“Only the days the sun rises,” I quip under my breath. Before he can say anything else, the portal reopens, and Donni appears first.
“Odeyssa, my Gods, when did you become so aggressive?” she asks, her tone sounding confused. Donni barely has time to step out of the way before Odeyssa follows in close behind.
“Well, if you would have listened to me the first ten times I told you we needed to leave, no force would have been needed,” she remarks. But I can’t take my eyes off Donni. Tears brim my eyes at the sight of her. I never thought I’d see her again.
Her purple hair is luminescent in the lighting but appears a little dimmer than the last time I saw her. Donni rolls her eyes, and at first, they land on Marcel, and she seems stunned momentarily, which I find a bit odd, but I don’t care, because her gaze swings to mine.
And I absolutely lose it.
Her gasp fills the room, and her hand snaps to cover her mouth in shock. “Kallie?”
“In the flesh.” We both rush toward each other and nearly knock ourselves over with the impact. One of her arms wraps tightly around me, and the other pushes against the back of my head, holding me closely. I return the embrace, losing the battle with the tears.
I choke out a sob, her floral scent taking over my senses. Donni grips both my shoulders, holding me at arm’s length. I blink a few times, trying to get my vision to come back into focus.
“Dry those tears, babe. Don’t you dare let anyone see you falter.”
I sputter out a laugh, wipe my nose, and dry my face. “You’re right. How dare I let them see me break.” She smiles and drops her arms. “You should have a seat. We have loads to discuss.”
Donni sits next to me, across from Odeyssa, and I return to my seat in front of Marcel, who hasn’t muttered a single word since their arrival. Donni seems cool as a cucumber, all while Marcel is trying to tamper down whatever emotions are threatening to explode.
My eyes find Odeyssa’s, and she gives me a subtle nod in agreement. I know it’s for the best, but part of me is still apprehensive with Marcel here. But Odeyssa agrees—although I do find her opinion to be a bit biased—after everything we’ve faced together, if she trusts her father, maybe it’s time for me to as well.
I inhale a shaky breath, keeping my eyes stationed on Marcel. “You’ve called me Kalliope, and a few reasons for that could be that you assumed Kallie was a nickname, or it was a lucky guess, or you actually knew the truth.” I wait for him to give me a reaction, something that would tell me if he’s oblivious or a willing participant. But he gives me nothing. “Kalliope Whitlock. That’s my birth given name. But I had no idea about that, this place, magic,anyof it until Callum found me.”
His eyebrows shoot to his hairline, seemingly shocked. “You’re—”
“Princess of Astralis,” I finish for him. His back hits the chair, absorbing the new revelation.
“Oh, just wait, there’s more,” Odeyssa mutters.
And there was. So, so much more. And despite my still concerned feelings on the matter, I tell him—directly because I can’t bear to look at Donni—every painstakingly brutal detail, because at this point, I need all the help I can get. So I lay it all out on the table, not leaving anything out in regards to Ambroyss and Astralis. The events after, I keep to myself, not wanting to out Odeyssa and Aslan—who knows if Marcel has spoken to her. According to Odeyssa, she believed Aslan would’ve reached out, just to let him know she was safe. He doesn’t say anything while I speak, both him and Donni tuned in like I’m reading them a fantasy novel—or a horror.
As I was speaking, the look on Odeyssa’s face caught me by surprise because I was certain I’d told her everything. But there was a lot to unpack, and the likelihood of me forgetting something is very high. Either way, everyone knows now.
Finishing with a heavy sigh, I wait for them to digest everything. Marcel looks disturbed—frightened at the magnitude of the situation. I’m assuming whatever he thought I was going to say wasn’t that. How could anyone think someone could do something so heinous?
Marcel rubs a hand down his face. “I had no idea,” he says, but his words are quiet, and I can’t tell if it’s directed at us or if he’s internally berating himself for being so blind. Odeyssa attempts to tamp down her slight grin, side-eyeing me like she wants to scream in my face, ‘I told you so!’ But you can’t blame a girl for being cautious. “Why do they want you, though?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I have no clue what role I’m supposed to play in his plan. But they kept me alive for a reason.” In the midst of all the chaos, I’d almost forgotten the amulet restingat the bottom of my sheath. My fingers rest against the buckle, and I almost pull it out. Almost. But I hesitate because of what Celene said. It can’t fall into the wrong hands, and although—at this point—I trust Marcel, there’s always a sliver of a chance he could fold, or he could be captured and tortured for information. So I decide against it and run my fingers over my leg like I had an itch to play it off. But Donni catches me, and I shouldn’t be surprised, because nothing gets past her.
“What’s the plan now?” he asks, ready to take action. “I’m assuming—judging by the truth serum situation—you didn’t want to ask for my help.”
I shoot Odeyssa a deadpan look while she proudly smirks. “We had a situation of our own, and despite my reservations, Odeyssa brought me here.”
“Given your recent experiences with the royalty in this realm, I think it’s safe to assume you thought I was in on this plan? In which case, I don’t blame you for being wary.” My first instinct is to stick my tongue out at Odeyssa, but I settle for turning my nose up with a tight-lipped smile.
“You really hit the nail on the head,” I muse.
“I just can’t believe Callum is a part of all of this.”
“He’s not—at least, not entirely.” My words trail off, trying to think of a way to say it that doesn’t sound like I’m crazy and hallucinating things.
“But you said that he’s the one thattookyou to Ambroyss. He’s the one that you saw when they were keeping you and the one that was trying to capture you again just before you got here.”
Well, when you list it out like that, it doesn’t look good.
Donni bows her head, and my heart goes out to her. It can’t be easy hearing all of these things about your son. I rest a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and when she looks up, I give her a sincere smile.
