Chapter 129: [129] She Who Was Taken
Days later, Calypso still couldn’t sleep. Not after how scared she felt earlier.
She paced across the plush carpet of her chamber in Hearthome, the borrowed body of Lady Selene moving less gracefully than her divine form. The wine-red hair that wasn’t hers swayed with each turn, catching the light from the dying fire. Outside, thick, silent flakes spiraled down, building a rampart of white on the windowsill. The temperature hovered around thirty degrees—practically balmy compared to the bitter cold she’d heard about in the northern reaches.
The grip of anxiety had loosened, but the headache was a stubborn phantom. It tugged her attention northeast, an insistent child pulling at her sleeve, demanding she look. She pressed her fingertips to her temples, trying to soothe the throbbing.
"You should be resting," Margaret said from the doorway. Or rather, Margot—the name this world knew her by.
Calypso turned to face her friend, wincing as the movement sent a fresh spike of pain through her skull. "I can’t. Not with this headache."
"Another one?" Margot’s voice was laced with a familiar concern as she entered the room. "Calypso, that’s five this week. They’re getting worse, aren’t they?
"It’s worse tonight." Calypso sank onto the edge of her bed. "Would you... your cooling touch helps. Please?"
Margot nodded, climbing onto the bed and settling against the headboard. She patted the space between her legs. "Come here."
Calypso slid to the floor, resting her back against the bed frame as Margot’s legs framed her shoulders. The position was undignified for Lady Selene, niece to the High Burner, but Calypso didn’t care. She tipped her head back, closing her eyes as Margot’s cool fingers pressed against her temples.
A soft blue glow emanated from Margot’s hands, her Essentia manifesting in this world just as it had back home. The soothing chill spread across her scalp, a feeling like cool mint and winter air sinking directly into the bone.