He somehow became even angrier, his entire presence like the flames that burned in Khazmuda’s belly. Fire started to rain down on us and everything else in the room, setting the world ablaze. His nostrils even flared, as if my words provoked him right at his core. “Well, then it’s a good thing you aren’t what they seek.”
Zehemoth landed on the grass next to the barn.I don’t know why you think he’ll give you a different answer.
I climbed down the straps of his saddle then hopped to the ground.
And even if he does, you can’t trust his word.
“I trust him as much as I trust you, Zehemoth.”
But your father wouldn’t lie to you.
“Well, the man I saw an hour ago wasn’t my father. No idea who that was.” The barn door was closed, and the vineyards looked empty. The horses grazed in the pasture on bales of hay.
I headed to the front door, knocked at a quick pace, and waited for him to answer, my pulse twitching in my throat. I could feel it pound in my ears too, like war drums growing louder and louder from across the sea.
Callum opened the door, fully clothed like he’d recently been outside. He greeted me with a wordless stare, always having a full conversation with me just in looks alone. The last time we’d interacted days ago, he’d abruptly walked off without explanation, but he still stared at me like I was the woman in his heart.
“I need to ask you something.” I let myself inside his house, walking past him and inadvertently brushing against his arm, his skin as warm as a hot stone sitting in the sun. It brought back the heat of summer, the heat of the island that belonged to only us.
After a pause, he shut the door then turned to face me, a mountain looming over me with its shadow. He wore a stare so focused it seemed like he was afraid he would miss what I said next.
“I asked my father if the Covenant is coming for me, and he said no.”
His expression remained unchanged, his eyes glued to mine.
“I’m not sure if I believe him.”
“Did you tell him that?”
“No. He was angry about something, I’m not sure what. I could tell I would get nothing productive accomplished.” I crossed my arms over my chest and lifted my eyes to meet his. Despite my height, he was still a mountain I had to strain to see the full height of. “But I know you wouldn’t lie to me, so I thought I would ask you.”
He held on to my gaze with his hard stare, his thoughts and emotions hidden deep beneath the surface. He didn’t seem perturbed by the question or relieved by it either. It was as if he hadn’t heard me at all. “Leviathan told your father that they would abandon their attempt to break through the portal if you returned to them. You can imagine what your father said in response.”
My father had lied straight to my face, and he was pissed off while he did it. “You knew, and you didn’t tell me.”
Callum wore a similar look to my father, like he couldn’t care less. “He asked me not to.”
“Everyone I know in the mortal world is at risk, including you, and you kept it to yourself because heaskedyou not to?”
There was no hint of apology in his gaze. “You know you’re all I care about. I betrayed the Covenant to serve you. Forfeited my powers and nearly forfeited my right to exist for you.”
“Well, everyone else I care about might die. The world as I know it might die.”
The indifference on his face was profound, both his lack of remorse and his lack of interest.
“Why don’t you care about that?”
His eyes shifted away before he spoke. “I have no desire to live without you, so it doesn’t affect me all that much.” After several heartbeats, he shifted his gaze back to me. His eyes were empty vessels, bottomless pits that fell into the darkness forever.
“Callum…”
His eyes shifted away again, cutting off the emotional connection between us. He’d built a concrete wall between us, not wanting to feel anything when there was no hope for us. It was the most distant he’d ever been. It was the first time he’d withdrawn, when I’d been the one to pull away in the past.
“If they cross into our realm and are victorious, life will never be the same. Even those who have passed into the Realm of Caelum will be vulnerable to extinction. I’m not worth that risk. No one is.”
“You have two men in your life who disagree.” His eyes came back to me.
“Callum, you know I’m going to hand myself over. I was the one who made the trade. I was the one who decided to sell my soul for your release. My father was lucky enough to escape his debt, but I’m obviously not.”
