Page 82 of Her Dark Promise

I opened them to find Callum’s eyes had widened, and then I realized I wasn’t, in fact, talking to him. The pity in his eyes angered me as the shadows swirled around me.

“Get out, Callum.”

He sat up and tried to take my hands in his as he pleaded. “Don’t shut me out. Please, I am here. I want to be here for all of it. The good, but also the bad.”

“I don’tneedanyone, Callum. He flinched hearing those words, but I didn’t care. “Leave.”

He nodded once, looked down, and left without another word.

The moment the doors closed, I felt my lap moving. I looked down and saw that my hands were shaking. I gripped them hard together and realized that Callum saw. He always saw and never said anything, instead he always tried to stay. To take care of me.

Well, I didn’t need him.

I went to take a bath and then headed down to the dining hall in time for breakfast.

I was usually the last to arrive, but that wasn’t the case this morning. Soren was seated in his chair, no one else in sight.

“Where are the other two?”

Soren shrugged. “Your consort takes his job very seriously. He was at Bastian’s door at sunrise and didn’t leave his side. Not even when Bast stormed past him, right before I came down here.”

At least Callum was with him.

As I neared my chair, Soren stood and pulled it out for me. I was confused by the action, but didn’t say anything as I sat down. I gazed down at the empty table and rolled my eyes when Iremembered that Bastian was in charge of the meal. I was about to fetch something from the kitchen when Emilia walked up the stairs from the side of the room with a tray full of food.

“Emilia?” I questioned.

Soren stood with me. I could see her slow down when Soren turned toward her. It was obvious that she couldn’t stand being in the same room as him, but her eyes landed back on me, and she smiled as she approached the table, setting a small bowl in front of me.

My heart skipped a beat. I opened my mouth to reply, but nothing came out.

“I thought I would make this for you to apologize for my behavior in the last few weeks.”

I wanted to say that she didn’t need to apologize, but I didn’t want the boys seeing me too soft. So instead, I asked, “Are you going to join us this morning or take your meal elsewhere?”

Emilia took one look at him, looked back at me, and nodded. She had started to turn from the table to bring up the rest of the plates when Soren jogged past her, calling out from behind him, not giving Emilia a chance to refuse. “Please sit! I will bring up the rest!”

Emilia’s face burned red, and she walked around the table to sit in her designated seat. “Is he always like this in the mornings, your majesty?”

I huffed out a breath, as much of a genuine laugh that I could muster, and replied, “He is rather chipper today, isn’t he?”

I knew this had taken a lot out of Emilia. For her to share a table with the brothers after knowing everything couldn’t be easy. I commended her for it. I was about to say something else to try and get her mind off of it when Soren was back carrying the rest of the food, carefully balancing everything in his hands.

“Wow, Emilia, this smells amazing! I am sure that it will taste just as good, if not better.”

Emilia was staring, not knowing how to respond to him being so kind after her not hiding her apparent hatred toward him and Bastian. Her eyes squinted, and then her hand came up and rubbed at the side of her head to relieve some of the tension that was obviously causing her pain.

“Scholar, how about you eat before the food gets cold.”

“What about the others?”

I snapped, “Then their meal will be cold. It is their fault for taking so long.”

Soren took the hint and focused on me. “Are you ever going to call me by my name instead of ‘scholar’?”

“Why would I do that?” I asked, as I leaned forward and grabbed my cup, sipping its contents.

His lips thinned, and he nodded more to himself, focused on eating his warm porridge.

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