Page 67 of Queen to the Sunless Court (Brides of Myth #2)

Hope

Calliste

The rest of their journey took them through familiar cities: Mytheora, where they stayed for two days because she convinced Theron to go a local cheese fair and sampled so much cheese that he joked about having to roll her out of the city, then Kyklos, and then smaller towns, at which point the landscape shed its veneer of civilization.

The wild, once confined to the background, now sprawled and teemed around them, more and more unruly as they reached their final stop before Mount Hellecon.

Aganeeios emerged just as she remembered: slanted red roofs, whitewashed houses, and flocks of sheep roaming the pastures, seeking shade beneath the olive trees, all dwarfed by the towering Mount Peliosa behind.

“Kassandros is staying at the same inn we visited last time, but we can go elsewhere if you want,” Theron said. When she didn’t reply, puzzled, he glanced over his shoulder. “The inn owner insulted you, remember?”

“Oh,” she laughed. “But you put him in his place straight away.”

“Of course I did.”

Her arms tightened around his waist. “I don’t mind. I’d like to see the girl I delivered for his wife. I wonder how she’s doing.”

He smiled and urged Rebel forward.

They reached their inn at midday, and this time, it was the owner’s wife who strode out to greet them, beaming. “Blessings— Ah, it is you! I saw your name on the register and hoped it would be you, Priestess Calliste.” Her eyes briefly stilled on Calliste’s snowy hair, but she didn’t comment.

“Ino.” She dismounted and clasped her hand. “Good to see you—how is your little girl?”

“Growing so fast, my lady, healthy and always hungry. Ah, such a blessing to have you here—are you staying for the night?”

“We’re here just for a meal, then heading for Mount Hellecon,” Calliste replied. “I’d like to see your baby girl before I leave.”

“You mean little Calliste?”

She blinked, her throat tight. “Is that the name you gave her?”

“What other name could I give her? She wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.” Ino’s smile shone again. “I’ll get your food and bring her when you’re done.”

The common room was empty, except for the man waiting by the table, illuminated by the late-morning sun streaming through the vines in the windows.

Theron clasped hands with him. “Good to see you back,” he said.

Standing beside them, Calliste scrutinized Kassandros, remembering the evening scented with mint and rose candles when Melitta had opened her heart to her. If this was the man she had secretly loved for years, now that Calliste saw him again, she wasn’t much surprised.

He was striking, in a black leather breastplate over a black tunic, as tall and broad-shouldered as Theron.

His long black hair was pulled into a messy bun at the back of his head, highlighting his strong jaw with its shadow of a beard and his decisive black brows, which looked like they’d drawn with thick charcoal.

As she looked closely, she noticed his dark green eyes, a detail she had missed during their last journey—but Kassandros had always stayed out of the way, blending with the shadows.

Theron stepped back and took her hand. “I didn’t keep you updated on certain matters,” he addressed him. “But the short of it is that Kalias is awake and well, thanks to Calliste.”

“Thank all the gods.” A joyful smile transformed Kassandros’ face. He placed his hand over his heart. “This is truly wonderful news.” And then he tilted his head at their joined hands, his brow arching.

“Oh, and…” Theron didn’t leave room for guesses as he embraced Calliste’s waist and pulled her close. “And when we return to Anthemos... Well, I’d love it if you could attend our wedding. I need you for my kidnapping party.”

“You truly didn’t keep me updated, Theron.” Kassandros shook his head as his smile grew wider, making him look irresistible. “Kidnapping party? Are you going to do the traditional bride kidnapping?”

“Definitely.”

“Of course I’ll be there. I’m so happy for both of you.” Kassandros’ eyes brightened as the rest of the sentinels entered the room, cheering at his sight and clapping him on the back.

Amid the commotion, Theron led Calliste to sit by the table, and soon everyone joined for a simple meal in the mountainside village.

Ino soon returned with her daughter and handed her to Calliste. The baby—a chubby, cute little thing—was much amused by the attention she was getting. Calliste rocked her, and when she looked up and met Theron’s gaze, she knew exactly what he was thinking.

They chatted, laughed, and drank wine. Ino took her daughter away when the little girl got tired. The sentinels went outside to sit in the sunlight.

Kassandros finished his drink and rose. “Shall I fetch her now?” he asked Theron. “I told her it would likely be today.”

Theron nodded. “Now is good.”

Calliste wondered what they were talking about, but another question burned in her mind.

She had stolen enough glances at Kassandros to guess that he was still shrouded in melancholy, and recalling Theron’s words from their journey to Anthemos—that he wasn’t in a good place—she wanted to know why.

“Theron, I remember Lykos mentioning that Kassandros needed to take his mind off things…”

He glanced at her. “That was one of the reasons I sent him here, yes.”

“But why?”

“He...” Theron sighed and took a sip of wine. “This is still painful for him, Calliste, so please don’t make it obvious that I told you.”

“I won’t.”

“Recently, in truly humiliating circumstances, he discovered his wife had cheated on him. Not just once, but several times during their marriage.”

Calliste froze. “Oh… I understand.”

“It was devastating for him to discover what she’d done. He was the first to join me when I decided to go to Mount Hellecon because he desperately wanted to escape his house until their divorce is finalized.”

“He’s divorcing her?” Calliste asked, her heart racing at the thought of Melitta, unaware of it all.

“Oh, definitely. It’s underway, and I’ll be signing that paper…” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Why are you asking?” His brow rose. “Do you like him?”

“Don’t be silly,” she chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. “He’s dashing, but only one man reigns in my heart. And that man is just adorable when he’s jealous.”

“Huh,” he muttered, mollified. “So why?”

“Oh, I... Let’s just say I know someone who wanted Kassandros before he got married, and she still hasn’t gotten over him.”

“Who?” His brows knitted together.

She shook her head. “I promised I wouldn’t—”

Theron stared at her. “You weren’t close to many people. You can only mean Melitta.”

“Erm...” She squeezed his hand, panicked. “I swore I wouldn’t say anything—”

“And you didn’t. I guessed it.” He grinned, though she could tell he was still curious. “But Melitta? She’s a socialite, and she doesn’t strike me as someone who wants to settle down?”

“All a pretense. She’d settle down with Kassandros in a heartbeat.”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “Hmm… Somehow I’m not certain they’re such a good match.”

“You said the same about Lykos and Eumelia.”

He stared at her for a moment, then laughed. “Calliste, you’ll always be a healer—now you’re mending the hearts of those around you.” Then he took her chin and kissed her, as dominant as always, and for a moment, the world fell away, as it always did with him so close.

When he released her, she exhaled, a question still tugging at her mind. “And... What’s the other reason he’s here? You said you had a surprise for me.”

A secretive, delighted smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Do you remember when we went to look for the woman who saved your life here?”

Her breath slowed, caught.

“You found her house, but that villager said she was dead and had no relatives. I could tell she didn’t trust you and was lying, but I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to address it. As you know. But I did show Kassandros her house as we were leaving and asked him to remember it.”

“Theron.” She swallowed, hope taking wing and soaring in her mind. “Theron.”

“And then, when I saw you giving everything for Kalias, I realized that if that woman hadn’t saved you, you wouldn’t be there for him.

You wouldn’t have saved me either.” He leaned in and nuzzled her cheek.

“So I sent Kassandros with my official papers to talk to the village head and find out where she is. As you can imagine, it was a completely different conversation.”

“She’s alive ?”

Theron straightened, still smiling as his gaze shifted to the entrance where two silhouettes were coming through the doorway. “You tell me. Is this the woman you were looking for?”

Kassandros strode in slowly with an elderly woman holding his arm, her cane knocking against the wooden floor.

Calliste jumped from her seat, her hand over her mouth.

She was perhaps in her sixties, a thin shawl over her head, framing her wrinkled, kind face, tilted as she studied Calliste. And then she beamed, her eyes widening. “It is you! You are this poor thing with those terrible wounds on your back… How long ago was it?”

“Nine years.” Calliste reached out. Her hands were shaking. “You took me in. Watered my horse. Gave me hope.”

“I could only do so much.” The older woman took her hands. “But you were in my prayers, and I’ve always wondered what happened to you.”

“They saved me at Mount Hellecon, mother, and I went on to study the art of healing and became a priestess. All thanks to you…” She faltered, struggling to explain how much good had come from the woman’s small act of kindness. “But I never thanked you.”

“Ah, you were barely conscious,” her savior replied gently, patting her hand. “Now, I don’t know if it was you or the gods who sent Kassandros here, but he has done so much for me in the last few weeks that it feels like you thanked me a thousand times over.”

“Oh,” Calliste glanced at Kassandros. “What did you do?”

The sentinel shook his head, amused. “Not much.”

“Ah, shush, boy. Not much ,” she scoffed. “You fixed my fence and repaired my olive press. Reinforced my roof. You got rid of that boulder in my garden.”

“I didn’t have much else to do and it served me well. But between the two of us, I did it all because I wanted more of your delicious bean stew,” Kassandros replied with a conspirator’s smile.

“He was so good to me.” The woman looked at Calliste. “Did you send him?”

“I did,” Theron said. “For her. Because she was desperate to find you and thank you.”

“Ah, then you thanked me already.” The woman smiled at her, her eyes welling up with tears. “Don’t you cry, sweetheart. I’m so glad to see you.”

Calliste’s tears rolled anyway—because the woman was alive and well, and the question that sat at the back of her mind for the last nine years could finally be answered. “What is your name, mother? I never learned it.”

“Elpis.”

“Hope?” Calliste shook her head, crying as she laughed. “Your name is Hope? Of course it is.”

Elpis stroked Calliste’s cheek. “And yours, sweetheart?”

“Calliste.”