Page 69 of Queen to the Sunless Court (Brides of Myth #2)

“Shh,” Leontia soothed her. “It’s not a loss.

It is not. I can’t restore it, but you still possess the knowledge and judgment of a healer.

You came here with an honourable man who, as far as I can tell, loves you as you are.

A man who was destined to come for you.” She looked at Calliste.

“You’ve always made me proud, no question about that.

When you succeeded and when you failed, because whatever you did, you’ve always followed your heart.

It’s because of your heart that you’re here now, and I’m here to tell you that you’re making the right choice. ”

Calliste wiped her eyes. “You could still object.”

Leontia raised her brows. “How?” Seeing Calliste struggle for words, she added, “Tell me, Calliste, how can I, in good conscience, ask you to stay when your destiny no longer lies here? You are to become a wife and a mother—”

“A… stepmother,” Calliste corrected, disliking the distance the word created. But it was factual. “You know I can’t become a mother.”

Leontia raised her brows. “Can’t you?”

Calliste frowned. “Did you forget? You know I can’t.”

“You couldn’t nine years ago. But that is not where you are now,” Leontia said, then glanced at Theron. “Of course, it also depends on whether both of you indulged in circumstances that made conception possible.”

Calliste stared at her mentor as Theron watched her, his eyes wide.

“We certainly did,” he said, his voice thick.

“Then becoming a mother is also possible,” Leontia said, her words fading into silence.

He was beside her in an instant, kneeling to meet her gaze. His face was a burst of hope, and his eyes were like a midsummer night sky, filled with countless stars. “I told you—I saw you and my little girl—”

“You already know it’s a girl, Majesty?” Leontia asked.

His laughter was like a wave crashing ashore, strong and sparkling. “I’ve seen her already—and Calliste holding her, even though she said it was impossible—”

“Because it is impossible,” Calliste finally found her voice, speaking over him to correct Leontia’s mistake, to halt unbearable, glowing hope in its path.

“Leontia, you know I first came here because I was barren, and one of the sisters told me there was no cure for my condition… You’re mistaken.

” She covered her face with her hands, unable to witness the hope shattering in Theron’s eyes.

There was a pause before Leontia spoke again. “Let me ask you a question, Calliste. For such a long time, you believed that you were the one at fault, but was your husband a fully healthy man?”

In the sudden hush between them, Calliste stared at Leontia, trying to puzzle out what her mentor meant. “Healthy?”

“He was a drunk,” Leontia replied coolly. “Even before he married you. That’s what you told me.”

“Y-yes, but there was no doubt that he could… have a child. He told me about… a drunken accident from his youth.”

“And that was all he had to prove it?” Leontia raised his brow.

“He’s been drinking for years, Calliste, and men who let wine ravage their bodies often struggle to have children.

I didn’t see you when he brought you here for the first time, but I’m certain that if I had, I’d have known straight away who the barren one is. Not that he’d like my answer.”

Calliste could feel the heat of Theron’s gaze on her, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Leontia. “But he said…” It was impossible to take in; the idea that this, too, had been something caused by Ariston, that her sorrow over her barrenness was just another scar he’d left in her life.

“He blamed you, of course, because he could, and without evidence to the contrary, you believed him. When you came here for the second time, and stayed, it was no longer something you worried about. But what I’m saying is that it’s entirely possible that you weren’t ever at fault.”

“But…” Calliste swallowed, caught between disbelief and belief, because everything Leontia said made perfect sense, yet her mind still doubted. “But I was supposed to lead the order?”

“Well, one doesn’t exclude the other, does it? First of all, if it weren’t for certain circumstances and your mutual choices—” Leontia smiled at Theron “—you’d be none the wiser. And secondly, no Head Priestess ever leads the order. We are mothers to our order.”

The word stunned her. “Mothers.”

“That’s what we are,” Leontia said, gently stroking her cheek.

“After Morpheus explained what had happened, I thought about your place here, and what it means to you—and to me, and it occurred to me that, in one way or another, you were destined to become a mother. You’d be a wonderful mother to this order, no doubt.

But, with luck, you might become a mother to your own child—” she glanced at Theron again “—and definitely a mother to the kingdom. Either responsibility is far greater than what awaited you here.”

“But no more important,” Calliste insisted, still dizzy.

Leontia’s face lit up with a smile. “I’m glad you think that way.”

Theron took Calliste’s hand and rose, pulling her up.

His amethyst pendant glinted, and she noticed that aura around him—the same electrifying presence she’d sensed when he’d first entered the temple.

Now, his intense attention was focused entirely on her, even as he glanced at Leontia.

“When I was here last time, I interrupted Calliste’s celebration, and now, with everything that has happened—isn’t this a reason to celebrate?

Here, with all of Calliste’s sisters? Or is it inappropriate? ”

Leontia’s smile widened. “It would be perfectly appropriate, Majesty. Are you suggesting a feast?”

His eyes sparkled. “A feast, yes. A celebration of... everything. There’s so much.”

“Oh, a definite abundance of reasons,” Leontia said. “If we start preparing now, we could have a wonderful feast tomorrow evening.”

“I’ll help,” she whispered as her world shifted, righted itself, and settled on a new course with surprising ease. It mystified her how she moved from disbelief to acceptance within heartbeats, but she embraced it with both hands.

“I’ll help too,” Theron said. “But first, I need to take you for a walk, Calliste. Down to the forest edge, while it’s still warm. Just you and me, and the place where we first spoke alone.”

She stared at him. “Where we argued, you mean.”

“A rough beginning to a sweet end,” he chuckled.

She glanced at Leontia, wrapped in the glow of the sunset that filled Epione’s Grand Temple. Behind her, shrouded in the smoky tendrils of incense, the statue of Epione seemed to smile, just like the woman who’d saved her life.

“Go,” Leontia said quietly. “I’ll see you when you’re back.” She turned and stepped to the sculpture, lowering herself to her knees.

Theron walked down the aisle, his grasp warm and strong, his gaze like sunlight.

As they reached the middle of the Temple, he said quietly, “I hope you realize that if you changed your mind and wanted to stay here, I’d move the capital here if I had to, but.

..” He paused, his gaze momentarily captured by the sight ahead.

She glanced at the temple door they hadn’t closed. Framed by the door, the setting sun cut through the clouds, releasing a flood of coppery, molten hues that bathed the world in crystalline, dark-amber gold.

Her chest tightened; warmth fluttered inside, along with a quiet, hazy sense of fulfillment washing over a moment she knew before but was only now to crystallize into reality.

As if in a soft dream, she looked at him.

His face glowed, framed by his dark hair, regal in the sunset streaming through the Temple’s door, filling his eyes and bringing out their clear, bronze hue.

The light spilled onto his breastplate, making the lions burn against the expanse of gray metal.

In the golden silence, Theron completed his thought. “But I wouldn’t leave without you.”

Her lips tingling, she awaited the words that would seal her destiny in a smooth blend of silver and steel, caress and command—coming from that powerful man, leading her to the high gates flooded with saffron radiance and into their future.

“Never without you, Calliste. Come, my fearless queen.”

THE END