“I don’t think your father will say no. I think it’ll make him feel better about saying yes.”
I wished both of my parents accepted Callum with open arms, that they didn’t continue to suspect him of deception because of the title he’d possessed. Callum had told me firsthand thatBahamut was vile, and they were nothing alike. But my parents couldn’t let go of the past, couldn’t drop their guard even when he wasn’t a god anymore. “Alright, I’ll think about it.”
7
TALON
I had Khazmuda relay my request to see Callum alone in my study. It was evening, and the fire in the hearth was aglow with flames. I’d spent my day with Calista, discussing if and how I should approach this, and I’d finally found the courage to do it later in the evening.
I already had a drink on the table beside me because I was able to enjoy a beverage again. The pain in my shoulder had subsided more with every passing day, a constant burn that eventually started to cool.
A knock sounded on the open door before my guard announced his presence. “Callum is here to see you, Your Highness.”
“Thank you.”
Callum stepped into the room, dressed in the armor that I had gifted him because he had nothing else noteworthy to wear in my presence.
The guard shut the door behind him, and we were alone together.
Callum filled out the armor well, a couple sizes too big for my son, who was stacked with bricks like the one who’d built the castle. Callum rivaled the size of a general or a prized soldier, an obvious adversary on the battlefield. Whatever my mixed feelings for him might have been, I liked the fact that he was strong enough to defend my daughter if she needed protection.
Viper was a lot more verbal, whereas Callum said the least amount possible—something else I liked about him. He didn’t fill the void with unnecessary conversation and chose his words carefully because they were sacred.
He reminded me of myself in that way.
He looked at the armchair across from me on the rug before he moved toward it, filling up every inch of the chair that could barely contain him. Then he stared at me, his expression hard but not dismissive. He had an authority to his presence, but he wasn’t standoffish. He didn’t put on a show for anyone, not even me.
“Lily enjoyed your company the other night,” he said. “Says she misses you.”
It meant the world to me that my daughter and I had reclaimed our relationship, that she didn’t hold any animosity toward me after I’d failed her. Our final conversation before she left for the underworld had been contentious—at best. “She is my joy.”
“And you’re hers.”
I grabbed the glass beside me and took a drink before I held it up to him as an offering.
He gave a slight shake of his head.
“You don’t drink?”
“Lily and I have been drinking a lot of wine lately.”
I’d brought him here for a specific conversation, but now I found myself dancing around the topic, afraid of what my provocation might unleash. I knew my daughter was happy and I wanted her to stay that way, but the suspicion that weighed on my heart had never waned. “Viper shared your conversation from the courtyard. He returned to his kingdom shortly afterward.”
Callum had no reaction to that. Despite the tension between the two, Callum seemed to harbor no ill will toward his rival. Almost seemed indifferent about it.
“He made it sound like you have doubts about your relationship with Lily. Perhaps I misunderstood him…or he misunderstood you.”
He was quiet for a long time, his eyes leaving my face and traveling to the fire. He had short, dark hair that was brushed back from his face, shadow on his jawline from the beard he probably had to shave every morning, and dark eyes like the scabbard of my blade. We had distinctly different facial features, but we shared a lot of commonalities. He reminded me of a younger me, even though we appeared to be the same age physically—and biologically, he was hundreds of years older. “There was no misunderstanding.” His eyes came back to me.
Viper was straightforward about his intentions, but Callum seemed to be honest about every aspect of himself. He wasn’t an open book, but if you lifted his cover and turned to one of the pages, he wouldn’t stop you.
He stared at me for several hard seconds before he continued. “There’s something I haven’t shared with Lily. And once I do, I’m not sure where our relationship will stand. It’s the reason I haven’t asked her to marry me.”
Calista had told me that Lily was already planning a wedding, and I was hurt that Callum had never asked for my permission to marry my daughter. “She’s under the impression a wedding is happening.”
He was quiet for a while again. “The complexities of our relationship are hard to explain, but our commitment isn’t triggered by a proposal. She’s felt like my wife since the moment I saw her. My dedication has been tested by life and death, but it’s never waned—and neither has hers. Our souls are already bonded together, so we’re already married… I can’t really explain it. And that’s probably why she’s planning for it. The only reason I want to ask her to be my wife is because I know that’s important to you and Calista, even if it feels redundant for us.”
I was a bystander in their relationship, having witnessed it more when they were apart than when they were together, but I could feel the ironclad bonds they’d forged through their commitment and courage. It was still not what I wanted for her, but I couldn’t deny what they shared was real. “What secret do you conceal from her?”
