Chapter 16 #2
The fire of the tree abruptly flared and then vanished.
Curls of smoke rose into the night sky. The full moon shone directly above the extinguished fire.
Silver light streamed into the grove and revealed an immense stone slab that stood solitary in the place of the flaming tree.
In the center of the gray surface rested the crown of antlers Fen had worn earlier that evening.
Natalie guided Selene to the edge of the bonfire’s remnants and dropped her arm from Selene’s waist. Without knowing why, Selene kept walking. She moved forward until she stood beside the great, flat stone, which reached her waist in height.
Her bare feet rested on cool naked soil.
There was no sign a fire had burned here, no soot nor ash, only fresh spring earth.
The rich scent of it, of all that potential to bring new life into the world after the stillness of winter, surrounded her, suffused her.
Moonlight pooled around her, spiraling as it had around the crone.
She felt something move along her skin, then beneath it.
A rustling of wind or a breath of air that filled her being and pulsed in her veins.
The power of possibility. The promise of renewal.
Five shadowy figures emerged from the forest that surrounded the grove.
Four of them stopped at the edge of the woods.
The last stepped from the darkness into the sphere of silver light.
Fen’s skin gleamed in the moonlight. The blue tattoos on his torso had come alive.
They swirled, shifted, and recreated themselves in new patterns as he strode toward Selene.
He no longer wore a leather kilt. The living ink was the only covering on his body.
Selene spoke in a voice that was hers and not hers at the same time. “The Lady awaits her consort. Who comes forth to prove he is worthy?”
The power that spoke through her seemed to reach deep into the earth and to the heights of the heavens, the moon, and the stars. It was full of starlight. She was past, present, and future.
Fenris approached her and dropped to one knee.
He kept his head bowed but raised his hands toward her, palms facing up.
They were covered in blood. But she felt no alarm; her body was awash with serenity, grace, and a subtle thrill of triumph.
She was herself and yet more, but not altered in a way that frightened her.
Rather, she was filled with a sense of familiarity, of purpose, as if from the moment of her birth, she’d been searching for this place, this moment.
“The Great Hunt is complete. I return to serve the Lady,” Fenris said, and she recognized his voice but heard a deeper voice beyond Fen’s as he spoke. It was a strong and vibrant sound, full of sun, trees, rivers, lakes, and the swell of the ocean waves. “Do you accept my offering?”
Along with her own pulse, she was aware of thousands of heartbeats, the thrum of life itself, all around her. And with it, a word that was murmured in her ears and reverberated in her soul.
Choose.
In that moment she understood the power that belonged to her.
She could accept the offering and end the ceremony without doing anything further.
Or she could follow a new path and become more, be forever bound to the mystical force that sung within her and danced on the air in this sacred grove.
She saw what that would mean, who she could be, to whom she would belong.
Selene chose.
She lifted the crown of antlers from the stone and placed it upon Fen’s head. She took his crimson-stained hands in her own and pulled him to his feet.
“The High King is returned,” she said. “The goddess welcomes the god. Let the earth be renewed and life begin again.”
She released Fenris’s hands and brought her fingers to the thin straps of her silk dress, sliding them down her shoulders, and the dress fell in a white pool around her ankles, leaving her naked.
Power unfurled deep within her, bursting forth from a seed hidden deep in her soul. It grew, spiraling through her veins, whispering of the arcane. Of knowledge she had within her grasp—knowledge that belonged to her. All she had to do was reach for it. Claim it.
“Honor the goddess,” Selene said, opening her arms to him. “Worship her vessel.”
Fen lifted Selene and laid her on the stone slab.
The smooth surface was warm against her back.
The length of his body stretched over hers.
He cupped her face with one hand. His other hand slid beneath her, canting her hips to fit against his body.
Moonlight twisted in a tighter spiral around them.
The silver aura shimmered and brightened until she could see nothing but the light and Fenris.
Selene pulled Fen’s face to hers. Her lips parted to welcome his kiss as her legs twined around him. She was no longer grounded to the stone but floating above it. Her skin, her blood, and her breath wove together with his as they became one with the shining moonlight.
They rose into the stars and left the world behind.