Shadow's Throne

Chapter Fourteen

Cal's Pov

I probably shouldn't have stormed out of dinner like I did, but I couldn't take it anymore.

Who did she think she was telling me what to do? She knew I had to lead my own army to battle and that there was nothing she could do that would change my mind.

But I guess I can see where she's coming from. Sure, I'm a powerful burner, but the Cygnets are really powerful nymphs. Not to mention, their power is already stronger than mine. And there's going to be three of them there. I pretty much would be committing suicide.

After all, water beats fire every time.

But the storm can beat water.

And no one can beat the storm.

I could just let Mare handle this. After all, she helped come up with most of the plan. She knows what to do. And with Farley by her side, they'd be unstoppable.

I sigh and walk into my rooms. I can think about this later. I know Nanabel followed me out, so it's just a matter of time before she shows up at my door to give me a speech and start talking about the wedding.

I groan and the thought of the wedding.

I thought I had escaped Evangeline and our stupid betrothal when my life blew up in my face, but here I am deciding on food for our wedding that won't be able to take place for weeks, maybe even months.

I hear a knock on the door before I hear my grandmother's soft voice.

"Cal, I know you're in here. Can I come in?"

I get up from my bed and head over to the door.

"Nanabel, I just need to be alone for a while," I say once the door is open.

She frowns but nods in understanding. I whisper a goodnight and shut the door and lock it before she can say anything else. It takes a few seconds before I hear her heels clicking down the hall.

I move back over to my bed and climb under the soft covers, not caring to change.

There's really no point in getting into bed when I'm almost positive I'm not going to sleep, but I might as well sit somewhere comfortable while I think.

~~~~————————————————-~~~~

I wake up to the smell of pancakes and turn to check the time.

I got a whopping hour of sleep. Yippee.

Thankfully, I made my decision so I wouldn't have to worry about that anymore.

I climb out of bed and slowly devour the delicious pancakes sitting on my desk. Afterwards, I head into my bathroom and take a shower before fixing my hair and throwing on some clean clothes.

Once I'm ready, I head out of my rooms and start making my way to Davidson's makeshift study.

I walk through the almost empty halls, rubbing into a few maids carrying breakfast trays along the way.

When I reach the doors, I knock and hear a muffled it's open from inside.

"Tiberias! What a surprise!" Davidson says looking up from the piles of papers on his desk after I've entered the room. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to talk to you about something. You and Mare," I say.

"I'll send for her now," he replies, gesturing for me to sit.

I pick a seat near his desk and look around the bookshelf filled study while he calls for somebody to bring Mare up.

We sit in silence until we finally hear the knock on the door.

Mare walks in, in a training suit and shuts the door behind her.

"You needed me?" She asks Davidson and he nods and motions for her to take a seat.

She looks around the room and I notice she gets a little annoyed when she notices the only other chair in the room is next to mine.

"So, what am I doing here?" She asks after taking her seat.

"Tiberias here has something he'd like to tell us," Davidson pushing his papers off to the side.

He clasps his hands and nods at me to go ahead.

"Well, Mare, I've been thinking about what you said last night, and you're right," I start. "I'm basically walking straight into a death trap if I do this."

I take a deep breath, not ready to say my answer out loud.

"Therefore, I've decided to stay back and leave the mission to you and Farley. I know you two will be able to carry out the plan and make sure everything works out."

The room falls into silence and I risk glancing up at them.

Mare's staring at me, shock written all over her face. She clearly never expected me to change my mind.

Davidson doesn't seem surprised. In fact, it almost looks like he's smiling. Almost like he's known all along.

"We're glad Tiberias. I'll be sure to let everyone know," Davidson says before returning to his papers.

"Thank you," is all Mare says before she gets up and disappears out the door.

I watch her go, and for the first time in a very long time, I don't feel sad as the door clicks shut behind her. Instead, I feel almost relieved.

I get up and head back to my rooms. Once there, I throw myself into my desk chair and start to go through my many papers on war and wedding.

As I'm reading one of them over, it finally hits me.

I sit back I my chair and set down my pen in shock.

I don't love Mare anymore. I'm free.