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“I assume you two have things under control from this point?” Briar asked, his eyes dragging to her.
“We do. I doubt he will leave her side until she wakes,” Cyrus answered.
Briar only nodded before exiting through a water portal.
Callan immediately felt himself relax a touch being out of his presence. “Whose rooms are these?” he asked, looking around the sitting room. Finn and Sloan were waiting by the main door. Even Sloan still looked a little shaken by the whole ordeal.
“They are the prince’s private chambers,” Eliza replied. “Come, I will escort you back to your own.”
Callan obeyed, falling into step beside her. As they walked down the corridor, he steeled himself enough to ask, “Will you tell me if I ask which areherrooms? I assume they are not far from his.”
“You assume correctly,” Eliza said as they rounded a corner. “You were just standing in hers.”
Callan stopped short, Finn nearly running into him. “They share rooms?”
“There is more than one bedroom in those chambers, Prince, but yes, they share the space,” Eliza replied, not stopping for them.
“He does not even give Scarlett her own space?” Callan demanded, quickening his pace to catch up to her.
“He gave her the option,” Eliza said with a shrug. “Despite what you seem to think of him, he is not forcing her into anything. In fact, he is doing quite the opposite.” Her last words held enough of a bite to them that Callan knew not to press the matter, despite wanting to know what she meant.
Against his better judgment, he said, “It seems like he is deciding plenty for her.”
“Like what?”
They went down a set of stairs before taking another corner. “He keeps people from her for starters.”
“Like you?”
“Queen Talwyn said she has been trying to speak with her for weeks as well.”
“Ah,” Eliza said as the bridges came into view. “Tell me, Prince, what did the queen promise you in exchange for selling Scarlett out?”
“I did not sell her out,” Callan retorted, leashing his temper.
“No? What did she ask of you?”
“Why would she ask anything of me?”
“Because the queen does nothing without motive. The queen does not grant favors out of the goodness of her heart,” Eliza sneered.
“Maybe not to those who oppose her so openly,” Callan countered.
“Do not guess at things you know nothing of, Princeling. What did she offer you in exchange for your services?” When Callan was silent, she went on. “You accused my prince of not protecting her moments ago, of willingly allowing his— Someone he cares deeply for to be injured. The fact of the matter is, had you not been involved in this, things would have gone very, very differently. HadScarlett not been distracted by you and your companions, her focus would have been on defending herself and not rescuing you.”
“I was not told of the queen’s plans.”
“Of course you weren’t. She doesn’t tell anyone her plans, except maybe her lover, but before you so brazenly trust her over our own Court, perhaps you ought to consider your own motives for doing so. What did she promise you in return?”
They had crossed the bridges and were nearing their own suite.
“She asked me if she had any tattoos. When I told her no, she seemed upset by that. Then she asked about Sorin’s tattoos, but I could not tell her anything about those. She was also very interested in Scarlett’s ring. She has a matching one and said it was a valuable Fae family heirloom.”
“Did she say why she was so interested in whether or not Scarlett had any Marks?” Eliza asked, following them into their rooms. She shut the door behind her, leaning against it. Finn and Sloan immediately departed for their own rooms, clearly not seeing a threat any more.
“Marks?”
“The tattoos,” Eliza said impatiently, gesturing to the swirls and ink that adorned her own skin.
