Chapter 12 Secrets of the Lake #2
“So... The lake. It all comes down to that.” She stared out at the Acheron’s dark surface. The water stretched before us, pitch black and perfectly still except where it met the pier’s edge.
“Apparently,” I answered. “Does that bother you?” I didn’t know what to make of it myself, and I’d lived in Asphodelia all my life. My mate had every right to be frustrated and confused.
But Callista just shrugged. “I don’t know. If Charon’s telling the truth… Apparently, you wouldn’t be here if not for this lake. Or at least, for the power that created it.”
“But you’re still angry.”
“Of course I’m angry.” She opened her hand, studying the pulsing amber light. “Charon made a mistake and pushed you past your breaking point. Then he blamed you and acted like the consequences were inevitable.”
“They were inevitable.” The admission came easier than I’d expected. “I would have done anything to get your memories back.”
“Even if it meant losing yourself?” She turned to face me, almost as fierce in her tone as she had been when challenging Charon. “Even if it meant becoming something that could destroy everything you care about?”
The question hung between us like a blade. Below, water lapped against the stone pilings in a steady rhythm.
“Yes.”
“That terrifies me.” She shuddered, pulling her knees up toward her chest. “Not because of what you might do, but because of what it costs you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I won’t lie. Seeing Enyo die like she did… It hurt. I came to care for her, by the end. But I understand what happened. I respect it.” Callista bit her lower lip, suddenly looking so much smaller. “But, Theron… She just vanished. What if you do, too?”
All of the pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. This had never been about Charon, not really. Not for the first time, I cursed my own inability to protect her. Asphodelia should have welcomed her, shown her just how precious she was. Instead, it had almost destroyed her.
“I dream about you disappearing.” The confession escaped her in a rush. “Like Enyo did. Unraveling into threads of light until there’s nothing left.”
“I won’t ever disappear, Callista.” I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her against my chest, away from the edge of the pier. “You’re my everything. You always have been. Nothing in any realm could make me leave you.”
She didn’t answer, and I knew what she was thinking. That I’d left once. Pushed away by Phonos’s machinations.
In that moment, a sudden realization dawned on me. Even after everything I’d done, even after I’d hurt my friend and forced Enyo’s unweaving, I didn’t truly regret my transformation.
“Callista. I am a monster. A Cerberus. I knew, when I saw you in Agrion, that you were mine. That we were meant to be.”
I looked past her at the Acheron’s still surface. How many times had I stood at this pier, never understanding what power waited beneath those dark waters? How many times had I failed to grasp its true connection to Thanatos himself? Did it matter?
“I think now that no matter what Charon had done, this was meant to happen. I would have always come for you. Even if the Moirae had torn me apart, I’d have somehow found a way to come back.”
Callista’s eyes widened. “That’s possible?”
The water below us reflected nothing, darker than the sky above. If it had answers for us, it wouldn’t provide them. “I don’t know,” I said. “But I think it must be. Whatever the lake might have wanted or needed, I think it guided us to each other for a reason.”
Callista fell silent. The temperature had dropped since we’d emerged from the workshop, cold air rising off the water and making her shiver against me. I tightened my hold, sharing what warmth I could.
“Well, you’re not wrong,” a familiar voice suddenly said from behind us. “The Acheron has many secrets and desires. Some matter more than others.”
I yelped and shot to my feet, shielding my mate with my body for the second time that day. My claws scraped against stone as I spun to face the threat.
Loxias stood at the dock’s entrance. He arched a brow at me, not seeming very intimidated by my display. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I thought for sure you’d hear me coming.”
For a few moments, we just stared at each other. The last time we’d spoken, he’d accepted imprisonment for my sake. I’d heard the Moirae had pardoned him, but the experience must have still weighed on him.
“Brother, it’s good to see you,” I greeted him at last, meaning every single word.
“And you. I heard about your transformation from the Moirae, but seeing you recovered is different from simply knowing it.”
“Theron was worried after… After everything,” Callista said as she got up. “How are you handling things?”
Loxias huffed under his breath. “There’s nothing to handle, Callista. I told Theron at the Erebus Cells. The Moirae are always right.”
Callista looked like she wanted to protest, and why wouldn’t she? Regardless of the result, the Moirae had in fact ordered my imprisonment. Loxias stopped her before she could say a word. “My actions followed the nature they wove into my soul when they created me. They always knew what I’d choose.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. How had I missed just how self-sacrificing he could be? “You still chose it. You could have found a way to avoid getting involved in my mess entirely.”
“Could I really?” Loxias tilted his head with genuine curiosity, as if the question truly puzzled him. “When your littermate needs help, you help. It’s as simple as breathing for creatures like us.”
“I suppose it is,” Callista mused. “I feel like we humans like to overcomplicate things. But truths here are far more straightforward, aren’t they?”
We weren’t talking about Loxias any longer, and we all knew it. It was just as well that Loxias wasn’t very inclined to pretend. “Indeed. Which brings me to why I’m here instead of simply sending word.”
“Official business?” I asked, recognizing the subtle change in his posture.
“The Moirae request your presence.” His voice took on the formal cadence he used when delivering our leaders’ messages. “They’re waiting for you both in the Weavers’ Hall.”
Callista leaned in closer to me, and I could hear her heart starting to race. “Are we in trouble?”
“Only the Moirae ever know their true intent,” Loxias replied, “but if you want my opinion… I think you both know what this is about.”
The claiming ceremony. But we both knew it was time, and clearly, so did the Moirae. The realization sent excitement and nervousness through me in equal measure.
“Are you ready?” I asked Callista, squeezing her fingers gently.
Callista looked at me, and there was no uncertainty lurking in her gaze. Only the same determination that had kept her fighting in Agrion, the fierceness that had made her slap Charon. “I’ve been ready since you bought me at the bride market.”
We both had been, and now, there would be no one getting in our way. I would finally claim my soulmate, forever.