2. Callan

Chapter 2

Callan

C rown Prince Callan paced around the spacious guest quarters he had been provided. His personal guards and friends, Finn and Sloan, occupied the quarters with him. It was a three-bedroom suite, complete with a sitting room and a game room. Each bedroom had its own bathing chamber and dressing room.

"You're acting like a caged mountain cat," Finn muttered from where he was stretched out on the sofa with a book in his hands. Sloan was sitting at the dining table, finishing his breakfast.

"We have been here five days, and no one has given me any update on her," Callan growled. The last time Callan had seen Scarlett she had been bleeding out on a couch after being stabbed in the side.

Until her shadows had exploded, sending everyone in the room flying into tables and walls. Then he'd been ushered out by two others that hardly spoke to him. They'd been dumped here and had been all but ignored since.

"I really don't think she is yours to worry about anymore," Sloan said gruffly from his place at the table.

"You wouldn't care," Callan snapped. "You never liked her. "

"You're right. I never liked the assassin that managed to elude us at every turn, sneaking into your rooms and bed," Sloan agreed, taking a bite of his toasted bread and marmalade.

"If you had bothered to try to talk to her rather than snap at her at every turn, maybe you would have," Callan answered. "She and Finn get along just fine."

"Do not bring me into this," Finn said from the couch, turning the page of his book.

Callan resumed his pacing. This was ridiculous. They'd been allowed out of their quarters, of course. They weren't prisoners, but they weren't exactly allowed to go where they liked either. In fact, they weren't allowed in any part of the western side of the palace.

They had been shown very little of the Prince of Fire's palace. They had seen a dining room, the eastern gardens, and the great hall. The basics of any palace. He had thought his castle was grand, but this put it to shame. A river ran through the middle of the building. A godsdamned river.

The guest quarters were on the eastern side of the river. They had seen the bridges that crossed to the western part, but they had been stopped when they had made to cross them. Apparently, the private wing of the palace lay on that side, and he could only assume that was where Sorin had her.

This was absurd. He was a crowned prince. He would not be denied information he desired.

He strode for the main door, and Finn and Sloan shot to their feet behind him.

"Where are you going?" Finn sighed, sliding his feet into boots.

"To get information," Callan answered, flinging the door open. He heard Sloan and Finn cussing behind him. He didn't bother to wait as he strode down the hallway. He knew the way to the main foyer well enough by now. He rounded a corner and heard a clipped, cultured, feminine voice from behind them.

"My, my. Where are our guests off to in such a hurry?"

Callan turned to find a woman—no, a female—striding towards them down the hallway. Eliza. The female had traveled with them from Baylorin, apparently having been harboring a secret identity while there, just like the Fire Prince had.

Eliza's hair was a brilliant shade of red-gold, and it hung in sweeping curls down her back. Tattoos that had not been there before whorled around her chest and down her bare arms beneath the sleeveless tunic she was wearing. Apparently, their absence was part of some glamour that was put on them in the mortal kingdoms. Callan didn't quite understand it all. Weapons adorned her no matter where you looked. Her gray eyes studied him as she drew nearer. She was beautiful, yes, but also terrifying. He had rarely seen her since they'd arrived, and when he did, it was quick, short conversations as she was passing by.

Callan straightened as she stopped in front of him. "I am going to see how Scarlett is doing."

"You can certainly try to go and see her," she said with a smirk. Challenge gleamed in her eyes, and he saw Finn and Sloan casually put their hands on their weapons.

"You would keep her from me?"

"I would do no such thing. By all means," she said, gesturing with her hand. "Go ahead."

"All right," Callan said with uncertainty, glancing to Finn and Sloan. "Thank you." He began walking, and the female fell into step beside him. She was silent as she walked with them. Awkwardly silent. "So you are his general? It is not a fake title like his was?"

"That I am," she answered. Short. Direct.

"I cannot help but feel you are leading me to a trap," Callan said cautiously while they descended some stairs.

"I am leading you nowhere," she answered. "I am following you."

They were on the main floor of the palace now, and a bridge was ahead. There was a bridge on every level of the palace. They were made of some sort of glass from what he could gather, but he hadn't been able to study them further as he had never been allowed onto one other than when they were escorted to their quarters the first night.

The guard at the bridge straightened and saluted, but Eliza strode right past him. Callan hesitated beside the guard, who didn't so much as acknowledge them.

"You do know this is actually a trap, right?" Sloan muttered from behind him.

"Not if she is going to let us cross this blasted bridge," Callan retorted.

She had paused halfway across the bridge, looking over her shoulder to see if they were following. "Well, he certainly has no information for you," Eliza said, nodding to the guard.

So Callan took a step. They crossed the entire bridge without incident, and he held in his sigh of relief. But now that they were on the other side, he paused, unsure of which way to go.

"Lead the way," she said, gesturing with her hand again.

"I… This was a trick all along," Callan sputtered, glaring at her.

"I have not deceived you at all," she retorted, crossing her arms. "Did I not say you could try to go see her? Pick a direction."

"Fine," he said through clenched teeth and started forward. She fell into step beside him once more. They had climbed a set of stairs and started down a hallway when a male stepped from smoke and ashes before them. Rayner. This one was Rayner. He would never forget the terrifying male with eyes that swirled like smoke.

"How did they get here?" he asked in that dangerously quiet voice of his.

"They crossed the bridge," Eliza said with a smirk.

"I can see this," Rayner replied, his swirling eyes sliding to her. "Why were they not stopped?"

"I suppose because I was with them," she answered with a shrug.

"Look, I am just trying to inquire about Scarlett," Callan said, trying to maintain politeness and keep the agitation from his voice.

"Who?" came a male voice from behind him.

"Shit," Sloan muttered. "Where do they keep coming from?"

The other male who had escorted them from what he assumed was Sorin's chambers that day was now standing at the top of the stairs they had just climbed. He had golden eyes that were nearly identical to Sorin's .

"Scarlett Monrhoe," Callan said with a sigh. When the male gave him the same quizzical look, he added, "The woman that came here with Sorin."

"What are they doing here, Eliza?" the male asked, ignoring him now and looking at the female.

"They crossed the bridge," she answered again.

"Then they should cross it back to the other side," he said pointedly to them.

"No," Callan ground out. "Not until I am told how she is faring."

The three Fae exchanged a look.

"I do not think it is any of your concern," the male said. What had his name been again?

"It most certainly is my concern. She is my…" he trailed off. What was she?

A prince holds her heart. Nuri's words from that day in the tavern clanged through him. He had arrogantly thought she'd meant him, but then he'd learned that Sorin was actually a prince. The Fire Prince.

But she had been his once, hadn't she? His Wraith of Shadows. Did shadows still trail her wherever she went? Did they still swarm her and flit around her?

"She is your what, Princeling?" Eliza taunted.

"She is a friend who saved my life, and I wish to know how she is doing. I wish to see her," Callan finally answered, trying to sound like the prince he was.

The Fae exchanged a look again.

"I told him he could try to go see her," Eliza supplied with a shrug.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," the other male said, running a hand down his face. "You're like a damn cat playing with its dinner."

"Cyrus," Rayner chided quietly, "we have guests in our company."

Cyrus waved his hand dismissively. "If his Highness has not heard language before then he is more pampered than I originally thought." Cyrus rubbed his thumb and forefinger across his brows as if he had a headache. He turned and faced them once more. "You will not get to her. Even if you manage to find the door to the Prince's rooms, you shall not get close to it. There are wards preventing anyone from entering. Not only that, there are more wards that will keep you from even getting to his hallway."

"But you—"

"And," Cyrus said, cutting him off, "on top of all of that, there are spells that misdirect your path. You will never find his door without an escort directly to it."

Callan stared at him in disbelief. That type of security was…unbelievable. Sorin must have hated life in the mortal lands.

"You see, Princeling," Eliza said to him, her voice going cold. Gone was the boredom she had been portraying. No, before him stood a General who commanded armies and protected an entire Court. "No one gets to our Prince without our knowing. No one gets to his door without going through one of us first. And if you get through one, there are two more to work around." Flames danced in her eyes, and fire appeared at Cyrus's fingertips.

"Can you find out for me then?" Callan asked, pushing down the fear that was threatening to buckle his knees.

"No," Cyrus answered. "We cannot."

"Why not?" Finn said from behind Callan, stepping to his side.

Again the Fae exchanged a look.

"We do not know if we are free to divulge such information," Rayner said in his soft, grave voice.

"Can you not ask him?" Finn asked.

"Did you not listen?" Cyrus snapped. "The wards are preventing anyone from entering."

"But…even you?" Callan said with realization.

"Yes," Cyrus retorted through clenched teeth. His tone said it all. He was not happy about being separated from his prince. Finn and Sloan often threw fits when he insisted on being left alone. Now a full-fledged, fire-wielding Fae stood before him, furious about being kept from his prince.

"No one gets in? What if something happens?" Callan balked .

There was a sound of rushing water and another male stepped from a swirling vortex of the same.

"I would know if something happens," the male said. He had seen this male briefly before. He had arrived right before Scarlett had lost control. He felt Finn and Sloan tense behind him. At least the three Fae he already knew stood between them and the newcomer. The male's face was hard, but his eyes twinkled. His build was nearly identical to Sorin, but his eyes were the icy blue of Scarlett's. His tunic was the turquoise of the sea, and his pants were light gray as he stood before them.

"But he said no one is allowed in," Callan argued.

"He means they are not allowed in right now, and he is pissy about it," the male said with a glare at Cyrus.

"He has never locked us out of his rooms, Drayce," Cyrus said sharply. "Not until he returned with her ." The new male merely blinked at him.

"This should not be this difficult," Sloan growled from behind Callan. Callan turned to look at him with surprise, and so did all the Fae in the hallway. "All my prince wants to know is if the woman is all right."

"She sleeps, Prince Callan," the male said. "That is all I can say."

"She has been sleeping since she arrived here? Did she have her tonic? She has not woken at all? What of her wound?" He nearly fell to his knees with relief that someone had finally told him something.

"Our best Healer is watching over and treating her, and Sorin has not left his rooms once. She is constantly watched and monitored," he answered. "Now, it would indeed be best if you crossed back to the eastern side of the palace. I will escort you myself."

Rayner disappeared into smoke and ashes, and Cyrus stalked off, cussing under his breath. Eliza fell into step beside their company once more.

"Do the shadows still follow her?" Callan asked, as they descended the step.

The male's jaw clenched. "Yes. We are working on that. "

"Who are you? I thought Cyrus was his Second."

"He is."

"And Rayner is his Third."

"Yes."

They had come to the bridge and stopped beside it. "Then who are you to be allowed in, and they are not?"

A smile pulled at the corner of the male's mouth, and Callan had the distinct feeling that this male found mischief and roguery amusing. Eliza had already started across the bridge. "I am Briar Drayce," he said, motioning them to begin crossing. "Prince of the Water Court, and I will warn you only once, mortal prince: Should you cross these bridges again without permission, you will find Sorin's Inner Court not nearly as pleasant about it."

"They weren't exactly pleasant today," Callan replied, stepping onto the bridge.

"Indeed," was all Briar said before he turned and headed down a hallway.

They reached the other side of the bridge to find Eliza waiting for them. "Come," was all she said, and she started off towards the stairs. Callan looked to Finn and Sloan, who only shrugged, so they followed her.

She led them down to a subterranean level of the palace and then down several hallways until they had to be at the back of the palace. As she turned down yet another hall, the sound of weapons clanging and men grunting grew louder, and they finally came to a stop in front of a large room.

It was a training room. Various rings were full of males and females sparring with all sorts of weapons.

"What are we doing here?" Callan asked.

"Your two guards look ready to kill someone," Eliza said with a knowing look. "You all need to work off some aggression." She signaled one of the males to come over. "Go train," she said with a jerk of her chin to Finn and Sloan. They indeed looked relieved to have something to do. "Teach them a few things," she said to the soldier, "but don't kill them. They're mortals. "

"Yes, General," the soldier said and jerked his chin at them. Finn and Sloan began to follow.

"You do not spar?" Callan asked Eliza as she turned to leave.

"Do you wish to spar with me?" she asked, raising a brow.

"No," he replied quickly.

"Wise answer," was all she said before she turned and walked back the way they had come.

Callan watched her go, then entered the training room. Someone put a sword in his hand, and he stepped into a ring with Finn.