Fallen Kings

29

“Fine.” I gaze across the courtyard and spot Tanwen and Eveanna heading into a room together, while Bastien slips into the one next to it. “Where is Liv staying tonight?”

Jonah grimaces. “With Bastien.”

Of course. She’ll need s*x after using her powers today. Kassiel is injured, Marcus is busy, and I’m off the menu, so Bastien it is.

I try not to feel bitter and jealous about it, but it’s hard.

Jonah heads inside, but I need to be alone with my thoughts or some s**t, so I wait outside, leaning against the wall while inspecting a wound on my side that’s slowly healing up. A few minutes later, Olivia emerges from the motel room and looks at me with exhausted eyes and dried tears on her cheeks. The sight makes me want to wrap my arms around her and hold her tight, but she’d probably punch me in the face if I tried.

As she heads across the courtyard, I call out, “Olivia, wait. We need to talk.”

She gives me a suspicious look and crosses her arms. “About what?”

I suck in a breath. “I never apologize.”

She snorts. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“It’s not in my nature,” I continue, ignoring her snark. “But I was wrong about Kassiel. And Lucifer. I was wrong about a lot of things.”

Her arms fall to her side. “Callan—”

I cut her off before I get frustrated or say the wrong thing. “I care about you, Olivia. I know I’ve made mistakes. Lots of mistakes.”

“No kidding.”

“I hurt you with some of my actions, but I did what I thought was right at the time. I always do.”

“Yes, but—”

“Let me finish.” I grit my teeth and force the words out. “For years, I’ve been taught that demons are the enemy. That they killed my brother Ekariel. That Lucifer murdered my father. That it was my destiny to avenge my family and lead the next war against Hell.” I take a step forward. “I don’t want that anymore. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to trust Lucifer, but I’ve accepted that demons are not evil. I don’t want a war. I just want you.”

Olivia’s jaw drops and she stares at me for an eternity. I keep hoping she’ll accept my apology, rush into my arms, and tell me she cares about me too, but instead she just sighs. “I can’t do this right now.” She shakes her head, her eyes weary. “Good night, Callan.”

She heads into the room with Bastien and I turn away, my jaw clenched. All I want is to make peace with her. I know I’ve f****d up in the past, but I’m doing the best I can to change. It isn’t easy, but the thought of Olivia hating me for the rest of our immortal lives is gut-wrenching. I can’t live without her. I realize that now.

And I vow to do whatever it takes to win her back.

Chapter Twenty

Olivia

I

n the morning, I throw my arms around Kassiel and practically sob into his chest, seeing how he’s recovered. Thanks to some sleep, some darkness, and some major healing from Marcus and Araceli, he’s almost as good as new, although he’s thinner and paler than before, and there’s an exhaustion in his eyes I’ve never seen before.

I hope that a good meal will cheer him up, so I drag us all to a local waffle house where we can chat. Jonah brings the Staff with us—it’s not like we can leave it at the motel—but Eveanna glamours it to look like a golf club bag. No one gives it a second glance as we walk inside and set it beside us.

The waitress seats us at a huge booth in the corner, and we all scoot in. I’m wedged between Callan and Kassiel, which might have been awkward before, but I’m so over it all I can’t find the energy to care anymore. I can’t even wrap my head around Callan’s speech last night, or how he carried Kassiel for hours to the motel yesterday.

After we’ve all squeezed inside and given our drink orders, Kassiel glances around the table at the faces of all my friends. “Thank you,” he says sincerely. “I would have died there if you hadn’t come for me. I owe each of you a great debt.”

“Of course we came” Araceli says. “You’re one of the group.”

“Yeah, we couldn’t let them kill our favorite professor,” Marcus adds.

Jonah offers his hand. “Liv cares about you a lot, which makes you important to me too. Welcome to the family.”

Kassiel shakes it with a weak smile. “I appreciate that.”

I take Kassiel’s other hand and squeeze it, but then my eyes dart to Callan, who’s been sitting there with a face like stone this entire time.

“It was our duty,” he simply says, as if that explains anything. Classic Callan.

“Indeed,” Bastien says. “Besides, it was imperative that we retrieve the Staff.”

“Yes, and now that we have it, what are we going to do with it?” Tanwen asks.

“I still maintain that it should return to Faerie,” Eveanna says.

“Of course you do,” Tanwen replies, sounding almost bitter. “You just want to end your banishment and return home.”

Eveanna’s nostrils flare a little at that. She’s glamoured herself to look like a brunette without pointed ears while we’re in public, but she still has something otherworldly about her that sets her apart. Getting rid of her hunter green hair isn’t enough to make her look human.

The waitress sets down a huge steaming cup of coffee in front of me and I wrap both hands around it and take a long sip. I’m going to need a lot of it to deal with this group so early in the morning.

“That is not true,” Eveanna finally says to Tanwen, after the waitress leaves again. “I have come to appreciate many things about Earth, such as your coffee and your movies and your internet. However, Faerie is the safest place for the Staff.”