To Live Among Wolves (Legends of Arcadia Book 1)

Chapter 26

I watched Eden close the door to our room—my room—then melted to the table with a groan.

“Way to go.” Nash patted my shoulder. “I think that sold the whole marriage and giving up the human life thing.”

“No, it’s my fault,” Caroline mumbled. “I shouldn’t have pushed, it’s…” She growled in frustration. “It’s unfair to you, all this pressure. Eden is a nice person, but she’s human. Why would Father choose her? When he knows that you can’t go against his word, why would he choose her over any woman in Arcadia?”

“I asked him,” I said. “He said to trust him, so that’s what I’m doing.”

“I know.” She laid her hand on my folded arms. “I know. And I’m sorry, Si. I’m confused by all of this. And then when you brought up Markus–”

“He’s cute, by the way,” Nash commented, talking with his mouth full.

Caroline rolled her eyes. “At least act like a prince on occasion.”

“Caroline.” I sat up, placing my free hand on top of hers. “I want you to be happy. And if Markus makes you happy, then I look forward to having him for dinner.” I took a deep breath, the words falling out before I could stop them. “I’m jealous of your freedom, your ability to pick whomever you choose. I didn’t have anyone particular in mind before, but having an option–”

“I know, and I’m sorry.” She smiled at me. “If it helps, I don’t think Markus is interested.”

“Please,” Nash scoffed, setting down his empty bowl. “Like this morning was any indicator.”

“What do you mean?” Caroline seemed bewildered.

I scratched my forehead. “Come on. You didn’t notice it? He acted like an injured pup when we were leaving. And you sounded pretty angry. I bet you looked even worse.”

Her jaw dropped, and she smacked my arm. “You would think I’d receive civility from the crowned King and Prince, but no. I am insulted.”

Nash smirked at me, and I finished my stew.

“You should go talk to her.” Caroline set her bowl down. “Eden will understand, but you have to be gentle about it. She didn’t choose this either.”

I exhaled between my teeth. “I know… It’s… I told her I loved her today.”

Nash choked on tea.

“You what?” Caroline’s eyes widened.

“I wanted to be honest! After this morning, things kind of fell into perspective for me. And I don’t know, it sort of slipped out in Ancient, and then she translated and brought me lunch.”

“What did she say?” Caroline asked.

“Nothing. I told her that she didn’t have to say anything, no pressure. And she brought me lunch along with basalt.”

“She brought you a rock?” Nash laughed.

“A basalt rock,” I corrected. “She said it reminded her of me.”

“Hard?” Nash laughed. “Stony?”

“Silas.” Caroline sighed. “You need to work on your tact.”

“If she stays, then I don’t need tact with women, right?”

“That’s if she stays.” Nash frowned. “She did compare you to a rock.”

“Talk to her.” Caroline motioned to my bedroom door behind the throne.

I stood. “Talk. That’s all it is, talking.”

I took one last look at my siblings before slipping through the door. The dim room had been lit with lanterns in the deepening dark of the evening. I turned to the bed first, wondering if Eden had turned in early, but it was still made. She wasn’t at the desk either, and her journal had gone missing from the stack of books.

There wasn’t another heartbeat in the room besides my own.

I turned in a circle, eyes finding the side door.

My heart quickened its pace as I stepped into the night.

Lycaon, please don’t let me lose her.

Please don’t let her run away.

Ghost beetles had settled for the evening, lounging on their beds in flowers and ferns. A barred owl hooted, shrilling in the autumn air. Somewhere, a micc played a flute serenade for the trees while the crickets and frogs sang along.

My eyes drifted from side to side, wondering where she’d gone.

Water.

The faint sound of a splash reached my ears.

I recalled summer evenings when the weather stayed humid late into the night. I would take Nash and Caroline to the Great River, where it ran deep and wide enough to swim.

The thought of Eden in the water startled me. Both the image of her swimming without a robe and nearly drowning in the Little River as a child assaulted my mind.

When I inched closer to the bank, I heard voices.

Who is with her?

What is with her?

My heart pounded.

I ducked around a tree and spotted Markus sitting on a rock a few feet away from Eden. She had her journal in hand, and her eyes were fixed on the stars. I glanced to see the Princess shining bright above the river.

As my panic subsided, I took a deep breath. He had to hear my heartbeat, knowing I worried for her. But Markus gazed at her unflinchingly.

“And when the time comes for you to be bound to the rock,” he said, “you will emerge and reign, both beautiful and beloved.”

I stepped into the open between them on the bank. “Good evening, Markus.” I bowed my head in his direction. “May I?” I motioned to Eden.

“Of course,” he said while he stood. “And if I may ask, my king. Caroline…?”

I couldn’t stop the smile from edging out of my stoic professionalism. “She’s forgiven you already. She should still be in Guardian’s Glade if you want to speak with her yourself. I’m sure she would be delighted to see you.”

Markus stared at me, open-mouthed.

A chuckle rumbled in my chest. “Go. You might miss her.”

With a bow, he sped off, nearly jogging through the trees. I watched his figure disappear into the dark before turning to Eden and assuming Markus’s seat.

“Before you say anything,” she shifted her body to me, “I know you have a duty to your people. And I know I’m not your first choice. Why would I be? I’m only human. So you don’t have to apologize. I understand.”

What a strange creature she is.

Here I sat trying to apologize for my hurtful words despite the situation, and she consoled me. But I needed to apologize, to make things right, to make her understand why and how I felt.

“Eden, I truly am sorry. My words were unkind and harsh, considering you haven’t had much of a choice either.”

“I could’ve left.”

“Would you have left?” I feared that I wouldn’t like her answer. Even worse, she stayed silent for eons while I listened to the steady beat of her heart.

She shook her head. “I don’t think I could ever leave this behind. Not now.”

“But what about your home, the life you left behind? Are you willing to give that up to stay here? Because this…” I opened my arms, palms facing the sky. “It’s forever or not at all—no one can know about Arcadia for the safety of the kingdom and my people.”

“Our people,” she said, and her words made my heart stutter. “At the beginning, I might have thought differently. And I still might miss my human family and the luxury of technology. Also coffee. But I have a family here, or at least I’m starting to have one. And I couldn’t leave, not when there’s still so much to learn, so much to explore. I mean, I spoke to a lizard in an Ancient forest language.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What did the ugal say?”

“It called me a friend of the wild and then said that it’s the greatest honor to have me here. Me, an honor.”

“It is a great honor to have a human amongst us.” I smiled at her, wondering how good her night vision was. I could see her as clear as day.

Her hands gripped the edges of her journal even when her shoulders relaxed, rising and falling with her breath. And her eyes, moving from the river to the Princess constellation above us and to me.

“What good is a human?”

I stood, stepping to the rock where she had perched. “Oh, humans do much good for us forest creatures. And they’re so powerful.”

She scoffed. “More powerful than a shapeshifter?”

“Equal in power and strength. I haven’t had much experience with humans, given my status. But you are by far one of the bravest I’ve met. The river, the forest, even the wind is in awe of you, pilukos.”

She shook her head but said nothing.

“Hey,” I whispered.

She didn’t move.

“Onni,” I tried again.

Still, she didn’t move.

Gently, I brushed her face with my hand, lifting her chin. Her eyes watered in the light of the moon. “You are worth so much more than you believe.”

Without a second thought, I pressed my lips against hers, knowing full well that I could be rejected.

Everything in me exploded, the sky erupting in sparks and dazzling light, like the stars themselves were all burning out at once. My heart the wind and my brain the river, my body the forest rooted in place.

And I realized why: she was kissing me back.

My fingers slipped through her wild hair, my thumb finding its place below her ear. Her hand found my arm, holding me tight.

I pulled back, heart shuddering in my chest.

She laughed.

“What?” My voice came out rougher than usual.

She shook her head with a small smile. “Don’t tell me I’m dreaming. I never want to wake up from this. Lizards and a kiss from the wolf king?”

Laughter bubbling up from deep inside of me, and I pulled her close. She tucked her head against my neck and shoulder, burrowing into my arms. I held her tight, kissing the top of her head like I had done it a thousand times before.

“You make me feel like Silas again,” I mumbled into her hair.

She hummed against my neck, her breath warm against my skin.

This was something new. All of it. This weightlessness… I hadn’t felt like that since I was a child.

Since before my father died.

Since before my mother died.

When everything was still whole.

Is this what love is?

If love bound up the broken things, I never wanted to be without it. If love stitched up the loose threads of my soul, I would never let it run out of string. If love filled the cracks of dry soil, I wanted rainy days forever.

Eden didn’t want to wake up from this dream, and neither did I.