The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (72 page)

“Why what do you mean?” he asked, his voice laced with amusement. Rain folded her arms over her chest, and tilted her head in waiting. She raised both eyebrows expectantly. He laughed,
really
laughed. Even though his face had returned to the younger looking Aziz again, Rain could see more grey in his hair. Apparently the more power he used, the quicker he would age again. He splayed his arms before him in surrender. “Fine, you got me. I wonder though, what gave you the impression I wasn’t anything but honest with Callum?”

She shrugged casually, making sure not to show the pleasure she took in his appreciation of her. “I’ve studied people all my life. I know how to read them. Plus, I saw your army, and you didn’t even bother telling him you had created them again. You’re hiding what you’re doing here, while making him fight bigger battles. Why?”

Aziz laughed again. “My dear, you are a endless source of surprises for me. My plan is simple, I will sit back while those fools kill each other. It doesn’t matter to me who wins, I only care that they will be thinning out their men one by one, leaving less people for me to kill when the time comes. Callum only sees me as an ally, the one who has sat quietly in the background. What he and Brutus never understood was that I had no interest in their petty games. I want Eden, and the easiest way for me to get that is to let them ruin themselves before I take over.” He walked slowly towards her, stopping mere inches away. “When this battle is over, we will be able to move our army in place, and take over whatever is left. Soon my children will run freely in Eden, and I will be the one and
only
King.” He reached out a hand, catching a piece of her hair in it. Slowly, he let the stands slip through his fingers. “You will be my queen, Rain, and together we will rule Eden. No one will be able to stop us.”

CHAPTER FIVE

They had been waiting on the boat for days, and now they’d be waiting even longer. Callum looked out at the city that lay just a breath away. He could take it easily, and yet Aziz had told them to wait. Wait – for his brother. He couldn’t decide how he felt about it. The first time in ten years that they had seen each other had been on a battlefield, and now they would have to go up against each other again. This was what he wanted, he reminded himself. Yet, something nagged at him. He felt like there were other things happening around him that he couldn’t quite grasp. Callum didn’t like being anyone’s fool. He wished, for the hundredth time since it happened, that Brutus was still alive to council him. Surely Brutus would have been able to make sense of this feeling Callum was having.

He took a slow survey of the restless men that waited on his ship. They wanted action, they wanted vengeance for their fallen leader, and now he had to tell them they would need to continue to wait. The only person that would be pleased with the new turn of events would be Rose. It pained him to see her so miserable. She hated the thought of him going to war, he knew. She never voiced things out loud, but he could see the toll it was taking on her. His beautiful wife, who only grew lovelier as she blossomed under the gift of pregnancy. She had been so ill during the trip, but now that they had stayed anchored for a couple of days, she was regaining her strength and health tremendously.

As if he had silently summoned her, he watched as she came up from the cabin below. Her flowing mane of red hair blazed in the sun, her cheeks rosy and vivid green eyes sparkling as they found him. She smiled as she walked to where he stood.

“You spoke to Aziz?” she asked as she neared. Callum nodded in reply. “I can tell,” she smiled. “You always have the same look on your face after you’ve spoken with him. Tell me, what did he say?”

Callum reached out to circle his arms around her growing waist, and leaned down to place a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose. He breathed in the scent of her, continuing to kiss her along her cheekbones, then her closed eyelids, finally stopping to press his lips firmly against hers. It didn’t bother him to show such affection for her in front of the other men, because truth be told, they all loved her. He could tell by the way they smiled when she roamed the deck, or the way someone was always standing close by to protect her. They laughed at her jokes, and fell silent when she sang her lullabies in the light of the moons, affectionately rubbing her swollen belly. Even Callum found himself watching her during those times, as riveted as the rest of them by her pure beauty.

Now she looked up at him, waiting patiently for his reply. “He wants us to wait,” he told her, confiding in the only person he had left that he trusted with his life. She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“Wait for what?”

“Markus is in the Capital, and Aziz believes he will return with my brother and his army. He suggests we wait until their arrival before attacking.” Because he wants the boy, he added in his head. He wouldn’t remind her of that fact. The boy from the other world was even younger than she, and he knew it would deeply disturb her to know the plans the sorcerer had for the young man. She looked out at the city that lay waiting for their destruction.

“Felix will be coming then,” she said softly, referring to her brother who was a member of the High King’s army. An ache grew in Callum’s chest. He hated seeing her distressed in any way. He gently pulled her closer, running his knuckles affectionately down her cheek. What could he say to her? He hated what he had brought into her life, and knew it was only the beginning. At night, as they lay in each other’s arms, he wondered what it would be like to just leave. To forget his need for revenge. To just be content with his wife and their future child. To live a normal life, have a small house and maybe a farm to tend to, and not worry about the political games of Eden. It sounded, if he was honest with himself, like heaven, and yet he couldn’t make himself do it. He didn’t have the strength to walk away from what he started. Did he even want the crown anymore? This he often wondered.

“Have you eaten this morning?” he asked, pulling her gaze away from the sparkling city nestled in the sea. She shook her head. “Come, let us eat together.” He twined his fingers with hers, leading her down into the cabin.

* * *

After they finished eating, Callum left her to speak with the ship’s captain and the other men. Now that she sat alone, she let their earlier conversation sink in again. Felix would be on his way to them. Her husband, the love of her life, would go up against her own brother. What if they faced each other during the battle? What if Callum killed her only living family member? Would he even know it was her brother, or would he be lost in his rage? She hated what Callum was doing, and yet she loved the man with all her heart and more. One of her hands instantly went to her stomach, rubbing soothing circles.

What if she lost him before their unborn child was even brought into the world? The thought was a regular one, and one that haunted her constantly. If she could run away with Callum and hide, keeping him safe from any peril, she would. She knew it was impossible. This war had been his life goal, and she knew nothing would make him turn away from it. Not even her.

Rose went up to the deck, breathing in the fresh, salty air. The sun was shining that day, the air warm. It was so different down here than it was up in the north. She loved it. The water sparkled like thousands of tiny diamonds. At night the sky was a magnificent mixture of vibrant purples and pinks. It was breathtaking. Then the twin moons would come out and cast their blue glow on the land, while the city of the Sun People lit up like a beacon in the sky. She wished with all her being to be able to walk the streets of the city. It was so unlike the small farming village she had grown up in, or the cold castle where she spent the six months after her capture. There was beauty in this place, and a promise of love and laughter.

Rose looked out at the city, now quiet in the early morning. She knew it would be a while before she would be able to see people moving around the shores, or hear the bustle of people within. Things were slower down here. There was no getting up at the crack of dawn to go work in the fields. If only she could sneak over there, she thought wistfully. It was impossible though. For one, she would have to row herself over in one of the smaller boats, which she wouldn’t get far in doing. For another, the soldiers stationed in the city had spotted them shortly after their arrival. Before she ever reached their shores, arrows would most assuredly rain down on her, effectively ending her short quest.

“What are you staring at with such longing?” Callum’s voice came from behind her. “I thought I told you to only ever look at me that way.” She looked over her shoulder to see him grinning. He was so utterly handsome when he smiled. She could remember when they first met, how rare it was to catch one of his smiles. He had always been so serious, except with her. She could often incite a smile from him, even in those days. Even when, according to him, he had no idea what to do with her – his prisoner of war. It amused her to know how much he argued with himself when he had first captured her. To think, she spent so many of those nights worrying about him, and what he wanted, while he was practically thinking the same thing. It hadn’t taken either of them very long to figure out they had fallen in love with one another.

“Why don’t we sneak off and go to the city?” she asked, knowing what the answer would be, but deciding to ask anyway.

Callum laughed lightly. “That, my love, would be extremely difficult, considering we would be watched the entire time by an array of men just waiting to shoot us,” he answered, placing a hand on the railing on either side of her body. She leaned back into his chest, welcoming the enclosure of his arms. “That,” he continued, “and we would need to take one of the smaller boats, and I’m not sure it could handle your extra weight.” Rose scoffed, smacking him in the chest indignantly. He chuckled, catching her hand in his and bringing it to his mouth for a quick kiss.

“Sometimes I prefer the days where you were quiet and brooding all the time,” she replied.

He laughed again, burying his face in her neck. “But then you would not hear me say how much I love you all the time,” he replied, his voice muffled against her skin.

“I did not realize jesting about my weight was a term of endearment in your eyes. How silly of me,” she answered dryly.

“’Tis all it is, but a jest my love.”

“Uh-huh”

He straightened up. “Do you grow restless?”

“A little,” she lied. She was
extremely
restless, but she hated to make Callum feel even guiltier than he already did.

He slowly turned her to face him. “Since when do you mince words with me, Rose?”

She smiled sheepishly. “Fine, yes I’m extremely restless. I hate being on this boat all the time. I want to be able to move around more, see what the land is like down here. I’ve never been this far from home and I’m curious.”

He smiled down at her. By the Gods did she love when the man smiled. “That’s better. I know how frustrating this is Rose. No one here likes being cooped up on this old boat. Which is why the captain and I have decided to leave.”

“Leave?” A ray of hope ignited in her chest.

“I told him about Aziz wanting us to wait, and we both decided the strategic thing to do is to have our men stationed on the shore, so that we effectively cut off Markus and my brother from the city, and stop the men in the city from getting to Markus. Once we eliminate the threat of the King’s army, we can turn our attention to the city, and easily take whoever is left in there.” All hope slipped away. He didn’t mean leave completely, he just meant the ship. She desperately tried not to think of where her brother would be during this plan. A small kick pushed at her stomach from inside. The baby seemed to always feel when Rose was worried or upset. She placed a reassuring hand on the growing bump.

“When will be leaving?” she asked, steering away from the harder issues.

“The captain and my men are preparing now. They’ll have a tent set up for us shortly. First we need to move the ship closer to the shore, further back along the coast where we won’t be seen leaving it.”

“I’ll go pack our things then,” she said, quickly moving herself around him and disappearing down into the cabin, before he could see the tears building in her eyes.

* * *

Once they had successfully disembarked, they walked through the forest that lined the sandy shoreline. The sun filtered through the trees, warming her whenever she passed through its rays. It felt wonderful to finally move again. She caught a few worried glances in her direction, as if they expected someone to swoop down and take her from where she stood. Their protectiveness made her smile.

It was only a short time before they came to the clearing where the main docks to Nysa sat. Small establishments, mostly taverns, sat along the shore as well. Rose could see that all of them had been abandoned, probably at the first sign of the northern army. It looked like a ghost town now. No ships sat in the harbour, and no people could be heard or seen in what was probably a busy place during normal times.

Callum immediately began shouting orders. The camps were set up close to the forest for extra protection, while shifts were organized for the soldiers to watch both the shore and the land where the opposing army would soon arrive. Now all they had to do was wait.

The tent was the same one they spent countless nights in the last time they were at war. Rose inhaled a deep breath of the familiar scent of man, dirt, and fresh air. Their bed was set up with the same fur blankets and pillows, as well as the familiar ornamental rug on the floor, which helped to keep the small area warmer than normal. Callum had yet to unpack all his maps and books, but she knew he had brought them.

He entered their tent long after the sun had set. Rose sat combing out her hair as he opened the flaps and stomped in. His boots were caked with mud and he wore no shirt in the warm air of the south. His black riding pants sat low on his hips, showing off the muscles of his stomach and chest. Long dark hair flowed freely down to his shoulders, for once, instead of tied back like he normally wore it. His dark eyes raked over her as he sat down to remove his boots.