It was strange to see Evander at home nowadays. He’d taken to sleeping in his study, emerging from his dungeon-like lair in the main estate only when absolutely necessary. He looked almost translucent; a shadow of his former well-groomed, straight-laced self. Now, Evander was disheveled and faded.

He’d look almost ghostly if it weren’t for his dark eyes which were hard and sharp as flint.

But today, necessity had forced him from his darkened room. For the first time in days, he’d thoroughly washed and combed his hair back. He was clean-shaven, dressed in a neatly pressed suit, looking more like his old self. His face was lined with fatigue deeper than physical exhaustion, but at least he was presentable.

He was just finishing a cup of strong black coffee when he heard a knock at the door. Evander went to it, sliding open the glass viewing hole in the door. Seeing Calliope, he opened it and stared at her in surprise.

“Sister.”

Such unexpected visits from Calliope were rare. Evander loved his sister in his own way, but he’d never considered the two of them close. For the most part, they spoke different languages, though their ends remained the same.

Protect the Blackwood family. Restore Arynn Frey to glory. Destroy all who stood in their path.

Calliope.

Evander found himself unable to return the greeting. Not out of disinterest or rudeness, but because his mouth had simply stalled from disuse. He hadn’t spoken to another soul in days, maybe longer. Time had slipped away from him, one day blending into the next.

But Calli’s offer broke whatever it was that had come over him.

“Yes. Please. Come in.” Evander stepped aside, unsure of how to entertain someone in his own home. “Tea?” He offered with an awkwardness Calliope was bound to recognize.

Evander went to the teapot on the counter which remained hot without a source. He poured two cups and set them on the table, indicating for Calliope to sit. If she did, Evander would sit across from her. He stared into his tea, not taking a sip, before eventually dragging his eyes away to look at his sister.

“What can I do for you, Calliope?”

His soft, chilling voice had a strain to it that had never been there before.

Evander’s hand did not move to clasp hers back; not because of any lack of affection, but because he just didn’t know how to return the warmth. But he didn’t pull away, which under other circumstances, he might have.

“There is nothing to apologize for,” Evander said sensibly, sipping his tea, “We must all move forward in our own way. In our own time.” His examination was clinical, but it was honest. His uncertainty around Cyrus’s disappearance was another matter to be dispensed with; another puzzle to solve so that he could get on with other things.

“It depends,” Evander said smoothly, sitting up a little bit more in his chair, “What you have in mind.”

For it was clear that Calliope already had something. Evander was always at his best when he was tackling a new challenge. Unlocking whatever puzzle it was before him. Right now, that puzzle was Cyrus’s disappearance, and he had a suspicion it was a riddle he was never going to solve. Therefore he’d happily have it replaced by another for the time being.

Evander raised an eyebrow. Calliope was no fool, and neither was Evander. Cambria was, as far as he was concerned, a savage land populated by savages. Yes, they could yet be useful, but it was a needle that would need to be threaded very, very carefully.

“And what is it they require to be ready?”

Evander listened with blank features and empty eyes. After Calliope had finished, he considered her in the long silence that followed. He sipped his tea, thinking carefully before he spoke.

“I’m sure you understand my hesitation in entrusting savages with such power. Even with their support, whose to say one day our weapons will not be turned against us? However…” Evander mused, before finally settling on: “Perhaps if a failsafe was built in. A way to detonate and destroy the enchantment should they not prove themselves to be the valuable allies they claim to be.”