A Court of Fire and Night

Chapter 15

Callum

I was up at dawn, beating the shit out of the training dummies. Thoughts of Camilla, Lyria, and Makai kept swirling in my head, drowning out everything else. It barely registered that it was my birthday. I've been alive for two decades, which was nothing compared to my father, uncles, and Aunt Mor.

Seeing Lyria dancing, laughing in such a carefree way with my cousin hurt more than I'd admit. She's never smiled like that around me. Of course, she didn't seem to like me that much. We had a hot-and-cold relationship; best buds one minute, at each other's throats the next. Never mind that we'd almost kissed last night. Then fucking Camilla decided to waltz on up and revert Lyria back to her cold self.

Camilla always seemed to get in the way of things. I thought things could change. By bringing Camilla here, I had hoped my mother's face wouldn't fall at the mention of the Spring Court. It hurt to see her hurting. She was one of the bravest people I've ever met. But being around Camilla was much different than talking about her.

"You keep at it, and we'll run out of dummies before the day's over."

I spun around. So lost in my thoughts, I didn't hear Uncle Cassian's approach. "You wanna take out some of that pent-up energy on a real opponent?"

Nodding, I walked into a ring. Uncle Cass joined me a few seconds later. We started trading blows back and forth, not having an actual goal. In a shorter time than I'd admit to anyone, I was on my back, a blade at my throat.

Uncle Cassian shook his head, a rueful smile on his face. "She's really got you in a bind, doesn't she?"

Scowling, I pushed the blade away. Feigning confusion, I asked, "Who?"

"Don't play dumb. You know who."

"I don't think I do, thank you very much." I stood up, put away the training blade, and walked inside.

"Happy birthday," He called after me.

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Strolling through Velaris, I got stopped every other step. The citizens of the city wished me a happy birthday, some even giving me gifts. I took them all without hesitation, not wanting to be rude. I sent them to my room to open later.

The bell rang as I opened the door to Castilla's chocolate shop. The sound of her talking to another customer reached my ears. Catching the scent of the other fae, I cursed myself for not being prepared. Lyria was at the counter chatting with Castilla. She paused when she caught sight of me.

"Cal! Happy birthday!" Castilla handed me a huge box, which I could smell full of sweets.

Grinning, I said, "Thanks, Castilla."

"Of course. Only the best for the best."

I walked back to the door and heard Lyria catch up to me. "Hey, uh, can I talk to you for a sec?"

She sounded nervous, which made me nervous. "Sure."

We stepped outside, and I set down my box full of sweets. "What'd you want to talk about?"

"Er-uh-well-"

Stopping, she took a deep breath. "What I wanted to say was, I had fun last night. So thanks. And, I got a gift for you. Well, more like I made one." She cupped her hands, and I watched in awe as a flower made of flames appeared. It rested in a translucent bowl of ice, which helped spread the light more.

She held out her hand, and I gingerly took the gift from her. The flickering flames of the flowers mesmerized me. Looking up, I found her watching me. "Do you like it?"