Page 208 of Lady for Embers

Always together. Tonight.

Tomorrow.

And the day after that.

Chapter 40

Callan

"How are you feeling?”

“Well enough to hold a sword,” the Fire General groused. A wounded Eliza was crankier than the usual Eliza.

“I am told you still have my sword,” she added, sipping on her glass of wine.

Callan had been sitting on a bench along the wall, watching everyone dancing. It had been like slipping into a worn pair of boots—the formal introduction, the traditional ?rst dance, the greeting and polite nodding. Things he had done his entire life. The Fae Princes had looked just as comfortable. Even Drake and Tava had handled it well, used to life at Court he supposed. Honestly, Scarlett and Cassius had appeared the most uncomfortable, and if that hadn’t been paradoxical, he didn’t know what was.

The ball had been underway for a few hours when Eliza had practically thrown herself down into the seat beside him, arms crossing as she glared up at Razik, who had apparently escorted her down from her room. Callan hadn’t been stupid enough to ask questions about that.

“I do,” Callan answered. “I have cleaned it, but I did not think you would want it left in your room unattended.”

“You are right about that,” she said. “Cyrus would probably try to steal it. Think it was a game.”

“How are you doing, Eliza? For real?” Callan asked, watching her from the corner of his eye. He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I thought she stabbed your heart. From where I was standing that is what it looked like and—”

A hand wrapped around his, calluses on her palm rough against his skin. “I live, Callan,” she said gently. “Thank you for calling to me, for coming to me, for killing that bitch when she suppressed my magic. I would not be sitting here if it had not been for you.”

“Thank you for training me, even though I am certain you thought it was pointless on more than one occasion.”

She huffed a small laugh, then grimaced, letting go of his hand to rub at the wound. “That is the thing about training. You never know who will need it or when, but you pray to Sargon that you’ve taught them enough to make it count. You made it count, Callan.”

“But you will continue to train me when you are well?” he asked, eyes landing on Tava speaking with Hale, smiling in amusement at whatever he was saying.

“You may have saved me and gutted a few seraphs, Princeling, but your swings could have been better. Not so sloppy.”

A bark of laughter came from him. “Fair enough, General.”

Razik appeared a moment later, holding out a plate to Eliza of what appeared to be chocolate cake. She glanced at it once before arching a brow at him.

“You said you would eat,” Razik said by way of explanation.

“Only because it was the only way you would let me come down here for a bit,” she retorted sharply.

“Niara said you need to rest or healing will take longer.” He moved the plate a few inches closer to her. “Now eat, or I will feed it to you.”

Eliza scoffed. “You will not.”

He bent down close, getting into her face. “Try me, Milady.”

Eliza scowled at him, her cheeks going red with anger, as she snatched the plate from his hand, cutting off a piece with the fork and shoving it into her mouth. Razik smirked back at her in satisfaction. Callan sat awkwardly while she ate the entire piece of dessert. Then she all but threw the plate back at Razik.

“Give it to me,” she demanded.

Razik handed the empty plate off to a passing server before there was a burst of black ?ames and he produced a book, holding it out to her. She tore it from his hand, ?ipping through the pages until she apparently found the page she was on.

“If you take my book again, I will gut you in your bed,” she said nonchalantly, as if she wasn’t threatening a powerful warrior who could literally turn into a dragon.

“Noted.” Razik lazily dropped down onto the bench on the other side of her. “Of course, then that means you will have to come to my bed.”

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