Resilience

8

When she pulled away, she could see some of the soot had rubbed off Leo's face. Calypso decided she didn't care. She traced her thumb across his cheekbone. She had never felt so much warmth as she did now. "Leo Valdez."

"That's me," he said hoarsely. "So, um...you want to get off this island?"

Calypso took a step back. She raised one hand. Her invisible servants brought her two suitcases and set them at her feet. "What gave you that idea?"

Leo grinned. "Packed for a long trip, huh?"

"I don't plan on coming back." Calypso realized it was true. She glanced over her shoulder, at the path that led to her garden and her cavern home. No, it wasn't a home anymore, nor a prison. It was just another stage in her life. She turned to face him again.

"Where will you take me, Leo?"

"Somewhere to fix my dragon, first," he said. "And then...wherever you want. How long was I gone, seriously?"

"Time is difficult on Ogygia," Calypso said, glancing at the high sun in the sky. "It felt like forever."

Leo looked doubtful for an instant. She assumed he was thinking about his friends. Guilt rose up in her, but she pushed it down. She was grateful that he had chosen to come back for her. And she would help him return to his friends if it took her the rest of her life.

Leo's expression hardened with determination. "So once you leave Ogygia, do you stay immortal or what?"

"I have no idea." Strangely, she did not feel as much fear as she should have. She had lived three thousand years. In a mortal lifespan, she would have about eighty more. But if she could spend the rest of it with Leo Valdez, she considered it a fair price.

"And you're okay with that?"

"More than okay."

"Well, then!" Leo turned towards Festus. "Buddy, you up for another flight to nowhere in particular?"

The dragon blew fire and limped around.

"So we take off with no plan," Calypso said. "No idea where we'll go or what problems await beyond this island. Many questions and no tidy answers?" Despite her worries, she felt a thrill at the prospect. She hated the predictable. And leaving Ogygia would be anything but.

Leo turned up his palms. "That's how I fly, Sunshine. Can I get your bags?"

There were many things Calypso wasn't certain about. Leo Valdez was not one of them. Looking at him, she was filled with a sense of elation and adventure. "Absolutely," she said.

In a matter of minutes, the two secured themselves on Festus. Calypso allowed herself one last glance at her island home, a green teardrop in the middle of a sparkling sea. Leo spurred the dragon into flight. The bronze dragon spread its wings, and they soared into the unknown.