by Celeste Raye
“I don’t know what I believe in, Stephen.”
“Well, I believe that we were meant to meet, Calypso. I don’t know why, but I know the reason that I would choose.”
He was studying her lips, and she bit them out of reflex. All of his attention on her was hard to deal with, and she was doing her best to fight the need that welled up inside of her.
Before she knew what he was doing, or how she was going to stop it, Stephen was leaning down to kiss her, and Calypso was kissing him back moments after that. She was shocked by the suddenness, but if she would have paid attention, it was in his eyes the whole time.
Chapter Ten
Stephen pulled Calypso in deeper, and the sweet kiss was quickly turning into something else. He tried to focus on anything else but the throbbing need that bothered him. It wasn’t time for that, he knew that of course, but that didn’t mean that Stephen cared one way or another. He wanted her badly, and every fiber in his being was pushing him that way. It was all he could think of, and before long, she was pressed up against the wall, and his body was showing hers how much he wanted her.
Calypso was the one that broke it up. She pushed back against him, and he reluctantly let her go. The lust that he felt was not reflected in her eyes. They’d been walked in on, and Frank didn’t say a word before he walked back out.
“We shouldn’t be doing this, Stephen. I don’t think our families would be happy with it.”
“What do they have to do with it?”
“You haven’t heard about the Phoenix family?”
Stephen wasn’t thinking straight because all he could worry about was how badly he wanted her. But the name was familiar, as well as the curse that was supposed to go with it.
“Yes, everyone has. It’s not a very common name though, and I heard that they were all gone.”
“Well, my mother and I are the last two remaining. You’ve heard about the curse. So, you can imagine how much your family would want you to get wrapped up with me.”
“Why are you telling me this? Do you really think that it will keep me away?”
“No, but I had a feeling you didn’t know, and I wanted to warn you about what you were getting yourself into.”
Stephen couldn’t believe it because it was so close to how Frank had said it as well. He didn’t believe in curses though. It was just a string of bad luck like his uncle described it. He didn’t have to believe anything past that.
“I don’t care what your last name is, Calypso. I just know that I want to kiss you again.”
“But Frank…”
“Frank is gone. He won’t be back. That’s why he left in the first place: to give us some privacy.”
Calypso didn’t know what to say. She bit her lip and then leaned in to press her mouth against his. “I do want to kiss you, Stephen.”
Stephen took that as an answer and pushed her back against the wall as she was before. His need was growing with each second, and he wanted more than they were able to do in their current situation, but Calypso resisted.
“We can’t do this right now, Stephen. I don’t know if it’s right or not, and I have to be careful who I get involved with.”
He was deflated and Stephen didn’t know what to say.
“What?”
“Come on. It’s time for a training session while we are here. I can’t visit Bhut and not get a workout. Let’s go.”
Stephen agreed, but he certainly didn’t want to. He wanted the woman with hair like gold and the personality of fire and ice. He wanted to get to know every inch of her, but that wasn’t to be. Not yet. He had to convince her that it was okay to be with him. They had a future ahead of them. He knew it. He just had to convince her of the same thing. The tricky part of it was, he wasn’t sure why he was so inclined to believe it. Stephen had no proof, but maybe he didn’t need any.
The training session with Bhut was far worse than anything that Stephen had been involved in. He thought he was rough and tumble, but the old monk threw him across the room like it was of little to no effort for him. Stephen would have been far more amazed if he wasn’t rubbing all of his bruises. The last few days had been hell on his ego. Two old men and a woman had gotten the best of him. It made Stephen want to work harder to condition up.
He let everyone else go ahead while he changed for whatever meal was next. The training session had lasted hours, and his whole body was dragging. His brain was fried and Stephen had to hope that he wasn’t the only one beaten down by it. Frank had shown signs of weariness, but Calypso did not. She was more conditioned for the drills than he was.
When they finally met up again, the meal was simple. He couldn’t recognize it, but it tasted like some type of thick broth or gruel. It was bland, and he was given strange looks when he asked for salt.
“So, they expect you to work your ass off like that and this is all you get? I need some meat.”
Calypso grinned and told him that she felt the same way.
“To be honest, I am not even sure what it is, but I do know that it always fills you up for hours. It takes a little getting used to, but everyone here is vegetarian. This is some kind of root mashed up, or a couple of things. I don’t really know. I collected roots many times before, but I never worked in the kitchens. I burnt everything.”
“Ah, well, I don’t know if I would ever be able to get used to this.”
“Trust me; it will fill you up.”
Stephen wasn’t sure but there was nothing else and no salt, so he drank his dinner. Later, almost like magic, it filled him up, like it had expanded in his stomach, but he wasn’t sure how. It wasn’t something that he would want to eat every day, but it did do the trick.
He was thinking about going to bed for their last night when Calypso came by and asked him if he wanted to go for a quick trip.
“I was going to go see Patricia and the pack. Did you want to come?”
“Are you talking about the Montellos?”
She agreed and then Frank came in, offering to keep them company. Stephen would have rather had the time for the two of them, but he was okay with it.
“Well, it sounds like a proper visit now.”
Calypso smiled at him and stopped his heart, but then Frank said something and ruined it. He really needed to get himself together if he was going to ever get a real chance with Calypso. He wanted to believe that it would just naturally happen like it had every other time he’d done something like that, but it wasn’t happening how he would have liked it to.
This time around, he was going to have to work for it.
Chapter Eleven
Frank was amazed at how well the castle was hidden. Even from up above, the canopy was high enough that the roof was not seen until they ascended through it. From the air, it was just another part of the same mass of foliage.
His eyes were glued to the family crest. It was, in fact, the Montellos, and he couldn’t believe that Calypso had been right. The family was supposed to have been wiped off the planet, but they were still around, still doing their thing, and he was thankful for it. When he’d first heard of their demise, Frank had been sad. He’d known one of the patriarchs years and years before.
“I wonder if Christian is still here.”
Frank said the words out loud as they were walking in, and Calypso told him that she had met him the last time she was there.
“Chris is one of their elders now. Do you know each other well?”
Frank was shocked to hear that he was alive. There was a lot of catching up that he needed to do, and he was now more eager than ever, to talk to them. He also wanted to collect some much-needed information about the prophecy. Frank was curious what everyone else thought about it.
“We go way back. I can’t believe that they have been hiding up here the whole time. It’s quite amazing.”
Calypso agreed, and they knocked on the large door. It was answered promptly, and just like before, Calypso was greeted by everyone, staff and family alike. Everywhere s
he went, there was a peace around her, and everyone seemed to like her.
Frank was worried about how she would protect herself with everything that was coming her way. He’d thought that she would have to be tough, which she was, thanks to her training and travels. But now he was starting to realize something else. Calypso was safest because of her personality. Everyone wanted to help her, and Frank knew that she was going to need that quality for the future.
Everyone moved into the first room of the castle, and it was just as elaborate and put together as the temple they were staying in. The only difference was there were no open rooms for prayer there, not that he could see.
Frank was quick to recognize his old friend and went up to him immediately.
“Christian, it has been too long.”
“Yes, it has.”
“I was starting to think that you were dead. I knew that I’d heard rumors, but it is great to see that they were just that. You look pretty damn good for a dead guy.”
Christian smiled, but it was forced a little bit. Frank wanted to ask him some pertinent questions but he knew it was going to have to wait. The two embraced, smacking each other’s backs before they moved away.
Everyone sat up and talked for a while, and Frank got a better idea of who Calypso was. He wasn’t disappointed in any way. She was followed by admirers, even the ones that hadn’t seen her in quite some time. She was an enigma, just like her mother.
After everyone had chatted for a while, Frank told the others that he was going to stay and talk to Christian for a while. He had some questions that he needed answered, no matter how hard it was to say them out loud.
“So, you didn’t die.”
Christian smiled and then shook his head. “Nope, it doesn’t look like it.”
“No, I guess it doesn’t. So where have you been?”
He gestured to the castle. “I’ve been here, staying out of trouble.”
“I guess, especially with monks as your neighbors.”
“They actually party pretty hard when they have a mind to. Twice a year they come here for celebrations, and it’s always one hell of a hangover the next day.”
“I bet.”
Frank paused, wondering what he should divulge and what he should keep to himself.
“So, what did you want to talk to me about, Frank?”
“I wanted to know how well you know Calypso and her family.”
Christian was chewing on a pipe. It looked tiny in his meaty hand, and he finally put it down. Frank could see chew marks where his teeth had pressed into the wood.
“Why don’t you ask what you really came here to ask?”
“Do you know about the prophecy that has been whispered about for decades now?”
Christian’s face went red for a moment, much like the wiry red hair on his head.
“Aye. I heard about it from the monks. They have known about it since before our own kind did, centuries in fact. They have been writing about her for years.”
“So, she knows?”
“Not too much. Even Bhut kept her in the dark. He has warned her of an army that will come for her and her kind one day. He helped prepare her, but I don’t think she really gets it. It has been hard to keep it from her, but I knew that she wasn’t ready to hear it when she was barely an adult. It’s too much to put on one person’s shoulders. Besides, much of it is from very old sources. It could be wrong.”
Frank hoped it was, but he knew that they weren’t that lucky.
“Is that why you’re out here, hiding out for the coming army?”
“No, not really. I thought that we were just done with the wars. It never ends.”
“It has ended. For over twenty years now.”
“Well, you know what is coming next, Frank. It’s not going to be a cakewalk, if we make it through.”
Frank sat back and smiled. “If anyone is going to be just fine, it’s you and your family. I’m glad. I am sorry it has been so long, but this was a nice addition to the trip.”
“What are you here for anyway?”
“It was a day trip that went on longer than I expected. I am training my nephew and Calypso. Their parents insisted.”
Christian had a knowing look. “I bet.”
“So, I have them for the summer at the club. You should come and see me some time.”
“Maybe when all of the dust settles.”
“Soon, then?”
Christian agreed, and he had a solemn look on his face. “Monks think so. Bhut says that he can feel it.”
Frank didn’t know if he believed that or not, but the man seemed to be one that would have a gut to listen to, though it could be that god-awful gruel that they force themselves to eat.
“Well, I will see you one day soon, I hope, Christian. I have to get back.”
“You know that they are looking for some alone time, old man.”
Frank smiled, but he wasn’t liking the last comment at all. He was being reminded of his old age far too much for his liking.
“I know, but it doesn’t hurt to make them wait a little longer.”
“You’re terrible. With what is coming, you should let them be.”
Frank smiled, especially since he’d been thinking the same thing. Freya might kill him for letting it happen, but Calypso was happy, and he’d never seen Stephen so happy either. Who was he to get in the middle of that?
Chapter Twelve
“Why don’t we find somewhere else to go for a while, Calypso? I don’t know if I am ready to go back to the temple just yet.”
“Well, I can take you to a place that I used to go to all the time. It’s one hell of a climb, near impossible, but we can fly up there in no time.”
Stephen agreed. He was watching her profile and the dreamy look she got on her face just from the idea of the place. Who was he to deny her that pleasure? Stephen could only hope that she would react to him one day that way. That would be more than he could handle.
He would have agreed to anything, so he followed her where she wanted to go next. Stephen could feel his anticipation mounting with every breath and foot that they rose. They broke through the clouds, and for a moment, he thought that they were lost. She’d been gone a while, but sure enough, he could see just a bit of grassy-topped mountain in front of him. It had one small tree that seemed to want to go back down to earth and a bench. He could only imagine who had brought a bench out there.
When they landed, he was amazed at what he saw. All there was as far as the eyes could see was clouds beneath them. If it were possible to be in the clouds, to sit on one, it would have felt like that.
“Wow.”
“I know, right? I would have never thought it was possible, but when I found it, I knew that this was my place. If you think it is pretty now, you should see it when there are no clouds, and you can see the world below. It’s magical.”
Stephen wasn’t looking at the clouds; he was looking at the woman with glowing blue eyes. He was far more interested in her, even when he had one of the best views of his life. All he could see was Calypso.
“Thank you for bringing me here.”
He sat down on the bench and waited for her to sit next to him. Calypso looked nervous, and he wanted to calm her. Stephen knew that his need was probably right out front, but that wasn’t something he could pull back in. He wanted her too badly.
“No problem, Stephen. This was always my favorite place when I was here. I am glad that I have someone to share it with. I would usually come up here by myself.”
“Are you the one that brought the bench here?”
She agreed, and Stephen could imagine her doing it. She had way too much determination. It was easy to see how she would go about anything that she put her mind to. Calypso really was special, and Stephen again felt genuinely lucky to know her.
“Yeah, I didn’t want to dirty up my clothes. Besides, it made it easier to sleep. I don’t know why but sleeping above the clouds is one of the best experiences that I
have ever had.”
Calypso was babbling, and Stephen was starting to understand that she did it when she was nervous. He liked to think that he knew what she was nervous about. He moved one stray strand of blonde hair out of the way, and she giggled. Now he wasn’t paying attention to anything she said; he just couldn’t.
“You are beautiful. You know that, don’t you?”
“Thank you, Stephen. You weren’t thinking that when we first met.”
“I knew that you were pretty, but seeing you here, peaceful, I can see another side of you, and it’s nice to see you relaxed. It’s rather hard to be relaxed back at the club.”
“You don’t like it there?”
“Not really. I don’t mind being around my kind, but I’m used to humans just as much. I haven’t done this much flying in a while. I know that the old generations like to stick together, but I like everyone.”
“I don’t mind humans at all. I have actually never been around that many dragonkin. My mother was always funny about it. She hated our last name, and she never wanted anyone to know our lineage. It was just easier with humans, because I didn’t have to remember any lies. They don’t care where I come from.”
“What do you mean?”
“You told me that you knew.”
Stephen wanted to tell her that he hadn’t. It wasn’t the conversation that he was hoping for when they got up there.
“Yes, I know the stories, the curse, all of that.”
“And you still talk to me?”
“Well, you will just kick my ass if I don’t, right?”
She nudged him with her shoulder. “You know that I can.”
Stephen wasn’t going to agree or disagree. The proof had already come out, so there was no need for him to act like he didn’t know what would happen. He knew.
“So, there is no arguing with you. I know who you are.”
“Most people ask a bunch of questions.”
