To Live Among Wolves (Legends of Arcadia Book 1)

Chapter 37

The funeral for the ambassador was unlike anything I had ever witnessed.

Silas slipped out of our room before I woke, leaving me to find his side of the bed cold in his absence.

The previous evening, we’d waited until Elder Macon arrived to head back to Guardian’s Glade. There, we found Nash with a translated letter and Caroline with Rusna, the small forest tender who sported a new hat.

I watched Silas be a king, dictating a response to Lukosan and an invitation to Arcadia to retrieve their man’s body. The response also included an update on the state of Arcadia regarding Nyx and his looming presence as well as the burial.

Silas had sealed the letter and entrusted it to Rusna for safe delivery. Micca were apparently well known for being secretive and hidden, which I’d had the pleasure of witnessing firsthand.

We’d then eaten in silence before retiring to Silas’s room.

There, he and I had spoken about the vision, their names, Silas’s nightshade vision, as well as his glimpse into the past from Ransom, and even Caroline and Markus’s soon-to-be wedding. They had to wait, of course, until after our wedding, but Silas had brushed that off by saying that our wedding would be a difficult one to plan and might take the rest of his life to accomplish.

I had cried at that thought, and he’d pulled me into his arms, holding my hand and combing through my hair until I fell asleep.

If I had one wish, I would have frozen time in that room to live in that moment for the rest of my meaningless life. It might have been enough to fill in the cracks.

For the funeral, Caroline lent me an iridescent white robe. She walked me to the outskirts of Aisle of Kings in silence, our footfalls the only noise present. We arrived early, only a handful of people waiting for us. Silas and Markus were in conversation with Elder Macon. Leander stood nearby with Nash and the guard, Kane, who had been assigned to me upon my arrival to Arcadia. They all, too, wore white.

“Rauha, ladies.” Nash bowed his head. “How are you doing?”

I shrugged. “Completely unrested.”

He pulled me into a hug.

I had never had siblings. Never had a sister to share clothes with or a brother to annoy me or stand up for me. But it felt nice, comforting even, to know I had someone to share in my pain.

With a slight squeeze, Nash pulled me out of my thoughts and back to reality as he stepped back.

Silas strode over, wrapping his arms around me. “If this is my last day, I want to hold you as long as I can.”

I leaned into his touch, tucking my head under his chin. “You disappeared this morning,” I murmured, voice muffled in his robe.

“I needed to collect the stones for the funeral.” He rubbed a thumb across my shoulders and spine. “You looked so peaceful, and I didn’t want to wake you.”

Pulling back, I tilted my head. “How are you?”

He shrugged, his dark hair falling down into his eyes, slipping from underneath a crown of willow. “A little disjointed, if I’m being honest. Arcadia feels…”

“Wrong?” Nash offered.

Silas nodded. “Uneasy.”

“I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed.” Caroline folded her arms over her chest. “Is it because he’s from Lukosan?”

“No.” Silas pulled back from me but held my hand tight. “I think it knows that something is shifting. It’s almost like Arcadia is warning us.”

“About Nyx?” I furrowed my eyebrows.

“Not necessarily.”

“What are you thinking?” Caroline’s body visibly tensed.

“I think it’s a mix of everything. My engagement with Eden, now yours and Markus’s, Nyx, the death of a Lukosan ambassador. I think it’s all tilting the balance Arcadia has held for so long.”

“Tilting?” I questioned.

“What about the standing stones?” Nash asked.

“What do you mean?” Silas scratched his chin, watching Nash with sharp eyes.

“The stones have a certain way that they balance on their own, right? They flop over and stay that way until something moves it.”

“What’s your point?” Caroline asked.

“Silas is about to balance stones for this funeral. It’s not the natural balance for the stones, but they find balance again. A creative balance or a new perspective. It takes a lot of shifting and maneuvering, but eventually the stones find peace again.”

I glanced around, turning to Silas and Caroline to explain.

“Am I wrong?” Nash glanced at his brother and sister. “Arcadia is finding its new balance after so many things have shifted.”

Silas shrugged. “It makes more sense the more I think about it. That’s a good point, Nash.”

“So who’s going to balance the stones?” Caroline unfolded her arms. “Us or Nyx?”

“Us.” Nash shook his head. “Definitely us.”

Elder Macon cleared his throat as he approached. “I am sorry to interrupt, but we must start soon. Are you ready, my king?”

Silas nodded, dropping my hand.

“If everyone would gather around, please!” Elder Macon called.

I noticed then that many people had emerged from the forest around us without me knowing, like ghosts in the misty morning.

Markus stood on the opposite side of the burial spot outside of the Aisle of Kings. Elder Macon stood on the other.

Silas cleared his throat. “Thank you for coming with such short notice.” He smiled at the crowd, his eyes flicking over their heads. “Yesterday, our longstanding enemy threatened Arcadia. He’s coming closer to home, so today I will call a council to address our plans as a people. But now, we mourn the loss of a brother. Though we do not know his name, he lives with us in Spirit.”

Silas bowed his head, the crowd following suit. I bowed my head, closing my eyes. The memory of discovering the wolf’s body with Leander haunted my thoughts, the stench of blood and flesh so vivid in my memories.

A haunting call shocked my eyes open.

Markus’s hands cupped around his mouth as he called out an eerie and echoing tune, dissonant and unfinished and aching from grief. Then Elder Macon took up the call, his kulning reverberating in the surrounding trees.

Two Guardians lowered the figure wrapped in brown cloth into the grave, covering it with the recently removed soil. Silas knelt next to the mound, laying the first large stone at the head. He had four more stones near him, choosing an oval-shaped stone next and balancing it on its very tip. A few moments passed, but the onlookers stood still like they’d been frozen by Elder Macon and Markus’s calls.

Silas then picked up a long stone, balancing it perpendicular to the ground and the next long stone the same way. He then placed a small round stone on the far end of the first long stone for a counterbalance and finished the stack with another oval-shaped stone.

The effect was magical.

Silas stood, careful not to disturb the newly balanced stones. He retraced his steps back to my side, his hand reaching for mine.

Elder Macon muttered something in the Ancient Tongue.

Markus called out again in that same dissonant echo, leaving me off-kilter and somewhat hollow. As his last note melted into the sounds of the forest, Silas squeezed my hand before slipping my fingers through his. He stepped forward again.

“My friends, rauha ussen. Peace to us all. I will see you all tonight at Guardian’s Glade.”

He bowed, dismissing them to their normal daily tasks, and they all dispersed with quiet murmurs and whispers between themselves.

Silas turned to face me. “I have to tell them tonight.”

“Tonight? But–”

“I need to end this before any of our people die.”

Our people.

“Silas, I don’t–”

“My King.”

We turned to face Markus and Elder Macon.

“May I suggest an established plan before we tell the kingdom?” Elder Macon held his staff with both hands. The blue glow from his staff shone bright in the dim morning.

Silas nodded. “We need to discuss what happens if–” He swallowed, but didn’t finish his thought.

“After you.” Elder Macon motioned down the path leading back to the Yard.

Without another word, Silas started down the path, and I followed. Nash filed in behind me, followed by Markus, Caroline, and Elder Macon.

Silas led us back to Guardian’s Glade without so much as a backwards glance at me or anyone else. Inside the private space of Guardian’s Glade, Elder Macon closed the door behind us.

“Eden, if you will collect the Compendium.”

I did as instructed. The table that had been set for dinner the night before was still there, though no longer decorated for a meal. I placed the heavy book onto the wood surface, dragging it open and flipping through the pages until I found the page with the second vision.

“The next few days are full of much difficulty,” the Elder began, “and I’m not positive how things will turn out. My king? If you will…”

Silas stood at the head of the table, pulling the book to rest in front of him. “If you’ll all take a seat. I have an important matter to discuss.”

While we all shuffled to sit, Silas continued. “I meant to elucidate last night, but we were interrupted. So, today will have to do.” He thumbed the pages, licking his lips. “As you all are aware, I asked Ransom to oversee a vision session with nightshade. This was after Ransom had shared with me a vision from the past, Lycaon’s past. And his brother, Nyx.”

Caroline tensed beside me.

“During the vision induced from the nightshade, Lycaon gave me His blessing. And I am to stand in place of our kingdom against Nyx.” Silas’s eyes flickered to Nash for a brief moment. “And I don’t expect I’ll return. I had planned on waiting as long as possible, maybe until the winter solstice; however, in light of recent events, I fear it will have to be tomorrow.”

Nash bowed his head but said nothing. Markus’s face had turned an ashen color.

“Given that I have no successor, I believe that my throne will pass to Caroline and Markus.” He turned to face them.

Markus shook his head.

“Elder Macon is aware of this, and Nash has agreed that it’s the best option.” He turned to me. “And Eden will be welcome in Arcadia until the end of her days. That will be my final act as King of Arcadia, giving her safe haven in this place.”

I tried to reassure him with a smile.

“I won’t accept any pity. This is my fate. This is my job as King of Arcadia. I hope you all will understand. Eden will stack my stones in the Aisle of Kings alongside Nash and Caroline. And the next Autumn Equinox, I’ll return in Spirit along with our mother and father.”

“Silas,” Caroline breathed, “I can’t. How could I?”

Silas moved over to his sister, bending to wrap his arms around her shoulders. “It’s in your blood. You’ll do fine.”

“Si.” Nash stood, joining their hug.

Elder Macon moved to stand next to Markus who still stared forward, eyes glazed over. And I sat staring at my intertwined fingers, eyes moving from focused to unfocused.

I hadn’t expected it to be this difficult. Elder Macon had said that their mother had chosen me.

And she will laugh, at ease with her fate.

She is wise, though she does not know it.

And she will treat our people with kindness.

All sound fell away aside from my sputtering heart.

This was where I belonged: I would be the Princess bound to the rock. I would be the wolf spirit standing in the gap. I would be the fourth shape in the flames, a human brought to Arcadia for this moment.

Eden: a place of delight. Arcadia would once again be a place of rest, a paradise.

I would take Silas’s place.

The decision seemed almost natural, like it had always been a part of me. Like destiny. Like Ellie and Iain chose me, saved me from that river for this moment—so I could save their children.

I watched the siblings for a moment longer, trusting they’d have much more to worry about than where the human had disappeared to. I stood, slipping out the door into the dim light of early afternoon, marching into the Sage Brush.