Chapter 9
Mars raised an eyebrow at Calliope as he leaned his large arms across her demo desk.
“So... you’re courting patrons again, I see?”
Calliope did not meet his gaze. “Theodore is not a patron.”
That much was true, but Calliope was still out on what exactly Theo was. He was her student. Her employee of sorts. And perhaps, he was even a man she met in a bar. Those lines were definitive. Simple to understand.
But she also knew he was so much more than that. He was sweet, perhaps even naive, at times, because he was twenty-four, but he was also bold and confident and handsome and endearing and he was a rather good kisser.
But most of all, he was inspiring.
“He is a... friend.” Calliope did not like the word. It didn’t feel right, but she also knew calling Theo anything more than such right now would have been presumptuous. One night of sex and one date-not-date did not equal a relationship.
Was that what Calliope wanted? A relationship? With Theo?
She wasn’t sure the answer was no, but saying yes felt monumental in a way she wasn’t entirely ready for.
Saying yes felt like an earthquake. For Calliope had not been in a relationship since she and Chuck had been young.
And it had not ended well. It was then she decided to keep her affairs short and sweet, on all accounts.
Falling in love was not in the cards for Calliope, and perhaps the separation, the solid line she drew between her patrons and herself was more about protecting her peace and her heart than it was about anything else.
It was simple. Rules defined to keep everyone safe.
Her patrons would never love her. They only loved and desired what she could give them, her spark.
And when the well would run dry and the spark died, they’d be on their merry way. David Green was proof of that.
And for a long time, that had been fine with Calliope. She’d accepted it was her destiny, her fate. That was, until she met David and fell for his charms, his saccharine words and spellbinding promises.
And then he’d simply broken all of that, thrown away his inspirational sonnets and words when the well ran dry.
And the void thrived in the emptiness until it had consumed all that was and all that would be for David Green, leaving Calliope to tend to the ashes left behind in his wake.
“Mhmm... well, I’m sure you know that boy does not see you as a friend,” Mars said with a smirk.
“I do not wish to discuss my love life, or lack thereof, with you, of all people, Mars.” Calliope huffed as she tidied her brushes in their jar.
He snickered. “Ah, I have struck a nerve, I see.”
She rolled her eyes at him and he held his hands in the air in mock defense.
“What did you want to talk to me about that you couldn’t say in front of your little disciples?” he asked, his voice still tinged with humor.
Calliope twisted her lips, regaling him with her gaze. “The diviner was stolen, as you know.”
Mars nodded. “What does that have to with me? Why is that my problem?”
Calliope crossed her arms. “Spike said he scented an animal. A shifter.”
“And that matters to me because...”
“Because, Mars, the shifter Spike is claiming to scent, is not your run of the mill wolf or big cat. He claims it’s a supernatural shifter.”
Mars raised an eyebrow. “Like a hellhound? One of Hades’s?”
Calliope shifted her weight. “Hades no longer controls the hellhounds. He’s mortal, remember?”
Mars shrugged. “Cate ain’t mortal. Last I checked, Hades literally gave her a hellhound, so—”
“Yes, and that hellhound is walking around on two legs, mated to a vampire for the rest of eternity. And you yourself know hellhound shifters are extremely rare.” She chewed on her lip, not wanting to speak her thoughts, but knowing if she did not get them off her chest, they would eat her alive.
And that was why she’d called Mars to her desk, after all.
She’d spoken with Spike and Theo, and Isabelle and Lorelai had promised to be on the lookout as well.
But Mars... Mars was of a different caliber, and he was also close to her suspect. Calliope couldn’t prove anything, but she felt an aching in her gut. She knew it didn’t make sense, but she could not refute it nonetheless.
“Have you heard from Chuck recently?” she spoke carefully.
Mars did not miss her insinuation, his eyebrows furrowing. “So that’s why you wanted to speak to me,” he nipped. “You think he has something to do with the disappearing diviner?”
Calliope did not miss the tone of Mars’s voice, and she immediately regretted her words. So much for tact, Callie.
“I am not ruling it out, Mars, and neither should you.”
Mars crossed his arms. “What reason would Chuck even have to steal a diviner? The guy is swimming in pussy.”
Calliope felt defensive. “I don’t know! That’s why I’m asking you, Mars. You are the only one I know closest to him. You would know better than I—”
“Yeah, we were close. Thick as thieves, but—”
Calliope did not miss his sarcasm, but she noticed there was also an air of hurt in his words. Hurt, in Mars’s voice was...
Uncharacteristic. Odd.
“But what?”
Mars shook his head. “Sometimes people change, you know. And some people... some people don’t. Some people can’t embrace change.”
Calliope noted the sadness in his voice. “Did you two have an argument or something?”
Mars shook his head once more. “No, it wasn’t like that, it was just...” He let out a heavy sigh. “He’s my best friend, Callie. You know that. Nothing’s ever going to change that, but he felt like...”
Calliope suddenly realized the problem as Mars answered his buzzing phone, smiling when he looked at it.
“It’s Lorelai, hold on,” he said as he tapped out a text.
Pegasus had lost his wingman. He’d lost his partner in crime. To a human. A human who had saved his life.
The puzzle pieces started to fall into place, but was Chuck—was Pegasus, the god shifter she once knew—would he do something like this?
A god as powerful as him certainly didn’t need to resort to stealing. And as much of a pain in the ass as the man was, how cocky and conniving he could be, Calliope had never known him to steal anything but hearts and beds.
“You could just ask him, you know. You don’t have to converse through me.”
Calliope pursed her lips. “And you think he’d tell me the truth?”
Mars shrugged. “You know him pretty well, too. I don’t know what you’re so afraid of, why you two won’t speak.”
Calliope let out a heavy breath. “It’s not that simple, Mars.”
“You always say that, Callie. You act like things are so complicated, but they aren’t. Chuck’s not the same guy you once knew. He’s changed.”
Calliope knew Mars was right, the winged pegacorn had changed. Perhaps he had fallen as Mars once had...
“When is the last time you saw him?” she pressed.
“Personally? A couple months. But I know he still hangs out at the Den of Sin pretty frequently. If you... wanted to, you know, stop by for a chat with the guy.”
Calliope looked away, shaking her head. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”
She looked at the clock, realizing her next class would be starting soon.
“Just... think about it, okay?” Mars said carefully.
Calliope nodded. “I will think about it, but perhaps you should also remember that you owe me still. A favor.”
Mars’s gaze narrowed. “You cashing in your chip already, Cal? Shit, you really have something against the guy.”
It wasn’t that Calliope hated her ex-pegacorn beau.
It was more or less, he aggravated the hell out of her.
Chuck was not practical. He lived life on the edge, and he lived with no consequences.
It did not matter to him who he fucked, where he landed, or where he went.
Life was his buffet and a long time ago that had been attractive, but it had gotten stale.
The inspiration dried up, as all sparks did, and when the sun came out, she had realized that she could not live on the edge of a cloud. Calliope longed for more.
She longed for love and devotion, two things the god shifter was not capable of. For Pegasus needed to be adored and praised, to have his coat stroked and then some. And in Pegasus’s life, there was only room for one beautiful creature. Himself.
“My class is starting in ten minutes,” she said pointedly.
Mars hummed in response. “Okay, I see. I’ll catch you later, Cal. Let you know if I hear anything, okay?”
She nodded, and with that, Mars left her alone in the studio.
* * *
When her classes were finally done for the day, Calliope relished in the relief.
Her stomach growled and she fought with the decision to stop and eat or to head directly to the gallery.
She’d damn near lost her appetite at the thought of speaking to her ex, not because she was afraid, but because she just didn’t want to unearth her own dirty laundry in the process. What was in the past was in the past.
And that was where it needed to stay.
She’d finally settled on a sandwich wrap from the cafe on campus and a coffee, which she practically inhaled on her way to the gallery.
It was nearing five when she arrived, and though she expected to see Theodore and Spike, she did not expect to see Isabelle, Lorelai, and Mars.
She blinked, her gaze settling on the group who were hunched in a huddle on the floor.
Calliope could feel the tension in the air and then she noticed the broken case.
The case the diviner had been in was shattered, the exposed velvet catching the light. She did not think, she just acted. Locking the door, she sprinted over to their huddle to see they were all hovering over one person in particular.
Theodore.
“Oh Gods, is everything all right?” Calliope asked as she pushed through Spike and Mars.
Theodore rubbed his eyes as Isabelle helped him sit up.
“How many fingers am I holding up?” Mars asked, as Spike and Theo turned to face her.
“I’m fine,” Theo mumbled, his voice annoyed. “Seriously, I just tripped over my own fucking feet, I—”