Page 248 of The Call of Crimson
“Where are you going now?” Rowina calls, rushing to keep pace with me down the corridor.
“I’m going to Inasvine to assess the damage and appoint an interim general,” I say, jaw clenched. “But first…” I grit my teeth, dreading the thought of what I’m about to say. “I’m going to ask Cillian for help.”
Surprise, then disbelief, flits across Ro’s face. “What am I to do?”
“You’re to watch Mother and Aurelius,” I instruct. “I need you to keep them sequestered so they don’t kill one another.”
“I’mbabysitting?”she asks, indignation clear in her tone.
I shrug. “If that’s how you want to look at it, then yes.”
“Unbelievable,” she mutters, stalking off in the opposite direction.
I hesitate briefly, my fist hovering an inch from Cillian’s door. All I can think about is the scent of him on Ophelia’s freshly fucked skin, the marks he left behind that she seemed to have no qualms with.
She’d felt obligated to apologize to me for sleeping with him. I told her she didn’t owe anyone an apology for how she chose to heal. That had been true, but so was the fact that my control almost slipped in that moment. Caught between wanting to punch him for leaving marks on her and wanting to replace them with my own, I did nothing.
Ophelia wasn’t mine.
But I had promised Elijah I would protect her, and I meant it.
I shove the memory aside and knock hard.
He takes too damn long to answer.
When he finally opens the door, my jaw ticks.
Sweat drips down his bare chest, running in rivulets down his well-defined muscles to the waistband of his sleep pants.
“My, my,” Cillian says, folding his arms and leaning into the door frame. “You are not who I expected knocking at my door,” he purrs.
I shake my head, ignoring the confusion in his tone. “I need your help.”
He lifts a scarred brow. “Oh?”
“Breyla has been taken by the Fae.”
The playful smirk he’s sporting falls. “What do you need?”
“How far can you travel with more than just yourself?”
Much to my chagrin, it takes us an entire day to reach Inasvine.
This isn’t Cillian’s primary Gift, so his range is shorter than Darian’s. The first jump takes us only a third of the way. We ride horseback the next stretch while his magic recharges. That portion takes us most of the day until he’s able to Travel us the remaining distance.
It's nearly midnight by the time we arrive. The guard post at the gate stands empty, no doubt due to the staggering number of dead.
At the stronghold, Lord Renfer greets us at the walls.
“Good evening, Prince,” Lord Renfer says, motioning us inside. “Through here.”
“Can you show us the bodies?” I ask, eager for answers. “Where you found them?”
The lord cringes. “Which bodies, Your Highness?”
“The two guards that accompanied Breyla,” Cillian drawls like it should be obvious.
“This way,” the lord says, guiding us deeper into the city.
