Solasta Academy: All Hallows Eve

Chapter Thirty Two

Calia pinched herself in the arm several times to ensure she wasn't dreaming. As she stood in front of Calypso, she realized she was real after all this time. She wasn't a fairy tale her mother used to tell her before she went to bed; it meant that her mother told her everything about her true identity and past when she was little, but it somehow got lost over the years. She took a deep breath and did nothing but stare at the one and only goddess in front of her, who studied her closely as if she were a new specimen. "You're—" she started to say but stopped as soon as the goddess turned her lips into a genuine smile.

"I'm Calypso," she confessed again. "And you are named after me, as I recall."

"Yes," Calia stuttered.

Another woman who looked similar to Calia stepped forward and winked at her. Her hair was the same silver color as it was pinned to a crown on top of her head. She wore a white flowy dress with no shoes but was still elegant as ever—like a true Princess. "And me."

"Marietta," she whispered.

The Nox spirit nodded as she twisted her lips into a smirk. "It's nice to meet you finally," She didn't know what to say to that because she was still reeling from the fact that an actual goddess was in front of her—that she was the creator of sea nymphs a long time ago. Calia was not a Fae as everyone thought, but she was a nereidă. A sea nymph with the power to create thunderstorms in her hands and the ability to cleanse—whatever that meant.

Her world was falling down piece by piece. But it was also rebuilding greater than before. She finally found out who she was—what she was—and that she wasn't alone after all. Calia's ancestors and Calypso have watched over her since the day she was born, and that made her heart want to burst out of her chest from the amount of love she was feeling. "I know you have many questions, Calia. Zale informed me you would, and I promised to answer all of them, but we did not have much time. My mission was to save you from that predator, and now that it is complete, I must go back to my Father."

She frowned, but Calia understood the importance of asking the right questions before her blood family left again. "Of course. Thank you for saving me...all of you. I can't believe you are here after such a long time."

The goddess nodded. "There is nothing I wouldn't do for my blood, Calia Nox. When your Kingdom fell, I was forbidden to save it because, according to the other Gods, you were not important enough to intervene. But they should have known that I had the power to hear every nymph's prayer." She glanced toward Zale, who raised a brow. "I heard him the loudest. If I didn't do anything, the Kingdom of Neera would be lost forever, and so would my children. So, I gave him an ancient spell that will work only once."

"So...that means I'm a—"

"You're the last heir to the Kingdom of Neera," Calypso answered. "The last sea nymph in the entire world." Out of all the things Calia would have guessed, a Princess wasn't one of them. "The entrance is in Doris Cove."

"The entire history of our kind is in the book I wrote," Safiya Nox interrupted as she stepped forward and leaned her head on her uncle Kaius's shoulder. He gave her a smirk before patting his niece on the head. "I spelled it so only our blood can read it."

"Thank you," Calia replied sincerely.

Safiya nodded and turned back to Calypso once again. She did the same as she wanted to hear more about her history. "Before Juliette was killed, she warned you of men that were going to be after you. They are called the Nevernight Brotherhood, and their one task is to find every nymph across the world and drain them of their blood. It is why the Nox lineage has been on the run for generations. You see when Faylinn was at war with Neera, they hired spies to sneak into your Kingdom and steal your own people from right under your nose. The Brotherhood are monsters who want nothing but to see every Nox dead."

"Why? We didn't do anything to them." Calia asked.

"They are leeches," Zale interrupted with a low growl. "A goddess created us, while mother nature created them. They might have wings, but we have the power of the sea and lightning. The Fae will always want more power."

"So, the Brotherhood is a group of Fae men that are after me?" she questioned. "I'm guessing they think they are part of some cult that thinks they are doing the greater good by eliminating me?"

"Yes," Calypso replied darkly. "They think they are the superior species."

"Fuck," she cursed under her breath. "And I'm guessing my Father is part of this cult, and they have captured my mother for some kind of bargain?"

"It will seem so," Zale confessed.

Calia was silent for a minute as she thought about how terrified her mother might be right this minute. She didn't know exactly where this secret cult was located, but she would find them and make sure they got what they deserved. "Okay," she said after a while. "What must I do to get her back and eliminate the Brotherhood?"

Calypso shook her head. "You do not need to do anything right now except survive day after day. We want you to go back to your school and live happily with your friends until graduation."

She frowned again. "So you want me to wait until I turn eighteen to fight back against our enemies that want me dead? No, I'm not doing that. I just found out I'm the last living sea nymph who is the heir to my lost Kingdom. I will do everything in my power to bring my mother back and end the men who ended my entire family generation after generation." Calia glanced at every single member of her ancestors standing beside Calypso. "I'm not running away this time."

"Very well," Calypso said. She could tell she liked Calia's answer from the look of approval she gave her. "No running. But you must stay alive until every Brotherhood member is gone for good."

"And watch your back with those Fae guardians of yours," Zale grumbled.

She whirled toward him. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Was...Soari's family the ones that slaughtered the Kingdom?"

Zale stared at her darkly before shrugging as if that would give her the needed answers. But that led to more questions and, more so, to the fear that she was living under the enemy's roof after all this time. Gods, she couldn't bear it if it was true. "You don't know them. They are good people."

"Then why did they lie to you after they saw your silver blood?" Zale questioned.

"They were scared—"

"Exactly," he interrupted. "Your guardians fear your power and will soon use you for it. Do not let history repeat itself."

Before Calia could argue that the Breevort family wouldn't ever do that to her, her ancestors began disappearing one by one. The last one to fade into nothing was Zale Nox, who gave her a look as if to say to watch her back. After they were gone, she turned toward Calypso, who smiled at her sadly. "I will return soon, Calia. Promise me you will protect yourself. If you ever need to speak to us, go to Doris Cove. It is your sanctuary."

"Thank you," Calia whispered.

Calypso pressed her gentle lips on her forehead, and Calia closed her eyes as the goddess gave her every memory of her past until now. It lasted for a few seconds, but once she was done, she pulled away from Calia and moved a strand of her hair behind her ear. "We will meet again, my storm child."

And then she was gone.

Calia was left standing in the middle of Solasta Academy with new memories of her lineage and the goddess who created her. At last, she could breathe fully.