Page 112 of The Cerulean Sister
My stomach does a flip. 99 is on his way, but Calliape still hasn't said what she wanted me to know.
"She was upset?" August asks Calliape and not me.
"She had words with her sister," she whispers.
We can hear footsteps just outside what seems to be the front door.
August takes a hissing breath between his teeth.
I can feel Calliape move closer to me, like she wants to pull me aside, to say something in private quickly before they arrive, but my body pulls me forward.
99's helmet locks in on me the moment he steps in the safehouse. He pulls me in, pressing me against his body and then tilting my chin up to meet his mask. "It was agony seeing you in that hall and not being able to feel you."
I kiss the pad of his gloved thumb as he swipes it across my lips.
I hear two people behind him. One I assume is the owner of the safe house, the person who is an ally to Viathan and helping us. The other has a softer tread, one that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
Then the reason for Calliape's worry stares me right in the eye.
"Hello, Priestess Ferren."
Selene's white hair is the first thing my eyes fixate on, her most defining trait. Her forced pleasant smile doesn't reach her eyes. She looks me up and down in a mix of inspection and curiosity. "Or is itHighPriestess Ferren now?"
Chapter
Thirty
Selene greets the others and almost basks in the glow of my shock at seeing her here.
She excuses herself to give me a moment, as if I cannot compose myself while she is in front of me. She sets the table for the food she brings in with Thad.
August quickly introduces me to him, and he bows his head before ducking toward the little dining area with a box that smells like smoked meat and fresh bread.
"I wanted to tell you before. I'm sorry. I thought they would take longer," Calliape explains.
"What is she doing here?" I say, not able to articulate anything else. "You knew as well?" I look at 99.
He breathes deeply but does not respond. I would listen to either of them explain, but it would make more sense coming from Calliape.
"When we arrived in Cosima and Lord Hollis was there to greet you—" Calliape stumbles over her words, but her attention snaps to 99, whose posture changes slightly at the mention of the name. "You said you would not be able to reach out to me for some time." Calliape's voice gets a little defensive.
August steps forward a little, sensing her distress. "We panicked when it had been so long, and then Commander Wesley came back without you, said you were still being held. It wasn't just Callia’s idea, it was mine too, and I am the one who went to Frith to get her."
I gape at not only the way August so quickly tries to take the blame but the shortened version of Calliape's name that came out so naturally on his lips.
She stares at him too, a little surprised, and from the way he ducks his head, he realizes just how much she noticed.
I try to refocus myself away from their little exchange. "You stayed behind, here alone?" I ask her.
"No, Commander Wesley stayed until August came back."
August takes a turn in having too strong a reaction to a name being said, clearly bothered by that arrangement.
Calliape rolls her eyes at him, as if she cannot control it, then turns to me again. "We debated for a long time. We had no idea how long you would not be able to contact us. I thought that if we brought Selene here as another way to find proof, that her firsthand account could help."
"Has it?" My sense of hope renews at their shocking but admittedly solid idea of bringing her here.
Calliape looks down, a little discouraged. "No, she agreed to come, but when she arrived, she said she could not move around the Estate without being recognized."
