Chapter 56: CALLUM AND A LINGERING TAIL
KEISHA’S POV
Forty minutes passed as I waited for Dane.
I stayed where I was.
Another ten minutes passed.
I was starting to wonder if something had happened, if I should move, if waiting on my knees on the floor of my bedroom for a man who had said thirty minutes was the most undignified thing I had ever done in my life — which honestly it might have been— when I heard the front door.
Finally.
I kept still, my gaze fixed on the door of my bedroom.
Footsteps moved through the living room and down the hallway. It was slower than Dane’s usual pace, which was— that was strange.
The bedroom door opened and my heart stopped.
"Who are you waiting for?" Callum was standing in the doorway.
He looked at me on the floor beside my bed and his brows furrowed.
I scrambled to my feet. "I— Dane said—" I grabbed the nearest thing which was my sheet and pulled it around myself. "He said he was coming back—"
"I know." Callum smirked and his voice was very even. "I passed him at the border. He sent me ahead." He looked at me. "His words were— she’s waiting. You should go."
I stared at him.
"That man." I huffed.
Something pulled at the corner of Callum’s mouth but it wasn’t quite a smile. "How long have you been waiting?"
"That’s not—" I started.
"How long?"
"Almost an hour." I said through my teeth.
He looked at me for a moment. Then he came inside and closed the door behind him. "Look, last time was pathetic, I should have explained what all this was properly. Because you deserve a proper explanation from me."
I stared at him in silence. "Yeah, I kinda do. You and Dane were quiet at the dinner."
His jaw tightened and he nodded grimly. "I know. I swear it’s not like—" He took a breath. "Keisha."
"She plans on moving in permanently, you know that?"
"I know." He said.
"Fourteen cases is simply ridiculous." I said. "She asked about a connecting room to your quarters apparently, and I’m not even sure if you’ll also consider that."
His jaw tightened again and his eyes darkened. "Goddess, what do you think? That I’ll agree to everything she wants to do?"
"I don’t know, Callum, you’re letting her stay." I said. "You told the elders you would and you’re letting her—"
"I’m watching her." He corrected. "She’s Osric’s candidate and he put her here for a reason and I need to understand what that reason is before I can do anything about it." He looked at me. "It’s strategy."
"I know it’s strategy." I sighed even though I didn’t really know. "I understand why you’re doing it." I looked at him. "That doesn’t make it easier to watch."
He was quiet.
"Does she know about the bond?" I asked.
"No." He said.
"Does Osric?"
"I don’t know." He said honestly.
I pressed my fingers to my temple.
"Keisha." He crossed the room and his hands found my face, tilting it up, and I let him because I was too tired to pretend I didn’t want him to touch me. "I’m not going to let her hurt you."
"You can’t promise that." I looked up at him, my chest aching.
"I’m promising it anyway and I swear I’m not gonna break it." He said.
I looked up at him. "Callum there’s something—" I stopped and stared at him.
Was it now? Should I tell him?
He waited.
I thought about the kit. "There’s something I need to tell you." I said. "Both of you. You and Dane." I swallowed. "But not tonight. I need to— I need to confirm something first and then I’ll tell you."
He looked at me carefully. "Are you alright?"
"I don’t know yet." I said honestly.
He looked at me for a long moment as his thumbs traced my cheekbones slowly. "Okay." He said quietly. "Whenever you’re ready."
I nodded.
He pulled me into him then, arms around my shoulders, my face against his chest, and just held me there.
This... This was nice.
There was no expectation or anything, just the slow loosening of my tight shoulders. When the front door opened again, neither of us moved immediately.
"Halfway down the path and I already knew." Dane’s voice from the hallway sounded through the house. "Should I come back?"
"Get in here." I said into Callum’s chest.
He came in and looked at the two of us and shook his head slightly. "I was gone forty minutes."
"Forty five." I chuckled.
"There was something at the border." He said, his tone turning serious. He looked at Callum over my head and something unspoken passed between them. "Tell you about it in a minute." He looked at me. "Are you okay?"
"Everyone keeps asking me that." I raised a brow.
"Because you keep looking like the answer is no. Your face is kinda pale. Not like how it was when I left here." He said.
I pulled back from Callum and looked at both of them standing in my bedroom and thought— I should tell them now. Right now. Both of them here, both of them looking at me. I should just say it.
"The border." I said instead, feeling like a coward. "What happened?"
Dane looked at Callum briefly. "There were trails." He said. "Someone from inside the estate has been peeping the border rotation schedule and learning the pattern." He paused. "I’ve been keeping a keen eye on things like this since the last traitor. I followed the trail for about twenty minutes and then lost it."
Callum’s expression changed. "From inside the estate."
"Has to be." Dane said. "Too much specific knowledge for an outsider."
They looked at each other and said nothing. My mind travelled back to the woman who had walked in here, checking everything like she needed to memorise it. Needed to know what worked for her and what would have to leave if it could be used against her.
"Vanessa." I blurted out.
They both looked at me.
"It started when she arrived." I looked between them both. "Didn’t it?"
No one said anything.
But it was clear that they were thinking the exact same thing I was.
