I shrug, curling up on top of one of the blankets and pulling another one over me. “I don’t think I could eat anyway.” My mind is racing, full of secrets revealed.
Harold is my father. Not just in the sense of being the man who raised me but in the sense of being one half of the parents who created me.
And my mother, I can barely begin to think on it, let alone let the truth sink into my brain. Lady M is my mother. According to Harold, she has no idea who Andra and I are to her, but I can’t help but wonder if she hasn’t somehow figured it out. I think back to that first day, the knowing smirk when her eyes landed on Andra. Harold and Lady M may be Bonded, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been keeping secrets of her own.
Callum lowers himself to the floor across from me, wincing with the movement.
I sit up, happy to have something else to focus on, though I hate seeing him in pain. “Are you all right?”
His eyes meet mine, a kaleidoscope of emotions. “How could I possibly be all right, Caterine?”
I tug my gaze away from his, even though it hurts to break this single point of contact between us. “Right. It was stupid of me to ask.”
He runs a hand through his hair. “I didn’t believe you, you know.”
My heart stills in my chest. “What do you mean?”
“When you told me you don’t love me. I didn’t believe you.” He hooks his arms around his knees, pulling them close as if to keep me away.
“But you left.”
“I figured if you were trying that hard to convince me of something we both know to be false, you must have had a good reason. But then…”
If my heart stilled before, now it freezes completely. “Callum, I…I was scared. For my sister, and for Harold. For what we stillhave to do.” I fill my lungs with a steadying breath. “But mostly I was scared that you wouldn’t forgive me. That you would realize that you are better off without me.”
His posture softens, but he doesn’t move toward me or unclench his arms. “I have spent every second we were apart wishing for nothing more than a chance to kiss you one more time, Cate.”
Tears fill my eyes, but I don’t deserve to shed them. “I’m sorry. Of course I didn’t mean what I said in that hallway. Lady M told me the only way she would let you go is if I made you believe I never loved you. And I would have done anything to save your life, even lie to you.”
He takes in the information with a furrowed brow. “Why? What did she have to gain by sending me away?”
“I don’t know.” It’s something I’ve thought on often since that fateful moment. “I think she likes hurting people, liked that it devastated both of us equally. Maybe it was some kind of sick retribution for the time she and Harold had to spend apart. I also think she didn’t want to kill you if she didn’t have to. Whether she wants to admit it or not, you are popular with your people, and if she hopes to win their vote, it’s better for her to leave you alive.”
He lets his legs fall, extending them in my direction. “I fear there is likely more to it than that.”
I know in my heart he is right. But I also don’t want to expend any more energy talking about Lady M. At least, not tonight. I scoot myself closer to him, letting his woodsy sage scent calm me, and steady me. “I’m sorry for all of it, Callum. If I had known, had any hint of an idea, that this is how things would turn out, I never would have gotten you involved in this.”
He doesn’t reach for me, but he also doesn’t turn away. “I am responsible for my own decisions. I knew the risks I was taking.”
“I’m so sorry about Dom.”
He swallows, his throat bobbing as he attempts to choke down his emotions. “Me too.”
I tentatively cup his cheek in my hand. “There is no force in this world that could make me stop loving you, Callum Reid.”
He leans into my touch, his eyes fluttering closed for half a second. He doesn’t return the sentiment, but for right now, this is enough. It might take some time for him to process everything that has occurred, but I would give him all the time in the world if he needed it.
“It’s been a long day.” He lies back on the pile of blankets. “We should probably get some rest while we can. Want to be as sharp as possible when we go back in.”
I nod, though I don’t see how I could possibly sleep, not with all the wild thoughts running through my brain. What I’ve seen and what happened, but also what’s to come. I want to believe that my sisters will see what Lady M is truly doing—not just to them, but to all the Gifted she’s essentially trapped. But I know what fear can do to your mind, and I don’t know that I could fault them if they aren’t able to see past their own.
When I lie down next to him, he tucks me into his embrace and the physical contact warms me from the inside out. And I know that no matter what else happens, we will always find our way back to each other.
—
When I wake,slivers of sunlight break through the walls, shining through the hastily put together wooden slats. I’m warm and comfortable, my back pressed into Callum’s front, his arm tucked around me.
Sleepy instinct has me pressing the curve of my butt into hishardness, shifting closer to him, searching for the familiar grunt he releases.
