When Cale and I got home, Night could tell something was wrong. He’d pestered me to talk about it, but I refused. The owl asked me nothing else after that. He also didn’t tell me where he was going. He simply picked up Mother’s parrot in his claws and flew off into the dark with the kidnapped bird. His defection suited me because I wanted to be alone.
Before trying to sleep, I took a long bath and broke out my emergency stash of Viking mead. Drinking alone wasn’t my favorite pastime, but it beat not sleeping. Mead was sweet and helped me not sulk because I hadn’t ordered dessert.
It also dialed my anger back enough not to go storming across the hall to bang on Cale’s door. After losing my temper on the ride home, I’d said a quick goodnight. Cale needed no more specifics, despite my irrational desire to keep giving them.
I’d slept lightly and woke early this morning, reminding me of habits I’d had during my warrior days. I briefly thought about contacting Zavak for some training but didn’t because I couldn’t risk hurting myself for anything not involving the prophecy.
Mother wasn’t home, so I left a note for Cale to take the time he needed this morning to take care of his business tasks. I suggested he meet me at my work when he finished.
Instead of calling for a ride or driving, I transported myself directly into my office and sat down at my desk. It was familiar and strange at the same time. Chalk that up to the mood I was in this morning. I hadn’t gotten over being mad yet, even though I knew it was dumb of me to feel so let down.
I sat brooding about it in the dark until the front door opened and the lights in the lobby clicked on. I heard the click-clack of unfamiliar high heels on the marble floor just before I smelled a new perfume.
Not wanting to startle the intruder yet, I stood and quietly drew my green energy sword before walking to my office door. I peered out into the lobby area and saw a short woman with a perfect French twist settling in behind the reception desk. She hummed something as she settled in and looked quite pleased with herself.
I opened my door wide and let its squeak alert the person to my presence. Her head lifted with a bit of surprise, but when she saw me, the unexpected intruder smiled wide.
“Good morning, Goddess. Why aren’t you out doing more tasks?”
I let the energy sword fade away. The tiny Sprite looked very different in business clothes. She looked mortal. Just like the rest of us. “Princess Petal?”
“Oh, just call me Petal,” she said with a long-suffering sigh. “Clients laugh when I tell them I’m a princess.”
Laughter won out over my shock. “Yes, they do the same to me when I tell them I’m a goddess. So just call me Atlanta.”
Petal’s giggle made me feel marginally better. Getting some coffee in me would likely improve my mood even more. I completely understood everyone’s addiction to the brew. And some days I needed its caffeine magic more than others.
“Yes, you definitely need coffee, Goddess… I mean, Atlanta. I think you should train your mortal champion to fetch it for you. He should do more than merely look cute and get hurt all the time. He should strive to be useful to you outside of kissing you senseless once in a while.”
Now I was the one giggling. “I’m too old to train a man. Don’t be reading my mind, Sprite.”
Petal frowned. “Oh, my, you’re in a grim mood this morning.”
“I am indeed,” I admitted. But at least my smile stayed in place. “Why are you here? Let’s talk about that instead of me.”
Petal smiled. “Muse Melpomene hired me to sit here, look pretty, and greet clients when they came in.”
“I see. Do you enjoy greeting our clients?” I asked.
Petal shrugged her shoulders. “It’s good for me to have a purpose since I can’t go home.”
“Why can’t you go home?” I asked. “You did what you promised. You waited for me above and beyond what anyone could have expected you to do. I’m still awed by your patience every time I think about it.”
The Sprite sighed deeply. “My royal parents say my good deeds are still not worthy of enough accolades. I cannot go home until I can show our people that I am the worthiest of all Sprites to inherit the throne.”
My face wrinkled in confusion as I tried to understand her parents and their problem. “But you waited centuries for me. What could be more awesome than that?”
“I honestly do not know. When I checked with my parents, they said I was not done with my task yet. So I decided to help your sisters work on deciphering the rest of the doomsday poem. I like the Muses. They let me move into their gigantic house. I have my own room there.”
“You deserve your own room,” I said and meant it. I mentally added Sprite to my allowed in the mega-Muse-mansion list. I would have to tell Duff. “When everyone gets here, I want to go over task three and see what we’ve found out.”
“You want to have a meeting with all of us?” Petal asked in a squeal.
I never heard anyone get so excited about a meeting. Petal was even bubblier than the Muses and she actually considered work fun. It was selfish of me, but I could see this situation working out well if Petal stayed on to mind the reception desk.
The hallway door to the office opened to reveal a man’s butt backing through it. After turning around, Cale walked the rest of the way inside. He carried two conference-sized thermoses of coffee-shop coffee, a bag of something that smelled amazing, and a single tall cup with steam coming out of the sipper lid.
He walked straight to me and extended the steaming cup of coffee. “I finished my work last night because I couldn’t sleep. I also asked my father to watch things for me until we’re done. Please accept this coffee as a peace offering until I can prove to you that you’re my priority.”
I liked that Cale didn’t offer me another lame apology. Plus, his peace offering smelled terrific. I took the cup, sniffed the cinnamon fragrance, and sighed before taking a sip. The coffee was perfect—absolutely perfect.
“Thank you,” I said with a sigh.
“You’re welcome. Don’t leave me behind again. I had a panic attack before I saw your note in the kitchen.”
I nodded and let his complaint go. Part of me wanted to tell him it had been safer to leave this morning than it was for me to stay and deal with him—safer for him, at least.
It would take way more than one cup of coffee to shift my mood toward him this morning, but the coffee was a great apology.
* * *
By the time the Muses trailed in, we’d laid out the bait to gain their cooperation. The smell of pastries drew them to the conference room without Petal or me having to coax them there. The worst part was Cale and I both had to endure hugs. Evidently, Petal had shared several stories about our fight with Ares.
Cale sat in a chair off to the side of conference table, just like last time. I couldn’t help but notice that his phone had yet to make an appearance today.
When we were all settled with our coffee and treats, I asked who had stanza three.
“I’ve got stanza three,” Polly said as she stood up and waved her slip of paper.
Her actual name was Polyhymnia, Muse of Sacred Poetry. Polly getting this stanza worried me a little because sacred poetry could be anything from a lovely long poem extolling a person’s goodness to an elaborate spell that begged for a sacrifice.
Polly smiled at me and I smiled back in encouragement.
I told myself she wouldn’t have been smiling if the task related to a spell.
At least, I was pretty sure she wouldn’t have. There were some things about the Muses and their work that I preferred not to understand.
“I think I figured out my part of the poem, and I think I know what to do. You’re going to be proud of me, Atlanta.”
“I’m already proud of you for simply taking it on, Polly. Let’s do a group discussion about it to be sure we’re all on the same page with your solution. Will you read the stanza so we can all hear what it says?”
Polly nodded and read:
Every family births someone who’s meant to guard their gates,
Though time flows by them slowly, the worthy one continues to wait,
Gold is never the real glory—instead, honor rings more true,
This worthy one only stayed worthy because he or she honored you.
“He or she?” Tally laughed at the hedge. “Well, that’s about as clear as Olympian mud.”
“Agreed,” I said, smirking at Tally before turning to the most patient Muse of the nine. I was suddenly grateful Polly was the one who’d inherited this stanza to interpret. “Tell us your proposed solution, Polly. Does it involve weaving a spell?”
“Nooo… please don’t say a spell,” Mellie said with a groan. “The doomsday prophecy is a sacred poem containing a series of nine spells. Look at what came from Nyx creating it. We’re all doomed to spend forever figuring this prophetic crap fest out.”
“That’s true, Atlanta. The doomsday prophecy is a poem cloaking a series of spells. That’s why you feel a release of magic whenever you solve one,” Polly admitted.
I nodded as I shrugged. “Okay. I can see that being the case. It does feel like the load gets a little lighter with every task we solve.”
Polly bit her lip as she looked at me. “To solve task three, I think you’ll have to weave some kind of spell. It’s a bit like… well, it’s like it needs the sacred poem to be both legend-worthy and contain a power that gets released with each telling. I will help write the poem and figure out the spell. What I don’t know is who the poem needs to be about.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I can weave a spell when one’s needed, but I’m certainly no Muse. I don’t yet know who the poem needs to be about. Guess I’ll need some time to think about it.”
“Here’s my thought. When you consider the fundamental purpose of the nine of us—the job of a Muse is to inspire someone to become a better version of themselves,” Polly said. “My guess is the poem is about someone you’ve inspired to be patient enough to wait for you. Who fits that criteria?”
“Me. I’ve been waiting for six years,” Cale said from his corner.
I looked at his mischievous grin and then rolled my eyes. “Are we really going to discuss last night in front of my sisters?”
Cale held up a hand and grinned back. “No, I don’t want to think about last night ever again. BUT… since I am still waiting for you to get a clue about the reality of us, I think you have to consider that it could be me.”
I looked at Polly. “Do you think this stanza of the poem is about Cale?”
Polly sighed as she shook her head. “No.” She looked at Cale. “Sorry, Cale, but I think I would feel it if you were the person.”
Cale grinned as he lifted a shoulder in defeat. “Can’t blame a guy for hoping. I need an edge with your sister.”
Polly giggled. Then the rest of the Muses giggled too. I rolled my eyes again and tried not to sigh in frustration.
“Princess Petal waited for Atlanta. Maybe it’s about Petal,” Mellie said, sipping her coffee.
I turned to look at Petal who was currently arranging stir sticks, sugars, and creamer packets into flower designs. The Sprite seemed bored with our discussion, but Mellie had a point. Petal had waited a long time for me to show up and collect the fleece. I hadn’t put the whole timeline together, but Petal had hinted she’d waited centuries. That kind of patience boggled my mind.
Polly and I exchanged glances. When she nodded, I let out a breath that we found our target.
“I do consider Petal’s perseverance in keeping her word to be poem worthy,” I said.
But what kind of spell would Petal need?
Petal’s head lifted from her task. “No one but you appreciates the things I did, Goddess… I mean, Atlanta. My people only see me as the princess who got sent away to help another pantheon. They do not care how many million squirrels I had to chase away from the Golden Fleece. Or how many times I had to steal it back from bad people who stole it from the tree.”
I laughed because… well, just because. “What was the hardest sacrifice you made while guarding the fleece?”
Petal stopped playing and pushed everything into a big messy pile. “I would rather not say. It took me a long time to get over it.”
I stood up and dragged my chair closer to Petal. “Princess Petal… the Muses and I want to honor your life with a sacred poem. You don’t have to tell your stories to me, but will you tell them to Polly?”
“Even if I confessed the most intimate details of my life to Muse Polyhymnia, what good is such a poem?” Petal asked.
I had no answer to that question yet. It was something I’d have to work on. But I reached out and patted Petal’s arm. “We’ll work on your other issues once Polly finishes the writing. A poem is not something that gets written in a day. This probably seems like more waiting to you, Petal, but I promise you can trust us to create something your parents will have to accept as proof of your worthiness.”
Petal sighed and then giggled. She nodded as she met my gaze. “I accept your gift, Goddess Atlanta of the Doomsday Prophecy. Let us touch hands like the mortals do when making deals.”
I chuckled at her request and held out my hand. The moment our palms touched, the ceiling lit up with green sparkles that rained down on our heads. The Muses laughed and held out their hands to catch them.
My brain took that moment to notice that the Sprite wore a pretty green suit today. When I met Petal, she was wearing a dress of sheer green veils. Green seemed to be Petal’s favorite color.
All the validation I needed was right in front of me. We were on the right track for the third task.
* * *
After the meeting broke up, Cale followed me back to my office to wait on Duff. He paced around the space like a caged tiger, or I guess I should say, a caged Dragon. He admired my bodybuilder awards, turned and gave me a thoughtful look, then paced back to the chair in front of my desk.
My eyes refused to look elsewhere while Cale lowered his whole six-foot-plus body into it.
“Okay. What happens now?” Cale asked.
I leaned back in my executive chair and tried not to dwell on how attractive Cale was. “Polly will write a sacred poem for Petal. Everyone except Polly will keep working on stanza four. Duff should be here any moment, which is why you and I are still here. Are you bored already?”
Cale lifted a shoulder as he turned to me. “Not bored—more like I feel guilty. Everyone’s working except me. I like to feel necessary.”
I smiled at Cale. “After I make my deal with Duff, we’ll go see your family and tell them that Duff will come by. Maybe you can talk to Indar while we’re there. You’ve got a lot of catching up to do with figuring out your shifter inheritance.”
Cale chuckled. “I need a Dragons for Dummies guide.”
I smiled at his attempt to joke but realized maybe I could help him with that.
“Come with me if you want to learn,” I commanded with a terrible Schwarzenegger imitation, grinning when Cale followed me without comment. He was cutting me a lot of slack today.
I took him to the back of the building and turned to face the wall. I waited until Cale did the same. I pointed to a tiny blue dot on it. “Put your finger on that dot.”
Cale lifted an eyebrow as he turned to look at me.
“Just do it,” I ordered and waited until Cale obeyed me.
If he were too mortal, he wouldn’t be able to get this to work. I’d have to let him in and come back to get him later.
“Now repeat after me… Patentibus.”
“Patentibus,” Cale repeated, and then audibly gasped when the wall vaporized before his eyes to reveal a doorway.
“Congratulations, Champion. You just performed your first magic,” I said, smiling at his easy success. Someone was channeling his inner Dragon this morning.
Cale stepped inside the room without me and looked around at the large space full of loaded bookshelves and glass artifact cases with a plethora of Greek treasures inside them. He probably thought the room looked like a museum. That’s what I’d thought when we created the library here in this small area instead of in the enormous basement of the mega-Muse-mansion. We chose convenience over space. Having it here kept the Muses from having to use their power to transport home and back.
I slowly walked in behind him. “The shelves are arranged alphabetically by subjects. We used to have them set up by their Latin names, but we changed to using modern English last year. When we did that, the books changed to be read in English. In short, you should be able to find Dragon content in the ‘D’ area and be able to read what you find. I don’t know what books we have on Dragons, but reading will at least pass the time for you.”
“Thanks.”
“Being in here can be dangerous for a non-magical being, though. Stay away from spell books and do not open the artifact cases. The artifacts belong to the Muses. They don’t open each other’s books or touch each other’s tools, so you can’t either. Got it?
“Don’t touch spell books or play with any of the Greek toys locked away. Got it,” Cale said with a laugh as he trailed along behind me.
I went down a row and browsed the “D” shelf for a minute before pulling a book off. “Try this one first. I think you’ll find it illuminating,” I said, handing him a book about how to charm a Dragon into doing what you wanted it to do.
Cale laughed. “I keep trying to figure out why I stay so interested in you. Is this your book?”
My mouth twisted. “No, Junior. All these books belong to the Muses. My library is in my personal storage. Most of my books are about winning wars.”
Cale grinned at my explanation, but didn’t comment. I don’t know what he was thinking, but it probably wasn’t good, judging by his permanent smirk today.
Petal suddenly appeared at the entrance and peered inside. “Oh, my. This room holds the library of the Muses. It’s wonderful.”
“It really is. Get Mellie to show you how to get in. You’re welcome to visit it,” I told her.
“But you can’t touch the spell books or any of the cool Greek toys belonging to the Muses,” Cale said, repeating my warning.
That same smirking grin he’d been giving me now beamed in Petal’s direction. I think Petal would have looked less surprised if Cale had punched her. Sprites prided themselves on protocol.
I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my smile. All five feet of Petal’s mortal form vibrated as she fisted a petite hand on her hip.
“There is no need for such a rule for me. I would never violate anything magical of the Muses. Who would do such a thing?”
I dropped my hand and tried my best to sound matter-of-fact about it. “There’s a definite need for the rule, so just roll with it.”
Petal quickly caught on I was talking about Cale and rolled her eyes at me. “Gaia save the world from curious males and uneducated Dragons.”
I tilted my head at Petal. “How did you know what Cale is?”
Petal winced at revealing something she hadn’t meant to. “I noticed when he brought you coffee. He reeks of Dragon today. Does his magic come and go?”
I looked Cale up and down. “Huh… I never thought about it that way, but that’s an interesting theory.”
I waved my hand toward a nearby reading chair covered in enormous flowers and changed it into a more masculine leather-covered one. I looked at a surprised Cale after I’d finished.
“That was no big deal. I made you a comfy chair that will hopefully lower the estrogen in this space. If you need me, I’ll be in my office waiting for Princess Duffinnia to show.”
“The Leprechaun royal is already here. That’s why I came looking for you,” Petal explained.
“Thanks, Petal. I’m easily distracted today.” I patted Cale’s shoulder. “Read while I talk to Duff. Don’t try to take the book out of here. The ward will snap on you. Just mark your place when you get done and leave the book on the table. No one will bother it while you’re gone.”
“This is great. Thank you,” Cale said as he positioned his chair to get comfortable enough to read.