To Live Among Wolves (Legends of Arcadia Book 1)

Chapter 33

“So what do I do?” I tried to keep pace with Elder Macon in the pathway he’d bent in the trees. I tripped over a root that had slithered back into place, catching myself before I fell. I jogged to catch back up with him and his blue-lit staff, a beacon in the rain. But it was much harder lugging the Compendium in my arms and attempting to keep it dry under my small frame.

“You keep quiet, for now. It’s all potential and not fact. There may yet be things that change. I think it would be best if you didn’t discuss the what-ifs with him. Think of how you’d react if I told you that you had a mark of death in your future.”

I swallowed, feeling like the mark hung over me and not Silas. “It’s all so cryptic.”

The Elder chuckled. “Such is the way of Seers. Wonderful amounts of knowledge and magic, little foundation to base any truth or fact upon.”

I groaned. “So he could succeed in banishing Nyx but die facing him or he could succeed in banishing him and live. Or he could fail. Or he could be fine and someone else dies? None of it makes any sense.”

The Elder stopped, turning to face me. “Yes. There are countless possibilities. Which is why I don’t want to worry him. I promise, I will tell him. If he comes seeking answers, I will give them. But until then, we must keep our hope up.”

We walked the rest of the path.

“But what if he knows there’s something wrong?” I sighed. “Or asks me what I’ve done today?”

“You must figure out a way to bend the truth to protect him for a little while longer. If he finds out the entire truth of the matter all at once, we may lose him.”

We reached the end of the passageway of trees, and Elder Macon cut a hard left.

“This isn’t the way to the river.” I glanced back over my shoulder.

“I’m taking you through the heart of Arcadia. That way you can come around a way that’s natural, like you were walking in the woods enjoying a stroll.”

I noticed the ferns around us rustling. “Elder Macon?”

He turned his head, and the rustling stopped. A brawny micc slipped out of the underbrush, whispering in Ancient. Elder Macon stiffened. The light from his staff flickered like his tension affected its glow.

“What is it?” I turned to the micc who had already disappeared into the ferns again.

In response, the Elder gripped my elbow and turned us in the opposite direction, pulling me along while he swept through the forest.

“What’s going on?” I hissed.

He let go but continued in a fast stride. “Silas. And Nash. They’re heading this way.”

“Do the micca follow your orders?”

He stopped, piercing me with his gaze. “I have eyes and ears all over Arcadia and beyond. I am not in control of them, but we are in harmony. As the Elder, it is my job to see and hear everything.”

He began walking again, but before I could ask any more questions, Silas and Nash stepped out of the thick trees and onto the path ahead, both bare and soaked to the bone.

Elder Macon froze, and I collided with his shoulder. I saw Nash and Silas both spot the Compendium in my hands.

“Eden.” Silas cleared his throat. “Elder Macon. How are you?”

“Wonderful, thank you, je kunan. I told Eden about all of the creatures she might find that seek refuge in Arcadia. She had met an ugal but hadn’t met any of the kuslar. But it began to rain, so I’m taking her back on the fastest route.”

Nash glanced at Silas, who frowned. “Right. Well, Nash and I were wanting to talk to you about…” His voice trailed off.

“Eden,” Elder Macon turned to me, “I presume you can find your way back?”

I nodded with a tight smile, then turned and hurried away.

Please don’t ask any questions, Silas. Please don’t make me lie.

“Eden?” Silas called.

I froze, then turned to face him. His head tilted sideways, watching me like a hawk. “Yes?”

“Can I have the Compendium, please?”

My body shivered from the autumn rain, but my cheeks flushed. With a quick glance at Elder Macon, I passed the heavy book to Silas, who accepted it without breaking my gaze.

Something shifted in his eyes. But he pulled me in for a short hug, kissing my temple. “Shout if you need help, okay? Someone will come for you.”

I swallowed hard, and left them. In a feeble attempt to slow my breathing, I pushed air out of my lips. I glanced back to find Elder Macon opening the tree path again, watching me as if he feared the outcome of the vision even now.

An hour or so passed, and I decided to work on my Ancient in the Yard where others congregated. It gave me an excuse to ask people to quiz me, and it protected me from the rain. Some sort of magic covered the gathering areas, shielding them from the weather.

Some of the pups even napped around my ankles, and it warmed me to be accepted among the people.

They didn’t have to take me in, but they chose to do so.

And I grew more comfortable day by day with bare skin. I wasn’t quite there myself, but it didn’t shock me as much. It seemed ancient, primal in its own way.

Maybe one day I’ll get there.

I grinned down at the pups rolling at my feet.

One of them phased to a small boy. “Watch this!” Scrambling to his feet, he launched off of a nearby boulder and phased midair, twisting his body and landing with an unstable plop onto the grass. The other two pups roared with wolfish laughter and bounded after their playmate.

I stacked my booklets and gazed up at the clouds above, biting my lower lip. As much as I enjoyed studying the ancient language of my future kingdom, I worried about Silas and whether the Elder would tell him what had been made known to me.

I sighed, noting my stomach aching with hunger. On my way to the kitchens, I noticed more people milling about. I smiled at anyone I made eye contact with, hoping to come off friendly. One older woman beamed at me, her skin not deeply wrinkled yet.

“Have you been told about the Revel?” Her eyes twinkled.

“Revel?” My eyebrows pinched together.

The woman chuckled. “You’re in for a treat, my queen.”

She filed in with the rest of the crowd surrounding me. And I realized that it indeed was a crowd—almost the entire kingdom—all filing towards the kitchens like me.

In the kitchens, we filed into the area, spreading out wide. One of the heads of the kitchens met my eyes and beckoned me forward. I glanced around, but everyone chatted amongst themselves. I walked to the woman, clothed in a rusty robe.

“Je kunin.” She bowed her head. “Welcome to the Revel.”

“Thank you very much, but I–”

“Eden.”

I whirled around to face Silas. Nash stood beside me, stiff as a tree trunk. They were both still damp from being out in the rain, but at least they had donned their robes before coming to the kitchens.

“Hi,” I breathed. “Will someone please explain to me what’s going on?”

Like my confusion eased his tension, Nash’s shoulders relaxed, and his lips quirked into a grin. “The little human is about to get an education.”

“Education?” I turned the woman beside me, but she counted the people under her breath.

Silas slid closer to me, so close I could smell the rain on his skin. “Arcadia has designated Hunters.”

I blinked a few times, trying to reign my thoughts in, distracted from our close proximity. My brain flooded with both memories of our first kiss and the playful breakfast, his anger at Nash and the vision from only five years previous. It all stirred in my head like some hodgepodge soup.

“Hunters.”

Silas nodded. “They go out and hunt for game once a week or so, and we store caches around the edges of Arcadia for slimmer months. The Revel is when we all feast on the meals our Hunters have brought home.”

“Raw meat?” My brow wrinkled.

He smiled. Whatever storm had been hanging over him, clouding his eyes, it had been blown away by my humanness. “Yes, raw meat, pilukos.”

“Enough flirting.” Nash rolled his eyes. “I’m starving over here.”

A dark expression flashed over Silas’s eyes, but it disappeared. He turned to the group at large when Caroline emerged. I watched her walk toward us, head high, while the Seer, Markus, lingered behind with the crowd.

“Arcadians,” Silas began in a commanding voice, “it is time for the Revel.”

Murmurs and hums rippled through the crowd.

Silas grinned at me. “And this is our future queen’s first Revel, a pleasure I don’t think any one of us has ever witnessed. This is a day of making history!”

The crowd erupted in applause and howls.

I shook my head at Silas, who kept watching me with that stupid grin.

“Eden and I will share the first bite, then you all will fall in line in rank, Caroline following after Eden, and so on. You all know how this goes. Hunters?”

A mix of men and women approached, large pieces of wood held between a pair carrying large quantities and arranged cuts of meat.

“Close your mouth. You look like a cave.” Silas whispered with a chuckle.

I turned to him, frowning.

“You didn’t think we ripped apart flesh and bone and fur, did you?” He smirked.

“I guess…” I sputtered for an explanation.

I did think that it would be a full deer carcass or something. I hadn’t expected a meat board on a platter.

“We are wild, Eden. But we’re an ancient race of people, far separated from the wolves you’ve studied. There is dignity and honor here, and a family with a chain of command.” He held my hand in his, surprised to find his skin warm to the touch despite the chill in the air. “We are unique. And you are a part of that now.”

The pairs of hunters spread out amongst the people, the crowd readjusting based on rank and superiority. The last pair stopped in front of us, lowering the platter to table height.

While grateful that it wasn’t a carcass, it still hadn’t been cooked. I’d had sushi a few times, but nothing like this. It was like a ribeye stared up at me, still breathing.

“It’s only venison.” His smile softened.

Still holding my hand, he used his right hand to pick up a small piece of meat. He motioned his head to the board, and I picked out a piece about the same size.

“Ready?” He lifted his piece like it was a toast.

You’re being ridiculous, Eden. It’s meat.

I nodded. “Ready.”

“Rikas e lo Feru!” Silas called out.

To Life in the Wild.