Page 15 of The Demigod Complex
“Lyleia?” Castor prompted, voice going quiet. “That was a yes or no question.”
She heaved an inward sigh. The nymphs might be more likely to listen to a demigod than to her. While they had the ability to resist a god, most nymphs didn’t bother. They were attracted to the power the same as many other creatures. Him being a son of Zeus would only amplify their interest.
“Yes.” Decision made, she hopped out of the car. Time to get this over with.
One thing Castor was good at was shutting up when he needed to. In silence, he followed her down around the chapel to where the creek met the lake. At the edge of the water, not quite touching, she paused and closed her eyes, absorbing the energy swirling around her this close to fresh water.
She breathed in the pure scent of it, her skin tingling with vitality. The gods knew she missed this. Crouching down, she waved her hand over the surface of the river, not touching. That would be rude.
“Sister.” She whispered the word.
No response.
“Sister. Will you speak with me?”
She braced herself for silent rejection, or worse, some form of denouncement. What she wasn’t ready for was a dripping wet woman, clothed in a diaphanous white gown, to launch herself out of the river and wrap her arms around Leia’s neck, soaking her from head to toe.
“Leia!” the nymph squealed.
Leia held up a hand to hold off Castor, who’d stepped forward, hands fisting, obviously confused by the scene. “Hello, Calliadne.” Leia pulled back to smile at her sister.
Only to blink at the sight of tears. Calli shook her head, her eyes wide with shock. “By the gods, how are you alive? I thought you died centuries ago. Without your spring…”
Without her spring and shunned by her people. It hadn’t been easy. “I didn’t know you’d relocated,” she said.
The adorable redhead—now dry as a bone and perfectly coifed and made up, a trick Leia continued to use every time she got out of the shower and employed now to her bedraggled form—waved a dismissive hand. “The Nile was getting too crowded with all my father’s offspring.” Nilus was a minor god of that river, and prolific with children. “I much prefer this lovely place. So peaceful.” Her blue eyes turned grayer and she flicked little nervous glances around. “But, Lyleia, as much as my heart sings to see you again, you need to leave. Quickly.” She shivered as wind whipped through the nearby aspen grove, shaking the leaves like rattlesnake rattles.
Not good.
“I love you,” Calli continued, “but nothing has changed. We were told never to associate with you or there would be consequences.”
Leia’s lips flattened as she breathed her anger through her nose. “A long time ago, and that person is surely dead by now.”
Calli bit her lip. “Maybe…”
“I said no to a god, and he buried my spring under a river of lava.” Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Castor’s twitchy movement in reaction to her words. She ignored him. “And no one did anything to help me.”
Calli grimaced. “I know.” She flicked a glance toward Castor. “I’m surprised you’re here with a demigod.”
“I’m his executive assistant.”
“Lucky you.” Calli shot a sassy wink at Castor who, in turn, sent Leia a confounded look.
Leia tried not to grind her teeth and talked quickly. “We’re here for a wolf-shifter mating ceremony and I could use your help.Allthe nymphs’ help.”
The water in the river started to gurgle and ripple as it flowed faster. Calli shifted nervously. “I don’t think—”
A breeze swept through the trees in ashooshof pine needles. The nymphs in the area certainly were stirred up by Leia’s presence among them, a fact that, even after all this time, wrapped around her heart and threatened to crush it. “Will you meet me later?”
Calli stepped back, face stiff. “You have to go. They’re holding back because it’s you.”
The gurgling changed to a rush, and the water was pouring in and pooling. Leia stepped back as well, careful to keep her feet dry. “In town at the Stanley Hotel. Please, Calli?”
Another gust of wind and burble of the water, and Calli stiffened visibly. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”
Leia reached out and squeezed her sister’s hand, even as her own heart broke all over again. “I understand.”
She backed up to find Castor glaring at the water and the woods with a dark scowl. She tugged on his elbow. “Let’s go.” He didn’t move. Another tug. “Castor.”
