Calliope did not meet his gaze.“Theodore isnota patron.”
That much was true, but Calliope was still out on what exactly Theo was.He was her student.Her employee of sorts.And perhaps, he was even a man she met in a bar.Those lines were definitive.Simple to understand.
But she also knew he was so much more than that.He was sweet, perhaps even naive, at times, because he wastwenty-four,but he was also bold and confident and handsome and endearing and he was a rather good kisser.
But most of all, he wasinspiring.
“He is a...friend.”Calliope did not like the word.It didn’t feel right, but she also knew calling Theo anything more than such right now would have been presumptuous.One night of sex and one date-not-date did not equal a relationship.
Was that what Calliope wanted?A relationship?With Theo?
She wasn’t sure the answer was no, but saying yes felt monumental in a way she wasn’t entirely ready for.Saying yes felt like an earthquake.For Calliope had not been in arelationshipsince she and Chuck had been young.And it had not ended well.It was then she decided to keep her affairs short and sweet, on all accounts.Falling in love was not in the cards for Calliope, and perhaps the separation, the solid line she drew between her patrons and herself was more about protecting her peace and her heart than it was about anything else.It was simple.Rules defined to keep everyone safe.Her patrons would neverloveher.They only loved and desired what she could give them, her spark.And when the well would run dry and the spark died, they’d be on their merry way.David Green was proof of that.
And for a long time, that had been fine with Calliope.She’d accepted it was her destiny, her fate.That was, until she met David and fell for his charms, his saccharine words and spellbinding promises.
And then he’d simply broken all of that, thrown away his inspirational sonnets and words when the well ran dry.
And the void thrived in the emptiness until it had consumed all that was and all that would be for David Green, leaving Calliope to tend to the ashes left behind in his wake.
“Mhmm...well, I’m sure you know that boy does not see you as a friend,” Mars said with a smirk.
“I do not wish to discuss my love life, or lack thereof, withyou,of all people, Mars.”Calliope huffed as she tidied her brushes in their jar.
He snickered.“Ah, I have struck a nerve, I see.”
She rolled her eyes at him and he held his hands in the air in mock defense.
“Whatdidyou want to talk to me about that you couldn’t say in front of your little disciples?”he asked, his voice still tinged with humor.
Calliope twisted her lips, regaling him with her gaze.“The diviner was stolen, as you know.”
Mars nodded.“What does that have to with me?Why is that my problem?”
Calliope crossed her arms.“Spike said hescentedan animal.A shifter.”
“And that matters to me because...”
“Because, Mars, the shifter Spike is claiming to scent, is not your run of the mill wolf or big cat.He claims it’s a supernatural shifter.”
Mars raised an eyebrow.“Like a hellhound?One of Hades’s?”
Calliope shifted her weight.“Hades no longer controls the hellhounds.He’s mortal, remember?”
Mars shrugged.“Cate ain’t mortal.Last I checked, Hades literallygaveher a hellhound, so?—”
“Yes, and that hellhound is walking around on two legs, mated to a vampire for the rest of eternity.And you yourself know hellhound shifters are extremely rare.”She chewed on her lip, not wanting to speak her thoughts, but knowing if she did not get them off her chest, they would eat her alive.And that was why she’d called Mars to her desk, after all.She’d spoken with Spike and Theo, and Isabelle and Lorelai had promised to be on the lookout as well.
But Mars...Mars was of a different caliber, and he was also close to her suspect.Calliope couldn’t prove anything, but she felt an aching in her gut.She knew it didn’t make sense, but she could not refute it nonetheless.
“Have you heard from Chuck recently?”she spoke carefully.
Mars did not miss her insinuation, his eyebrows furrowing.“So that’s why you wanted to speak to me,” he nipped.“You thinkhehas something to do with the disappearing diviner?”
Calliope did not miss the tone of Mars’s voice, and she immediately regretted her words.So much for tact, Callie.
“I am not ruling it out, Mars, and neither should you.”
Mars crossed his arms.“What reason would Chuck even have tosteala diviner?The guy is swimming in pussy.”
