The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (95 page)

“Please,” he scoffed. “Father took it easy on you. No matter what he did, you still continued to live a life with zero responsibility while I worked my hardest to prove myself to him.”

Jameson stopped circling him. There wasn’t just anger in his brother now, but a sadness. For whatever reason, it bothered Jameson. “You did prove yourself,” he argued. “Everyone knew you were the better choice. No one thought I could do this. I’ve spent the last ten years trying to prove myself, not just to my friends and family and the people of the Capital, but to all of Eden. I’ve done nothing but dedicate everything I have to what was given to me, and yet you still stand there and act as if I don’t deserve it!”

“You think the last ten years makes up for the previous twenty-seven?” Callum asked, his voice loud and incredulous.

“What do I have to do to make you see that I’m not who I used to be?”

“IT DOESN’T MATTER!” He was breathing hard now. “The point is you were nothing but a waste back then, and yet he still chose you! I did EVERYTHING for that man, and he turned his back on me to give you something you didn’t deserve. You took his love for granted, but I
cherished
it!”

Jameson’s breath came out in a whoosh. “Is that was this is about? You think he didn’t love you? Or is it just the thought of him loving me that gets you so upset?”

“He didn’t love me enough, maybe not at all – I don’t know anymore. Everyone in the whole damn palace loved you. Saw your antics like they were something fun and endearing, while father and I worked to run everything. No matter how much I did, you were always the favourite with the people. No one saw how damn irresponsible you were. The one person, the
one person,
who I thought would have seen it clearly was our father. Then when it was time for him to prove it, he didn’t.”

“It really bothers you
this
much that he loved me too? Gods, Callum. You are the most selfish, pathetic man I have ever met! You stand there and throw insults at me about how irresponsible I was, but look at
you!
You are so immature it’s sickening. You’re just a young, prideful, silly little boy who didn’t get his way, and now you’re throwing the biggest damn tantrum in the history of Eden.”

Jameson watched as Callum’s face paled. Jameson couldn’t help but shake his head. His brother was still stuck in that room ten years ago, and couldn’t seem to get out. He might have physically stormed out that fateful night, but his heart was still there, watching an old, sick King die. How could he not see that their father did what he thought was right? Why didn’t he see that Jameson needed this to put his life into perspective, and the King had known that? He had seen that his eldest son needed the responsibility, else his life would have spiralled out of control. Callum was always so put together, and their father knew it. He didn’t need the crown like Jameson did.

“He loved you more than you’ll ever know,” Jameson continued, his voice dropping. “He did what he thought was right, and clearly he was, for no High King could so easily go against his own people like you have. Tell me,
brother,
what were Aziz and Brutus even doing there that night?”

Callum sneered at him. “Not what you think,” he replied.

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“I don’t owe you an answer.”

“Then I’ll think the worst. You’ve betrayed not just your home, but your own family. You deserved to lose everything,” he bit out, his teeth clenched so tightly his jaw ached. This was his own flesh and blood, and yet he had never wanted to hurt someone so badly in his life. The thought of Callum having something to do with their father’s death made his blood boil.

“Then come and get me,
brother
,” Callum taunted. With a fierce growl, Jameson attacked, pushing forward hard. He could feel Callum weakening. He’d use this to his advantage, and finally end this war, once and for all.

* * *

Rose had been prepared to sneak her way past a number of guards, but to her surprise, there were only two stationed outside the front of her tent. No one was at the back. She lifted the material off the dirt ground, and slithered under it. She was met with no resistance. Everyone was too eager to watch the brothers fight. Still, she kept to the outskirts of their camp, trying her best to blend in with the shade from the trees. Eventually she had to move further inwards, but with no one around, it was easy.

“What are they saying?” someone asked, voice hushed. Rose stopped behind one of the tents, bracing herself for discovery, but the two men weren’t moving. Both stared intently at the figures in the middle of the field. Rose looked around the corner briefly, but only caught a quick sight of two men facing off. It didn’t look like they were moving. Pulling back, she wondered how she was going to be able to just stand there and watch the entire thing, unnoticed. She was wearing pants and one of Callum’s plain shirts, so that it fit loosely over her stomach. Still, her signature red hair would give her away.

She needed something to cover her head, she decided. The first two tents only had cloaks, which would have looked odd in the morning heat. The third was where she finally found a helmet. She caught a few men still dressed in full armour today, so she hoped she wouldn’t stand out too much. Twisting her long locks around her hand, she shoved it up in the helmet and pulled it down over her head. It was too big for her, and wobbled obnoxiously when she walked, but it would have to do.

Stepping out again, she heard the now familiar clang of metal on metal. They had started to fight again. With her heart in her throat, she headed back to the spot she had been before, this time not stopping behind the tent. Walking directly to the line where others stood, she watched in a mixture of fear and horror as Callum and his brother fought. Her heart sank as she realized that Jameson appeared to have the upper hand. Callum looked tired and was blocking the blows slower with each hit. Her hand clamped over her mouth, stifling her screams. How could she stand here and watch this? What made her think this was a good idea?

Yet she watched, transfixed. Everything was happening in slow motion. One minute they stood fighting, the next Callum was on the ground. He sat on his knees, leaning over as if his stomach hurt. She couldn’t see the front of him, but she knew he must have been injured there. Jameson stood before him, the tip of his sword pointed at Callum’s chest. She felt like she was floating out of her body. It was as if she watched from somewhere else. She tore away from the line of men, the helmet flying off, her hair springing free and flying around her face. She was screaming, she knew that, but she could barely hear herself over the frantic pounding of her heart.
Don’t kill him
, she screamed in her head, over and over again.

Callum’s head turned, his eyes full of so many emotions it almost brought her to her knees. His eyebrows drew together as he watched her run across the field. She saw his mouth open, but didn’t hear the words he said. The wind flew by her, erasing reality. Suddenly two pairs of hands clamped down on her arms, pulling her to an abrupt stop. She twisted and wretched her body, trying desperately to free herself, her voice raw as she screamed his name. He didn’t move, didn’t come to her. He sat there, with a bottomless pool of sadness in his chocolate eyes, as his men kept her from him.

“Be still, Rose,” one said gently in her ear. Her legs gave out, and all three of them sank to the floor. The two men beside her held up her body. Without them she would have crumpled into a heap on the grass. Her eyes wandered to the High King, pleading with him in silence. He turned and said something to Callum, drawing his attention away from her again. She couldn’t hear their words, but she could see the defeat in Callum’s shoulders. She tried to free herself again, but it was no use, they kept a strong hold on her. Tears streamed down her face at the utter helplessness she felt.

Someone else appeared on her right. She turned to see the boy from the other army crouch down in front of her.

“Hello,” he said, softly. The two men holding her seemed to tense, but neither moved to harm him, which she was thankful for. He was there with Felix when he died, was his friend during the last days of his life. Sadly he was the closest connection she had left to her brother. A little weight inside her lifted at seeing that he had come to offer her comfort. She knew how desperate she must look. Her eyes pleaded with him as well, even though there was nothing he could do.

“Stay with me,” she said, her voice a whisper.

“I will,” he replied, keeping his body where he could block Callum from her vision. She closed her eyes, willing it all to be a dream.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

There was only silence. Elisa watched in horror as the girl continued crying out Callum’s name. Aiden moved faster than she had ever seen anyone move, until he was sitting directly in front of her.

“Who is she?” Markus asked. Elisa shook her head.

“She is Callum’s wife,” Diana said, her voice filled with sadness. They all looked at her in shock.

“And she is with child?” Markus asked again, keeping his eyes on the fallen figure.

“She is,” Diana confirmed.

“Jameson did not know this,” Turk said, turning his head to look at their King and his brother. The two figures stood motionless, like actors caught in the final act of a horrible scene.

“I did not tell him,” whispered Diana. Of course she would not tell him, thought Elisa. This was hard enough for Jameson as it was. The news of an heir to the throne would have made things more complicated, especially since Jameson had none of his own.

“I can’t watch,” she heard Lily say. She turned to see the small girl hide her face against Moose’s chest. Wolf’s brother absently brought an arm around her, holding her close. His hand moved in comforting circles on her back. Elisa’s eyes moved to Wolf. He was watching the field, his eyebrows furrowed in grief and anger.

“She is also Felix’s sister,” Diana added. Elisa let out a rush of air, whipping her head around to look back at the girl.
Goddess no,
she thought, tears making their way down her cheeks.

* * *

Callum closed his eyes to block out the confusion on his brother’s face. Rose’s cries rang in his ears, but he pushed them away. Why had she come? Why wasn’t anyone taking her away? To have her see him die like this was worse than the prospect of death itself.

“Who is she?” Jameson asked, his voice hoarse.

Callum took a deep breath, flinching against the pain it brought. The wound in his stomach was bleeding freely, soaking the front of his shirt.

“
Who is she?”
Jameson repeated, earnestly.

“She is my wife,” he said, softly.

“Your wife,” he repeated, his voice only a whisper. “She is with child?”

Callum didn’t know if that was a question or a statement, but he nodded his head. Had he not known? Clearly not, for he looked suddenly as ill as Callum felt. “Did she not tell you?”

His brother’s eyebrows rose. “Who?”

“Diana,” Callum said, his voice weak. There was a ringing now, and he knew it was from the loss of blood. His vision was spotted with black dots. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could stay upright on his knees. Everything felt heavy, and a deep need to sleep was pulling on his consciousness. He heard Jameson gasp.

“She knew about this?” He looked back over to where Rose was. Callum couldn’t look himself, didn’t want to see what he had brought on her. Gods, this was all his fault. He had ruined her life, and for what? For a small window of time where he had been truly happy? At what price? All the insults Jameson had thrown at him suddenly felt true. He was a silly boy, not a man. He had led so many to their deaths, and for what? For this moment, where he would lose everything, and sentence another to suffer a lifetime of sorrow?

“Why Callum?” Callum raised his head slowly, looking at his brother in confusion. The air felt hotter, the sun burning his eyes. He squinted against it as he looked into Jameson’s face. “Why would you risk this? Your child will grow up never knowing a father. You willingly took that chance. Why?” Jameson asked sincerely. Callum dropped his head, feeling a wave of guilt wash over him.

“I couldn’t go back, not after all I had already done,” he admitted. His voice sounded far off to him, but he knew Jameson could hear him. His brother’s sword still rested at his collarbone, but he made no move to strike that final blow.

“That is a coward’s excuse. You can always stop, there is no loss in pride in that, especially when you have so much to lose,” he said, his voice growing in anger. “Damn it, Callum.” He dropped his sword, taking a step back, and cursed again loudly. If Callum had any strength left in him he would have taken this opportunity to attack, but he couldn’t. His legs were like jelly. “Tell me, did you know that Aziz has rebuilt his army already?”

Callum’s head lifted to look at him. “What are you talking about?”

There was a hint of satisfaction on his brother’s face. “You didn’t, did you? He never told you.”

“Explain, now.”

“There have been reports. People have seen his creatures in the forests in the mountains to the North-East. He has rebuilt his blasphemous army, and yet he didn’t send them here to help you.” No. What he was saying couldn’t be true. Callum racked his brain to remember his last conversation with Aziz. He couldn’t remember it all, but he swore the man had said he hadn’t been able to recover enough. Had he been lying, or was his brother lying now? Why did a part of him want to believe Jameson over Aziz?

He heard Jameson move, and suddenly he was crouched in front of him. “Can’t you see what he’s doing? He’s using you to thin out the herds. He doesn’t even care which of us wins, so long as we kill enough of ourselves to make it easier for him in the end. We’re all puppets to him, and we’ve been doing exactly what he wanted. All of us, even Brutus. The whole North is open to Aziz now, and soon the rest of Eden will be too if we keep warring with each other.” He pleaded with Callum to hear the truth in what he was saying, but that prideful part of him that had hated his brother for the last decade resisted.