Chapter 19
I couldn’t think straight all day. Nothing I did distracted me from the image of Eden sitting by the Gateway.
Then getting chomped in half by that beast.
Lycaon, I want to hold her and never let go.
I chided my childish desires, knowing that love wasn’t grasping something and never releasing. That kind of love wasn’t protective.
It couldn’t be.
Love was freedom, the risk of the other one leaving you behind either in life or death.
Love was loss waiting to happen.
And I’d experienced so much loss.
I held my forehead in my hands, elbows propped up on my knees as I sat by the Great River’s bank that lay inside of our borders. Its rumbling tone almost drowned out the thoughts that weighed my head and shoulders down.
The Great River flowed for miles, eventually branching into the Little River where I had first met Eden fifteen years ago. Chance allowed us to meet once. Serendipity decided that we would come together again.
But the river reminded me of my father, and I missed him.
Losing him, becoming King . . . it overwhelmed me most days. But something about the sound of water drowned out my algae-like anxious thoughts: if I sat still for too long, the algae grew and infected the quiet waters of my mind, tainting it with green, floaty organisms. But movement, the rush of water over stones, separated me from my worries.
I almost decided to take a swim when a flash of burnished copper drew my attention as an ugal emerged from the undergrowth across the river. His scales stood in contrast against the green moss and woody trunks of trees.
I straightened myself and a feeling of anticipation passed over me. I gave the ugal a nod, hoping to prompt it to speak.
The ugals were one of the many magical races existing in the hidden parts of Appalachia, the Great Mountains, but they were mainly solitary creatures.
“Han ar vene,” the ugal said in the ancient tongue. “Ar vaara innu feru. Han vole hon… Lo Kunin e Arcadia.”
Nyx was causing problems, and he would come for my bride-to-be.
“Kein?”I asked.
“Myt us Joulo.”
Before the winter solstice.
My head swam. There was a reason humans called him the Smoke Wolf, and not because of his scent or dark fur. He evaded capture or attention with the thick fog that often accompanied him. And if he caused problems for the surrounding region, he’d wreak havoc in Arcadia soon enough if I didn’t stop him first.
“Bene, cara.”
The ugal bowed and slipped into the Great River, sinking below its inky waters.
I picked my way back to the path while the darkness seeped around me. It was something I loved about my kingdom, something I had always loved, how the atmosphere ebbed and flowed like the riverbanks in spring. Movement and a flow like the river encompassed the kingdom, and the forest never stood still.
The mist, the light, the branches of the trees.
The river, the song, the hum of the birds.
It captivated me.
It soothed my spirit when the darkness came for me.
I arrived back at the Yard as the guards began to light the lanterns. In front of me, my path was illuminated, drawing me back to my throne, my room, my bed.
I wondered if I should go to Eden’s room to check on her.
Is that what a human husband would do?
Jealousy crept up my bones, hot and heavy.
You gave that job to Nash already.
He had the freedom to be with Eden instead of taking care of the kingdom. He had the job I most wanted, all the fun with none of the responsibility.
I headed straight for my room, ready to collapse and tear off the professional mask of royalty I had to wear.
Is this what Father felt like? And why had I never asked questions when he walked with the living?
I remembered the personal training he had given me and my siblings. Not very traditional, but maybe it had been the only time he was allowed to be himself—Iain, not the King.
I remembered how wistful Eden had sounded when she first asked about him.
What happened to Iain, your father?
Her dreams had answered that question. I didn’t know whether to be happy or angry. I shoved open the double doors to the throne room.
What I wouldn’t give to ask my father why he’d revealed information to Eden and not his own children. I wanted to ask him what this all meant and what waited out there that Eden could help fight.
Or maybe she wasn’t chosen to be a physical benefit. Yes, I’d already assigned her to research. I’d made an educated guess that she would be good at it, considering her meticulous attention to detail in her own research. She was intelligent.
Yes, maybe my father knew I’d need a fresh pair of eyes. A new perspective.
I opened the door to my bedroom surprised to find that not only had my lanterns been lit, but Eden hunched over some of Arcadia’s old texts at my desk. She hadn’t noticed me yet. I closed the door and leaned against its frame.
For several minutes I watched her while she worked. Dressed in her Historian robe, she looked like the night sky on a clear summer day.
It made me ache for memories long past of summers as a pup with Nash and Caroline, summers with our mother and father together. Summers where I was Silas rolling around in the grass on Midsummer’s Eve gazing up at Lycaon’s constellation in the night sky, nestled between the Scorpion and the Centaur.
I must’ve hummed a nostalgic sigh because Eden startled and whipped her head around. I shot her a smirk.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled and cleared her throat. “I didn’t realize you had come in.”
“Do you know you bite your bottom lip when you read?” I asked, stepping over to her. Her eyes flickered in the low lantern light. “It’s cute.”
“You think biting my lip is cute?” She chuckled.
I shrugged. “So what if I do?”
She shook her head and turned back to her books. “I did want to ask you something.”
“Of course.” I leaned back against the desk, folding my arms across my chest. “Anything at all.”
“There’s a section of this old book.” She pulled the Compendium out, setting it on the desk with a thud. Dust danced in the lantern light. “I flipped through it, searching for anything that reminded me of him.”
I noticed the way she tensed when she mentioned Nyx but said nothing.
“I found this.” She pointed to a page illustrating a shadow with flaming eyes. “Can you translate it for me?”
My heart quickened in my chest at the sight. I moved to stand behind Eden, arms propped on the desk on either side of her body. She shifted and I leaned my head over her shoulder. “Which part?”
“Um,” She cleared her throat. “It’s here, I think.”
I squinted at the scrawled font on the brittle, yellowing pages. The illustration of the Smoke Wolf glared at me as I stumbled over the curling letters. “Innu lo veime… In the distant past.” I traced the line with my finger, squinting to read the words in the faint light. “Lo municci rikas innu rauha sur lo feru… The city lived in peace with the wild.”
“Is this a legend?” Eden asked, voice reverberating against my ribs. “Or history?”
I smiled to myself. “You forget that we are both. But if I’m being honest, I’m not even sure. I would have to imagine that it’s history, but so many of our stories merge with local folklore. It’s hard to say.”
She tilted her head up. “Keep going. Please.”
Taking a deep breath, I pulled my attention away from her soft, brown eyes and back to the text. “Autem vaara art vene e l’orizun… But danger grew on the horizon.” I swallowed and adjusted my left hand as I retraced the line of curling letters. “Lycaon art kunan e lo myt, au han avi vele nemicci… Lycaon—he’s the god and first king of Arcadia—was king at the time and had many enemies.”
“Lycaon,” Eden whispered, pronouncing each of the syllables. “He’s your ancestor?”
I nodded.
“So you’re a demigod then?”
“Demigod?” I raised an eyebrow at her.
“So you don’t have any super cool powers?”
I smirked. “You mean besides my rugged looks and the fact that I can phase into a wolf?”
She chuckled, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “Yes, besides that.”
“Then no.” I moved to lean against the desk so I could face her. “I hope you’re okay with what you’re stuck with.”
She smiled. “More than happy.”
“I hope you mean what you say.” The words spilled out before I could stop them, but my chest felt like a dam had been opened.
Eden wasn’t only brains or a pretty face. I felt a little bit more like my old self with her, the Silas I knew before so much death and loss. The Silas who hadn’t grieved his parents. She brought him back out, and I liked who I was with her.
I didn’t have to wear a mask.
I could be myself.
Her smile faded. “I always mean what I say. Always.”
I cleared my throat, returning back to the text. I tilted my head so I could read sideways. “Lycaon was king at the time and had many enemies… surin e alla art: lo Nyx… The chief of them all: Nyx, or the Smoke Wolf as humans call him.”
I picked the book up and read silently, afraid to voice the next part out loud.
He arrived without warning or sound, devastating the town. He brought with him a mist so dense that many were lost in a few days. Making a decision for the greater good of the kingdom, Lycaon met Nyx on the banks of the Great River, offering his own life in the stead of many.
For a brief moment, the wild quaked and stilled from a binding contract between kings of separate kingdoms. It’s said that in the wake of the earth shaking, the sound of stone and metal rang through the trees. And when the sun drove the fog away, Arcadia was left with a second king and no enemy in sight.
“Silas, what does it say?”
“Um… It’s about their battle, or what little is known about it. A fog came over the kingdom and an earthquake. Then sunshine and a second king taking Lycaon’s place.”
“Lycaon was killed?”
I shook my head, eyebrows furrowed. “The text is unclear. He offered himself in the place of his kingdom and the surrounding villages and towns. The fog rolled over, obscuring everything. The next thing written is that Arcadia had a new king.”
Eden bit her lip. I wondered how long she’d been in my room, pouring over these old books alone.
“Eden.” I wet my lips. “You need to rest.”
She inhaled as if to protest but surprised me with a nod. After stacking her books in a neat pile on my desk, she started towards the door. I caught her wrist in my hand, pulling her back.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“My room. Or am I being assigned a new prison cell?” She raised her eyebrows in a challenge, a grin on her lips.
“Would you consider the king’s room a cell?” I pushed myself away from the desk until she and I breathed the same air.
She pursed her lips. “Maybe it doesn’t look like a cell, but I would have a cellmate.”
That pulled a chuckle out of my throat. “Is that all that I am now?”
“Among… other things.” She turned her eyes down at her bare feet on the soft, mossy floor.
“Be careful with your words, human,” I whispered in her ear. “You’ll give the king a big head.”
She tucked herself under my chin, wrapping her arms around my waist in a hug. “You didn’t need my help for that. You already have one of those.”
I rolled my eyes, holding her, arms folding around her slim shoulders. My breath caught in my throat, the weight of the story settling on top of my lungs. The Seers and Historians always said that history was bound to repeat itself.
Silas.
Of the forest.
I’d been told to never fear the depth or be fazed by the darkness of the trees. A blessing over me at my birth, now a curse.
Was it my destiny to take the place of my people, standing in their stead and stopping Nyx for once and for all?
If Lycaon could do it, I could, too. His blood coursed through my veins.
“Come on,” I mumbled. “Rest.”
I backed away, stepping over to the bed where I slipped under the blankets. Eden hesitated but followed after blowing out the lanterns. I lay on my back and gazed at the foliage above us as she nestled her head on my chest.
She hummed in contentedness and I stroked her wild hair.
“Goodnight, Eden,” I whispered.
“Goodnight, silly little king.”
Eden soon fell asleep. I yawned, trying to imagine what it would be like to stand off against Nyx, two kings pitted against each other from the beginning. I tried to imagine dying at the hands of my enemy, or at least bow to him in submission.
I stood next to a wolf I had only seen sketches of.
Lycaon sniffed the air. He hunted something. I hadn’t figured out what yet.
He trotted away from the Yard to the heart of Arcadia. I had been to the sacred ruins countless times with my mother when she tended her gardens there. But it was unrecognizable when we approached. Not a ruin but a beautiful centerpiece to a sprawling forest, and in place of my mother’s garden were stone markers.
Lycaon slowed his pace as he walked up to the entrance of the stone gazebo. He waited for something. Or maybe someone.
I turned my head and realized that a fog approached.
Lycaon stepped onto the stone floor of the gazebo, tail swishing in his wake. I followed, too anxious to speak.
There were carvings in the stone, much clearer than anything I could read the times I visited the stone ruins in the past—or future, considering this place seemed brand new. The dream’s time felt off. The markings resembled the ceremonial paint the Seers painted at Sarva.
Angular lines cut into the stone, speaking a language I had tried my best to learn. I memorized as much as I could, memorizing line after line and curve after curve, wondering if my father decided to reveal information from the Other Realm.
Lycaon drew my attention now, bowing his head in the center of the gazebo.
I heard his prayer in his head but couldn’t make sense of it. Surely he wasn’t praying to himself?
But if not to himself, then who?
The fog grew more dense. I heard three heartbeats: my own, Lycaon’s, and–
Lycaon emitted a low growl, rumbling like thunder. “You dare come to my father’s resting place, disturbing the peace?”
“He was my father, too, you know,” a snarky voice snapped from the fog, echoing in every direction.
“You left. You wanted your own rules,” Lycaon said. “You chose your destiny, and I chose mine. I can’t help that you chose wrong.”
“Please, brother. I only want to talk.” A dark figure emerged from the mist, a heap of matted fur. He loomed large, but I could tell he had been through a difficult season.
“Talk? You had your chance to talk at your Council meeting. I am the Alpha and you’re the Omega now. What’s done is done, Nyx. I can’t change that. I can’t reverse the banishment.”
My heart lurched in my chest. Brother?
Nyx growled. “You’re the King of Arcadia. You can change anything.”
“I am a servant of the Wild. The Wild changes me, not the other way around.”
Nyx snapped at the air with a bark. “Know this, Ly: I will seek retribution. And you will pay for choosing the wrong side of this war. I will reclaim what’s mine even if it takes a millennia. I am nothing if not patient.”
With that, the wolf melted into the mist. Lycaon howled, low and mournful. As his call echoed in the trees, an easterly wind blew the fog away revealing a normal forest behind its tendrilled curtains.
I turned to Lycaon when a flash of light blinded me. I shut my eyes, refusing to see the god-like king in physical form.
I jolted awake, taking a few seconds to readjust my eyes, trying to make sense of what I had witnessed. Eden lay asleep next to me, hair splayed around her head like a crown.
A flicker of lantern light caught my eye around the edges of my door.