“Do you know how unnerving it is to have you disappear from my arms in the middle of the night?”
I smile, looking up into the face of the beast. “I’ve never encountered it myself. I just know how things feel on my side, and it’s odd waking up in a bed you didn’t go to sleep in.”
He runs his hand up and down my spine and I rest my head on his chest.
“Does it feel like you actually get sleep?”
“Sort of? I’ve definitely noticed yawning more since the world traveling started. But I haven’t fallen asleep at any inappropriate times like while driving my car or anything like that.”
He doesn’t speak for a moment before asking, “Car? What’s that?” I remember that he’s from before the time of cars and never would have seen one.
“It’s kind of like a carriage that can drive itself.”
His face scrunches into an expression I haven’t seen from him before. “Why on earth would they want to do that?”
“I have a feeling there are a lot of things you would be surprised by now.” I grunt as I roll over and get out of the bed, extending both arms over my head and stretching my back.
He groans from the bed. I look up to see him staring at me, more specifically at my chest. I look down and realize the nightgown I went to bed in leaves little to the imagination. Probably should have worn the flannel pajamas. Too late now.
“The messengers are supposed to be back this morning,” he says.
“What exactly do you want me to do with them? They didn’t have much to add the last time.”
“Just for now, Callie, know that I trust you.”
“What does that mean?” The repeated vague phrases are driving me crazy. First Mason, now the beast. What the hell do I know about war?
“It means that I trust you to be my eyes and ears, Callie. I trust your decisions during this time. I am on your side.”
“You barely even know me. How could you trust me with your entire kingdom?”
He shrugs in response, which frustrates me more than anything he could have said.
I turn and leave the room, heading to my room to get dressed properly.
On my bed, Kenna has again laid out some kind of pants outfit for me to don to head downstairs. This time she does not help me into the clothes or with my hair and I struggle to replicate the braided style from before. Instead, I settle for just braiding it in a basic braid down my back and find a piece of cord on the vanity to tie around the end.
I’m grateful when I enter the war room to see someone has brought in breakfast for the men present. Snagging a pastry, I walk up to the table all the men surround. No one looks up at my approach. They continue discussing the movements of the men across the water.
Thankfully, still no ships or boats of any kind have been spotted. I look down at the map. It’s different from the one that was here before. This one is a view from further out. It shows us on a larger mass of land, the people across the water on some sort of large peninsula. “Has anyone been to the other side to see if they’re hiding boats from us?” I ask.
“We’ve sent scouts, they have not returned yet,” Beady Eyes says.
“What’s your name?” I ask, because really it’s rude that I’ve just been calling him “Beady Eyes” in my head this whole time.
“Steve, miss. My name is Steve.”
I extend my hand to him and he grasps it in a firm handshake. “Nice to meet you, Steve, I’m Callie.”
Next, I reach out to the tall one, “James, miss, at your service.” He bows his head to me. “Lovely to meet you formally.”
I make my way around the room, repeating the process for each of the men there. They seem to heave a sigh of relief when we’ve all been introduced. “Now that we’ve all met, we can talk as friends, right?” I smile at each of them as I look around the room. In return, I get nods of respect from most of them. “What’s next?”
“I would recommend we prepare as if something is going to happen. It would be better to be prepared and not need it than to be caught with our pants down,” Theodore says.
“I agree. What do you need from me to get that done?”
“Just your approval, miss. The king has given express instructions you are to be his proxy for the time being.”
“Consider it approved. Anything else?” I look around the room at each of the men. When none of them speak I say, “If that will be all for today, gentlemen, I’ll excuse myself. Please let me know if there is anything else requiring my attention.”
Turning on my heel, I make my way back out the door. These men seem capable of organizing things. I’m unsure why my presence is even necessary but, I’ll be here if I need to be.
At the bottom of the stairs, I stop short when I see the beast being helped down the stairs by the doctor and another man who has been helping in his rehabilitation. “We’re on our way to the library,” the beast says excitedly.
“Tired of being cooped up in your room?” I ask with a smile.
“Something like that. How am I supposed to court you properly from my bed?”
“It seems that is a good place to end up, wouldn’t you say?”
The doctor chuckles at my cheekiness. “You’ve got your hands full with this one, haven’t you?” He laughs harder when the beast gives him a dirty look.
I follow the men into the library, settling onto the sofa I usually sit on and picking up my book from the side table, starting from where I left off.
“You’re not going to offer to bring me something to read?” he asks after they’ve left.
“Wouldn’t want you to think I wasn’t helping in your recovery.” I giggle at the dirty look he throws my way. He struggles to his feet, limping as he makes his way to one of the shelves. He runs his finger along the spines while he decides which one he is going to choose. Finally, he selects one and limps his way to sit next to me on the couch. He sits so close to me, his thigh presses against mine.
“I rather think you wear those pants well.” I glance down at myself, remembering the outfit I put on before meeting with the messengers. “Anything new to report?”
“They are going to start preparing for battle.” I glance over at him, unsure how he’s going to react to this information.
“It has become inevitable?” His brown and blue eyes look directly at me.
“Movement across the water would seem to indicate it would be smarter to prepare than lose unnecessary lives.”
“Any life lost would be unnecessary.” He turns back to his book and opens it to the beginning. I can’t help but agree with him, but it seems there is little choice we will have in the matter soon. His men at least act like they know what they are doing, and I know nothing about war.
“How many wars have you had to prepare for?” I ask.
“Does it truly matter how many? Any war is senseless.” It’s impossible not to agree with him.
“Will the villagers fight?” I can’t imagine the kind people I met down in the village wielding weapons of destruction.
He grabs a piece of paper from his side table and places it in his book, marking his place. “Do you always ask so many questions?”
I clench my jaw closed and open my book up to the page I stopped on last. His first finger and thumb gently grasp my chin, tilting my head to look at him. “Yes, Callie, the villagers will fight. The ones too young to fight will stay here, but some will inevitably escape the protection of the mountain to help in the battle. War changes everyone, and I fear this is not the last one we will have to fight before this is all over.”
“All over?” How could he possibly know another war is coming?
“If you are the one from the prophecy, and I truly believe you are, I fear there is another war coming, one that will make this one look like a silly squabble. After all, the person who’s been sending us all here for hundreds of years isn’t just going to be content with us all waltzing out of here, now will they?”
“How will we figure out who has been sending you all here?”
“That, my dearest Callie, is a problem for another day. First, we must focus on the most immediate threat, then we can look to the horizon for the next.”
They bring our dinner to the library. We spend much of the rest of the day dividing our attention between occasionally reading and trying to figure out who could possibly be the one in charge of this world.
I can’t help but wonder why my family was chosen to be the gateway to this world, the keepers of the journals for its occupants. And what will I have to do to save everyone?