Chapter 15

Chapter

Fifteen

SILAS

As soon as I return from hunting, I find Callisto over there curled up with the beast. I've never seen anyone chance death as much as he has. Is he just so damn trusting of the beast because he grew up in a life where no one was ever out to hurt him?

The creature eyes me when I walk in and when I stare at him, he gives me a bit of fang like he really thinks he might growl at me. I widen my eyes in disbelief, and he quickly looks away like he has no damn idea what just went on. Like whoever just tossed fang my way was definitely not him.

"You better be taking that back," I growl as I throw a rabbit I'd caught at him.

Pleased, he feasts, which wakes up Callisto who looks a bit horrified over the noise.

"Oh my god, couldn't you have gotten him something else to eat?" he asks.

"What exactly do you propose I feed him?"

"I don't know…" he admits. "It was just not the noise I was hoping to wake up to."

"I already skinned and prepped this one, so you don't have to worry about it," I assure him as I hold up the other rabbit I'd caught.

"Hmm… how about I cook it?"

"How can I possibly fuck up putting it over the fire? And haven't you been fed by servants your whole life? How do you know how to cook?"

"Anything has to be better than what you do to food," he says, but maybe because I sounded so determined, he allows me to cook it.

Really… he shouldn't have.

"I don't think it's supposed to go from raw to black that fast," Callisto says as he scrutinizes the meat.

"No, no, I assure you, it is."

He pats the ground and for some unknown reason, Dandelion comes closer so Callisto can lean against him like he's a damn chair! What kind of weird magic does this man possess?

"What do you think, Dandelion?" Callisto asks. "Do you think he's doing a good job? Papa doesn't think so."

Dandelion just stares at the rabbit and licks his lips; clearly, he'd like to eat ours as well. I put the charred meat up a bit higher so it's not so hot and that seems to help… with whatever there is left to salvage.

When I look over at Callisto, pleasantly surprised that he's gaining some color back and doesn't look like he's over there heartily shaking hands with Death, he smiles at me.

I really don't need to get wound up in whatever that is, but I'm afraid it's too late.

When the meat is cooked, I pull it off and cut the most edible-looking pieces off for him.

"I don't need all of the good stuff," he assures me.

"If I don't give it to you, I'll have to listen to you cry about it for weeks," I tell him. "When you're done eating, you should probably get more sleep. I want to move out at dark."

"Okay," he says as he handfeeds Dandelion some of his meat. The beast eagerly takes it from his hand before I swear he glowers at me. Like what the fuck did I do? Kept it from eating Callisto? I even fucking fed the damn thing and didn't murder him and still he thinks I'm the bad guy.

"That thing is an asshole," I decide.

Callisto has the balls to look shocked by this revelation. "Dandelion? No!" He grabs Dandelion's head in his arms and pins it against his chest. If I did that, he'd try to murder me. "It's okay, baby, Silas is just confused."

Dandelion is just trying to get more of the food.

"Go out and hunt if you're still hungry! I'm not your servant!" I grumble at the beast.

Callisto ends up giving it half his meal, so with a sigh, I give Callisto half of mine.

He gives me a warm smile as he waves his hands at me. "No, I'm fine, I promise. I'm not super hungry yet. Still feel a little off but I'm doing much better."

"And you'll be even better if you eat."

Callisto simply smiles at me, and that smile snags me just a bit more.

Fuck.

"Hey… I was meaning to ask… did you put this in my pocket?" he asks as he pulls the coin out and stares at it.

"I assumed you grabbed it before we left the palace," I answer. "I've just been transferring it from whatever trousers I put on you so you don't lose it. I didn't know if it was important to you."

"Nah… I didn't grab it," he says as he tosses the coin up in the air. It glistens in the light from the fire before coming back down to rest in his hand. "Maybe we can get some money for it or something?"

"Maybe," I agree, wondering if we need to dispose of it. I didn't feel any magic from it, but it could be wound up in a magic I don't recognize.

I make him eat a little more, and then I drag him away from the beast to check his wounds, but the moment I head out to get more firewood, he's back to cuddling the monstrosity, dead asleep.

Dandelion watches me enter and toss wood onto the fire. He's still watching me as I sit down against the cold cave wall where I can have a good view of the outside world.

I close my eyes but refuse to sleep; instead, I just listen and feel the magic of the world around me.

When I hear footsteps, I recognize them as Callisto's as he comes over and gently sets something against me. I open my eyes, which makes him give me a sheepish look for some reason.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, you just looked cold," he says as I realize he'd laid a coat over me.

"I wasn't asleep. I just had my eyes closed as I listened," I assure him.

He sits down in front of me and stares at me for a second while looking quite uncertain.

"What?" I ask.

A smile immediately pushes that look away. "Nothing. Thank you for nursing me back to health."

Of course he's going to brush that off like it's nothing at all. But who am I to judge? "You're not recovered yet, so you need to take it easy," I say. "A simple twist and you'll tear that wound wide open again."

"Nah, your doctoring skills have healed me right up," he assures me.

"That's not how that works," I say, although I can't explain the relief I feel over how much better he is.

"I do feel a bit tired, though." And with that, he lies down on the hard ground in front of me while looking up at me like a sad puppy kicked out in the cold. I'm… not quite sure what this accomplishes. I thought he was having fun cuddling with his murder mount?

"It's… kind of cold," he says quietly.

I hesitate before reaching down and pulling him half onto my lap. "Then… you shouldn't lie on the floor." It's the best I can come up with. Like… what the hell am I even doing?

Callisto smiles, looking quite pleased as he lays his head on my thigh and just murders my resolve even more.

"I don't know why you're doing so much for me, but I really want to thank you," he says, voice soft. "It's nice… having someone to rely on."

"Don't you generally have a whole palace of people to rely on?" I ask.

"Hmm. It's different. What I was doing there was like… being waited on… not having someone to rely on. It's vastly different."

His fingers dig into my leg, like he's a drowning man clinging desperately on to the edge to keep from drowning, but I don't know why it's me he wants to cling to. There are definitely better candidates out there.

I reach out and trail my finger through his white hair, wanting to see his eyes that are covered by it. His hair isn't as shiny and white as it'd been at the palace; days of pain and rough travel have left the soft waves stuck going every which way.

My fingers trail over to his eyes, cupping over them.

"What are you doing?" he mutters.

"Telling you to go to sleep."

"Hmm… I'm not tired. I just slept for what? Days?"

"Four days."

"See?"

"I mean, you woke up to cause chaos multiple times in there."

"See?"

"But it's been four days since we left the palace."

"I wish I could have danced with you," he mumbles.

"I'm really happy I couldn't dance with you after the way you trampled that woman."

He's grinning now. "Shhhhh. Fancy balls and weird dances are not my specialty… but I think I could make an excuse if it was with you."

"Hmm… maybe I could too," I respond as I draw my hand back, but before I can completely pull it away, he captures it. The touch of his fingertips draws my attention, the gentle brush sparking heat rising inside me.

"So this is the hand that's poisoned so many by feeding them," he says, sounding quite serious.

I sigh, not even sure why my mind was wandering off. I sure as fuck know it doesn't need to. Honestly, I would be better off throwing myself at Madden, who has annoyed me for years, than this absolute mess.

But the sound of his laughter makes my face betray me as I smile.

"Can't you pick on me about something else?"

His rich tanzanite eyes catch mine. In the dim light leaking in through the cave opening, they look more purple than usual. "I don't know! Is there anything else to pick on you about? I mean… you're like… all handsome and rugged and your dick is big enough to make most people blush. You healed me back to life. You kept me clothed and warm. And when I asked you not to hurt Dandelion, you trusted me. You trust me enough to put yourself in danger and follow the red bird. I have literally nothing else to tease you about."

"I'm not as perfect as you're trying to make me seem," I say, really wishing I was.

"Hmm… I guess I won't believe that until I see it," he murmurs as he closes his eyes. "If you're going to lie down, just boot me off your lap."

"No, I'm going to stay awake. You'd sleep through an ambush."

"Maybe," he mutters. "But I suppose I could do something to help us hide."

Callisto sets his hand on the ground, and I watch green vines stretch across the mouth of the cave, covering it so it looks like there's nothing there at all.

"You didn't think to do that way before now?"

He just grins before drifting off to sleep.

I really do wish I could be the selfless person he sees me as instead of a monster who can't even escape hell after the war. Even a seer has condemned me to be the bad person and kill the prince. But life can never just be easy.