A Court of Fire and Night

Chapter 16

Lyria

Mate

The silence that followed was deafening. Camilla was shocked into silence, while Cal couldn't seem to fathom what I just said. I couldn't either. 

Mate

The wind blowing past the windows paused, and the low buzz of the insects halted. The world seemed to stop at that one word.

Mate

I could see it now. The glowing cord made up of intertwining night and day that connected my soul to his. It shimmered into existence as the realization dawned on me. I stumbled back, narrowly avoiding Cal's wings as I entered his room. Sitting down heavily on a chair, I put my face in my hands. 

Why did I say that? I shouldn't have blurted it out like that! How is this possible? We aren't even from the same world. 

I heard Cal approach and watched as he kneeled in front of me. He took my hands in his, forcing me to look up. "You ok?" He asked. 

I closed my eyes instead of answering. I took a deep breath in, then out, looked at him, and whispered, "I don't know. Are you ok?"

He looked away. "I'm shocked, that's all. I mean, I had my suspicions, but you confirmed them."

I croaked out a laugh. "I don't know why I said that. Just instinct, I guess."

Running a hand down his face, he voiced what I was thinking. "How is it possible?"

"You think I know? I'm just as surprised as you are."

"What are we going to do about it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are we going to accept it?"

Sighing, my gaze wandered around the room, and I said, "I don't know. There's so much going on right now. I'm trying to get home, and you guys are trying to find out what Camilla's ulterior motive for being here is. It's so frustrating not being able to do anything!"

"Speaking of Camilla...where is she?"

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Soon, the whole Inner Circle was awake and at the House of Wind. We all gathered in the dining room to discuss what happened and what our next move was. Cal and I shared our memories with Rhys and Feyre, who in turn shared them with the rest of the family. Except for the mate thing, which they said was private and wouldn't tell anybody. From the awkward tension between Cal and me, I'm sure everyone knew something happened.

After discovering Camilla gone, Cal and I had followed her scent to one of the many balconies in the House. It ended at the edge, meaning she probably shape-shifted, jumped, and left for good. I personally was happy about it. But the Inner Circle was giving me mixed emotions.

"At least we can stop pretending we like someone whom we actually despise," said Mor.

"But the whole point of her being here was to gain the trust of the Spring Court and repair the damage between us." Azriel objected.

Mor rolled her eyes. "Ever the strategist."

"We know she's going to tell Tamlin what happened," said Feyre. "I think the best course of action is to let them be for now."

Rhys nodded, agreeing with his mate.

Everyone turned to us. "What?" Cal asked.

Feyre asked, "Seeing as you both know Camilla the best, what do you think?"

Tossing my hair over one shoulder, I said, "Well, I couldn't be happier. She's no longer here to fuck stuff up. Maybe I'll finally make progress on getting home."