The In-Between

Chapter 8 - Armed

I stared at Calden. How could he sit across from me and say such heinous things about Ollie? Even if their friendship was destroyed by the war, how could he regard him with such hatred?

I was still standing, not sure what to do with myself. I could run...shimmer somewhere far away. I could stay and continue my plan, but Calden was making it difficult. I didn't know if I could tolerate listening to such slander against my bonded. My magic spun chaotically throughout my body, it didn't know what to do either.

Calden was insinuating that I didn't have the whole story of the war. The War of the Brothers, that's what it had been called by the historians. Not only were Ollie and Calden raised together as if they were family, but their fathers had grown up together too. I had forgotten, but as I looked at Calden's dark eyes and the set of his jaw, I saw Ollie. I saw Ollie's light eyes and easy smile. The sets of brothers were mirror opposites. My magic flickered, a spot of doubt in our bonded. Was Ollie as forthcoming as we originally thought? It seemed to ask me, but I had no reason to doubt him.

Don't you? Look around, my magic replied.

I was looking, but I didn't have enough to go on. Lottie seemed to be well taken care of and Colin seemed like the submissive second in command who played his role well. It did not tell me anything about how Calden cared for the majority of his court...for his commoners.

Tomorrow when Calden and I visited the center of the court I would observe. I would see how the common citizens interacted with him, and then I would decide what to do. My magic settled in me, it was satisfied by that decision.

Calden and I continued to glare at each other. His gaze was a challenge, daring me to tell him that I had been wrong. I was saved from having to acknowledge anything about the war by a new presence in the room.

"Am I interrupting?"

A man with short pale blonde hair and dark eyes had entered the dining room. Councilman Graham. He was King Davyn's second, his most trusted advisor. My heart hurt to see him. When we were growing up, Graham spent many days at Windguard. He used to visit and tell Ollie, Calden, and I stories of the wars he'd fought in; but mostly, he would just tell us of his recent travels usually accompanied by contraband chocolate he had snuck in just for me. There was a time when I would have trusted Graham with my life.

His eyes met mine and he waited for me to react, but I didn't. I only looked at him and I hoped he was terrified of the emptiness in my pools of ice.

Finally, Graham inclined his head sadly. "I was not told you'd arrived. I am sorry I did not greet you."

My heart stuttered, his voice was so tender. I was not angry with Graham, I knew who he had to side with during the war. It was never going to be with the Southern courts, it was never going to be with me, but my heart still hurt when I saw him during the early years. The longer I looked at him, the more my heart broke. Graham reminded me of my father, and I had not seen Graham in as long as my father had been dead. My magic grieved, trying to push me towards him but I would not bend.

"Adelaide." He said, softly. He held his palms out, almost a plea. 

"Adelaide is not in a forgiving mood, Graham." Calden snapped, but Graham gave me a small smile. I jaw ticked involuntarily; how dare he speak that way to him?

"I would imagine not. She lost her bonded the last time she was in this court."

In my periphery, I saw Calden's head snap to Graham. No one had referred to Ollie as my bonded since I'd been here. No one acknowledged that the last time I set foot on this soil, they had taken Ollie from me. "Reconciliation," they had claimed to get us here, and then betrayal. Graham had been there when it happened, but I remembered his look of confusion and panic when a set of soldiers shimmered in and snatched Ollie away. Graham had not been aware of the plan, that was clear. Calden hadn't been present and I did not stay to see who else was or was not caught off guard.