Callum lived and breathed being a knight. Taking that away would kill him.
“He should make a full recovery.” Briar grabbed a tray from the bedside table and tried to hide it from me. But I saw it anyway. Bloody rags and cloths. “I applied salves to promote healing and reduce scarring, but I’m afraid he’ll wear some of those scars for the rest of his life. Much like our captain.Herbert’s elixir helped with his pain, at least, and allowed him to sleep.”
My sternum squeezed. “Guess I need to stop saying mean things about that little beetle. He’s a hero.”
“That he is.” Briar’s smile was mix of sad and tired. He brushed a kiss to my temple. “I’ll give you a moment with him. Let me know if you need anything.”
As he took the tray of soiled cloths and left the medical ward, my feet were cemented to the floor. The flames crackled in the hearth, but they did little to chase away the ice in my bones.
It wasn’t the first time I’d stood in that spot, staring at an injured knight asleep in his bed. A knight my heart cried out for.
With each step forward, more of Callum came into view. The bandages. The deep cut across his right jaw. Mostly, I noticed how still he was, his chest barely moving with his breaths.
“Cal.” My voice cracked as I knelt beside the cot and took his hand in mine. Relief surged in my core at the warmth of his palm. A sign he was still with me. That the sun still burned through his veins. I dropped my cheek to his forearm and linked our fingers. “You better wake up soon. I need to kick your butt for being so stubborn.”
Ever so slightly, his hand squeezed mine.
My head shot back up. “Callum?”
He didn’t move. Didn’t open his eyes.
Low voices filtered in from the main room of the clinic. Duke, Quincy, and Baden. The knights had been there when Maddox brought me earlier, their eyes pink around the edges and swollen from the tears they’d tried to hide from me.
Callum took a ragged breath, and the middle of his brow scrunched. Slowly, the furrow faded, smoothing the hard lines once again. He was in so much pain even when asleep.
A small cry escaped my lips, and I buried my face into the crease of his arm. A light pressure then landed on top of my head.
I stilled. When that pressure turned into the softest ruffle of my hair, another sob tore from me, and I looked up into the warmest brown eyes.
“Don’t cry, Ev,” Callum rasped. “It’s just a scratch or two.”
“Cal!” I threw my arms around him. He released a littleoofas I squeezed him a bit too tight. “Sorry. I’m just…” I drew back and wiped at my eyes. “Happy you’re awake. I’ll go get Briar.”
Just as I stood, Callum grabbed my wrist.
“Not yet.” Despite his exhaustion, he smiled. It wasn’t fully formed, but a trace of his dimple could be seen in his cheek. “I didn’t expect to see you when I woke.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” I sat on the edge of the cot and retook his hand in mine, tracing the scar on his thumb. “Good thing it was a demon that attacked you and not a potato, right?”
He chuckled. It came out rough and weak at the same time. His smile then faltered as pain washed over him.
“I’m getting Briar. You need more of Herbert’s medicine.”
“Please, Ev.” Callum’s eyes looked glassy as his hand lifted to my cheek. “Stay with me a while longer.”
“Okay.” I settled back down. “Tell me if you’re in too much pain though. I know the thought of drinking anything that comes from Herbert is gross but—”
Callum cupped the back of my head and brought me down, capturing my lips.
Time froze, just like my damn heartbeat. Heat engulfed my body as he kissed me. Fire zipped through my veins, like a lit fuse racing toward the inevitable explosion. That explosion came when Callum’s tongue swept against mine.
And from the remnants of that blast, something new yet familiar blossomed in my chest—in my heart. I felt like I’d been waiting for this moment all my life; kissing him as the logs crackled in the hearth beside us. Tears stuck to my lashes as the intensity of that emotion slammed into me like a tidal wave, strengthening my connection to Callum. Altering it too.
“Evan.” My name was a whisper on his lips. His fingers sank into the back of my hair, and he rested our foreheads together. “I feel strange. Like I’m weightless, yet grounded at the same time.”
Our fated bond had been freed from the “just friends” box. The kiss had been the key. The mutual joining of our lips had unleashed all of the emotions we’d kept locked away.
“Me too,” I said before kissing him again. He emitted a soft sound that I felt in the center of my chest. “But this feels right. You and me. Like it was always meant to happen.”
