45. SOPHIE
It was the last day of the Ephemeral Eclipse. The day where the stars would return to their rightful place high in the sky. The day where the sun and moon, star-crossed lovers doomed to pine after each other for all eternity, would resume their aching chase across the sky once more. Sophie would enjoy tonight, not knowing what tomorrow would uncover for her.
Sophie sat at her desk, looking out into the courtyard. The night air was cool, the sounds of insects buzzing and chirping filled the empty space around her. Ash had asked her if she was up for a training session with the Tienthan but she politely declined, in favour of sorting out her jumbled mind.
She opened her desk drawer, its wooden surface smooth, to find the two throwing knives she thought she had left behind in Faery. Her father’s throwing knives and now hers. Sophie smiled softly, running a finger across the pearlescent surface. They represented a past she’d never known. A past that was written into her DNA. It was a reminder that she was about to do the right thing. Tomorrow. It would all change tomorrow.
Sophie returned the throwing knives into their scabbards and pocketed them, returning to the task that she’d set out to accomplish this morning.
Two letters. One that protected her heart. And one that left it open, raw and ready to be obliterated if the person receiving the letter decided to betray her. So much had happened since she had found herself in the Godlands. She hadn’t had a chance to organise her thoughts. She found herself at a crossroad again, knowing that her choices had led her here to the Godlands. Where would her next choice lead her?
And so she wrote.
Dear Acheron,
I can’t thank you enough for being a friend. You’ve always been there for me, showing me my limits. You always know how to push them (much to my chagrin).
Sophie laughed, thinking about all the times he knew exactly what to say to rile her up. She shook her head and continued writing.
Our friendship is something that I will value to the end of my days. So I’m writing this to let you know where my heart lies as I fear that lines have been blurred as of late. I’ve been hurt, Ash. Badly. And my heart will never recover from it. I can feel the irreparable fissure in my flesh, and I simply cannot offer you more of me. If I tried, it would be a disservice to myself, and most of all to you, my dear friend.
I hope in this letter you too find the answer that you’ve been searching for. I hope that you understand that I will always have your back, as your friend and confidant.
Your friend forevermore, Sofreya.
As Sophie finished the letter, her throat felt sour. The words she’d written were, in part, truth, but they felt so wrong being written into reality. Sophie’s mana thrashed against the words too, knowing they were completely false. Her gut told her that. She always trusted her gut. It guided her through everything and so far, it hadn’t been wrong. Yes, at times it wasn’t clear, but now, it was as clear as moonlight.
Sophie folded the letter, placing it neatly into a black envelope and scrawled Ash’s name in golden ink.
She moved back to the writing pad feeling nervous writing this particular letter. The letter that would tell her heart’s truth. Sophie took up the pen with a shaky hand and an equally shaky breath.
Here goes nothing.
The words that Sophie longed to voice came spilling out upon the page.
My Acheron,
I told you once how scared I was. My heart had been broken times a plenty, but I find that perhaps my fear with you is not how you’ll break my heart but how you’ll keep it held together in the palm of your steady hands. That feeling, so whole and true, is something I’ve never felt before. That unknown is what terrifies me.
But as we spend more time together, as our past and paths continue to unfold and uncover themselves, I can’t help but feel that we are destined to walk the unbeaten path – hand in hand. That the stars themselves, the ones that line the sky, had always been lighting a path to you.
I don’t know what the future will hold for us. But what I do know is how my troubled heart eases with you around. How my jagged soul softens when you are near. What I do know is how my skin burns for you, and how your touch quells every anxious fibre in my being. I know that whatever our souls are made of, they are the same.
I see you in my memories, my dreams and my future. The point is, despite the times I want to throttle your neck for some smart-ass comment or the times you steal my snacks at training just so I would look at you (do this again and I will kill you), I see us. I see us and no one else. There is no one else for me but you Acheron Taranis. You are mine and I am yours, forevermore.
Starlight.
The words came too easily. Spilling out onto the page, eager to breathe, eager to live. Sophie teared up, folded the piece of paper, placed it in a red envelope and scrawled Ash’s name across it. She held it in her hands for a moment longer with a soft smile on her face. This felt good. Writing it all down felt good. It felt right. Tomorrow, after she did what she needed to do, she would give it to him. Tomorrow.
“What are you doing?” Eros cooed, leaning against a column of her bedroom with a lazy smile.
“AH!—” Sophie shot from her chair, pushing her desk forward, sending her letters and stationary flying. “Godsdamnit, Eros, don’t you know how to knock?!”
Sophie blew out a frustrated breath and haphazardly shoved things back into her desk but not before Eros zoomed across the room and plucked the letter out of her hands.
The strawberry-blond god of love, sniffed the envelope and rolled his eyes back into his head as if he’d sniffed the most tantalising drug in the universe.
Sophie tried not to laugh, mainly because she needed that letter back. She crossed her arms and scowled. “Give it back.” Sophie laid her hand out expectantly.
Eros snatched it back even farther, a playful grin on his face. His pure white wings bristled with excitement. “Not until you tell me what’s inside it.”
“By the way you’re acting, it looks like you already know.”
“It’s a love letter then?” Eros wagged his eyebrows.
Sophie sighed. “Yes.”
“GAH! THE STARS ARE ALIGNING. LOVE IS IN THE AIR. ITS WOMB PRIMED AND READY TO BE PENETRATED BY THIS VERY LETTER!” Eros cawed like he’d found the damned lost city of Atlantis. He held the letter in the air and Sophie swore there were tears in his loved-up eyes.
“Penetrated? Not sure if that’s the right word.”
Eros gasped, looking completely offended.
Sophie took that moment to snatch the letter out of his hands, quickly stowing it away in her desk with her Fae speed.
Eros, finally recovering from his outburst, propped his elbows onto Sophie’s desk, rested his chin in his hands and started wiggling his butt.
Someone please come and collect this hopeless romantic. ASAP.
“So, when are you going to give it to him?” Eros smirked, drawing outlines of little hearts on her desk with his finger.
Sophie let out shy smile. “Tomorrow. Maybe.”
“MAYBE?! With love there is no maybe, Soph. You’re all in or you’re all out. If you don’t give it to him, I will.” Eros crossed his arms, meaning to look very serious but he couldn’t. Not with the heart-shaped smoke puffs he had manifested into the air.
Sophie crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “You wouldn’t.”
Eros stepped closer to her. Defiant. “I would.”
“Well good thing I’m giving it to him tomorrow then. I’ll save you the trouble.”
“Good,” Eros huffed.
“Good.”
The Ephemeral Rising, the final day of the Ephemeral Eclipse, would forever have a special place in Sophie’s heart.
A soft summer breeze swept through the trees and the smell of food wafted into the air. Together with Ash’s cadre, Sophie sat among the stars upon a picnic blanket at a local park in Soul City. Who could say, in their right mind, that they sat with the stars? That if she sought to reach out and touch one, she could?
Soul City was aglow with the stars that came to rest. The bright yet warm light of the stars illuminated the happy faces of everyone in the city. A fair, filled with rides and carnival games, had been set up by the townspeople, adding to the magic of the night. Screams and shouts of glee echoed through the park and it made Sophie’s heart squeeze.
Gah. This is just so magical, and the stars are going to rise at any moment.
Nemysis had pulled together an extraordinary charcuterie board to share. She lay on her stomach with her brown wings tucked in tightly behind her, as she picked at the fruits and meats. Eros lay next to her, talking about a rom-com he had watched last night. Deymos sat quietly, admiring the stars and the empty night sky. Ash, on the other hand, had run into some children from the Home for Lost Children. The orphans swarmed in on him from a distance, waving to the angels that sat on the picnic blanket before vying for Ash’s attention. Amina, the children’s caregiver, watched them happily, a young soul in her arms. Sophie laughed as the kids chased Ash around the glowing stars.
His hair was pulled into a tight braid, showing off his undercut. He wore that freaking loose blouse that always sent Sophie’s heart a flutter and his dark linen shorts that showed off his tanned quads that she wanted to rest between . . .
Sophie cleared her throat and reached out for a snack to preoccupy her hands.
Soft footfalls sounded on the grass from behind and Sophie looked back to find Cam, a basket of food in his hands. He smiled brightly. “Happy Ephemeral Rising, Sophie.” He held out his arms for her.
Sophie shot up from the ground and wrapped her arms around Cam’s neck. Sure, he was a soul and his skin felt unbearably cold, but he was alive – sort of anyway. “Happy Ephemeral Rising, Cam!” She squeezed him tight before letting go.
Ash’s cadre all shouted their greetings, clapping Cam’s hand as he worked his way around the group. When Cam returned to Sophie, she pulled him down to the picnic blanket. They settled down, returning to watch the stars as some of them rumbled awake.
“I can see the appeal,” Cam said lowly, nodding to Ash who was now pointing out the stars that rumbled for the children to see. Their eyes widened and marvelled at the movement. Ash beamed in return.
Sophie nudged Cam in the arm with her elbow but didn’t say anything. She could totally see the appeal too.
“Do you miss them?” Sophie asked Cam.
“Ellie and Zala?”
Sophie nodded.
“All the time.” His eyes were sad, but a bittersweet smile still turned on his face.
“I’ll tell them when I see them next.” Sophie leaned in, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and squeezing it. She had to head back to Faery soon. She’d have to face Kaine and hopefully stop him from killing Faery entirely. And hopefully she would run into Elowan and Zala.
“Shit, you’re headed back to Faery?”
“Soon enough.”
“I don’t envy you, but I guess it needs to be done.” Cam leaned down and grabbed a grape, popping it into his mouth.
“I guess so,” Sophie said with a sad smile.
“Do me a favour, Soph. Whatever you do, don’t let go of the people that matter to you most.” He looked to Ash, then to Ash’s cadre as they laughed and went about their conversations. “Tell them you love them every single day, every single second and with every breath that you have to spare. The Fates are ruthless, and they’ll rip it all away from you when you least expect it.”
Sophie looked at him. The blue film of magic that encased his body was a stark reminder that the Fates were indeed heartless.
“I won’t let the Fates win,” Sophie said with an air of conviction.
“Good.” Cam smiled and paused. “Because if I had that”—he pointed to Ash—“waiting for me at home, I’d tell the Fates to fuck off too.”
“You salacious soul!” Sophie batted his arm, laughing all the while.
A large, ominous shadow dulled the glow of the stars around her.
“Do we have a problem here?” Ash growled, his wings spread out a little in posturing.
“No! Sophie here was just telling me what a nice ass you have – what a nice asset you are to her life.” Cam cleared his throat as he stood up, reaching out a hand for Ash to grab. “Happy Ephemeral Acheron.”
Ash took Cam’s hand and with a wicked grin said, “Happy Ephemeral.” Ash pulled Cam in closer with a tighter grip upon his hand. Sophie swore that Cam squeaked. “Any friend of Sofreya’s is a friend of mine.” Ash laughed as he clapped Cam on the shoulder hard. Really hard.
“Strong. So strong,” Cam groaned, nursing his shoulder.
“Come on, the stars are waking,” Ash held out his hand for her and she eagerly grabbed it, lacing her fingers through his. She gave Cam a nod before slipping past him.
The stars, one by one, rumbled to life. Their cores burned bright, ready to catapult themselves into the sky. Everyone in the park stood from their blankets, their hands raised in the air with anticipation.
Like they were possessed with magic, the stars shot up into the sky, just as fast as they’d fallen, leaving trails of blue-and-green swirling light in their wake.
A bright laugh bubbled in Sophie’s throat.
This was living.
The stars rushed back to their homes in the night sky, whisking all around in joy.
Ash wrapped an arm around Sophie, pulling her closer. She obliged, leaning into him. Ash’s woodsy scent made her heart so full. She looked up to him, into those smoking turquoise eyes and by the Fates, she wanted to squeeze him.
Ash laughed, placing a soft kiss on her forehead, before turning his entire body to stand in front of her. He held out both his hands for her to take. She took them without hesitation, her skin buzzing at the points where they touched. His white wings snapped out, thrusting them into the air.
Sophie let out a little squeal as Ash pulled her closer to his chest, spiralling them through the rising stars. Up and up they went. They floated beyond the stars for a while, having raced ahead of them.
Sophie was completely entranced by Ash. Body and soul. There was no denying it anymore. “Happy Ephemeral, Ash.” Sophie grinned, her heart bursting at the seams.
“Happy Ephemeral, Starlight.” Ash grinned back.
Like two mirrors, they stared endlessly into each other’s eyes before the tension between them sundered and their lips, destined to meet in this lifetime and lifetimes beyond, found each other. Sophie breathed him in fully. His lips. His scent. She knew her soul could not be without his.
And as the stars finally caught up to them, whizzing past, Ash turned in the air and released the tension in his wings so that they were falling. Sophie’s stomach turned but as Ash pulled her closer to him, the feeling of weightlessness disappeared without a trace. From point to point, lips to lips, hands to chest, the feeling of Ash overwhelmed Sophie’s senses and sense. Her body lay flush against his in the most poetic way, as they plummeted through the stars, locked together in a lover’s embrace.