For a moment she considered denying it… as she’d been doing all along to herself, but the look in his eye told her it was a moot point. The cat was well out of the proverbial bag. “I-I haven’t told him… I wasn’t sure…”
“But you are now?”
“Not completely.”
“But mostly?”
She nodded begrudgingly, feeling her eyes prickle slightly. “Please… please don’t tell him yet.”
His expression softened. “Wouldn’t dream of it. That’s your prerogative. Just… don’t wait too long.” All Calliope could do was nod and swallow hard turning her face to her lap to hide her emotions.
“How did you know?”
“Didn’t. It was just a guess. But you didn’t deny it. Does explain a lot though. I thought for sure you were on your cycle or something.” He smirked.
“I hate you sometimes.”
%%%%%
On the fifth day, they finally got somewhere. Literally speaking at least. In her thoughts Calliope wasn’t any further along in figuring out her dilemma than she’d been days before. And perhaps there wasn’t a dilemma, and she was making more of everything than she need be. Perhaps. Or perhaps not.
All she could do was steel herself and hope for the best. Which she did. That, and help unload what little they’d brought with them… which she also did.
There was no proper dock so they were loaded into a smaller oared craft which had approached them from the small island they were anchored near. From what she could see there was nothing of interest to anyone there. There was a sort of mountainous rise at the center which might have been obscuring something else… but she doubted it. Indeed, as they neared the shore, all she could see was a long stretch of sandy beach as it blended slowly into the short ash-green grass and low brush which covered the reddish brown stone of the island. Beyond that the land rose to its central peak from a ring of low growing trees. There was not even the faintest sign of anything else.
They hit land with a dull thud and the two men who’d fetched them and piloted the small craft hopped out to drag the boat the last few feet. Fortunately there wasn’t far to go. Demitri jumped down as well to help the men unload their meager belongings. One of the two paused and held out a hand to her which she took with a grateful smile. It was the first time anyone besides Demitri had unflinchingly offered to touch her in anyway.
“Thank you.”
He smiled, then went back to help Demitri with a chest he was struggling with. The second man, who had appeared suddenly beside her, waved to something in the distance, and she realized with widening eyes, that there were people walking toward them. The one nearest them seemed quite a bit taller than the others… and wider… and gray. Her face split into an instant smile at the realization and she had to clench her hands into fists to keep herself from making a scene by running off toward them, or waving frantically. She was a lady after all. That thought, and the reminder of her previous conversation with Demitri sobered her somewhat… though not enough to fully still the flitting of butterflies in her stomach.
The figure continued to move towards them, outpacing those that followed with his long, measured strides. In no time he was before them, and she found all she could do was stare up at him. He looked taller than normal… he was taller than normal. She wondered why. He nodded down at her, taking her in with a raised brow as he passed her to approach Demitri.
“Any problems?” He graveled, casting a sharp eye over the unloaded chests and toward the ship in the near distance.
“Nope.”
“Good.” He slid another glance in her direction, holding her eye a moment before training them the men who had followed him. He pointed to the chests with a curt nod and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched them obey his silent command. The butterflies turned into something more like serpents and her insides roiled with uncertainty. She couldn’t remember ever seeing him quite like this. Not only was he larger, perhaps ten feet… maybe more… his manner was gruff and commanding. It wasn’t that he was impatient or angry… just… different, harder.
Normally he was so relaxed and good humored. This was clearly a side she had not seen, and it frightened her a little as it compounded her anxieties by reminding her that this wasn’t at all what she was used to at home and dashing her hopes that perhaps Demitri had been right that she was fretting for nothing. For once she was disappointed to be proven right.
Unsure of what was expected, she took her cues from her master and stood still and sober, attempting to mimic his seemingly icy detachment as the men took their belongings and started out back from whence they’d come. Thelios followed and she and Demitri with him.
“Been here long?” Demitri asked after a few minutes of silence and once they’d made their way to the entrance of a partially hidden path into the bright woods.
“No. I just arrived. Haven’t even gone in yet.”
Calliope frowned. “I thought you’d have made it long before us.” The comment slipped out before she could stop it, but he didn’t seem bothered by it. Only nodding.
“Yes, I would have, but I had other things to see to first.” He was still looking ahead down the path, but she could see his eyes narrow and his lip curl ever so slightly. Perhaps whatever this business was, it was what had put him in this less than chipper mood. She hoped it was so, and not some dread of what lay ahead… or worse, some unknown annoyance with her. She frowned and glanced down at her dress. It was elegant in a simple, and slightly conservative way. Was it what he had wanted? She glanced back up toward his face and smirked inwardly at her foolishness. The last thing on his mind was going to be how she was dressed. Indeed, he looked miles away, his mind chasing distant thoughts.
She shook it off and focused on keeping it together, and preserving her calm, placid demeanor and forcing her nerves and the remains of her early morning nausea into the back of her mind. It didn’t matter what was coming or what she’d see, she refused to quail or give away anything. She couldn’t control her circumstances, but she could still control herself, and she’d be damned if she’d let her fear and insecurities get the best of her.
Her resolve was tested when the sun-freckled woods gave way to a towering wall of stone rising up to loom above them. The face of the cliff was not just the same rough brown stone however, but the facade of what looked like a grand temple, or palace perhaps, carved into the very face of the mountain. It explained where it had been hiding. Here she thought it might be behind the mountain, when it was actually ‘inside’ the damn thing.
“You people have a thing for caves don’t you.”
She had muttered the thoughts lowly, and under her breath, but Thelios turned his head to look back down at her with a sideways glance. She met his eye and caught the upward flinch at the corner of his mouth, and the slight glint in his red-gold eyes. It was enough to break the ridged tension which had gripped her and she felt her spine loosen in relief.
Outwardly she showed no sign except to give him a faint smile in return. The doors were massive things, covered from top to bottom in elaborate carvings too numerous for her eyes to note with any detail as they swung slowly open. All she saw was a writhing mass of figures move past her vision, for her eyes were riveted on the ever widening gap between. Thelios was still striding forward, unfazed. She hoped no one had sen her hesitate, or how her step faltered.