The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (50 page)

“Do you worry about his health?”

“It is hard not to when you look at the man, but he says he has a new plan that will give him endless power to drive into his army. Neither of us know what it is, but whatever it is he has it in motion, and we’re supposed to wait for his instructions. I don’t like waiting for other people to make decisions for me, but I don’t see what choice I have.” They were back at the stables now, and Callum turned to lift Rose carefully down onto the ground. The old man came out of the stable and grabbed the reins from Callum, sneaking a quick smile in Rose’s direction. He winked discreetly before turning away. At least she had one friend here, she thought thankfully.

They held hands as they walked back towards the castle entrance. No one looked at them as they entered. Rose had realized soon after arriving that many of the people here were afraid of Callum. She couldn’t imagine why, knowing how kind and caring he was, but he didn’t let that side of him show in public very often. He brought her to their bed chambers, shutting the door behind them. She had decided she would have a nap until dinner time.

Crawling into the bed, Callum pulled the warm furs up around her chin. He leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead.

“I will see you at dinner,” he said, kissing her again on the lips. Then he walked out, and Rose turned to sink into much needed rest.

When she woke up the sky outside was dark. A small servant stood nervously beside her bed, waiting patiently for Rose to notice her.

“I beg your pardon my lady, but I have been asked to get you dressed for dinner,” she said softly. Rose got up and stretched the best she could, despite the bump in front of her. The girl helped her get into a formal gown for dinner. All her dresses were now made specially by hand, ensuring there was extra room for her growing stomach. This one was a light blue that made her skin look even paler than it usually did. Her long red hair was pulled back and twisted into a bun at the back of her head. She wore simple pearls in her ears, the first gift Callum had given her when they returned, besides the ring she wore on her left hand. Their wedding had been small and brief. Brutus was the only witness, but it had still been one of the best days of her life.

Walking to the dining hall, Rose couldn’t help but catch hostile looks from passing servants. Great, she thought, Astrid had clearly told everyone about her defiance, and now they all would think poorly of her. Sometimes she wondered who really ran the castle – Brutus or Astrid.

The dining hall was a dark room, heavy wood paneling on all the walls and ceiling, the only light coming from a massive fireplace along the north wall. A table that could seat more than twenty people ran the length of the room, although only three spots were ever set. When she walked in Brutus was already seated at the head of the table talking, while Callum stood beside the fire, peering into the orange flames. She cleared her throat lightly to let them know she was there. Brutus stood up as Callum turned away from the fire.

“Rose, my girl!” Brutus greeted in his great, booming voice. “You are looking particularly lovely this evening, isn’t she Callum?” he said, walking over to kiss her gently on the cheek.

“She always looks lovely,” Callum replied, not moving from the fire. He rarely showed her much affection in public. But he more than made up for it in private.

“Come, sit,” Brutus said, offering her his arm and leading her towards her usual seat. “I heard you had quite the day today,” he chuckled.

Rose felt her cheeks slightly heat at his jest. “I wanted to go out,” she explained, as if it were completely natural.

“Of course, of course,” he continued to chuckle. “I don’t think there is a man, woman, or beast in all of Eden that could stop you from doing what you want should you set your mind on it.” Rose smiled thankfully at him, knowing how much pleasure he was getting from this.

“Thank you Brutus, I’m glad someone around here understands me.”

Callum rolled his eyes. “Brutus doesn’t understand anyone, he just likes to push buttons whenever he can,” Callum muttered, shoving a potato in his mouth. Brutus laughed delightfully.

“Has Callum told you about our plans then?” Brutus asked, turning to look back at Rose. Callum gave him a warning look, which Rose caught, but they both ignored him. This was how Rose always found things out – Brutus. She often wondered if Callum would tell her as much as he did if it wasn’t for Brutus forcing the subject in front of her. He had a wicked sense of humour, but it often came in handy for her.

“No, he has not,” Rose smiled affectionately at Brutus, knowing how well her smiles worked on him. “Why don’t you tell me? You’re much better at explaining things anyway.”

“OH for –” Callum started.

Brutus chuckled. “That I am, my dear, that I am,” he interrupted. “Well, we have decided to move ahead with our next attack, however we’re going to avoid the Capital for the time being.”

This was surprising. “Where will you attack then?” she asked, suddenly not feeling very hungry.

“Eat,” came Callum’s voice, a note of agitation in it. She absently raised the fork to her mouth, still waiting for Brutus to continue.

“I will be taking half our men to the west, and Callum will be taking the others to the south. We plan to attack them at the same time, eliminating the Capital’s allies. The simultaneous and separate attacks will, hopefully, catch them all off guard, and will allow us to attack the Capital again thereafter from opposite sides. Harder to run when you’re surrounded, you know?” A huge smile was set on his face, and a feeling of pure excitement and joy radiated from him. There was no one else that took as much pleasure in war as this man did, and yet he made it seem as if it were such a minute thing.

“How will you attack at the same time if Callum has to ride all the way to the South?” Rose asked, trying to keep her hands from shaking. “He’ll have to go past the Capital to get there. Won’t that alarm them that something is going on?”

“You’ve got a clever girl here, Callum!” Brutus beamed. Callum simply shook his head, focusing on his food. He didn’t like to get involved in their discussions, waiting until they were alone to speak openly with her. “We thought of the same problems my dear, but we’ve come up with an excellent plan. Callum and his forces will sail around and approach them from the sea rather than land. Not only do we avoid the Capital, but our ships are the fastest, so he will arrive there at the same time as my troops, if we plan it properly. Nysa is not as protected on that side as they are from the land.” His smile was so proud that Rose couldn’t help but smile back. But the smile did not reach her eyes. Callum watched her carefully from the other side of the table.

“How long will it take to get to the south by ship?” she asked, her voice betraying her anxiety.

“I’d say about seven days, with Aziz’s help, which means he’d have to leave two days before us since it only takes about five for us to reach the Riders through the mountain passes.”

“Seven days on the water,” she said softly, thinking about how awful it was going to be. Her father had taken her out on a boat when she was little once, and all she could remember about it was how sick she had felt. There was no way she’d let him go without her though, so she’d have to make it through. She spent the rest of the dinner in silence as the two men spoke about minor details: what weapons they’d stock, what would weigh the least and thus make it easier for them to move fast – all the things she didn’t care or want to hear about. Her thoughts were lost in the thoughts of her burning village, and all the deaths she had seen in the spring when they had gone to central Eden. The thought of it happening all over again made her feel sick to her stomach, but she continued to eat so neither of the men would notice. Soon they were done and Callum was leading her up to their private chambers. When they walked in he immediately turned to her, a worried look on his face.

“Are you well?” he asked, his hands holding either side of her face.

“I’m coming with you,” Rose blurted out, and was not happy to see the immediate refusal in Callum’s eyes. His hands dropped from her face.

“Rose –”

“Don’t say no Callum, I’ve already made up my mind. I won’t stay here without you.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The room felt stuffy from the heat of bodies. Wolf stood against the wall, his arms crossed defensively over his chest. Normally he loved a party, regardless of who was throwing it or where it was, but this time was different. Even the numerous heavily-lined eyes that shot his way couldn’t lift his mood. Currently Logan was surrounded by three lovely creatures, a smile stretching his face from ear to ear. Wolf shot him a weary look, then refocused on who he had been watching the entire night. Elisa. When she had first walked into the hall, Wolf had practically choked on his drink. During the last spring festival she had been dressed up like that, but this was different. Something glowed from inside her, lighting her face up like he had never seen. Her golden hair shimmered in the light, the deep blue of the dress setting off her skin like a star in the sky. It had taken all his control to walk slowly over towards her, his instincts screaming to run before anyone else laid claim to her. Then he got himself in check. It was
Elisa
.

Admittedly he had been angry at her when he first saw her in his hotel room. Not so much because she had come, but because, if truth be told, he missed her. Maybe not her specifically, but any other familiar face besides Logan…or maybe her too, he still couldn’t decide. What had really made him angry was that she had appeared right in the middle of a dangerous situation. There was no other girl in Eden that he knew who could handle themselves quite like Elisa could. Despite that, Wolf’s natural instincts were to keep her as far away from trouble as he could. He knew the men that night meant business, and that Markus wouldn’t be far behind. So when he realized who she was, he knew things were about as bad as they could get. Now, as he watched her twirl around the dance floor, all his fears had come to life.

The alley had left him wounded, in body and in pride. What it had really done, however, was show Markus exactly what Elisa was capable of, and now the man was utterly dazzled by her. There had barely been a minute of the night where Markus’s full attention hadn’t been on Elisa. They danced almost every song together, and sat beside one another when they weren’t. Could she ever have feelings for someone like Markus? Especially after the conversation they overheard? Did she just like that someone was giving her attention? No, that couldn’t be it, he decided. There were plenty of men back home who would give her attention, if she’d let them. Maybe
that
was what was bothering him the most – that this time she didn’t seem to be annoyed by someone’s attention, but rather, she was encouraging it. It had nothing to do with the fact that it wasn’t his attention, Wolf reminded himself. Elisa was high maintenance and too much trouble for him. He had decided that a long time ago.

With his teeth clenched and shoulders squared, he finally grew sick of standing against the wall. Pushing off, he strode across the floor towards her, keeping his eyes focused on the large jewel that sat appealingly on her collarbone. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Logan smile over at him, a wave of relief washing over his dark features.

“May I cut in?” Wolf asked, clearing his throat behind them. Markus looked over at him, a spark of either anger or resentment flash in his eyes.

“Of course,” he replied, somewhat reluctantly. Detaching himself from Elisa, she turned with a smile to Wolf, her cheeks glowing warmly. Wolf stepped between them, cutting off Markus from her view. He looked down at her, wrapping one hand around her tiny waist, and grabbing her hand firmly in his left. She smiled up at him, one of the few times she did so without any hostility. It didn’t take long for him to figure out why.

* * * * *

The night had been overwhelming from the start. After Wolf walked her to the table, she realized that she was seated right beside Markus. Needless to say, many faces turned to look curiously at her as she sat down. She was someone new, someone from another city…and she was clearly being favoured by their leader. On the other side sat Wolf, who thankfully looked just as uncomfortable as she felt. She never had the chance to ask him though, because as soon as Markus sat down, his full attention was on her. At first he made her extremely nervous, but as the meal progressed she slowly realized that she was starting to genuinely like him. He spoke like she was his equal, never demeaning or patronizing her like most men did. He told jokes, and pointed out people that sat at separate tables, telling her stories about their ridiculous lives. Despite his position in the court, Markus seemed to hate many of the things that defined it, much like Elisa did herself. There was a certain level of contempt for the obvious displays of wealth, which also annoyed him to a degree.

“Your dress, for example, is the perfect balance of wealth and modesty,” he said, touching the large ruby that hung around her throat. The heat of his fingers sent a slight jolt through her body as they brushed her skin.

“It
is
very lovely,” she agreed. It was unusual for Elisa to feel so – well, feminine. Her whole life had been spent trying to make people treat her like ‘one of the guys,’ but Markus didn’t treat her like that. He looked at her like she was the most beautiful woman in the room, and for some reason, she liked it. Maybe it was because she was getting older, she thought inwardly. Slowly, as her life progressed, she began to realize that there was more to life than just fighting in the King’s army. It was the best part of her life, but not the only. At that thought, she stole a glance at Wolf on her right. His face was devoid of emotion.

“Shall we dance?” Markus asked, his lips close to her ear. She turned back towards him. The rest of the evening had been spent on the dance floor. She wasn’t much of a dancer, but Markus made sure not to make her feel self-conscious about it. They laughed, and he helped her through each song. As it turned out, she wasn’t that bad at dancing after all.