Thelios was watching her, and she wondered what he was smirking at as he accepted a cup of wine from Demitri. Demitri then helped himself to the wine- as well as to her seat. She gave him a ‘look’, which he returned with a wink. However she was more than happy to settle in next to Thelios when he motioned for her to join him.
They ate in silence, though it was anything but uncomfortable and everyone seemed content to let it stand. Demitri made himself at home on her vacated couch while she and Thelios restarted their game between bites.
She lost and Demitri took over her part as she reclined with a sated sigh, stretching out along the couch and sliding her feet behind Thelios. He was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees but reached over to run an absent hand over her bent leg, never taking his eyes from the board. She watched as he threw a three and chuckled at his sound of annoyance.
She leaned in and stole his wine cup from where he’d left it on the table and rubbed her ankle against the small of his back.
They continued to play in relative silence. Thelios ignoring her save to steal, and steal back again his cup of wine. Though that was also the only time his free hand left off its distracted exploration of her calf and thigh.
Calliope let her mind wander, fluctuating between ruminations on her and her master’s present situation and dwelling on warming memories from earlier that evening … and other evenings. The light caress of his fingers against the tender skin at the back of her knee and calf did little to discourage such thoughts. More than once she had to fight to keep the flush from her cheeks.
They were on to a third game when she felt his caress turn into a grip. It wasn’t painful, or even obvious, but she noticed the change in pressure.
“What?” she asked, examining the board when he made a sound of irritation. She couldn’t see why. It looked as though he were winning.
“It doesn’t make sense. This is all wrong.”
“What is my lord?” She asked looking curiously between him and the board.
He sat silently and they both watched him.
He grunted. “Phineas. This just isn’t him. It….” he made another sound of frustration. “What do you think Demitri?”
Demitri shrugged. “I have to agree, based on what I know of him… but sometimes you think you know someone…”
He shook his head. “I’ve known him a long time. Since he was a child.”
“I don’t know what to say. I’m not arguing against him, but sometimes people surprise you. It would be nice if people wore their hearts on their sleeves, but they don’t always. Rarely in fact. I knew a general, smart, capable, but he was still fooled by an officer of his… thought he was all goodness and love, we all did. We discovered he’d been conniving behind everyone’s back, setting them against each other in order to advance his own career… but not before lives were ruined and innocent men put to the sword.”
“Indeed, none of us three are prone to display our outward feelings… unless they do us some service.” Calliope offered.
“I’m not saying he’s perfect, or forthcoming about all and sundry… but he’s just not power hungry. And if he wanted something of me, he could just ask. He knows that. Something is going on, and I’m not going to discover what it is by sitting here and waiting.”
“Well, who did they hear it from? That he was the thief?” Demitri pressed.
“The Gorgons, you know that.” Thelios growled irritably.
“I don’t suppose there’s any way you can check that information for yourself then?”
“Too dangerous. Callea has ways of protecting herself, I do not. Ironically I would have asked Phineas to go check for me since he was always so friendly with them.”
“You don’t think he might be controlled by something else, do you?” Calliope asked toying with the cup of wine in her hands.
He gave her a sidelong glance. “Honestly, the thought had crossed my mind. What makes you think that?”
She shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know my Lord. But I’ve never known you to be unreasonable about this sort of thing. If you think something is wrong, then something is probably wrong. If he’s not capable of this sort of thing, then maybe it isn’t really him, despite appearances to the contrary. Perhaps someone is pretending to be him, or manipulating him with magic.”
“It’s possible.” Demitri mused. “But then what do we do? If he’s being controlled by someone, he is still dangerous…”
Calliope turned back to Thelios with the intention of adding her thoughts to that, but hesitated when she found him gazing at her with a strange expression on his face. He looked slowly back to Demitri. “I’m not all that worried. His advantage is my advantage.”
She frowned. “The thing he stole?”
“No, the water. We’re on an island… that makes my brethren a little nervous and I bet they’re wishing they’d chosen something a little more land-locked to hole up in.”
“I don’t understand.” She leaned toward him, resting her arm on her bent knee. He paused a moment then let out an almost imperceptible sigh.
“Our mothers are both Nereid. Sisters. Making him both my cousin on that side and nephew… or great nephew I suppose, on the other. I can’t say I know how it works exactly… I’ve never been all that interested in finding out, but it seems like our abilities, the abilities of our dams and sires, are drawn from the elements. Callea uses fire, it seems to be the core of her sorcery. Phineas… and I, water. In water neither of us have the advantage of power over the other… but my strength is more immediately available to me. He’s more… a seer. He can use sorcery, can manipulate the element in ways I cannot… but his manipulations have little affect on me. Not, at least, the way it affects others. He can control the element in a limited way, but not against me. Not effectively at any rate.”
“So your affinity to the element protects you then?”
“Yes.”
She nodded, satisfied. That, at least, was a comforting thought. If he wasn’t worried then there was less reason for her to be. In fact he seemed more upset by the fact that his friend was implicated in a betrayal than that he could actually hurt him. He seemed calm enough, not made rash with anger or fear, so there was no reason to doubt him.
Demitri let out a heavy breath. “Well, it’ll wait until morning I suppose. I’ll meander a bit before I settle in for the night. One of the cyclops’s girls has a loose tongue.” He smirked. “Maybe I’ll find a way to loosen it all the more, eh?”
Calliope rolled her eyes and Thelios chuckled.
Demitri sobered. “Put it from your minds. Get some sleep… both of you. I don’t want to be a pessimist, but I’ve got a feeling it’s going to get ugly before long, and I don’t doubt you’ll need your strength.”
She smiled tiredly and nodded. “Good night, Uncle Demitri.”
Thelios raised a brow at her and Demitri grinned. “Good night, Cali-girl. Don’t fret too much. I know you’re wont to.” He smiled warmly at her and she felt suddenly very grateful to have a man like him for a friend.
“Let me know what you hear Demitri.” Thelios rumbled. “And good hunting.” He gave the man a final, smirking grin before he left.