Chapter 35 Starless Sky #2
The towering horns and enormous wings come into view first, and then he tilts his head up and looks at me, flashing a ghost of a smile.
It isn’t real. He’s trying to keep me calm.
To keep me from spiraling. It’s what he does best. So, I step toward him, welcoming the slowing of my racing heart and the calm that takes over as I loop my arm through his, heading outside to the darkness that awaits us.
Neither of us speak for a while. We silently make our way down the stone path lined with black flame torches, nod at the soldiers who stand and wait, then continue walking as Ere commands them to take off into the sky.
We head toward the black waters of the River Styx, the dark, rocky mountains towering over us on both sides as he grips my hand in his.
The river is deathly still. Gazing into it as I walk past the mouth, there’s something that tells me it might enjoy devouring the bodies of restless, lost souls and spitting out the useless bones.
Like souls are what keep it satiated and content.
I shiver over this thought, wrapping an arm around my center.
This river, though, it’s also…familiar. Like I’ve seen it up close before or have even stood in this exact spot before, but I wouldn’t remember.
Maybe that’s part of its magic and allure, to make all who pass by feel like they’re meant to be here. Like they’re home.
“You said this river is sacred. What makes it so special?” Gripping his hand tighter, I bring it to my chest, clasping my free hand around our entwined fingers.
I can’t tear my eyes away from the still water. It feels charged and magnetic like it won’t let me look away until it’s through searching within me.
His fingers twitch slightly in my hand as his head tilts down at me.
“If the stories are true, then where we stand is a place gods and goddesses once came to. This very ground is sacred. Gods rarely made oaths with one another, but when they did, it was this water they would drink to seal it for eternity.” Looking away, he gets lost staring into the pool of water before us.
“Oaths broken would bring both gods here no matter where they were or how long it had been, and punishment would be swift. You do not make a promise before this river that you do not intend to keep with the other party. The magic within the River Styx never forgets. And the one who breaks the oath, well, their life will be changed forever, one way or another. It is up to the river to decide what is taken from them.”
“Holy shit,” I breathe, finally able to peel my eyes away and look at him. “How did my life go from being so simple to this in just weeks?” I huff a laugh, shaking my head. “Are there other sacred places that exist similar to this?”
Smiling, he shifts his attention to the walls of the mountains, pointing up, his eyes glowing with excitement.
“There. That’s called the River Lethe. It has magical properties of its own.
There is another here named the River Msemosyne, and it does as well.
I will take you to see them one day.” Releasing my hand, he turns his back to the rivers and begins to walk away.
As I turn with him, I Glance over my shoulder, taking in the highest peak of the mountains where a glimmer catches my eye. A huge waterfall cascades down the side and pours into the open mouth of the sprawling mountain range below, too far away to see where it lands.
He stops and faces me, and I look at him, really seeing him tonight for the first time.
I admire his beauty and grace in the black attire, choosing to forgo comfort in order to play the part of a true king.
His black slacks and blazer give the impression that we’re not at war or that not a single drop of blood might be spilled, and something about it makes him feel even more dangerous and lethal.
It’s an illusion of calm that I know is a lie, because his shadows, I fear, want to tear the world apart tonight.
“Sit with me for a moment?” Placing a hand on my lower back, he helps me sit as a soft blanket appears on the ground and a black flame fire pit that wasn’t there seconds ago flicks to life beside us.
I smile as the warm flames extinguish the chill in the air and Ere sits down next to me. “A date before we meet with death? How romantic.” Leaning my head on his shoulder, I curl into him as he wraps an arm around me and then softly runs his fingers through my wavy hair.
“I told you that you are not dying today, and I meant it.” His dark locks fall in front of his warm, caramel eyes as he pulls back slightly to look at me, adjusting his wings behind him.
“Let’s just enjoy this peaceful moment together.
” Gently gripping my chin between his fingers, he caresses my cheek with his thumb before placing a soft, comforting kiss to my lips.
“Are you afraid?” I whisper, a part of me scared she might hear, that the darkness might always be listening. “That she’ll take me from you again, I mean.”
“Yes,” he says simply, his trembling hand grasping mine.
“I fear how I might respond.” His voice cracks with vulnerability, his brows furrowing as he looks at me.
“I have endured Nyx’s darkness for over a century, but the emptiness I have been avoiding will consume me if you are taken away now.
It is a darkness, a pain, I could never escape.
I will drag anyone who gets in our way into the pit, even if it means surrendering myself to its fiery depths. She will not hurt you again.”
I swallow, tears burning my eyes, my throat raw from a slicing anguish that has me gripping his hand tighter. He has endured too much. I can’t let her hurt him anymore either.
“I’m sorry you’ve been hurting. I know I was human when we met, but you knew my struggles, and you were there for me. You helped me more than you know. I wish I would have known that you were hurting, too.”
In this moment all I want is to help him find happiness.
My memories and my own future are important, but if darkness is all he has known for more than a century, then no one deserves freedom or happiness more than Ere.
Anger ignites in my core and threatens to spill out into the world, my power thrumming within with a desire to fix things for him.
“I never wanted to lie to you. To tell you my pain was caused by another would have been absurd when the only one I have ever loved is you.” His smile is small, agony showing through, as he shifts on the blanket and faces me.
“Every second without you has felt like an eternity. I will set this whole goddamn world on fire and watch it all burn if that is what it takes to get your memories back.” His glowing crimson eyes burn into mine, swirling and flickering with deadly promises.
“Your love for me is intense and slightly terrifying.” I laugh quietly. “Was the love between us always this way?” Pulling a leg up, I turn to face him, tilting my head and watching as his eyes dance with a darkness and fiery passion that makes my heart melt.
“Yes,” he whispers. “Always.”
There’s no questioning my feelings for Ere.
I know my love for him runs deep and that if something were to happen to him, I would do whatever it takes for him, too.
Being with him feels like coming home after not knowing where I belonged for too long.
I need him to finally break free of Nyx so he can find the happiness he deserves.
“Kiss me,” I whisper, my pulse quickening as his heated gaze washes over me. “One last time before everything possibly falls apart.” Pulling myself to my knees, I run my fingertips along his jawline before clasping my hands around the nape of his neck.
He grips my waist and pulls me onto his lap, hands sliding up my thighs and then holding firm at the arch in my back.
I lock my ankles behind him and he holds me steady.
Tucking my hair behind my ear, his hand lingers, thumb caressing my cheek as he wraps his fingers around the side of my neck and brings his lips to mine.
Our kiss is slow and gentle at first, unrushed and tender, until the world falls away and it’s just him and I and nothing else.
Fisting his hair in my hands, his tongue moves against mine now with a newfound passion and desire like I’ve never felt before.
This isn’t just a kiss, it’s us saying goodbye the only way we can, using lips and tongues to say what he can’t bring himself to admit, that one or both of us could die tonight.
Hope and love radiate around us as his shadows meet the swirls of my blue and purple divine light, and they flicker and sway, combining as one.
Darkness may have succeeded in extinguishing our light for a time, but the love between us reignites blistering flames of hope within both our hearts.
I don’t want to let him go, not now or ever.
I want to stay here in the darkness with his shadows wrapped around us keeping us protected and hidden from anguish and pain.
This feeling, this moment with Ere, this is the kind of love I’ve been hoping to find my whole life.
Nothing will ever compare to what I feel for him.
I’m no longer scared to find out the truth because I know the truth already.
There’s no way he has been feeding me lies with all the nourishment he provides to my heart and soul.
Pulling my lips away from his is difficult.
If it were up to me, we’d stay here like this forever.
The gentleness of his forehead pressed against mine helps ease my racing heart and cool the fiery need pulsing in my core.
I close my eyes and smile as he traces lines up and down my back with his fingertips.
“Our love is written in the stars,” he breathes, looking up at the sky with a mesmerizing smile and eyes golden and swirling with hope.
Following his gaze, my eyes widen and my mouth pops open in disbelief.
The normally pitch-black sky shimmers with twinkling blue stars bigger and brighter than any I’ve seen before.
An electrifying feeling of shock and awe shoot straight to my heart.
I can’t deny that it’s a little like fate whispering down at me that prophecies and predetermined destinies are real, and that everything is happening as it should.
The beauty of the stars, so out of place here in the Underworld, make the glow of them even more brilliant against the backdrop of the shadows and dreary darkness of this realm.
“How is this possible?” I shift in his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck and leaning all the way back to get a better look. “There shouldn’t be light here. No stars in the sky.”
“You are not one to believe much in fate, but how can you deny what you see with your own eyes? What you feel in your own heart. Fate will always make itself known, whether you choose to believe in it or not.” He smiles, brushing hair away from my eyes and tucking it neatly behind my ears.
“No amount of darkness or passing of time could ever keep us apart. Our souls will always find their way back to each other.”
I shake my head. “I should have learned by now to expect the unexpected.” I untangle myself from him, standing and reaching for his hand.
“I don’t want to wait any longer, Ere. I’m ready for whatever fate will bring.
” I smile as he reaches for my hand and pulls himself to his feet, leading us away from the river.
We choose to not fly into our fate, not wanting to appear rushed, afraid and hopeless. We aren’t those things, not anymore. We choose to instead stroll hand in hand with our heads held high, carrying only hope in our hearts.