“One who loves you dearly.” Callum ghosted his lips down my cheek.
“He loves you too, you know.” My pulse thrummed like a hummingbird’s wings. “You belong with us, Cal. You don’t have to be like the sun in that poem and shine on everything around you while hiding your own pain. We’ll warm you too.”
“I’m certainly warm enough right now.” He pressed closer, dropping his face to my neck. “I related to the poem, thinking our love impossible, but here you are in my arms. We must be in that space between night and day. Where we can finally exist together.”
“Well, the sun has set.” I looked at the shadowy world beyond the window. Only a faint light remained in the distance.
“Not fully.” Callum shifted his weight and settled halfway on top of me. “He’s waiting for that dance.”
“Canyoudance?” I smiled up at him. God, he was making me giddy. The butterflies in my belly were more like bats, the flutters heavy but quick.
“Perhaps I’ll show you someday.” He brushed a soft kiss over my sternum. “When we meet in the twilight.”
***
Frogs croaked from a nearby pond as Callum and I strolled through the castle grounds. Briar had released him from the medical ward but said he should wait another day before ridinga horse. Being a mighty muffin lord, I’d offered to escort him to the barracks.
“You, escort me?” he’d asked with an amused twitch of his lips. “Very well.”
He could joke all he wanted, but I wasn’t totally useless in a fight. If someone jumped from the bushes and attacked us, I could throw a rock at them. Or fall flat on my face and make them laugh themselves to death.
Stars twinkled above us, and I tipped my head up, trying to makes sense of the clusters. The constellations were different from the ones I knew. No Big Dipper or Orion’s Belt. Sometimes I forgot about my old world, but little things reminded me.
“Do you have names for the stars?” I asked.
“Aye.” Callum held my hand as we walked along the moonlit path. With his other hand, he pointed to a cluster to the left of us. “See those? We call them Atreyu’s Shield. Named after a knight of old who held off enemy soldiers with only a shield, protecting his prince. He was gravely wounded, missing one arm and stabbed in the gut, but held on until reinforcements arrived. Stories say the stars formed with his final breath. The gods honored his bravery.”
“Are all knights sworn to do that? Lay down their lives for the royal family?”
He nodded. “The royal guards are sworn to do so as well.”
I focused on the warmth of his palm against mine. “I wouldn’t want that if I was a prince. Someone else dying for me just because of my bloodline. No life is more important than another, regardless if you’re a knight, commoner, or the king himself.”
“I believe differently.” When he peered down at me, there was a slight tightness at the edges of his eyes. “You say no life is more important than another, yet I would give mine for you without hesitation.”
Damn.My heart skipped a beat.The man had charm. His new title should be Sir Swoonamon Roll.
Flickers of orange showed ahead of us, coming from the firepit in the courtyard. Knights sat around it with drinks in hand and stood at our approach, nodding to Callum. He returned the gesture before veering toward a footpath that led to the officer’s quarters.
“Seems like forever ago that I first came here,” I said, surveying the grounds. The grove of trees. The barracks. The door Maddox had carried me through the night of the storm after my date with him and Briar. We’d taken shelter inside and warmed ourselves in front of the fire.
“Yet, you still haven’t seen my room.” Callum stopped in front of his door and turned to me, resting his shoulder against it.
“Is that an invitation?”
A slow smile curved his lips. “Well, youdidshow incredible bravery escorting me home. Did you hear those toads in the pond? Maneaters, I bet. I fear they would’ve swarmed me had you not been by my side.”
“You’re right.” I exaggerated a sigh. “I totally saved your life with my muffins of steel.”
When he chuckled, the sound awoke the sleeping butterflies in my belly. Ones that fluttered faster as he opened the door and pulled me into the room. I couldn’t see anything but darkness at first. Then, the moonlight coming through the lone window helped my eyes adjust enough to make out the shape of a small table and a bed in the corner.
“Give me a moment.” Callum squeezed my hand before stepping away. He lit a lantern and carried it over to a small stone hearth. As he worked on starting a fire, I took a look around.
Two bookcases along the wall were completely filled, the books ranging in size from short stories to thick volumes. I glided my fingers along the spines before coming across a small wooden horse on the shelf. A knight stood beside it, also crafted from wood and painted to match the colors of the Royal Order.
“That was my dream when I was younger.” Callum neared my side and smiled at the toy knight. “I wanted to be the king’s personal knight.”
“There’s time to make that dream come true. You’re so young and have already made a name for yourself. Men twice your age respect you. You’ll work your way up the ranks in no time.”
