“It looks like it was made for you, my darling.” Serendipity commented serenely, turning to her fellow Muses. “Don’t you agree?”
“Yes, it suits her slender figure perfectly.” The brunette replied. “I am Trinity, and this is Clarity.”
“We are so happy you are home.” The woman named Clarity said, gracefully shaking back her mane of strawberry blonde hair. “I am so proud of my son for finding you.”
“Liam is your son?”
“Can’t you tell? Handsome boy, don’t you think? Gets all of his good looks from me.” Clarity smiled wistfully, and Capri couldn’t tell if the woman was being serious or not.
“These are their other children, the future Muses, Sierra, Tobias, and Cilla.” Clynn motioned towards the three bored looking teens, who sat side by side on the sofa next to the piano, still looking indifferent.
“Nice to meet you all.” Capri smiled. She saw one of the teens, presumably Tobias, being as he was the only boy, roll his eyes. She tried to ignore it, though it left her feeling as though not everyone was thrilled to see her return.
“The Muses are in charge of providing inspiration to the world, both in arts and music.”
“Darling, we provide clarity of thought as well, don’t forget!” Serendipity laughed musically, gazing fondly at Capri. “If you ever feel stymied, come to us.”
“I will, thank you.” Capri muttered, smiling faintly. She was really beginning to feel overwhelmed as her father led her over towards the last group of people, sitting beside a large, roaring fireplace.
“Lastly, Capri, these are the Fates.” They approached the morose looking women, and Capri felt that the beauty of the Muses contrasted darkly with the gloomy Fates.
The three women all wore black to match their wildly curly dark hair. Their faces were pale and rather gaunt, and their deep brown eyes seemed to hold a legion of dark secrets.
“Capri, this is Morgaine, Nyxa, and Angora.”
The three women looked at Capri, but none of them held out their hands. Instead they sat there, eyeing her knowingly.
“We knew she wasn’t dead, Clynn, I don’t know why you didn’t listen to us.” One of them said, her eyes still on Capri. Her right hand was opening and closing reflexively.
“Now, Nyxa, we both know that it’s much harder for you to examine the thread of one of the Council.”
“Rubbish. The threads do not lie. I knew she was alive. And despite what you may believe Clynn, we feel it when one of the Council perishes, and its excruciating, something the rest of you couldn’t possibly understand.”
“You Dryads never trust us.” One of the other women said suddenly. She was shifting constantly as though she couldn’t sit still. Her voice was soft and raspy, like she hadn’t had water for days.
“We do, Morgaine.” Clynn replied, and Capri could tell that he was lying out his teeth. He clearly thought all three of them were prone to exaggeration, and thus not worth taking seriously. “Now, where are your children?”
“They are taking care of business. Not a minute goes by without at least one birth or death, Clynn; we can’t all take time off of work for a party.” Nyxa responded haughtily, her eyes flashing with bitterness.
“Right...” Clynn turned to his daughter. “The Fates, as Nyxa has so graciously just explained, are in charge of spinning the thread of life for every individual on Earth. Then they measure it, and subsequently cut it when the time is right.”
“Just like the Greek myth.” Capri noted, eyeing the women curiously.
“Yes, but this is reality, girl, and serious business. The Greeks only knew what we wanted them to know, because at the time we thought we’d try and introduce ourselves to them. Horrible idea that was, backfired on us. Took us hundreds of years to recover from that mistake.”
“I think Thea would like to speak to you, darling.” Clynn interrupted, beginning to lead Capri away from the Fates. “Nice talking with you, ladies.”
“There is so much more to this than I ever imagined.” Capri sighed as she walked with her father.
“I know it’s a lot to take in right now, but you will understand everything in time.”
“I hope so.”
Thea turned as they approached, her rich brown eyes warm. “How did the introductions go?”
“Fine.” Capri replied. “Everyone is very nice.”
When Thea burst into laughter, Capri felt heat flush her cheeks.
“Oh, Clynn, you must have only introduced her to half the group!” Thea exclaimed, her face bright with humor. “You must’ve skipped Balgaire, sour faced old coot.”
Capri was completely taken aback by Thea’s humor, so she stayed resolutely silent. There was still so much she had to learn about this place, and the extraordinary people who lived here.
“He was polite, thank goodness.” Clynn chuckled. “We barely escaped the Fates without a winded discussion about the Greeks.”
Thea laughed again. “Oh, bless the Fates. Can’t live with them, can definitely not live without them.”
“Love of my life, can’t we move this party outside? It’s much too stuffy in here.” Sebastian chimed in as he appeared behind Thea, draping an arm over her shoulders lazily, a snifter of brandy in his other hand.
Thea lifted one dark eyebrow at him, her lips curving into a smile. “Darling, you read my mind.”
Within minutes, everyone was gathered outside in the courtyard on a large patio. Capri hadn’t witnessed it, but someone had conjured up glowing balls of light to float high in the air over what had become somewhat of a dance floor. Tables were scattered around the edges, and everyone seated was laughing and talking. What looked like champagne bottles were opened with festive pops and poured generously into lovely crystal glasses. Music was playing, though she had no idea where it came from. She recognized the throaty voice of Van Morrison asking to have one more Moondance, and she wondered briefly if the Muses had influenced this jazzy number. She figured she wouldn’t be surprised if they had.
The whole thing had all happened so quickly, so smoothly, that Capri wondered if they did this every night.
“My fair lady, will you join me in a dance?” A voice said from behind her. Capri turned and saw Liam, bent over in a bow with his hand extended towards her, a playful grin on his face.
“I don’t really know how to dance.” Capri stammered, feeling awkward.
“That is why the man is always the leader.” Liam took her arm in his and led her out onto the floor. Other couples were dancing already, including Blythe and Lucian who were spinning around each other pulling off wild moves Capri had no hope of mimicking.
“They’re professionals.” Liam remarked, taking Capri’s hand in his and placing his other at the small of her back. “We’ll just dance normal.”
“Thank God.” Capri laughed as she gazed upward, reveling in the beautiful star studded night sky. Had the sky ever been filled with that many stars in Virginia?
“I feel like I’m not even on the same planet.” She hadn’t meant to say the words out loud, and she blushed when Liam chuckled.
“I forgot to mention to you that Euphora is an island.”
“Really?” Capri looked at him curiously. “In the Atlantic?”
“Not really…” He grinned mischievously at her. “We’re technically over the Pacific ocean.”
“Over?” Her brows furrowed together in confusion.
“Yes. Euphora is a floating island.”
Capri’s mouth fell open. “You’re joking.”
“Nope.” He twirled her around to give her a second to process the concept of a floating island. When he brought her back into his arms, she felt the laugh bubble in her throat.
“Alright, fine, we’re floating, it’s all good.” She laughed openly, feeling free as he dipped her low to the ground. “I’m just going to accept that I’ll never stop being surprised about this place.”
“It will keep life interesting.”
She smiled up at him. “Yes, it will.”
After they’d danced through three whole songs, Liam led Capri over to an empty table. She collapsed into a chair, gently lifting her aching feet out of the shoes she was wearing. Liam went off to dance with Blythe, and Capri wondered how the two of them seemed to have endless amounts of energy. As she sat rubbing her feet, she noticed the Furies were sitting at the table next to her. Roarke was deep in serious conversation with the other Fury, Balgaire. Balgaire’s son Brogan was out on the dance floor, dancing slowly with Rhiannon, both of them looking stiff and way too serious, a brutal contrast compared to the lively Liam and Blythe. Thea and Sebastian were dancing as well, Thea’s silver gown shimmering like diamonds in the golden light. The way they moved seemed so graceful, so fluid and natural, that Capri couldn’t help but imagine them dancing like that for thousands of years.
When she turned her attention back to the Furies, she spotted Rian sitting quietly across from his father, sipping champagne. Before she could do much more than glance at him, his eyes shifted and met hers.
They held for a moment, and she again felt as though he was examining her. Because the feeling was uncomfortable, she turned her gaze away and shakily lifted a glass of champagne to her lips.
She’d never had champagne before, but she found the dryness of it didn’t appeal to her. She’d set it down before she’d barely tasted it.
“Isn’t it just the most wonderful champagne you’ve ever tasted?” Rhiannon said as she sat suddenly beside Capri. She reached for a bottle herself and poured generously into a glass.
“Honestly, I’ve never had champagne before so I wouldn’t really know.” Capri replied, annoyed that she felt foolish.
Despite what Capri had been expecting, Rhiannon smiled. “Well, then take my word on it, this is as good as it gets.”
“It must be an acquired taste.” Capri said softly, her brows creasing as she tried another sip. It really did not taste very good, but then again, neither had coffee the first time she’d tried it…
“You’re probably wondering if this is all we do around here, huh?” Rhiannon said as she propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand.
Capri glanced around at the dancing couples and at the others who were all laughing and drinking. A few, including the three Muses, were already visibly drunk and giggling with chorus bell laughter.
“If you do, then I’ve really been missing out.”
Rhiannon laughed openly, and Capri felt a stab of envy at her beauty. “You will be so happy here, Capri, trust me. You are where you belong, finally, after all these years.”
Capri sipped at the champagne again, lost in thought. Everyone was saying that she was finally where she belonged, that she was home. She felt certain that she didn’t belong here, not yet anyways, and she certainly did not feel at home. It would take time, like her father had said, for her to adjust, to accept.
“You know, when we were girls, you, me and Blythe were inseparable.” Rhiannon said suddenly, her lips curving into a soft smile. “I’m only two years older than you, and Blythe is one. We used to run around in the courtyard, pretending we were princesses.”
Capri couldn’t help but smile at the thought. “I bet Liam felt pretty left out.”
“Well, being the only Dryad boy had its advantages. When we allowed him to play he was always the knight in shining armor, come to rescue the three princesses.” Rhiannon sipped some champagne, her eyes glittering with humor. “I think the idea has gone to his head after all these years.”
“He’s very kind.” Capri glanced out at the dance floor, where Liam and Blythe were still dancing.
When she looked back at Rhiannon, the other girl’s eyes were filled with regret. “That was always his fatal flaw.”
“How can kindness be a flaw?”
“People can easily take advantage of you when you are too kind.”
Their eyes held for a moment, pale gray into sage green. Capri didn’t know what to say, so Rhiannon continued.
“Unfortunately, when you were gone, it was like the three of us couldn’t cope with each other. It was almost as if a piece of us was missing, and we didn’t know how to act anymore.” Rhiannon reached out for Capri’s hand and held it in her own firmly. “A divide had formed, most notably between Blythe and myself. It left Liam to stand in the middle, but in the end, even his kindness wasn’t enough to bridge the gap. A part of him was destroyed by it. Both Blythe and I knew it, but I suppose we were both too self absorbed by our own pride to care. In many ways, we still are. We barely speak to each other now. And the only one who suffers is Liam, because he is kind.”
Capri felt the helplessness rise up within her, and she squeezed Rhiannon’s hand in an attempt to comfort. “I’m so sorry.”
“It hurts to think about how different things might have been had you not been taken from us, had you been here to keep us together.”
“I wish I had been here, too.” A tear slid down her cheek, but Capri didn’t move to wipe it away. It felt appropriate, so she let it cling to her skin, a symbol of everything she’d lost, everything they had lost. “You seemed sort of stuck up before. I’m sorry I made that assumption.”
Rhiannon smiled. “We all have our armor.” She paused and took another sip of champagne. Her eyes drifted over to the dance floor, and seemed to tighten. When she turned back to Capri, her smile was gone. “You’ll soon learn that not everything is fun and parties on Euphora. What we are responsible for is very serious, and should be treated as such. If you need any help, I’m here for you.”
“Okay.” Capri said softly as Rhiannon stood and walked away, carefully skirting the dance floor where Liam and Blythe were now slow dancing.
She was astonished by how much she had learned in just one night. To know that her fellow Dryads had needed her, had shattered into pieces when she had been stolen, quite simply broke her heart. She knew that there was nothing she could have done to change it, but she hoped there was still time to repair the damage that had been done.
When she went to bed that night, curled up warm inside the bed that was now hers, moonlight casting rays of pale blue light through her white canopy, Capri let the tears of both relief and sorrow fall freely until she drifted off into a wonderfully dreamless sleep.
♦ ♦ ♦
CHAPTER FOUR
The sudden presence of golden sunlight on her face had her waking, her eyes opening slowly and her lips curving in a contented smile. Her bed was so warm, the blankets and pillows so fluffy and soft that it felt like sleeping on a cloud. She had never before slept in a bed this comfortable, and she almost wanted nothing more than to just stay in bed all day.