held within the crystals seemed to shift position, as if they were dancing. She raised her hands and marvelled at the light that bathed her skin, turning it milky.
“Incredible,” she breathed and stopped when she reached the centre of the cavern, stood there and lost herself in how beautiful it was as she slowly turned, causing the stars to move with her.
A shiver rolled down her arms and thighs.
It was like looking into the heavens.
The light from the stars locked within the dark crystals reflected off their sharp faces, glinting off the pointed ends that jutted towards her.
Calindria walked to one and ran her hand over it, feeling the coolness of the crystal. If she had a blade, she would chip off a piece for herself. Would the stars that seemed smaller now she was closer to one of the shards come with the crystal if she were to take a part of one? She looked over her shoulder at the cavern. She didn’t want only a part. She wanted every crystal in this cavern, wanted to build a room like this for them where she could visit whenever she wanted, but at the same time, she didn’t want to destroy this place of immense beauty.
She settled for finding a spot where they appeared at their most beautiful and touched the ground. It was damp. She huffed and then smiled as she thought of a solution.
Calindria drew down a deep breath and focused on the dirt, on what she wanted to happen, and gasped as tiny vines erupted from the black grit. They spiralled around each other and thickened as they grew, curving over in places and rising up in others, twisting with other ribbons of vines to form the frame of a chair that had a back that was tilted at a low angle so she would be almost laying down when she sat in it.
A web of finer vines criss-crossed the spaces between the sides of the frame, forming a seat and back.
She smiled as she pulled her hand away from the dirt and admired what she had made. Maybe she could use her powers for good after all.
She pulled herself up onto the seat, twisted around as she brought her legs up and laid back. Groaned. Gods, it was comfortable. The vines had enough give to softly cushion her, soothing her tired limbs.
Calindria stared up at the ceiling of the cavern, at the black crystals that glittered with stars and sighed. A goddess could get used to this.
A frown knitted her eyebrows.
A goddess.
For the first time in her life, she felt like one. She had powers, strong ones, a little darker than she had expected, but she could get used to that. Her smile widened. When she saw Calistos, she was going to show him the things she could do. Not the death touch thing, but how she could create things with her somewhat black and dead brambles and vines. She couldn’t wait to see his face light up, or hear how he would tease her about her grim powers, and maybe even say she was much like their father when he had always told her she was too like their mother.
The light and warmth that filled her and the course of her thoughts gave her pause, made her still as she stared at the crystals.
It was the first time she had truly thought about her brother as alive. It was the first time her thoughts of what came after her escape from this realm hadn’t been dark and filled with death and vengeance.
And gods, it hurt for some reason.
Tears lined her lashes, welled up from her heart as she pictured her brother, tried to imagine how he would react when he saw her. She missed him. She missed him so much, had mourned him for centuries, carrying that pain within her every day of her life. Had he missed her too? Had he felt as if a part of himself had been severed?
Lost?
She wanted to see him again. Needed to see him again. She needed to see all of her family and see that what Thanatos had told her was true—they had never abandoned her. They had all mourned her, and now they all wanted her back with them.
Calindria pulled her knees to her chest and held them as she thought about her brothers and her parents, as the hurt grew sharper, cutting her like a blade until she was on the verge of sobbing. Her