'Pity... that is what she wants you to feel for her... feel sorry for her, run to her rescue... do not fall for it... she is a dangerous creature...'

Amra's words echoed in Caliope's head as he spoke to her mind while watching the girl whimper with the chains embracing her. Buer watched uncomfortable the scene as the girl continued to twist in pain on the chair.

"I don't need to see this... you said I was going to be released, are you failing to your word?!"

"No, we aren't failing to our word; you will be released, soon."

Caliope closed her eyes and that terrible pain she was feeling in her heart from the scene she was witnessing slowly started to go away. Yet in the darkness, she was able to still hear. More whimpers, even screams, pain and tears.

This was not her world; this was a new world, filled with darkness, deceit, and treason. She tried to remember the last time something normal happened to her, something that was not related to a heavenly power. She remembered her day out at Central Park with Vanessa and she smiled. 'Yes, that was completely natural and pleasant, I wonder how she is, and I might need to give her a call' She thought at the same time she was taking mental notes.

A scream pulled her out of the memories; she squeezed her eyes tighter, determined not to see any of the tortures they might be doing to the girl. More memories were what she needed. This time, she tried to remember simply something that made her happy, and she became flooded with images of Amra. The night she was crying desperate and alone, not understanding why she was missing him so much when they barely knew each other, and him coming to her, holding her, and revealing to her what was before unexplainable, he couldn't be without her, and the feeling was mutual. Their first kiss, feeling powerless to what her body felt when he touched her face. She felt her heart pace faster as she blushed.

"Wake up my Asteria... please... wake up..."

Caliope heard Amra's voice inside her head and out, he was speaking to her out loud, asking her to wake up, but she wasn't asleep, was she?

"Caly! Come back to me!"

This time, it sounded so strong she opened her eyes and found Amra kneeled next to her with sorrow. He was worried, in pain, suffering. She rubbed her eyes and noticed she was on the floor. How did she get there? She was sweating and her sight blurred.

"I am here... what... what happened?"

"I still do not know, but you had me scared!"

"We have to move now, this place isn't safe anymore." Pronab's words were clear.

"Safe? I don't understand..."

"Take my hand, get up slowly, we are leaving the residence to a safer place. I will explain to you on the way, I promise." Amra said calmly.

Caliope took his hand and started to get up when she felt how everything around was spinning. No, not everything, her head was spinning. She closed her eyes and felt a sharp pain drill her head as everything moved and she could not get any balance on her body.

"I will carry you, my love..."

His words made her feel some relief, he took her in his arms and she could notice they were moving. She held herself tight to him with all her strength as they rushed, while she was trying to understand what had happened. She had her eyes closed and distracted her mind from the torture that was being held in the room. That poor girl kept crying, moaning, and she worked her best to think of other things to avoid the scene. Good memories that made her in fact, forget momentarily what was happening. But then she was on the floor being asked to wake up by Amra, and chaos was all around them.

"The car is waiting for us, they will take us to the house and Heptanius will join with his crew" she heard Pronab said.

What could have happened that made them all scattered and afraid? Slowly Caliope started to open her eyes and feel as she was recovering the sense of directionality and stability on her body. They were heading out of the residence and many others were going in different directions in silent yet in a rush.

"You know you have to start being more careful with your powers around her, she is still half human, and might not survive if you make full use of your powers..."

"I am going to change that soon."

"I hope you know what you are doing..."

That made Caliope focus her attention. And now she had an idea of what had happened. Amra's powers made something that changed everything. They were scared, afraid, avoiding him. It was a silent chaos and she was unsure of how it happen.

Once outside, they got in the car and Sarah took them towards the house. Amra kept an arm around Caliope who was resting on his lap with her head on his shoulder. She pulled apart to look at him.

"Are you going to explain to me what happened?"

"I will, just not now."

She frowned and looked at Pronab who was worried and avoiding her eyes. "Will you please tell me what happened?"

He looked at her then shook his head, turning his eyes to the window. Only then she heard Amra speak in her mind.

'I will talk to you as promised, I will let you know all, with details, but not here, not now, when we have people who don't know about us, and who we do not fully trust.'

Caliope nodded and blushed; of course, they did not know much about them, and the last treason act made all aware that the people least expected could be traitors. She snuggled back in his arms and continued in silence the rest of the road ride.

Once they arrived at the house, Heptanius was already there with his entourage. Howard had just arrived as well and got together with Pronab, who ordered Sarah to leave and then guided the rest inside, while Amra took Caliope's hand and walked with her to the garden.

The sun was setting as Amra sat on one of the wooden chairs and pulled her on his lap. Once there, he gave out a sigh and closed his eyes. She waited in silence, unsure of how to react, or even what to do. What happened was still a mystery to her; there was a gap in her memory and the current situation did not help her feel safe.

'I am sorry you got hurt my Asteria, I am sorry everything got out of control...'

She heard him speak to her mind and her heart pounded faster, she closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his, with her arms around him. 'I am here, with you, I am not going anywhere... but I need to know what happened... please?' she pleaded to him. He nodded slowly, brushing his hand on her arm.

'The girl was starting to affect everyone in the room, her laments were a disguise for her powers, she was putting everyone in a trance, and we started to see people falling to the floor, fainting. I did not care until I saw you shivering, and I lost control of how I was handling things... I am so sorry my Asteria...'

She shook her head and held his face in her hands, both still had their eyes closed. Inside the house, Heptanius was looking through the window at the scene while Pronab approached him.

"They are having a catch-up..."

"A catch-up? What do you mean?"

"He is filling her on what happened, he is letting me hear part of their conversation..."

"How?! They are not speaking!"

"They are communicating in a different way, but they are speaking to each other... he reaches directly to her mind, and she replies to him in the same way..."

"He can read minds? Why am I surprised, he can do anything he wants, so much power in just one..."

"He still has to follow the laws of our Father, and he has been doing that all along... do not be afraid, he will get the job done..."

"After all these years in a trance, he decides to act now?"

Pronab nodded. "That is where she comes, he only got motivated to fight this war after he met her, and how they met was a complete coincidence... she is going to play a major part in our war, and she doesn't even know it..."

"I still am hesitant, she seems... so... human... so fragile..."

"Do not be mistaken, she is a lot stronger than you might think, I am grateful for this... she has a mind that is unique, assimilating all that she sees and hears fast... she is not scared... she is not afraid... she is aware of what is going on and when she doesn't understand she searches for answers... she is not a cliché in this story I can attest to that... she is what we could expect of someone with such importance and more..."

Heptanius perked a brow. "It sounds almost as if you have admiration for her."

"It is my job to keep an eye on everyone that might play an important role in our fight, I have been very aware of her role, just as I have been aware of yours and all the other Generals... I have done my homework Heptanius, enough to know you have great power that has not been used in centuries either..."

Heptanius blinked in surprise at Pronab's words, and looked to the window once more, avoiding getting into the subject. Outside, Caliope was holding Amra tight as he was caressing her face. A love scene to witness.

'That is why I forced her to break her silence, she left her human form and transformed into a different creature, I was so afraid for your safety, I did not give her a chance to do anything, I vanished her...'

Caliope nodded slowly and pondered for long in silence. Amra respected her silence and then started to get restless. 'Speak to me please, do not leave me... helpless... I want to know what you are thinking...'

She opened her eyes and perked a brow. 'I thought were reading my mind.'

'I can read everything I want from you... but I refuse to enter your mind when I am not invited... it is not the same when you think words to speak to me, and when you think things through... imagine it as a switch I can turn on and off, to me is that simple to read you, but the hard part is to avoid doing it so, I want you to have your own world, your privacy... I want you to trust me and share what you want with me...'

After hearing his words she smiled and kissed him. Their lips met like magnets and locked for a long period of time. Only when she started to lose breath she backed off and blushed. 'Thank you, for all of this... I am not going to leave you helpless, and I was only wondering how she could do all of that, I regret having my eyes closed all that time. But for what you have told me, I perhaps did the best... why was everyone so scared?'

'It was quite the sight, and my powers also altered many of them... they are not used to see real powers in action in front of people, many of them have smaller powers, gifts that are more subtle. There is a small chaos, but Heptanius ordered them all to return to their places as we regroup to think of new strategies... we do not know if that place was safe anymore, we had to leave and fast...'

She sighed and nodded, it was clear that none of them was prepared for what they had witnessed, and she was not prepared for all that she had lived. She was worried about her true nature and powers, whatever they were, but decided to postpone those questions for later. 'I think you did the right thing, it is better to prevent rather than to be sorry later. She could have killed someone or attack, I don't know, there are so many possibilities, I am glad you kept us all safe.'

'I can be in peace now hearing that.' He smiled and held her tight, enjoying the last rays of light from the sunset.