Page 58 of Kingdom of Briars and Roses

He paused expectantly, as if waiting for me to declare him the hero. I decided to ignore his blatant lie about searching for me and instead focused on the rest.

“The legends say all that?”

He shrugged. “They say other things too. That you were all turned into Obsidians or torn apart by the Aqras Heliconia keeps locked in her dungeons.”

Aqras? I shuddered as I pictured the monsters from stories. With the lower body of a scorpion and the torso and head of a male, they were beyond lethal. But no one had ever seen one in the flesh. “Aqras are a myth.”

“That’s what they said about you being alive. Anyway, I didn’t believe those versions of the story.”

“Why not?” I couldn’t help but ask. After seven years, I’m not sure I would have held out such hope.

“I wouldn’t have gotten to swoop in and save you in those scenarios.” He winked.Winked.

Unbelievable. Amanti had done all that work, planting stories of our demise, and Callan had clung to the one version that would’ve brought him back to my doorstep as confident and cocky as ever.

He cleared his throat, glancing at the bed and the sleeping royals on it.

“They do not wake?” he asked when I remained silent.

“No,” I admitted, cringing.

“But they are… alive?”

“Yes.”

And I would do anything to keep it that way.

His expression flashed with pity, which was almost worse than the heroism. “What can I do to free you all from this wretched fate?”

I searched for some spark of power emanating from him, but just like the first time we met, there was no trace ofmagic in him.

“There is nothing you can do,” I said quietly. “Except leave me in peace and never return. And never tell another soul you saw me.”

His smile faded entirely. I braced myself for more questions, but instead, he glanced at the sleeping king and queen as if they were the intruders in this conversation.

“Is there somewhere we can speak?” he asked.

I sighed. He wasn’t going to leave without some explanation. That would’ve been too easy.

Resigned, I stalked past him and out the door. The two soldiers parted quickly to let me pass.

“This way,” I called. “Shut the door behind you. And bring your men with us. If they try to enter this room again, I’ll cut their throats.”

Sonoma was nowhere in sight as I led the way to the library. I couldn’t decide if her absence was good or bad. But one thing was for sure: Her wards had officially failed.

And that left a pit of worry in my stomach.

I had to get rid of Callan as quickly as possible so I could find her.

We reached the library, and I was relieved to find it still empty. I’m not sure what I expected—Sonoma or the Furiosities were equally terrible options for company. I hoped Callan wouldn’t stay long enough to find out about either one.

“Your soldiers can wait in the hall. But I’ll know if they wander off.” I pointed my stolen sword at them, and they nodded.

“They’ll stay put,” Callan said before following me inside and closing the door with a click.

I strode to the fire and used the iron poker to stoke the coals. Lighting it with furyfire wasn’t an option, but the cold had begun to leech through my tunic. Or maybe it was the shock of this visit.

When I turned to face him, Callan lifted a brow. “What have I done to earn your ire?”

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