I covered Callista’s hand with mine, grateful I’d risked telling Mylo my thoughts. “Thank you, Mylo. I will exercise caution.”
As he left to prepare for my cousin’s arrival, I turned to Callista. “I hate myself for asking you this,” I said, squeezing her hand gently, “but I feel I must. Would you please accompany me to the Dining Hall for dinner tonight?”
She raised both brows in an obvious question of my sanity, so I rushed to explain. “As my cousin, Guyan is royalty. His return, especially when he’s been trapped outside the barrier for thirteen years, demands an event. If I did not attend as host, my capacity to rule would be severely questioned. Nobles would push for him to assume the throne. He’d never do such a thing—we’ve always been friends—but the opinions of the court would be difficult to manage.”
Now my voice dropped as the real danger leaked into my words. “And I don’t want to risk you being out of my sight again.”
She squeezed my wrist and pursed her lips. The cute little pucker drew my thumb to them like a moth to flame. I traced over them, breathing easier when she closed her eyes and relaxed. “Please say yes,” I whispered.
She kissed my thumb and then slid my hand to her cheek, where she leaned into it. “What if I don’t want to?” Flames burn me. I’d do anything for her. One touch on my skin, and I was clay in her hands.
“It’s your choice. Always. I won’t override you.” I bent down enough to kiss the top of her head, right in the middle of the hall. “I will stand here and beg you to spare me the worry of a night away from you, but I will not force you to go anywhere that you do not choose yourself. You have the entire castle to choose from. Any room. Every corner. It’s all yours.”
She reached up to my neck and nudged my head down. I bent until our foreheads touched. “I don’t think you understand,” she whispered. “I don’t want to go to the Dining Hall again, but I don’t want to leave you more. And just as much, I don’t want to create difficulties for your rule.”
My heart sped up. “Does that mean you’ll come?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I’ll come.”
Chapter 29: Callista
Moments after I’d agreed to attend dinner with Aedan, the dressmaker entered the hall with a large cart. He’d apologized for the shortage of appropriate items, promised to bring more soon, and left me with piles of clothes.
Now I wore a new white dress with a corset-style bodice and a lacy skirt that flared and swirled as we walked to the Dining Hall. Aedan had insisted on waiting for a maid to do my hair, so now I looked like a princess. I expected someone to jump out from a corner and yell, “Imposter!” at every turn, but… nobody did.
Our trip to the Dining Hall was completely unremarkable.
Just before we crossed the final curtain that would dump us on the royal dais, Aedan stopped. He cupped the side of my face with one hand and brushed his cheek up against mine, whispering in my ear. “Firehawk. You are gorgeous. People tonight will see you with admiration or jealousy. Do not let their reactions upset you.”
He paused, and then added, “Oh, Callista. I will bless your fire, and carry your light. I am glad you are here.” He grazed my cheek with a soft kiss, and then straightened, placing my hand on top of his forearm in a more formal hold than the comfortable one we’d had as we walked. “This is how the King of Hemlit should introduce a royal peer from another kingdom to his people.”
And before my heart could finish floating out of my chest, he straightened, threw the curtains apart, and sauntered onto the dais.
I stayed with him, standing tall like I imagined a princess might, and forcing a smile on my face. We stopped at the edge of the dais, in the same place we had months ago when he’d first warned everyone not to hurt me. The entire room shifted, like a great wave, as everyone rose from their seats and bowed.
Unlike last time, the faces I saw as they stood back up looked at me with curiosity. I didn’t see any of the anger and venom that I’d seen the first time. Did they not realize who I was?
Some did. Jolter grinned. Next to him, Molanna smiled, and on the other side of her, Koan winked. I could feel Aedan restrain a groan, which made my smile relax into an almost-chuckle.
Another wave shifted the room as people slid away from the center to make an aisle to the dais between their bodies. A tall, broad-shouldered, dark-haired elf sauntered along the new aisle until he stood on the floor right in front of us. He bowed dramatically.
Aedan tipped his head in a small, polite gesture, so I imitated it. “Cousin,” the king said, “welcome home.” He gestured to his table on the dais behind us, and the crowd—hundreds of elves—broke into a cheer.
The cousin smiled—a beautiful, well-practiced smile—and climbed the six steps to join us on the dais. Aedan waved at the crowd, and the room filled with the general chatter of hundreds of conversations. He led me back to his table, where we joined his cousin, Fagan, Mylo, and his aunt.
Servants brought platters and platters of meats, breads, vegetables, and desserts. Before they’d finished setting them down, the cousin started the conversation. “Aedan, I heard you had a new human, but nobody told me she was prettier than any of the elves.”
He made me sound like a pet.
Aedan set a hand on my knee under the table. “Her name is Callista, and she belongs to herself, not me.” He tipped his head toward me and spread a drawling smile across his face. “Callista, this uncouth barbarian is my cousin Guyan. He’s normally much better behaved.”
“My apologies. Callista, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Guyan’s apology came out smooth and polished. I could see why he made Mylo nervous. Everything he said, even these casual comments, sounded both too practiced and too natural. It reminded me of the most innocent smile and perfect answers Alastor used to come up with when he had actually done something he should be in trouble for.
Guyan tore a bite of bread off a roll. “I am normally much more polite, but the years of attempting to defeat the curse have taken a toll.” His gaze swept up the entire table. “Hemlit has needed its king, and I’ve tried all sorts of things to get through the curse’s boundary to you.”
Aedan sipped something from a goblet. He saw me glance at him and smiled. “You’ll like it, Callista. I believe Forten had you in mind when he prepared it.”
I tasted my drink. Lemonade. I wanted to leave the hall and hug the giant cook, but instead, I simply said, “That was kind ofhim.”
