To Live Among Wolves (Legends of Arcadia Book 1)

Chapter 13

I followed Elder Macon down the path to the Aisle of Kings. Nash and our parents trailed behind me, speaking in hurried, hushed tones. I wanted to know what they discussed, but I kept my head held forward.

I had the chance to say goodbye to our father. Nash never had that chance.

“Elder,” I muttered.

He turned his head back to glance at me, stepping forward with his staff in hand.

“If I am to be bound to Eden… If we are to have–”

I stopped myself. It felt strange to talk about Eden like this, like she and I had known each other before this week. But I had to know. What did this union mean for the future of Arcadia?

“Yes.” Elder Macon started. “I understand your concern. However, the law is law. Your father has a reason, whatever it might be. He is a part of the roots of Arcadia now. You, as the trunk of Arcadia, have to trust that. We, as the branches of Arcadia, have to trust that.”

He stopped and placed a hand on my shoulder when we passed the archway that marked the entrance. “Trust your father, your king.”

I nodded, then turned back to my family. Nash’s skin was tinted by the blue light from our parents’ Spirits. Tears reflected on his cheeks, but he didn’t move to wipe them away.

I pulled off my robe, passing it to the Elder. Nash did the same. As I knelt before my father, I phased, coming to rest at eye level with his Spirit.

“Father.” I trembled, this moment weighing on me. Time rushed by, and I couldn’t stop it or slow it down.

“Son.” He smiled with such affection that I had to turn my face away.

“You thought I was ready. I’m not ready for this.”

He nuzzled my neck. “You welcomed your brother back home. You’ve kept our people safe these past months. You found Eden.”

“I don’t understand.Are we to have no heirs? Is this the end of Arcadia?”

“Trust me, Silas.”

I met his eyes, hoping he couldn’t tell how little I trusted the wisdom of this union. I wanted to be brave, to be bold. I wanted to make him proud.

Nash moved, rubbing his head against my shoulder.

“Your path lies straight in front of you, son.” My mother lowered her head.

“And if I fail?”

Nash straightened. “I’ll be right next to you this time.”

“The time is coming when you will need to depend on each other.” My father’s eyes shimmered. “You have to trust each other with your lives. Arcadia depends on you two and Caroline and Eden.”

“It’s time,” Elder Macon spoke up. He motioned us onward into the eerie quiet of the Aisle of Kings.

Not yet. Please, five more minutes.

I needed them here.

Reluctantly, I took the lead, with my parents behind me and Nash taking the rear, leaving Elder Macon behind to wait at the entrance.

Sucking in a breath, I stopped to the right of my parents’ graves, leaving space for Nash to stand to the left of the stones like we practiced.

Guardians of their graves.

“Sons.” My father watched us. “I am so proud of you both. I expect great things when I visit next autumn. And I want all the details about the binding celebration for the King.”

I turned my eyes down.

“Silas.” My father shifted his paws in the dirt, his blue glow casting strange shadows through the standing stones. “Make room. Your future is bright.”

He howled, echoing lonesome amongst the trees. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, all at once, the forest burst to life again, azure Spirits running through the trees, a chorus of yaps and barks joining them. The ghost beetles drifted nearer, swirling around myself, Nash, our mother, and our father like a windstorm.

The Spirits each began diving back into their individual resting places like lanterns going out, the forest growing darker by the second.

“Please don’t leave.” I met my father’s steel eyes.

My mother’s Spirit ran through her stones and disappeared.

“It’s never goodbye, son.” My father stepped backward. “You’ll feel me in the autumn breeze.”

Another wolf Spirit disappeared.

“You’ll hear me in the rumbling of the Great River after the melting of the winter snow.”

And another.

“You’ll smell me after the spring rain. You’ll see me in the setting of the summer sun.”

“Please don’t leave me again.” A familiar ache settled in my chest. His Spirit remained, a solitary light in the darkness.

“I’ll be back before you know it.”

And with one last step, he launched himself towards the stones I’d balanced last winter, disappearing in a rush of blue and the buzzing of wings.

The night met me with deafening silence. “Don’t leave.”

The dark swallowed my heart, leaving me cold and empty. I phased, pulling at the soil of their grave. My tears hit the dirt one after the other, and I wondered what my father had done after his king, his father, had passed.

I had so many questions for him, questions he should have answered during my training that had never come.

Loneliness encompassed me, swallowing me whole.

“Si?”

I looked up as Nash stood on bare feet. He tucked the loose strands of his hair behind his ear, taking deep breaths.

“Come on,” he said, jerking his head back towards the archway where the Elder waited for us. His splotchy face revealed none of the emotions he’d hidden inside. “You need to get back to the feast. They’ll be missing you.”

I pushed myself to my feet, head still hanging low. I rubbed the tears away with the backs of my thumbs.

With one hand on my shoulder, he pulled me into a hug, short but tight like he was afraid to lose me.

“We’ll get through this,” he mumbled.

“But Nyx–”

“Will come whenever he comes.” Nash held both of my shoulders at arm’s length now. “And we’ll be ready for him.”

I nodded. “And Eden?”

Nash’s lips quirked into a grin. “She’ll learn to hold her own. We can train her.”

Nyx was one of the legends of Arcadia, this dark force that swore to bring the kingdom to ruins. He had been a Seer once, and a good one at that. But the story said that they banished him for treason, the details lost to history.

Whispers of his return swirled around every few decades, some sort of dark magic that could hide him in the rivers, his essence seeping deep into the foundations of Shaconage. The Great Mountain sheltered us all, good and evil and everything in between.

My jaw tightened as I thought of Eden fighting against the massive dark wolf. If she happened to wander outside of Arcadia’s protected borders, he could reach her. And she stood no chance against him. Lycaon forbid it ever reached that point.

No matter what it costs, I will keep her safe.

My thoughts surprised me, something about the inevitability of it all. If I had no say in the matter, if it was chosen for me, it would only hurt if I fought it harder. Yet, in only a few hours, I’d grown so protective of a mere human.

What emotions will grow in the coming months?

Attempting to swallow my mixed emotions, I patted my brother’s arm and headed towards the Elder.

Elder Macon passed us our robes and we returned to the celebration. The fire still burned, though smaller than before, surrounded by wolves and robed figures, the Spirits long since gone. The rest of the group danced like branches in the wind, flutes punctuating the crackle of the fire and drifting along the breeze that brought me to the table.

Some people sat in small groups discussing our visit with the Spirits. Some of them seemed grieved. Others looked joyful. Everyone had mixed emotions.

My eyes found Eden, now wearing a single bloom of lavender tucked into her braided crown behind her ear. Eden spoke with two of the Seers, a woman with long dark hair named Aubrey and her husband, tall and blond-headed with spooky gray eyes. The skin on my neck chilled.

One of my least favorite people has cornered my mate.

Unacceptable.

I excused myself from Nash and walked up behind Eden, sliding my hand to the small of her back, a movement so foreign yet so familiar. She turned her face up, surprised.

“Silas.” She smiled. “I wondered how long you’d be. Aubrey and Ransom were explaining the um…” She turned to the Seers in front of us.

Ransom flashed an arrogant smile.

Silva, I did not like him.

“The ceremonial runes,” Aubrey supplied.

“Yes!” Eden said. “It’s beautiful, the way that everything here has meaning. Even the flowers.” She ran her fingers along the lavender.

Lavender.

Devotion.

Purity.

Calm.

This is what the Seers foresaw in our future, or at least Eden’s.

Will she be devoted to me as a wolf or as a human? How loyal can humans be?

Ransom caught my eye. Speaking to him always felt like he read my soul, the way it shifted and bent away from the life I chose to live. He could see my doubts, my shortcomings. Perhaps that’s what irritated me about him.

Or maybe his face bothered me. And how many times he had bet on Nash instead of me over the years.

“Cedar.” He handed me a sprig with three tiny cones attached. “When burned, it purifies, leaving protection and positivity in its wake. A worthy sacrifice, don’t you think?”

“Immortality,” I whispered, running my thumb along the green sprig.

I met Ransom’s eyes. My brow furrowed as something shifted in his face. I didn’t trust him. Aubrey, maybe. But something about Ransom bothered me. Like he knew everything, which of course, he did.

But why cedar?

“My love, we must be going.” He turned his head towards Aubrey, but his gaze remained fixed on my face. “We don’t want to overstay our welcome. We should leave these two alone to celebrate this night while they can.”

A sense of doom settled in my spirit as they glided away.

Cursed seers. Spouting flowery fox spit while the rest of us deal with the real world.

Clearing my throat, I turned to Eden, offering her a smile. “Will you take a walk with me?”

I tucked the sprig of cedar into a pocket of my robe, holding my other arm out for her. She took it, sliding her arm around mine.

Leading us past the fire, I brought her through the residential loop, passing the empty rooms and dens. Most of my pack still celebrated out in the Yard.

It’s our pack now.

“Eden,” I started before I could grasp my thoughts. “I know this has been a bit fast for you.”

She turned her face away, watching the beetles light up the forest around us, away from the orange glow of the fire.

“While I can’t allow you to venture out of our borders alone, maybe I can work out a way for us to leave together with a few Guardians so you don’t feel so trapped. That way I can protect you if…” I held both of her hands into my own. I inhaled before speaking again, knowing I would need to say it well. “The thing is, Eden, I want this to work out. Against all possibility, I trust my father.”

Dropping one of her hands, I brushed her cheek, cupping her face. The motion felt strange, like my fingers had wanted to touch her skin since they’d first met this beautiful human.

And since when did I think she was beautiful?

Or have I always?

The emotions that bubbled inside of my stomach were unusual and strong. She opened her mouth but hesitated. I could hear the war in her heart. I felt it raging within myself.

Words slipped out of my mouth despite my better judgment. “It’s okay. I want you to choose this. You don’t have to decide now.”

The relief that flooded her face cinched my chest.

Lycaon, I want her to stay.

She slipped her hands around my torso and tucked her head under my chin. The motion brought a strange flutter to my chest. I held her tight.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Nodding, I glanced up, her room two doors down. I walked her to her door, swallowing any pessimistic or doubting thoughts.

She could say no. But she could say yes.

She will decide later.

“Thank you again for…” she said, voice trailing off when she met my eyes.

“Of course,” I mumbled, caught up in the softness of her bear cub eyes.

“Goodnight, Si,” she whispered, using my family nickname.

“Goodnight, Eden.”

Her hand slipped from mine when she ducked into her room, the door shutting with a soft click. The sound of finality.

I fell hard and fast.

Lycaon, help me if she decides to leave.

If Eden left… The thought alone broke me.