Page 104 of Lady of Darkness

Callan pursed his lips, raising an eyebrow. “If I recall correctly, my Wraith, you had to bury your face in a pillow last time.”

There was the ringing of feminine laughter from the drawing room, and Scarlett realized then that Sorin and Nuri would be able to hear every word they said with their enhanced hearing abilities, possibly Cassius, too. She gritted her teeth. This was all wrong. She wasn’t used to having to interact with him in front of others, with an audience. It all just felt wrong.

“You are different tonight,” Callan observed.

She swallowed. “Yes. We discovered information of our own last night.” His brows rose in question. She crossed the room and took his hand again, leading him into the attached bathing room, shutting the door behind them. “My friends are very nosy,” she said by way of explanation. She perched herself upon the vanity, and Callan leaned beside her, his back to her. She placed her hand on his shoulder and rested her chin upon it.“We discovered the bodies of many of the children that have gone missing,” she said quietly.

Callan started, jerking around to face her. “Where?” he demanded.

“A secret tunnel from the castle.”

A muscle feathered in Callan’s jaw. He reached for her, wrapping his arms around her. “I am sorry,” he murmured. “I am sorry we could not prevent it.”

She swallowed down the tears that threatened to pool in her eyes as she said softly, “But you can help prevent more.”

He straightened then, pulling back from her, but he kept his arms around her. “How well do you know General Renwell?”

Scarlett couldn’t mask her surprise. “I know him very well,” she replied. “We have spent a fair amount of time together and converse often.”

“You know what part of my father’s army he leads?”

“The High Force,” Scarlett answered.

“And you trust him?” His voice was slow, deliberate, as if feeling her out.

“I do.”

“Either you are incredibly stupid, or he is a very, very good liar then,” Callan said, his face darkening.

Scarlett stiffened at the words. “Be very careful, Callan.”

Callan ran his fingers through his brown hair. “Are you involved with him?”

“Is that what this is about?” she asked. “Ryker and I are friends. Just as I am with Cassius.” Callan was pacing back and forth in the bathing room. “Callan.” He didn’t stop. She watched him— back and forth, back and forth, his hands going through his hair again and again. “Callan.” She hopped down, stepping into his path. He stopped, and she reached up to cup his cheek. She brushed her thumb along his cheekbone. “Callan,” she whispered, “tell me what is wrong.”

He leaned down, and Scarlett let him kiss her. She let him press her back against the vanity as he brought his hands to her hair. The kiss was urgent and hurried. It all felt wrong here. “The next time I have information for you,”he growled, his voice low and gruff, “you come to me to get it.”

Her mouth curled upwards as she traced along his collarbone with her fingertips and said, her voice hoarse, “You still haven’t given me the information you brought tonight.”

“Because I know as soon as the words cross my lips, you will storm from this room,” he said, the longing and lust leaving his face.

“Why?” she asked, her fingers pausing their movements.

“Because I found out who exactly has been abducting the children,” Callan answered, his voice tight.

“Well spit it out then, Prince,” she snapped.

He paused, brushing one last kiss to her mouth and said, “The General of the High Force. He sends soldiers under his command into the Black Syndicate to find the children as training exercises. He has a contact there that tells them where they are hidden.”

Scarlett’s entire world stopped. Her stomach dropped to the floor, and she was fairly certain she was about to be sick. She gripped the vanity to keep from sinking to the floor, and Callan’s hands gripped her waist. “Scarlett,” he said, murmuring her name. “I am sorry. It is why I did not want to tell you in front of them when I saw him. I knew exactly who he was. I have been trying to find out as much as I can about him since I learned this information.”

“And what else did you discover?” she asked, her shock now turning to lethal and unyielding rage.

“Many of the children are sent to the north or south. Across the borders to the Fae,” he said. “What happens to them from there, I do not know.”

“How?” Scarlett managed to get out. “How did you discover this?”

“One of his newest men came to me when he learned of it,” Callan answered softly.

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