Page 65 of The Dragon's Captured Heart
“It’s okay. There isn’t much to tell. We argued. Some things were said that shouldn’t have been. I left.”
That wasn’tquitehow it went down at all, but with how nice he was being to me, I wasn’t about to tell him I’d made a rude comment about his sister being dead. That just seemed unnecessary.
“I understand,” Cleye said, briefly squeezing my shoulder. “Things happen. Emotions are complicated. Sometimes, we have to make decisions and do things that are best for ourselves even if others don’t like it or understand it.”
“That … yes,” I said slowly. “I agree. I really agree. Well said, Cleye.”
“Thank you.” He shrugged uncomfortably at the praise.
We lapsed into silence as he guided me to another wing of the palace entirely. I hadn’t been there yet, but Cleye walked with confidence. The guest rooms were not near the living quarters, he noted as we walked, so the guards could keep them separated better, and unfortunately, that meant a bit of a walk.
I didn’t care. It gave my brain time to think while my body went through motions it could do in its sleep. Walking was a perfect way to clear the mind and was something I’d done many times before. In fact, once I was settled in my new quarters, I intended to go for another long walk.
There were a lot of questions I had to ask myself, and I knew there would be some tough answers. Answers I needed to look in the eye and accept.
Including the fact that, yet again, a man in my life had proven himself incapable of being in a properly functioning relationship.
“Here,” Cleye said, interrupting my thoughts. “You should be okay to stay here for awhile.”
“Thank you again,” I said, hand on the doorknob. “I really appreciate this, Cleye. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Actually, there might be,” he said thoughtfully.
“Oh? Really? What's that?”
He smiled broadly. “You can help me ensure the one responsible for my sister’s murder is properly punished.”
I stared, shocked. “Wait, what did you find? You know who it is?”
The smile disappeared. “I’ve known all along.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Callum
“Callum? What are you doing here?”
“Hi, Mom,” I said, crossing the open grass field to the house. “I thought I’d come visit.”
My mother was like every other mother out there.
Equipped with alien supernatural senses that saw right through my bullshit as if it weren’t there.
She was halfway down the stairs before I’d even finished speaking, arms outstretched to welcome me.
“My baby,” she said. “What is it? What’s happened?”
“I don’t even know,” I told her as we went inside to sit at the kitchen table.
“Are you hungry?”
“No,” I said, waving her off. “I’m okay.”
She ignored me and started pulling things from the fridge to create a couple of sandwiches. It was a mother thing.
“I know my boy,” she said when I protested. “Do you want to talk about what’s wrong now or after you have something to eat?”
“Who said something was wrong?”
