Page 106 of Magic Forsaken

He hung up. “Go on in.”

“But I don’t have my badge.”

He glared. “And in about ten seconds, I’m going to notice.”

I wished I’d remembered to bring him coffee more often. “Thanks.”

He jerked his head towards the door, and I went in.

My hands were already shaking in anticipation, but the foyer was empty, and the doors to the event space were closed.

I could hear voices from within. Music, laughter, the clinking of crystal. All of those people celebrating a historic moment. They’d finally managed to find common ground, and I was about to ruin it—one way or another.

Almost involuntarily, I took a sideways step toward the stairs, but my foot never even touched them.

Callum burst through the doors like floodwaters breaching a dam. He stopped three feet from me, jaw clenched, eyes bright, and suddenly I remembered all the reasons I’d taken a chance on him in the first place.

“You disappeared.” His voice sounded raw. He looked angry, but I wasn’t afraid of him. Somehow, I still knew he wouldn’t hurt me. That whatever he’d done, it had been done in ignorance. He had no idea how badly he’d disappointed me.

I swallowed. “I told you I had to go home.”

“You never said why. You just left. I was afraid…” He didn’t finish the sentence.

“I’m sorry.” And I was. About so many things. “But there are things I need to say.”

His gaze was piercing. Thoughtful. “Have you eaten?”

I hadn’t, but my stomach was in knots and I didn’t feel hungry. “No, but can we talk first?”

He glanced back at the doors into the banquet space and then reached for my hand. Tugged me behind him as he led the way outside. “Five minutes,” he said. “I should be able to disappear that long before someone realizes I’m gone.”

Five minutes… What could I possibly say in that amount of time? How could I explain?

The night air was cold, so I wrapped my arms around myself, shut my eyes, and was almost immediately enveloped in warmth.

Callum’s coat. He’d taken it off, draped it carefully over my shoulders, and then stepped back, waiting for me to speak. Even after I’d abandoned him at the last moment, he cared about something as simple as whether or not I was cold.

I drew in a deep, shaky breath and fixed my gaze on the crowd of people spilling out of the restaurant across the street,hoping it would be easier to say what I needed to if I wasn’t looking at him. If I couldn’t see how badly my words would crush him.

And that’s when I saw her.

For a moment, I thought I must be imagining things. She’d disappeared so completely, we’d assumed she was in hiding or dead.

But no. Partially concealed in the shadows cast by the streetlights, Heather stood with her hands in her coat pockets. Watching. And when her eyes caught mine, she did not flinch or run.

She smiled. And as she smiled, her eyes lit up with hot, amber fire.

And all the pieces fell into place.

“Callum,” I murmured quietly. “Do you still trust me?”

“Yes.”

He was such a foolish dragon, but in that moment, I loved him for it.

Wait, no I didn’t.

“I’m about to ruin everything.”

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