Broken But Unburnt

Chapter 23 - Calliope

Chapter 23: Calliope

The Ysuelt Dwelling

She looked calm enough on the exterior, right?

Calliope forced a placid smile to remain on her face as she trudged down the side of the mountain with Quinn and Neva toward the dwelling she'd spent her entire life in. Internally, however, she was panicking. She hadn't exactly left her father's side on the greatest of terms and Sebastian had been displeased about the separation as well. To top it all off, she was supposed to have left to find answers and was returning, quite literally, empty handed. Her gloves were off but, still, she was unable to produce even the smallest of sparks to show for it. And she had tried. In the dead of night on the road when Neva and Quinn were sound asleep, she had laid upon her cloak on the rough, dying grass, and tried her hardest to create those sparks again. But she had failed. Her entire venture into the city of Delos with the mysterious Sahira had failed and she was returning hope with her tail tucked between her legs and an apology on her lips.

But her companions didn't need to know that. As far as she was concerned, they could go on believing she was some badass tradition-breaking monster hunter that was so skilled and so amazing she had been allowed to join an ancient order as the first woman ever allowed to live among them. That was much more exciting than the truth. So she would allow them to go on believing it until the illusion was shattered. Of course, that time seemed to be drawing nearer the closer they got to the door.

The main entry was carved into the same ancient stone that the rest of the dwelling was created from. Calliope approached it, as she had so many times before, and placed a hand upon it. She closed her eyes.

"Mere lie khulo. tum mere ghar ho."

Open for me. You are my home.

With a loud groaning, the door slid open, scraping against the stone floor loudly as it did. Quinn and Neva stared up at it in awe, their jaws dropped.

"Magic," Quinn whispered, stunned.

"The stone was imbued with it long ago," Calliope explained as she slid inside and beckoned them to follow. "Some of our older weapons and tools were as well. We only have to speak to them in the mother tongue and they respond."

"Incredible."

"This way."

She led them through the dark passages toward the common room and found a group of the Ysuelt waiting for them when they arrived. Sebastian was there and Bruin as well. They rushed toward her the moment she emerged from the darkness and wrapped her up in tight hugs, talking over one another to tell her all that she had missed and to ask her where she had been. They didn't seem to notice Quinn and Neva until she glanced over her shoulder at her two companions who were now lost in the admiration of the large, open cavern.

"These are friends I met on the road," Calliope told them. "Delos was attacked. Everyone was trying to flee. They didn't have anywhere else to go."

Bruin considered them as she spoke, crossing his arms and sizing them up.

"They are strangers then," Bruin started and Calliope's heart fell, knowing what he was going to say.

"Ham kamajoron kee raksha karate hain kyonki ham majaboot hain," Sebastian interrupted before Bruin could say anything further. Calliope recognized the words in an instant. They were some of the Ysuelt's most sacred, taken directly from the oaths they made when they became true warriors. Roughly translated, it meant something like we protect the weak because we are strong. Bruin's face fell.

"Very well," he said. "Bring them in. You must be starving."

Quinn and Neva took a step forward but stopped suddenly, their gazes fixed on something behind the Ysuelt. Calliope, Bruin, and Sebastian turned to see that Gabriel had entered the hall. Everyone had gone silent, waiting to see what the brooding father would do.