Calypso pauses, taking a deep breath to calm the storm inside her. "I'm sorry your mother couldn't accept the truth and bear the pain of losing him."
Cordelia's mask slips momentarily, the broken little girl beneath the icy exterior. "I... I don't know," she admits, her voice small and uncertain. "She was always so angry with Father, always furious with me." But just as quickly, the vulnerability is replaced by a snarling rage. "And it's all because your mother was a WHORE! Stealing men, stealing MY father! My mother's pain was too much to bear—to take her own life because of what your bitch of a mother did to our family!"
Calypso's shoulders slump like she's carrying the world's weight, and she practically collapses onto her throne. "No, Cordelia, it wasn't my mother's fault. You've been fed a lie. It was the Soul Stone," she says, her voice heavy with the truth. "Itchanged your mother, twisted everything good inside her into something dark and ugly."
She looks up at Cordelia, and I swear I can see the pain etched into every line of her face. "It's doing the same thing to me, sister," she whispers. "Every day, it eats away at my resolve, whispering in my ear, pushing me to do terrible things, to give in to hate and cruelty."
I stare at Calypso, my jaw practically hitting the floor. Holy shit—how has this woman managed to resist the evil call of the Stone for so damn long? I've seen firsthand what that thing can do, how it can warp souls into something monstrous.
My mind flashes back to Azrael and Amara, how they succumbed to the Stone's influence like it was nothing, their desire to cause harm as natural as breathing. And yet, here's Calypso, fighting tooth and nail against its pull, clinging to her humanity with everything she's got.
"How?" Cordelia asks, her voice barely above a whisper, as if afraid of the answer. "I made sure to lock that stone to you, never to take it off. How are you able to ignore its cause?"
Calypso smiles, and it's a sad, broken thing that makes my heart ache. "Because I never lost hope that one day, you and I would find a way to mend what's been broken between us. My love for you, sister, is buried deep inside me. And I've refused to let this cursed stone take that away from me, no matter how hard it tries. You were lied to, Cordelia. And I don't fault you for that."
I am witnessing something intimate, raw, painful, and beautiful. It's like watching a flower bloom in the middle of a war zone, a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
"Why would you force your sister to wear that cursed thing?" I ask, my voice a mix of disbelief and horror. "You saw what it did to your mother, how it twisted her into something unrecognizable. How could you inflict that same fate on Calypso—your own sister?"
Cordelia turns to me, her expression a mask of bitterness and resentment. "Because I wanted the person," she spits, shooting a nasty glare in Calypso's direction, "who tore my family apart to experience the same pain and hatred that my mother endured. I wanted Calypso to suffer, to know the agony of being consumed by darkness and despair."
I stare at her, my mouth hanging open in shock. "Let me get this straight," I say slowly, trying to wrap my head around her twisted logic. "You blame Calypso, yoursister, for simply being born? For existing? Cordelia, do you hear how absolutely batshit crazy that sounds?"
Calypso's voice is whispery, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "Sister, we were so close once, the best of friends and confidants. It shattered my heart when you did this to me, to us. How could you let your anger and jealousy poison the bond we once shared?"
I nod, my heart aching for the pain and betrayal etched into Calypso's face. "She's right, Cordelia. Your father made his choices, and they were his alone. Blaming Calypso for his actions, for the fact that he fell in love with Rillia—her mother, is like blaming the sun for rising in the east. It's a fundamental truth of the universe, not some personal slight against you."
Cordelia's face twists. "You don't understand!" she hisses, her fingers curling at her sides. "You didn't see the way our family crumbled, the way my mother withered away under the weight of her grief and rage. Someone had to pay for that. Someone had to suffer as she suffered!"
I take a step forward. "And you thought that someone should be Calypso? Your own flesh and blood? Cordelia, that's not justice, that's cruelty. You let your pain andanger blind you to the truth, to the love and compassion that should have guided your actions. It wasyourmother, Cordelia, that murdered them, not Rillia."
Cordelia flashes her eyes at me as if I slapped her.
Calypso reaches out. "Please, sister," she begs, her voice cracking with emotion. "It's not too late to make this right, to heal the rift between us. I forgive you, Cordelia. I forgive you for everything because I know the true you, the sister I love and cherish, is still in there somewhere. You didn't know the truth. Now you do."
Cordelia's expression wavers momentarily, a flicker of vulnerability and longing passing over her face. But then her features harden, her lips twisting into a sneer. "Forgiveness?" she scoffs. "I don't need your forgiveness, sister. I did what I had to do, what my mother's memory demanded of me. My mother is not a murderer!"
I sigh, shaking my head sadly. "And look where that got you, Cordelia. Alone, bitter, and consumed by a hatred that will never truly satisfy you. Is that really the legacy you want to leave behind?"
Cordelia opens her mouth to retort, but no words come out. She stands there, her chest heaving, her eyes darting between Calypso and me like a cornered animal.
I can't help but feel a surge of admiration for Calypso. I mean, here's a woman who's been through hell and back, who's had every reason to give in to the darkness, to let it consume her whole.
But she hasn't. She's fought, endured, and held onto that tiny spark of hope like it's the only thing keeping her alive. And in a way, maybe it is.
Because hope? It's a powerful thing. It's the light in the darkness, the beacon that guides us home when we're lost at sea. And Calypso? She's been holding onto that light for centuries, refusing to let it go out, no matter how hard the winds of fate try to snuff it out.
It's humbling to be in the presence of that kind of strength and love. I watch Cordelia's face, see the flicker of understanding in her eyes, and feel the tiniest crack in her icy facade. I can't help but feel a glimmer of hope myself.
Cordelia's face then twists into a snarl. "I don't believe a word of this bullshit," she spits. "How could you say my mother did all this? How could you possibly love me after everything I've done to you? I don't want your love, and I sure as hell don't need it!"
And with that, all hell breaks loose.
Cordelia slams her staff against the ground. The cavern walls shudder like they're about to crash around us. Water comes rushing in from every direction, a tidal wave of chaos and destruction threatening to sweep us away.
Rhyland's there, scooping me into his arms like I weigh nothing. He blurs us to higher ground, moving so fast that the world around us becomes a blur of color and sound.
As the water swells and rages beneath us, I realize with a sinking feeling that Rhyland and I are the only ones left standing. Lucian, Erik, Seraphina, and Mirella have all been swept away by the churning waters, their fate unknown.
