Lifelight: Calypso Returns

24.

"I have family." Hera thought.

She had loved Khatya more than she had ever loved anyone or anything but she had always wondered about her family. Whether she had been lost and they were looking for her, if she had a grandmother or a little sister. After her aunt's death, the curiosity about her family had grown. She had even called the social worker who had handled her adoption to try and get information. There had been none. She had given up at some point and forced herself to forget about it.

Hera was full of barely contained excitement. She had to go to the Bithril mountains. She could kill two birds with one stone; meet her family and see Azmythica. Lam indulged her but was sure even she could not convince Thur to let her travel so far.

"Do gods have a hard time crossing the planes?"

Within their realms, not at all. But in others domains passage is by invitation only.

"Would control over the planes here be a reason to kill you?"

It is more than control, the planes are borders in space and time. The power to manipulate them, misused, could be terrible.

No more answers came after that. Hera lay on the grass behind the cottage basking in the afternoon sun trying not to scream in frustration at Calypso. She needed focus, stumbling in the dark arms out had almost got her killed or worse.

She knew a few things for sure. The king's objective was not only to make sure she did not fall to the wrong hands but also keep her under his thumb where he could contain any threats she posed. She knew nothing and getting information would have to be like pulling teeth. Saira had gone centuries without its goddess, Calypso did not know anything either. Restoring the goddess, and having her fight her own fights would be best for everyone.

Kairu sat next to her in the grass and she sat up. He looked at her for a beat and then out at the forest that stretched out ahead of them.Hera felt oppressed by the silence and waiting for him to speak.

"Yuli is worried about you."

"He shouldn't be. I'm fine."

"Lam says you spend nights at the gym. Abu says you are devouring library books all day."

"So...I work out and read."

"You have not been back to the forest."

"Why would I go back?"

"We asked around Lithia before we found you. You know what Mrs. Soars said about you?"

"That if I could I would inject her fudge like an addict?"

"She said that you were like two different people. One loved the library and her aunt and yes, sugar and the other was a wall. She said things bounced off you and ricocheted on whoever was stupid enough to try and get to you."

"That's colourful."

"You need to talk about the separation if not to me to someone else."

Kairu looked years older than she had thought he was at that moment. He was worried about her too. She wanted to make him feel better but drew a blank. The truth would open the floodgates and she could not risk.She went back to an old tactic, giving just a little bit.

"I don't know how to grieve. I did it for Azmythica but I think that was mostly Calypso." Hera said.

"What do you mean?" Kairu said.

"The proper way is to let go. Cry and smash things and make yourself sick with depression. I can't. My uncle, you met him, he used to be a soldier. Exploiting weakness was a specialty of his. If I let him know what things hurt me, he would have torn me to pieces." Hera said.