21. The Woman in White
twenty-one
The Woman in White
*ENDELLION*
I t’s a full moon tonight, and it illuminates our surroundings beautifully. Azadeh has adapted well to the cold temperatures, which is why I decided to risk taking the horses and go on a ride with her. Over the last few days she has bonded with one of the mares, a beautiful white horse, a fraction stubborn, but apparently Azadeh’s calm dignity spoke to it.
In a way, two princesses found each other.
“This is so beautiful,” she says in awe as I lead her through the forest. It’s a beautiful trail we take, leading us along a stream. The owls are active at night, and their coos are accompanying us. I thought she might be scared of the forest at night, but she is rather fascinated.
I watch her ride alongside me, her beautiful, graceful face lit up by a gentle smile. She has pulled her long brown locks back into a ponytail, and she looks so effortlessly beautiful. Everything she does looks effortless.
Caspian is peaceful in my mind, just lying there and keeping his eyes on the beautiful princess, with her calming and intoxicating aura.
“I didn’t just invite you out at night because it’s so idyllic,” I tell her while we make our way toward the place I wanted to show her. “Though, spending time with you away from everyone else is a bonus.”
She smiles. “Always so smooth, Prince Endellion.”
Caspian wags his tail in my mind. She is teasing us, that’s a first. He growls contentedly. Look at how she looks at us. She likes spending time with us! He sounds excited, making me shake my head at him.
Don’t let it go to your head, I tell him . I don’t think she sees us that way.
You are a dunce , he grumbles. We will never know if we don’t make any advances!
Cas, would you choose her instead of waiting for your mate? I ask earnestly. Caelan is starting to feel a bond. It could happen to us too. If we take a chosen mate, we will cut the bond to our fated one… if she exists.
I know, but it doesn’t matter to me. I like her , he says. And I’ve never liked anyone before. She sends tingles through my body without touching me, and I hate if someone even looks at her.
His words put me at ease. I know how I feel, but it’s good to know that we are on the same page.
I shift my attention back to the princess. “Just wait,” I tell her, picking up my pace and making sure she follows me before leading her towards a huge clearing. Azadeh halts her horse, her mouth dropping open at the sight in front of her. “This is… unbelievable…”
“Moon flowers,” I tell her with a smile while dismounting my horse. I help her down from hers, smiling as I watch her walk further into the clearing, gaping at the sight. “It is said that this place was blessed by the goddess, which is why the flowers here bloom only at night, and under a full moon, they are illuminated, sparkling and shining like little silver lights.”
“This is surreal,” Azadeh breathes out.
“Come,” I reach out my hand towards her, my heart skipping a beat when she takes it, then lead her further into the clearing until we are both surrounded by the shimmering moon flowers.
“Magical,” she says quietly.
“So, I assume you like it?”
“Like doesn’t even remotely describe what I feel,” she says.
I chuckle and twirl her around a bit.
“What are you plotting now, Prince Endellion?” she smiles.
“I thought at such a magical place during such a magical night, I ought to ask the princess for a dance,” I say before I can filter my words.
Azadeh looks surprised at first, but then her gaze softens, and she nods, letting me tug her closer. She rests her free hand on my arm while I gently guide her over the field. I can’t believe that I’m doing this. It’s like I jumped out of one of Kilah’s cheesy romance novels she likes to collect and read. She has a favorite author in one of the neighbor packs, and he always sends her the first draft of his work. The last one was about a prince and a princess meeting and finding each other against all odds.
I found it stupid at first. But now, here I am, falling for the woman who isn’t my mate, and realizing that neither my wolf nor I mind it. I want her! I take a deep breath, taking in Azadeh’s scent. She smells of ginger, lemon and cherries, her scent engulfing me fully.
She is mine , Caspian growls possessively.
Where did that come from?
It’s like smelling her up so close has made him even more determined to take her as our chosen mate.
*AZADEH*
I need to stop my face from flaming up whenever I see Endellion. I don’t know what came over me to dance with him through this moon flower meadow. It’s just been such a surreal and ethereal moment.
I felt myself being swept along, which was probably a mistake, but I couldn’t help it. Every time I’m in Endellion’s presence, I find myself letting my guard down.
To distract myself, I arrange to meet with Flinn to do some research, again. “You look awful,” he tells me with a grin. “Sleep-deprived.”
“Right back to you,” I retort.
“What can I say?” he stretches. “I partied hard. One day, you have to come with me for a few drinks. I promise, my friends and I aren’t meeting in some shady taverns.”
“There is no way I will go out with you,” I grin.
“Oh, Aza, don’t be so boring,” he exclaims.
“Don’t be an idiot,” I say, moving aside when he tosses a paper ball at me.
“Man,” he pouts. “You learn too fast.”
“Being with you is like being with my brother,” I deadpan. “He is also obnoxious.”
“Oh, a mysterious brother,” he raises his head in interest. “You don’t talk much about your family.”
“That’s because I don’t have much to talk about,” I admit. “But Kiyan is different. He is my father's firstborn and heir, and he has always been nice to me.”
“Why doesn’t he write to you, then?” Flinn frowns. “If you were my little sister, and our father sold you off, I would be fuming and bombarding you with letters.”
“I believe Kiyan didn’t know,” I explain. “He was away on a mission when Father sent me away.” I pause, allowing my thoughts to wander towards my brother. During my time here, Simin and I wrote two or three letters to him, but we never received a response. I wonder why. Kiyan always tried to protect me. Is he cross with me for whatever reason? Or… a sinking feeling settles in my stomach. Did he get hurt?
“I’m sorry for reminding you of things you didn’t want to think of,” Flinn says.
“You didn’t,” I assure him. “I love Kiyan.”
“Is he hot?” Flinn asks with a grin.
“How would I know?” I frown, grimacing slightly.
He rolls his eyes. “Don’t be such a prude.”
“I’m not being a prude,” I argue. “How would you feel if someone lusts after Alana?”
“Everyone admires her,” he shrugs.
“Fine, then how about someone trying to hook up with Kilah or Eibhlin?”
He grimaces. Despite all his bravado and pretending he doesn’t care for her, he hates it when someone hits on Kilah. “Let’s continue with our research,” he tries to shift the topic.
A smile curls my lips, and I’m inclined to tease him more, but research is more important, especially now that Flinn has finally stopped playing around and wants to help. We have a whole stack of books to go through. Gillean and Aylin told us that the woman in white is probably a deity, so we mostly go through books about mythology.
“How come she isn’t mentioned anywhere?” Flinn asks.
“I don’t know… maybe the woman in white isn’t her true name. I mean-” I frown “the two sides of a coin is a pseudonym, too.”
“That’s a good point.”
“Say, where would you read up on the Moon Goddess?”
Flinn looks at me. “Mythology books, but also history books. It’s sometimes hard to tell these two apart, but some things, like the mate bond or the wolf spirits she blesses us with, are facts; many other things we can only guess.”
I rummage through the shelves of the library, keeping Flinn’s words in mind, until I find a children’s book with the goddess on it. There are pages upon pages about the Moon Goddess, but also some about other deities that are said to be connected to her, and…
I frown. “The veiled woman,” I mutter.
“What did you say?” Flinn looks up.
“The veiled woman.”
“The Cailleach,” Flinn explains. “She is a major deity, said to have created our lands, and she is said to have blessed us with this landscape of snow and ice.”
“Could the woman in white be related to her?”
Flinn shrugs. “I don’t know, but I think you have a good approach now. Where else could we look aside from mystery and myth books? Where else are mythological creatures mentioned?”
I let my eyes glide over the shelves until one row of books catches my attention. “Eibhlin said she likes horror stories,” I say. “Aren’t at least some of them based on myths?”
“They are.” Flinn gets up and hurries to my side. “Let’s grab a few and see what we’ll find.”
The hours fly by while we skim through one horror book after another. I’m almost losing hope of ever finding anything about that darn woman in white, even worse, because I haven’t met Favian in my dreams recently. But then I grab a book with an older leather cover. Opening it, I immediately see an image of a white-haired woman, dressed in a flowy white dress and a veil covering her head. She looks like the veiled woman, the major deity Flinn talked about. I assume maybe over the centuries, her appearance made its way to myths, because this here… is clearly the woman in white.
“Flinn,” I say breathlessly. “I found something.”
“No way!” Flinn blurts out. “What does it say?”
My heart thrums like mad against my chest while I read through the text. “The woman in white is said to be a ghost. She can’t leave this world because she is bound to it by sorrow.” I look up at him. “That’s not much, but I have an idea. There is someone who knows a lot about horror stories.”
Flinn raises his brows. “Eibhlin,” he concludes, his eyes glossing over before I can even ask him to mind link someone to find her.
It doesn’t even take Eibhlin ten minutes to come running into the library. “One of the guards told me to come. Something about horror books. I can’t believe it,” she squeals. She is carrying a new doll in her arms with creepy black eyes. “Oh, that’s Stella. I collect dolls, you know?”
I didn’t know, and I decide not to ask more about the doll and instead, come right to the point. “Eibhlin, we need your knowledge.”
“Anytime.” She eyes us curiously. “How can I help?”
“What do you know about a figure called the woman in white or the veiled woman?”
Eibhlin takes a deep breath before sitting down. “The veiled woman! She is so popular,” she exclaims.
“She is?” Flinn blinks.
“Yes, her stories are tragic every time. It’s mostly the loss of her lover or his betrayal that binds her to our world or a cruel death, and then she stays here and haunts the living.”
“Is she evil?” I want to know.
“In some stories, she is. Then, she is driven by revenge. In some, she is just desperate.”
So, this means we’ll need to find out which version we are dealing with: the angry one or the desperate one.
“So, she is a ghost?” I try to verify.
Eibhlin tilts her head. “She is more than that,” she says. “She is a thought, the manifestation of despair and fear. There are many different stories about her, but they all have one thing in common: The veiled woman or… apparently, the woman in white, as we now know, always dies a tragic death, either through murder or suicide. Furthermore, she has always experienced great betrayal and loss.”
“Do you think she exists?” Flinn asks Eibhlin.
“I do,” She says. “I know everyone tends to laugh at my silly ideas and thoughts.”
“We don’t,” I tell her. “Neither Flinn nor I are laughing.”
Eibhlin eyes me with interest. She has never been impolite to me, but she is more distanced than the other siblings. She displays a feel of creepiness, but not an uncomfortable one. “I believe she exists; sorrow and pain exist everywhere, and she is the embodiment of it.”