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CALLIOPE

A s a travel influencer, I planned my trips meticulously from my route to the places I wanted to eat and where I stayed. I didn’t leave anything to chance. It had worked well for me over the past two years and was a big part of how I had managed to quickly grow my following to the point where I got free stays and was earning money from my posts.

To say that today was an aberration was putting it mildly. Everything that could go wrong had. The second leg of my flight had been canceled, leaving me stranded more than a thousand miles from my destination. Since it was due to a systemwide issue for the airline, a ton of people were impacted by cancellations. The earliest flight I could get out of town was three days later, which would’ve left me checking into the hotel less than twenty-four hours before I was due to check out.

I hadn’t wanted to let this delay ruin my entire trip, so I headed to the car rental counters. Snagging one before they were all gone felt like a small victory. Unfortunately, my problems didn’t end at the airport.

An unexpected storm popped up out of nowhere when I was only a few hundred miles into my drive. My mom had hated anything more than a light drizzle, but storms didn’t bother me. I’d always had an odd affinity to storms, almost as though they energized me.

It must have taken out some cell towers because I lost my signal on my phone…and access to my maps app. My dashboard GPS didn’t even try to help. It spun in place for a few minutes like it was taunting me before declaring it couldn’t find my location. Without them, I had no clue where I was going.

Still, I pressed on, doing my best to remember the route. The most I could recall was that I was supposed to stay on the highway for about another hundred miles.

But then the highway signs disappeared. Eventually, the sky got darker. And the road narrowed. Finally, I realized with a twist of dread that I had no idea where I was.

I spotted a small roadside diner through the downpour and turned off the road, pulling into a mostly empty lot. The neon sign flickered over the windows—fitting, considering everything else that had gone wrong.

Inside, the diner smelled like burnt coffee and something vaguely fried. A single server leaned on the counter, staring at her phone with a bored expression. A wall-mounted TV murmured in the background, the volume too low to follow.

“Evening,” she said without looking up.

“Hi.” I offered a hopeful smile. “Sorry to bother you, but the GPS in my rental car isn’t working, and my cell lost its signal. I’ve been driving for a while, and I’m pretty sure I took a wrong turn somewhere. Any chance I could borrow your Wi-Fi?”

She snorted. “I wish we had Wi-Fi for you to borrow, then I wouldn’t have to download stuff to read or watch before I come into work. It’s the freaking worst when I forget and am stuck here twiddling my thumbs for my entire shift. And GPS won’t help much out this way anyway. You’re in a bit of a dead zone.”

I’d been to several places off the beaten path, but at least they’d all had Wi-Fi or a cell signal. “Maybe you can give me directions?”

“I could try, but you’d probably end up lost.” She finally set her phone down and glanced up at me. “I don’t drive, so I don’t pay much attention to where I’m going when my dad drops me off places.”

“Crap.” I pressed my lips together in a flat line as I considered my limited options. “Is there a town nearby?”

“That depends on your definition of near. And what you think is a town.” She picked up her phone again. “Closest stop with anything worth much is about an hour past my house.”

“Which way is that?”

She jerked her thumb to the right. “Make a left at the tree that’s split down the middle because it was struck by lightning, then keep going straight through the woods.”

Woods. At night. In the rain.

I resisted the urge to groan. “I don’t suppose the road is marked? Or well lit?”

“Not really.” She went back to whatever was on her phone without another word.

Unless I wanted to sit around here for who knew how long, I didn’t have much choice. With the clock ticking down on my hotel reservation, I decided to head out in the direction she’d pointed out and hope for the best. It was a decision I deeply regretted an hour and a half later.

I’d been pretty certain that I turned at the tree the girl had described, but it took much longer than expected to see anything remotely like a town. Trees crowded the road like they were trying to swallow the asphalt. Just as I debated the odds of being able to safely make a U-turn, the rain eased into mist, heavy and low to the ground. Then the road curved, and a building rose out of the mist like something from a horror movie.

Ten stories tall and built from stone, its windows flickered with soft golden light. Gargoyle-like statues flanked the entrance, and the driveway circled a massive fountain, glistening in the rain.

As I pulled around and parked as far off to the side as I could get, my heart thudded against my ribs. Something about the place pulled at me, but I also felt the sudden urge to flee. Unfortunately, I couldn’t turn around now. I was about ten hours past my tolerance for mishaps, I had nowhere else to go, and my gas tank wouldn’t get me far even if I did.

After taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, I turned off the engine and exited the car. I thought about grabbing my luggage from the trunk but ultimately decided that was beyond presumptuous. So I headed inside with only my purse.

The moment I stepped through the doors, warmth enveloped me. The lobby was grand but not ostentatious. Dark wood floors. A chandelier of iron and glass was suspended high above. A massive bar took up the left wall, and a wide staircase curved upward to the next level.

The woman behind the reception desk greeted me. “Good evening, welcome to The Abyss. I’m Lyra, how can I help you?”

I hesitated. “Hi. I, uh...I don’t have a reservation.”

“No problem.” Her gaze darted over my shoulder briefly before returning to me, but her smile didn’t falter. “We always keep a few rooms available. Would you like to check in?”

I nodded. “Yes, please. Just for tonight.”

She slid a leather-bound book toward me, along with an old-fashioned pen. “Name?”

“Calliope Ash.”

As I signed, I glanced toward the bar to see what had momentarily captured her attention. When I spotted the man standing at the end of the bar, I understood her distraction. With his Grecian nose, chiseled cheekbones, strong jawline, and a dimple in his chin, I assumed that most women noticed him. Especially since his dark hair only made his blue eyes seem brighter. His black dress shirt stretched across his broad shoulders, with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, revealing strong forearms. His matching slacks did nothing to hide how thick his thighs were. He was tall, dark, and gorgeous personified.

Our eyes met, and something jolted through me. It almost felt as though someone had reached into my chest and pressed directly against my heart. I looked away, cheeks burning.

Lyra carried on as though nothing unusual had happened. “Would you like a drink before heading up to your room?”

“Actually...yes.”

My reply surprised me since that hadn’t been what I’d planned to say. The last thing I needed right now was a drink. Not when I was exhausted enough from my day to not be acting like myself. But I felt a magnetic pull toward the bar. And him.

She handed over a brass skeleton key on a midnight-blue velvet ribbon. It was beautiful and old-fashioned, entirely out of sync with the rest of the ultramodern technology on the desk. “Your room is on the tenth floor. The elevator will open for you when you wave the key against the symbol beside it.”

I was too tired to question how much the room would cost. Whatever the price, it was worth being dry and warm for the night. “Thank you.”

“Do you have any luggage you’d like brought up?” Lyra continued. “I can have one of our staff retrieve your bags from your vehicle and valet park it.”

“Oh.” I blinked at the offer. “That would be great. Um…there’s just one suitcase and my matching carry-on in the trunk. My car’s the little rental parked on the circle out front.”

She inclined her head and stretched her hand out to take the key from me. “I’ll make sure it’s taken care of.”

I nodded, feeling a little dazed. “Thanks. This place is not what I expected when I first stumbled across it.”

Lyra smiled, amusement gleaming from her eyes. “The Abyss rarely is.”

The hotel's name wasn’t exactly welcoming, but I was in no position to judge.

After flashing her a grateful smile, I made my way to the bar. The man I noticed earlier was now seated on one of the leather stools, nursing a drink. Something amber and smoky swirled in his glass.

“First time here?” the bartender asked me, already setting down a napkin.

I nodded. “It wasn’t exactly planned.”

“Sounds like you could definitely use a drink then. We just added a smooth, honey-infused whiskey to the menu a few days ago.”

My nose wrinkled. “I haven’t ever tried whiskey before.”

“How about a small taste to see if you like it?”

He didn’t wait for me to reply before he poured. With the bartender distracted, I stole another glance at the man beside me. He wasn’t looking my way anymore, but the strange awareness didn’t fade. If anything, it had sharpened.

“Here you go,” the bartender said, pushing a glass toward me with about an inch of golden-amber hue liquid in the bottom.

I shook my head with a soft laugh. “If that’s a sample, don’t worry about bringing me a real drink if I like it.”

“Lightweight?”

“Yup.” I nodded. “This will be plenty.”

As I took a careful sip, he mixed another drink in a tall glass and set it down in front of me. “A sparkling lavender-lemon spritz with edible petals that will help chase down the whiskey if it’s too strong for you.”

The liquor he’d given me was sweet with just enough bite that I felt it in the back of my throat. “Thanks, the whiskey is good, but I’ll probably need this. Although, it’s almost too pretty to drink.”

“Seemed fitting to serve to a woman as gorgeous as yourself.”

The man beside me finally spoke. “You drove in during the storm.”

I looked over, surprised he’d noticed. “Yeah. My flight was canceled, and everything else just sort of spiraled from there.”

“Not many people find this place by accident.”

I swallowed. “Believe me, it wasn’t on the itinerary.”

He studied me for a beat, as though he could see more than I was saying. “Sometimes detours take you exactly where you need to be.”

My pulse stuttered. “Let’s hope so since the vacation I had planned isn’t going to happen anytime soon.”

He offered a hand. “Adan.”

“Calliope.”

The moment our palms touched, warmth surged up my arm. Not from the drink—this was something else. Something deep and elemental.

I pulled my hand back, trying to hide the slight tremble of my fingers.

“Your luggage has been delivered to your room, Miss Ash,” the woman at the front desk called.

After gulping down the remainder of my whiskey, I stood. I was still a little unsteady as I dug through my purse for some cash. Forcing my attention toward the bartender, I asked, “How much do I owe you?”

His gaze darted toward Adan before he flashed me a quick smile that didn’t hold his earlier warmth. “It’s on the house, Miss Ash.”

“Thank you.” I dropped a few bills for a tip on the bar top before grabbing the spritz. “I guess I’ll take this up to my room.”

“Enjoy.”

As I turned away, I caught one last glimpse of Adan over my shoulder. He hadn’t taken his eyes off me.