Calix was loyal, and I vividly remembered the horror in his eyes when the influence of the drink cleared the night of the ball, and he realized what he’d done. Every time he’d given in to thisattraction between us, it was with the influence of something else—or at least, with a justifiable reason like the festival.
I knew when it came to it, he wouldn’t choose me.
Not when his mate was out there.
Even if he wanted me, and I knew he did, he wouldn’t do that—to either of us—me or his mate. Not when he couldn’t give himself to me fully with them out there.
“You’re perfect, my réalta.”
I shook my head, telling myself to bury the memory. Words said in passion didn’t count, everyone knew that.
Still, it was hard not to remember the way he’d felt between my thighs. The stretch of him inside me. The feeling of his lips caressing my throat. His fingers playing my clit like an instrument.
The morning after, I woke in Calix’s arms, spread across his chest. He must have been awake for a while, but he was just watching me, running his fingers through my hair. I hadn’t moved for a bit, wanting to enjoy the feeling before it disappeared. Clutching the moment like it wouldn’t dissolve the moment I acknowledged it.
He’d smiled at me, a lazy, smug thing that had made me narrow my eyes at him before he chuckled. He helped me up, leading me to the pile of clothes prepared in advance. Apparently, losing clothes was common enough they’d started bringing piles of clothing for after their orgies.
He’d helped me dress, and then kissed me on the head, holding me to him. The look on his face when he’d pulled back…the combination ofwantandgriefhad been staggering. Until Callisto had appeared with a request to get back to work, our deadline to leave rapidly approaching.
I looked overto him now, where he rode Elatha, the horse’s green tail swishing quickly back and forth. He got antsy when he was away from Arianrhod too long, and Calix was well aware of that, riding with me often to keep him calm. He usually took one of his warhorses to battle for that reason, since Arianrhod had refused a rider for so long. But now, with her having chosen me as a rider, Calix was able to take Elatha instead. Calix was riding beside Titan now, the two of them going over plans for the army on the ground as they rode.
Calix and I had been strangely fine since the festival. Both of us were adults, and though we both knew we wanted the other, we equally knew we couldn’t have one another, so we went on as we had before—as friends, if nothing else.
We were able to talk and laugh as normal, and talking to him was just soeasy. It felt like it shouldn’t be, but the fact of the matter was, I could talk to Calix for hours and never get bored, it was quite the novelty.
Calix fell back from Titan, waiting as I pulled up beside him.
“Elatha was making his displeasure with my traveling companion known.” Calix teased, sending me a grin I couldn’t help but match.
“I can’t blame him, Iama much better traveling companion after all. Elatha just has good taste.” I winked, throwing my hair over my shoulder dramatically. Calix threw his head back in laughter, making me giggle.
“There’s no doubt about that.” Calix murmured, no longer teasing. His eyes heated intensely, and I was forced to look away. He usually banked that heat quickly, and watching it happen always made my chest ache.
“I can’t guarantee how long that’ll be the case.” I said, while trying to massage my thigh. “Any longer and my legs are going to give out—I won’t be quite so pleasant then.” Calix raised a brow at me, amusement all over his face.
“We’re close.” He assured me. “We should be there within the hour, and you can stretch your legs.”
He wasn’t wrong, as just half an hour later, the first signs of Biarma could be spotted on the horizon. We’d navigated up the coast, following a straight path north. Except for where we skirted around Asphodel, it was nearly a straight shot to Biarma.
I could see the rounded top of the palace from here, standing out against the kapok and ipe trees surrounding it. We halted, and Calix and I brought our horses over to Titan and Callisto.
“You’re all set?” Calix asked, looking his father figure over, a tightness around his eyes that told me he was worried. Except for Calix himself, Titan was the best fighter we had. He likely had nothing to worry about, but rationality had nothing to do with love.
Titan nodded stoically, ever composed in front of his army. “We’re good to go, your Highness.”
“We all know the plan, your Highness.” Callisto bobbed her head in agreement. “They’ll make sure to cause a big enough distraction to lure out the guards. Are we all ready for our parts in this?” She looked over us critically before looking to the group behind us.
She narrowed her eyes, and I followed her eyeline to Emmie. I looked back at her with a questioning expression, and she leaned over to me. “I know she’s your friend, but this turnaround of hers happened suddenly. I’m not sure she’s stable enough for this.”
“We’ve already come all this way, and she seems fine.” I shook my head. “Plus, she’ll have Harpina with her. We all know the plan, it will be fine.” I hoped if I said it confidently enough, it would make it true. But the truth was, my nerves were all over the place, and from the look Callisto gave me, she could see right through it.
We found a place to make camp, where our reserves would wait, just in case. We tied up our horses since we’d be going onfoot from here. We split up into our two groups, and Calix, Eryx, Harpina, Callisto, Emmie, and I all made for the back route leading to the palace.
We snuck through the capital, using magic to hide ourselves when needed, cloaking us in the shadows. Looking around Biarma, I wished we had come for some other reason. While it wasn’t as beautiful as Tairngire, at least to me, it was colorful, gorgeous, and lively. It was dominated by architecture with arches and mosaic tiles, and the palace was a sprawling thing, wide instead of tall. It was made up of rounded roofs that reminded me of globes, shining in the sun.
As we crept closer, the abundance of jungle plants grew heavier. The plants were the only barrier around the palace, no true wall protecting them from the outside.Their mistake. Though, as we reached a lagoon at the back of the palace, surrounded by jungle plants and flowers, with teal and orange—the kingdom’s colors—decorating the space, I was taken aback by how inviting it was. Large arches that came to points at the top were repeated across the walls that led into the palace, covering three sides of the lagoon.
We waited until we heard the alarm sound, signaling the attack, and then the echoing sound of many boots hitting the ground. The guards running off to protect the city. Some guards would have taken the royals to a safe room, based on the protocol Sunset had in place, leaving their bedrooms wide open.
