L I I

                                    

                                          

"YOU'VE BEEN at it for hours. I think it's time for a break." Callum stood in the doorway, the light from the hallway illuminated the outline of his body. The study was tinged in a lowlight, but Andorra had hardly noticed. She had been bent over her books, immersed in taking her notes.
	She stretched out her hand, feeling the pain from how hard she'd been gripping the pencil. "I need to get this done before our meeting. I'm almost done, I swear."
	"Don't make me call Nohx," Callum threatened. He crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing in discontent. 
	Andorra met Callum's eyes, testing the truth in them. Callum didn't look like he was joking. "Nohx knows this is important. He wouldn't chastise me for being here, studying." 
	Callum scoffed. "What kind of boyfriend is he?"
	Andorra felt the hackles raise on the back of her neck. "He's a great one, thank you very much. He knows my boundaries. And he doesn't tell me what to do."
	"He should be taking care of you."
	"And he does. But not when he knows something is important to me. And this is important to me." She didn't mention how he'd learned this lesson, but the memory flashed in her mind, anyway. Because he hadn't always been like this.
	Him, watching her nose bleed as she made a gate to see him for the very first time. The way he had told her to take it easy. The way he had insinuated she wasn't strong enough to handle it. But that was a different time, and a different Nohx. 
	No, she didn't think he would tell her to stop.
	Callum made a snorting sound. "Well, if you were Win-"
	"Win wouldn't listen to you either," Andorra deadpanned. She sighed, pushing her books back and rubbing at her eyes. Callum was right; she was tired. But she didn't need to admit that to him. "And if it were important to Win, you'd want her to succeed. Right?"
	"I'd want her to sleep." But Callum uncrossed his arms and let his shoulders droop. He stepped towards Andorra, peeking at what she had written in her notebook. "This would go faster if you let us help."
	"Not this argument again." Andorra closed her notebook and stood. She rearranged the books, stacking them to clean up her mess. "I want to be prepared for tomorrow. But you're right, it is late."
	She'd had dinner hours ago, and yet Callum was still awake. Waiting for her to finish. Her chest gave a little squeeze, wondering how she had gotten so lucky. She could admit to herself that Callum was only looking out for her, stubborn as he was.
	"So, dinner with Ero?" Callum led her down the hall, his own steps a little sluggish from the late night hour. "How did that go?"
	"You don't sound as judgemental as I thought you would," Andorra quipped. She shot Callum a look out of the corner of her eye. "It went fine. I told him that he'd be getting a new guard. Clearly working with Obe isn't helping either of them."
	"You spent all of dinner doing that? Talking about Oberon?"
	"No. We actually talked a lot about the war. What would happen if his dad was killed. It would force Ero into becoming King himself, and then what? He wouldn't be staying here with us."
	"This is why letting him stay is a bad idea," Callum muttered. He rubbed at his own forehead. "I just wish you'd think things through sometimes. You're so impulsive."
	"No, I'm so human. His circumstances in Averotho weren't looking good. And I wasn't about to let him be killed over my actions. It made sense to bring him here. I just wish you weren't so clinical all the time. It's like you can just remove your feelings from every decision. It's scary."