Callum followed my gaze, and his jaw tightened before he turned back to face me. He gave me a sharp nod of understanding. When I didn’t launch into the sordid details right away, he twirled his fingers in a lazy circle, his not-so-subtle way of telling me to get on with it.
“You already know that Ryker kidnapped me from the Seelie Kingdom and dragged me to this place.”
I glanced across the room to where Riordan stood, his brow furrowed in thought as he weighed his options.
“He was under the impression that I was his mate.”
“And are you?” Callum pressed, refusing to let me sidestep the question.
“Yes,” I admitted.
Callum flinched at my admission, his eyes widening as shock settled over him. “The chances of a blended mating are so rare they’re almost impossible. Your parents’ mating was the first in living memory.”
“Their mating only makes it more likely. I’m part Unseelie after all, or did you forget?”
“Of course, I didn’t forget. I’ve spent most of my life protecting you from that part.”
Regret washed over me. Callum was right. He had sacrificed so much to keep me safe. My entire family had.
“I’m sorry.” Tears pricked my eyes, and I fixed my gaze on my hands nestled in my lap.
Callum’s finger slipped beneath my chin, tilting my head to look at him.
“Why would you be sorry? I’m not. Ma and Da aren’t either. You’re our family, Cadence, and there’s nothing we wouldn’t do to protect you.”
More tears sprang to my eyes, and I blinked them away before they could fall.
“Keep going,” he said.
I released a slow breath. “At first, Ryker locked me inside his chambers until he ensured I couldn’t escape him.”
Callum tensed. “How did he achieve that?”
“He gave me a... necklace that kept me from crossing the wards protecting the outer borders of the Unseelie Palace.”
“And he thought that was an acceptable way to treat his mate?”
“I didn’t make it easy for him,” I said, unable to conceal my smirk.
Callum grinned back at me. “There’s the Cadence I remember.”
“Anyway, things were… progressing, but then I found out he was betrothed.”
“Betrothed!” Callum shouted.
Riordan’s head snapped in our direction, his cheeks stuffed full of food.
“What are you two talking about over there?” he asked after swallowing his bite.
“I’m filling Callum in on everything that’s happened since I arrived in the Unseelie Kingdom. I just got to the part where Ryker conveniently forgot to mention he was engaged to Celeste.”
“Ah,” he said, waving his hand as if to say,carry on.
He turned back to the breakfast tray and picked up a small pink cake that he stuffed inside his mouth.
“The short version is, I told him I wouldn’t be his mistress, so he called off the engagement.”
“Just like that?”
