He’s alone, and the tension in his shoulders is enough to let me know that nothing this night has gone according to plan.
Lady M loosens her grasp enough to make it look like the two of us have joined arms like we’re the best of chums. She leans down to whisper in my ear. “Showtime!”
26
Callum
I shove an unconsciousHarold MacVeigh into my uncle’s arms the moment I step back into the hallway. “Get him to the safe house and get him a healer, as quickly as you can.”
It’s a testament to his trust in me that Alex doesn’t question my instructions. He nods, turning for the entrance. “I take it you’re going to find them?”
“I can’t leave without her.”
He doesn’t bother trying to argue with me, heading back the way he came on quick and quiet feet.
I make my way farther into the stone fortress, listening for any sound of Cate, for any sound of my sister. For anyone at this point. I know Lady M is still here, with her army of Gifted likely surrounding her. I stick to the shadows, hoping to avoid them at all costs, mostly because we don’t know what they are capable of. But also because I know that hurting them will hurt Cate, and I’ve already done enough of that.
The air is musty and damp, like the rains have been seeping inand making a home among the blocks of the walls. I hit a corner and shift to turn around, to head in a different direction, the shadows so thick they are a trap unto themselves.
A voice from behind halts me in my tracks. “I was wondering when I was going to get to see you again, Callum Reid.”
My blood chills, but I stand up straight, pulling my shoulders back. If I interpreted Harold’s words correctly, this woman is more than just the person standing between me and my future. She is also Cate’s mother.
My stomach roils at the very possibility, turns even further when I imagine how Cate is going to handle the news.
A flare of light brightens the hall, and I have to shield my eyes from it. When I lower my hand, I see her before me.
Lady M is not alone.
Cate stands next to her, their arms linked together like a true mother and daughter. For half a second, I wonder if Cate already knows, if she has been in on it the whole time.
But there is no happiness in Cate’s eyes, only anguish. Anguish she is trying to hide, feelings she might be able to keep from another. Not from me.
Something here has gone seriously wrong. Everything tonight has gone seriously wrong. But there is one way I know it will all be right.
Lady M takes a step back and I rush for Cate, scooping her into my arms. When we are together, there is nothing more that can hurt us.
“Thank god you’re all right.” My hand finds the back of her head, swiping soothing strokes that are as much for her comfort as for mine. She’s here, I’m touching her, she’s alive. “Where’s Dom?”
She burrows herself into my embrace, and I know deep in my gut that the worst thing has come to pass.
Even when I thought everything had gone wrong, I hadn’t considered this.
My hold on her tightens, but after she doesn’t respond, I shift her away, moving my hands to clasp her elbows, keeping us connected but allowing me to look her in the eye. I need to hear the words out loud before I can believe them. “Caterine. Where is my sister? Is she safe? Did you find Andra?”
She visibly fights back tears that are clouding her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Callum.”
Not Dom. Not days after Father.
I have no one left.
The air is sucked from my lungs, and I don’t know if I will ever breathe again. It’s too much. A person is not made to endure so much pain, so much heartache. And it’s all my fault.
The urge to crumple is nearly overwhelming. What a relief it would be to drop to this cold stone floor and let Lady M end me, right here and right now.
But Cate would never forgive herself. She will inevitably come to the conclusion that she is better off without me, a man who brings nothing but ruin and destruction to those he loves, but right now, she still has faith in me. I can see the sliver of it in her golden eyes, and I can’t be the one to destroy her, at least not yet.
So I take a page from her book and shield myself with a mask. I tuck the news about my sister, the sting of my uncle’s betrayal, the loss of my father, into a tiny dark corner in the back of my mind. I wipe my face of all emotions, putting on an impenetrable air that no one, not even Cate, can breach.
