and if she was willing to love half an elf… I would be a fool to push her away.
When I opened the door, Mylo was talking. “...I sent a message to the dressmaker. He should still have your measurements. I expect he’ll arrive any moment.” Koan had been right—Mylo didn’t see any reason to keep her survival a secret.
He bowed to me. “Your Majesty. I have news. Your cousin has been reported in Bridgetown. We expect he’ll be here before the night is over. Forten is preparing for an event.”
“Robin?” If he’d found a way around the cursed barrier, he might be able to help with the shifting too.
“No,” Mylo said slowly. “Guyan.”
“Oh.” I chuckled. He wasn’t the brother to me that Robin had been, but he’d still help. “I know he wasn’t your favorite, but if he got through the barrier, he probably has ideas on ways to end the curse too.”
Mylo bowed his head.
Flaming rivers. I hated that. It had never bothered me before, but now—seeing him submit when he clearly disagreed with me felt like grinding my teeth across glass. “Mylo.”
How did I say what I was thinking without appearing weak? I looked at Callista and knew what she’d say. Power meant nothing without kindness. She’d just spill her thoughts and let them land how they may. I braced myself and let the words fall.
“Mylo. You have been my right hand for more than a decade, my eyes and sword when I could not be present because of a curse. You have more than earned your right to have an opinion different than mine. Do not bury it out of any sense of decorum or duty.”
The captain bowed again, but this time felt different. “Thank you.” Did he stand a little taller, or did I imagine it? “In that case, Your Majesty, may I recommend caution? I know he has always been supportive and friendly to you, but I have seen others suffer under the short end of his anger.”
I nodded. “Of course.” Callista slipped her hand through my arm. Did she realize the battle that had just happened inside me? Did she know I still struggled? Her hand on mine strengthened my position, though, and made it easier to ask the question that hovered in my mind. “Mylo, could you not say the same of me? That you’ve seen people suffer under my anger?”
He huffed a silent chuckle and glanced atCallista. “I have not seen such things in months. And when I did see it, your anger was always justifiable, and your justice was not unexpected. Guyan makes me nervous because his vengeance does not always make sense and…”
He trailed off, as if debating if I really wanted to hear his thoughts. I waited, hoping I wouldn’t have to emphasize his position again.
Finally, he blew out a puff of air. “The thing is, Your Majesty, I suspect him in quite a few unsolved crimes from many years ago, much like I suspect your aunt started the fire yesterday. I cannot prove anything, and I would not have dared mention a suspicion of royalty before this moment, but that is the source of my discomfort with him.” He shrugged. “He is generally well-liked amongst nobles and seems popular, but I cannot shake my discomfort around him.”
