Page 29

I was too distracted to follow the order as Enoch slowly got to his knees several feet behind him. I couldn’t remember what his eyes had looked like before, but they certainly hadn’t been wholly black, devoid of all light. Long, thin bands tracing across every inch of skin I could see shimmered, reflecting light that didn’t exist.

Even his voice was different, low and hoarse, like more than one person was talking at the same time as he said, “I will make you regret this, Callum Addis.”

He stretched his neck and rose to his feet, the rip in his tunic showing only a long pink line where a wound should have been. He took a step toward us, and I shuddered, whimpering. The transformation of him into this unearthly thing commanded all of my shattered attention. Even still, every part of me recoiled from him, shied away from whatever this was that lurked under the pristine exterior he’d shown initially.

Callum twisted, and I finally looked away from the other man. Callum grabbed the coin from the ground just behind him, shoving it into his pocket. The air vibrated, and then the rain fell on us again, the sounds of the drops splattering on the leaves overwhelming. In the distance, one of the acora clicked its beak, sounding just like gunshots again.

Locking his gaze with me, Callum cupped the back of my neck over my hair, then whispered, “Take my hand, omega. Now.”

Without thinking about what it meant, where it would take me, I placed my hand in his. The moment my skin touched his, the world disappeared, but not before I saw Enoch throw a dagger wrapped in shadows toward Callum’s exposed back.

10

AMETHYST

Before I could figure out how to breathe in the weird pocket of space, the darkness gave way to the warm light of day, the sun still high in the sky above me, and I squinted as the sudden change set my head thumping harder than before. Wherever we’d ended up wasn’t covered in clouds like the island. The sudden pull of the transportation magic disappeared all at once, and I slammed into the ground, the majority of my weight falling on my destroyed leg.

It was impossible to keep back the bloodcurdling scream as I collapsed in an undignified heap into the sand suddenly beneath me. My stomach roiled and then revolted entirely against the onslaught of new pain, and I was sick in large, wracking heaves that left me shaking and spent. Callum didn’t flinch, his hand tightening on mine as my body shook with stress and shock. Mortification rose in me as I realized I’d thrown up all over him.

“Breathe,” he said, his voice back to the gentle tone he’d used when first looking at my leg.

He swept my hair away from my face, his touch soft but unrelenting. I recoiled from it, hissing a distrustful breath through my teeth. My eyes fell shut as my head throbbed in time with my racing heart. Another minute, and I was going to throw up again.

Hands cupped my cheeks, thumbs wiping under my eyes.

“Breathe and look at me.”

His voice reverberated through me, a command I could not resist. I shuddered in a jagged gasp before letting my eyes flutter open. Callum’s face swam into view first, his frown deep and his eyes a dull gold. They no longer moved like liquid. He said something in those flowing syllables that didn’t translate. When I tried to tell him again that I had no idea what he was saying, bile rose instead.

I managed to turn my head just enough to get sick on me rather than him this time, at least. He ground out something that felt like a curse and then used the hem of his tunic to wipe my mouth. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment as another heave wracked me. I managed to force this one down.

Good God, I hated throwing up.

“Reuben,” he called, louder than before, his eyes still locked on me, “I need you.”

There was movement behind Callum, and then I was acting on nothing but instinct, a primal animal desperate to survive. I edged away from him, forcing my head out of his hands, sobbing with each point of pressure against my ruined leg. Callum growled something, twisting his head and looking over his shoulder even as he palmed my elbow. The movement drew my attention there, too.

Several people rushed from rows and rows of tents arranged with precision and intent. Their expressions varied—concern, acceptance, focus, excitement. My gaze caught on a woman with dark brown curly hair that reached her chin and hazel eyes and medium brown skin. She bit her lip as heavily-armored people crowded closer to Callum, keeping her from approaching. Her lips tipped into a warm smile when she realized I was staring, and she offered a quick wave.

“Callum?”

One of the armored men stepped in front of the rest, his green eyes piercing. His gaze traveled over the way Callum was kneeled beside me, one knee buried in the sand entirely while he kept most of my body blocked from everyone rushing toward us, the move clearly protective. Then his eyes trained on me, a momentary flash of fear breaking through his calm façade before he forced his gaze away from my face and onto my leg.

His words were a rough curse, then he turned toward the people standing behind the guard. “Fucking hell. Someone get a new set of clothing for the prince and his omega.”

His words switched into those longer syllables, and my mind muddied a bit again, my heart pulsing in my ears like I was underwater. That certainly wasn’t good. I tried to rest my forehead against my knee like on the island, but just the small movement had me getting sick again.

Callum stopped focusing on those approaching. He wiped my face once I was done and then focused on my leg. The tourniquet had shifted at some point, and a trail of blood was growing on my leg again. His fingers were long and delicate but unfaltering as he forced the band of fabric higher on my leg and then tightened it down even more than the first time. I whimpered again, and he crooned something I couldn’t understand. I resented how much of me wanted to relax under the sound.

“Phillip, I need Reuben,” Callum said, finally looking toward those that had approached. The man with green eyes nodded and waved one of the other guards away with an unspoken instruction.

“Your Highness?” The girl with hazel eyes wove past the row of guards, her arms full of an indigo fabric. “Emma has water for her, and James has a new tunic for you.”

When Callum didn’t say anything, she stepped closer, deftly avoiding the closest guards. Two people came with her, their coloring the same—platinum blond hair pulled into low ponytails, blue eyes the same shade as a summer sky, and rosy lips. They both carried metal buckets, and the man had another piece of clothing draped over his shoulder. The man kept his eyes trained on Callum, not glancing at me for more than a second, but the woman focused on me. Her lips curved into a shy smile before glancing at the woman with the beautiful curls. She looped their arms together, not jostling the bucket of water in the blonde woman’s hold, and then carefully closed the remaining few feet between us.

Both women pulled cloths from the water, squeezing them out and then wordlessly running them over my arms. Callum grew tense, his eyes focusing on the women. When the blonde woman moved my hair to wipe away my shoulder, I held back a whine. Somehow, Callum seemed to know it was painful, though. His hand tightened on the tourniquet, forcing it even tighter, and I gasped.

“Where is Reuben?” he asked, his voice holding that same thread of violence as it had with the man on the island.