Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Elric watched the sunbeam travel across his cell floor.

In terms of confinement, Larkin had been… generous. There was a bed, a desk, a chair. Some books. Regular meals, and a certain amount of privacy other prisoners were not afforded.

It didn’t change the fact that he was sitting in a cell, while his brother had claimed the throne that was rightfully his.

Elric clenched his fists. A week since his failed coronation, and of course his brother had wasted no time in stealing everything that was his. Everything he deserved.

Elric should have killed Larkin directly instead of relying on his brother’s stupidity to do him in. But he hadn’t wanted to risk their mother finding out about the plans. He’d thought Larkin would end up eviscerated by the dragon, not fucking it.

The dragon wanted to eviscerate Elric, though. It had visited only once, and it had made it very clear that it was only Larkin’s naivete that was keeping Elric alive. What luck, his brother was still the blind, stupid idiot Elric knew him to be.

The sun moved lower, catching something and casting a longer shadow on Elric’s cell floor.

Then the shadow shifted and grew, and Elric managed to only barely contain the surprised cry as Callan emerged from it.

Callan appeared as he had before, a handsome, bearded man with dark hair and dark eyes. There was no sign he’d been harmed in the battle against the dragon.

“Your new quarters aren’t as nice as the old ones,” Callan said, looking around. “Although I appreciate the damp.”

“Well, if you’d done your job, I wouldn’t be here,” Elric snapped back. He gripped the arm of the chair and resisted the urge to stand. The hairs on the back of his neck tingled.

Although he’d requested Callan’s aid, he wasn’t stupid enough to believe that Callan was trustworthy. The way Callan had fled the battle was proof enough of that.

“Oh, I assure you, it wouldn’t have worked out. I’m not very good at dragon-slaying. You’d really need a phoenix for something like that. The dragon and I would have razed your city if we’d kept going.” Callan waved his hand dismissively. “There’s no point in being a ruler if you have nothing to rule.”

“How thoughtful of you,” Elric answered sarcastically. “Why are you here now, then? Surely not to help me out of the kindness of your heart.”

Callan laughed and slinked around behind Elric’s chair. He placed one cold hand on Elric’s neck. “There is no kindness in my heart, no. But I could help you. If you wanted me to.”

Elric knew better than to agree immediately, no matter how much he wanted to. There was no price he wasn’t willing to pay, if it meant taking down Larkin and reclaiming what he was owed.

“And what do you want in return?” Elric asked.

The hand around his throat tightened, and for a second a bone-deep fear seeped into Elric. Fear of dying here, in filth, alone and pathetic and unknown. He struggled to breathe, fighting against the despair that threatened to overwhelm him.

Callan released him, and Elric inhaled sharply, warmth flooding back into his body.

Before Elric could get up, Callan circled around to the front of the chair, resting his hands on Elric’s wrists.

“I want a memory,” Callan said, lips mere inches away from Elric’s. “A small, unimportant one. You won’t miss it.”

This was dangerous. There was something Callan wasn’t saying. But Elric didn’t want to stay in this cell for the rest of his life, rotting away while his brother prospered.

“Take it, then.” Elric’s voice wavered, but he squared his shoulders. “Take it, and help me escape.”

Callan grinned, teeth suddenly sharper than any human’s. “This won’t hurt.”

He brought his lips even closer, until there was only a hair’s breadth of air between them. Elric braced himself for the kiss.

It never came.

Instead, a tendril of darkness slipped from Callan’s mouth and raced down Elric’s throat, leaving ice in its wake. Elric choked on it, struggled against Callan’s hold, tried to scream—

The splash of water, a stone skipping. Young laughter, free of worries. Wrapping his arms around small shoulders and helping them stay afloat.

Callan stepped away, taking his darkness with him. His tongue flitted over his upper lip. “Delicious.”

“What… what did you take?” Elric asked between coughs.

“Do you remember the lake you and your brother used to swim in?” Callan laughed before Elric could answer. “No, probably not. It was so long ago.”

A lake? Elric frowned and shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Now, if you’re satisfied?”

“Very. Come, step into my shadow. I don’t usually take humans with me.” Callan extended a hand to Elric.

There was still time to refuse. He could say no to this creature. He didn’t need to live in fear of betrayal.

But he’d already paid a memory. Just a small, unimportant one. Who cared about a lake he’d once visited with his brother?

Elric stood and took Callan’s hand. Any price was worth it, if it gave him what he wanted.