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Chapter 9

Callum nervously rubbed his thumb over his middle finger’s nail as he stared at nothing for a moment.

“If it’s too much, you don’t have to tell me,” Madelynn said gently, her eyes darting around as they scanned his face. He looked nervous and exhausted, as if something were slowly devouring him from the inside.

“No, I do.” He bowed his head, running both hands through his white locks. “Casimir already has his claws in you, it’d be villainous of me not to warn you.”

She leaned away from him, gnawing on her thumb nail. “You’re making me nervous,” she said, her voice sounding smaller- more scared- than she’d intended.

He looked up at her sheepishly. “Sorry, I’m not-” He paused and took a deep breath. “I’m not good with words when it comes to these kinds of things.”

She placed her hand on his, stilling the nervous tick. “Just use the words that feel right.”

His lips quirked up into a forced smile. “Okay, I’ll just start from the beginning.” He took another deep breath. “Cas and I trained together, back when we were just grunt soldiers. He was always really strong. Not just physically, but his Essence was insanely powerful. He- it was almost as if something was broken inside of him. He started out trying to be good, but as soon as he gained an ounce of power, he snapped.”

“When he got promoted, I’m assuming?” Madelynn brushed a stray strand of hair from her eyes then clenched her fist in an attempt to stop chewing her nail.

“Yes, but before that, too. Any skirmish or training exercise- he just took it too far. He wasn’t just training, he was using dark spells and it was scaring people, obviously. No one wanted to be around him, but there was something… entrancing about him. I found myself completely unable to abandon him as everyone else did. I wanted to, but he offered some unspoken promise of power. It sounds horrible, but I was…” he hesitated, shaking his head as if ashamed of himself, “addicted to the power he offered.”

Madelynn raised her eyebrows. There was more to their dynamic than simply coworkers, as Casimir had put it.

“He would do this thing. It’s embarrassing to say out loud, but he could do this thing where he’d mingle our Essences together. It would supercharge the both of us, we were walking Gods on the battlefield.”

He squeezed Madelynn’s hand until his knuckles turned white. She endured the pain. She had to know what happened.

“Eventually, there was a part of me that craved what he offered. It wasn’t just power—it was him. A piece of his Essence clung to me, whispering, pulling me back even when I wanted to run. I became his attack dog, not because I wanted to fight, but because I needed the ache to stop.”

“A piece of his Essence?” Madelynn tilted her head, trying to understand. “Isn’t everyone’s Essence the same? I mean- at least drawn from the same source?”

“Not his.” His gaze flattened on hers. He faltered, looking terrified. “There was something wrong with it. It was dark and it let him do things that shouldn’t have been possible. He could drain people of their Essence completely. He’d leave battlefields bloodless, just shells of men left littering the ground. I think he absorbed it- tainted it and made it his own. It just kept getting worse, until we’d made a name for ourselves. Townsfolk told stories of The Black Crow and his Silver Dove. Everyone was terrified of us.”

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“That’s horrible,” Madelynn whispered. Callum nodded, licking his lips again. If Casimir was capable of such horrible things, why was he interested in Madelynn? She wasn’t anything special. She was Bearing, but she never practiced beyond primary schooling. It wasn’t socially acceptable for Young Ladies to utilize their powers; it was considered lowly and brutish.

Callum continued, his foot still thumping nervously. “I wanted to walk away- I really did. I watched him drain a man once. Face to face- all he did was touch him and he withered. It was like Cas had destroyed his soul. Then, I got injured in battle and he tried to heal me, but he said I’d been hit with a Hex of Unhealing. So, I guess I became a liability after that because I had to start taking it easier. He treated me like I was nothing. I think he knew about that little bit of him he’d left inside me, because he’d only come to me once I was on the verge of breaking.”

Realization dawned on Madelynn, and her heartbeat quickened, her belly suddenly feeling sick. “Wait, do you think he plans on doing the same thing to me?”

Callum’s eyes bore holes through her, the intensity of his gaze making her toes curl. “If he thinks something belongs to him, he won’t let go easily. You’ll be stuck with him, but you can’t fall for his tricks. His lies.”

“Wait, I don’t-” Madelynn stood, taking a step back. Her breaths became ragged, and she put a hand to her chest to try to force herself back to calm. “Why- I’m not-”

“Madelynn.” Callum stood and his hands found her shoulders, holding her still. “I’m not telling you this to scare you. I’m telling you so you’re prepared. He’s not going to hurt you- that’d be too obvious. His power rests in his words. You just have to go into this knowing you can’t trust him.”

“Why would I get myself into anything? I never wanted any of this! I’m not trying to play some horrific cat-and-mouse game.” She tried to shake herself from his grasp, but he kept his hands planted against her. She should run. She could get away if she really tried. But, as she stared into Callum’s eyes, she saw a plea for help- a man who was stuck in a cycle he couldn’t break on his own. Her resolve cracked and she could feel the sweat beginning to pool on her upper lip.

“If he has his eyes on you already, it’s too late. He will reel you in. Trust me, I didn’t think I would fall for his tricks either, but he’s a master manipulator. He will make you feel like he’s your strongest ally.”

Madelynn shuddered, the cold evening air suddenly chilling her to the bone as her breath caught in her throat. “Why me?” she asked sternly. “What is so all-interesting about me that I’m his target? I’m no one.”

Callum closed his eyes tightly, standing up straight. “He saw that I was happy- after our little exchange on the balcony. In his eyes, I’m his. So he has to have you, too. Or else you might try to rip me away from him.”

Madelynn scrubbed her hands over her face. She wanted to scream, cry, throw every single rock at Callum’s perfect face until her hands were bloody. He was the reason she was trapped in this mess. She wanted to hate him. She should hate him. But she couldn’t. “Is he going to kill me?” she asked after a moment of intense, deafening silence.

“No,” Callum laughed out, as if the idea was preposterous. “He’d sooner kill me, especially if he’s had the chance to see how great you are.”

Madelynn smiled tightly, but looped her arm around his once again. “Can we keep walking?” she asked with a shaky voice. “I think I’m going to vomit.”

He brought his hand up to entwine their fingers together. “I’m not going to leave your side until you ask me.”

Madelynn nodded, feeling light headed. “How am I supposed to look him in the eye after this? He’s going to know I know.”

Callum squeezed her hand and pulled it up so she could feel his heart thumping wildly in his chest. “I couldn’t save the others,” he muttered, his voice barely audible. There was a pain in his words, as if the memories still clawed at him. “But I won’t let him get to you.”

Madelynn tightened her grip on his, her breath steadying. The path back to the hall felt impossibly short, but she knew what awaited her. Callum’s warmth anchored her, but she couldn’t help but feel that this was all moving too quickly. After all, how much did she truly know about the man standing next to her? Why did she feel so drawn to him- a man she hardly knew? It was reckless, foolish even, but she couldn’t shake the safety his presence brought. And why was he so set on saving her? She’d done nothing to deserve it.

She tried to push the thoughts from her head as the great hall came into view. There was no room for questions in her mind. She didn’t have answers, but she’d find them if they both made it through the night.