Eight
CHAPTER
When I awoke from my slumber, he was gone.
My initial smile dimmed at that realization.
The warm spot where he once lay had since grown cold.
It was lonely, seeking warmth that wasn’t present.
A hand that wasn’t there to hold. A phantom kiss.
A sense of loneliness that only seemed to grow with each passing moment.
I wondered how he was. How things were going at the Mountain. Surely, if he was summoned, it had to be important? It raised the question of what was so important to be summoned with less than a day’s notice. I would poke and prod it out of him upon his return, but for now, I was simply starving.
The Manor seemed so empty without Neil. Ghostly, even.
Everything was bathed in its usual pure white light.
The halls were bright, but almost too bright.
I pushed the door open and walked into the gardens, where the sky was still a tapestry of billowing white clouds stretching as far as my eyes could see.
I understood why it was called the Realm of Clouds.
Not because of how light everything was, but because of the number of clouds that overtook the Realm.
I closed my eyes and took a breath, feeling the warmth of the sun against my skin, and the air all around me.
It was cool and crisp with a subtle fragrance of fresh dew and sweet flowers.
The Realm of Clouds was so dreamlike. Ethereal mist and endless clouds stretched across the land.
Pegasi could be seen soaring between the clouds in the distance.
This place was so graceful, so otherworldly. Being here in Neil’s care was far better than peeling potatoes for hours on end for the Cruel Prince. Deep down, as much as I didn’t want to admit it, part of me missed peeling potatoes, yet I couldn’t seem to figure out why.
The days seemed to blur together. Three and a half days without him, stuck here roaming the endless halls and vast gardens.
Acheron was no fun. All he did was mope around and write letters. Aradia was preoccupied with planning for the Celestial Festival, whatever that was. I could only presume it was another celebration of some sort. They really loved to host parties and celebrations.
Will Neil be asking me to accompany him as his plus one? I hope so.
I turned toward the Manor and then the clouded path before me.
I hadn’t left the Manor before, let alone wandered down the path I now stood before. Something drove me to keep moving forward, and so I did.
The misty clouds at my feet drifted up my ankles, tickling my skin with each step I took. I giggled to myself, soaking in my surroundings, admiring every tree and bush I walked past. This Realm was nothing like the one I grew up in.
I couldn’t remember the last time I saw so much green. The Mortal Realm was an endless forest of green, whereas the Realm of Clouds was so light, so whimsical.
I missed the color green. It was one of my favorite colors. That, and blue. Not the shade of the sky, but of the waters that made up the surrounding area of Lelarin that I adored so dearly in my youth. A soft breath parted from my lips, thinking of all the things I missed. Neil included.
It felt freeing, to step out of Neil’s Manor and into someplace new.
Someplace different. Unlike the inhabitants of this Realm, I was not nearly as pale.
Nor did I have milky light eyes or white hair.
None of my features mimicked the ones of those who lived here.
Or any of the other Realms for that matter.
What is wrong with me? Why am I so different from everyone else?
I became equally self-conscious as I was self-aware. All eyes fell upon me while I crossed paths with Neil’s people. I gulped. I knew they meant no harm, but it still felt wrong to be here.
I hurried down the path, passing through the small village as quickly as my feet would take me. Marble homes soon vanished in the distance behind me, while I remained oblivious to how far away from the Manor I had truly wandered. I made my way through the clouded field and toward the nearby waters.
This place wasn’t my home. Now to think of it, nowhere was. I couldn’t go back to the Mortal Realm, back to my father one last time, back to—
The sound of approaching hooves caught me off guard.
My head snapped toward the sound. I froze, eyes wide, face-to-face with a Pegasus.
I had heard stories about them, but hearing about them and seeing one in real life this close was another thing altogether.
Her hair was pure white, like freshly fallen snow, shimmering in the sunlight above us.
It reminded me of the moon. And those wings…
those wings were the most magical wings I had ever laid my eyes upon.
I admired the creature and those eyes of hers, pools of swirling wisdom and kindness.
I felt spellbound, like we were connected, like we had an unspoken understanding we somehow shared despite only just meeting. Two beings from two entirely different Realms, crossing paths entirely by chance.
With great hesitation, I held my hand out, intending to pat her snout.
I drew nearer, and as my hand was about to make contact with her velvety hair, I was jerked backward. Nearly stumbling, I was caught in the arms of someone I did not recognize.
One hand was wrapped tightly around my waist, the other covered my mouth.
A line formed between my brows. I went cross-eyed trying to see who dared to put a hand on me.
I looked straight ahead once more, at the Pegasus, who just stood there, staring right at me.
I blinked. And I blinked again. It wasn’t until the third time I blinked that I recognized that scent.
The scent of vanilla bean and bourbon.
There was only one individual I knew whose scent was so distinctive, and if that wasn’t enough for me to conclude that it was him who was embracing me, his voice certainly was.
What in the Four Realms is he doing here?!
“Shh.” Zathrian embraced me tighter, preventing me from squirming. He whispered in my ear, “She might look innocent and beautiful, but she will tear you to shreds. Her kind is almost impossible to tame. Don’t move, Airhead.”
Airhead, huh? Really?
I obliged, not because I wanted to, but because I had to. He was lucky he couldn’t see the way my eyes narrowed. The audacity of this man to call me an airhead. Psh. All high and mighty he is.
Something about the way he embraced me was warm. Comforting. Like a warm fire on a cold winter’s night. Or perhaps a hot meal after a long day’s work. If only he wasn’t so infuriating to be around.
Zathrian and I both watched the Pegasus take off. She took flight, disappearing amongst the clouds above not long after her hooves left the ground. It wasn’t until she was gone and out of sight that Zathrian loosened his grip. I turned just enough to shove him away.
Zathrian was caught off guard, stumbling backward into a pear tree. Several light-colored pears fell to the ground, and one or two hit him in the head on the way down.
I crossed my arms and stuck my chin up in the air. I didn’t even feel the slightest bit bad.
“Serves you right,” I scoffed.
Zathrian began to rub his head. “You’re welcome for saving your life, Airhead.”
“My name is Aerilyn, not Airhead, and I was perfectly fine until YOU barged over,” I retorted.
“Might as well be Airhead with the way there doesn’t seem to be any thoughts in that pretty little head of yours. I already told you, it would have had you for an appetizer if I didn’t step in when I did.”
I rolled my eyes. “You know what?” Turning to face him, I closed the distance between us once more, jabbing my right pointer finger into his chest. “You are just such a know-it-all. This isn’t even your Realm I—” I paused and took a step back, sliding my hands to my hips instead. “This isn’t even your Realm.”
He chuckled. “Thank you for pointing that out as if I did not already know.”
“Gods above, you’re impossible.” I shook my head. “As I was saying, what are you doing here exactly?” My arms crossed, and my head cocked to the side. “Shouldn’t you be at the Mountain with Neil and the other High Lords?”
Zathrian’s hands slid behind his back, slowly circling around me. “I was, but today’s business has concluded, and I felt like getting a breath of fresh air.”
“Fresh air in the Realm of Clouds?” I questioned, not convinced.
“I was in town. I had other matters to tend to that Mateo insisted I accompany him on.”
Mateo? I recognize that name… He’s the man Acheron was with at the Summer Solstice celebration if I remember correctly.
I nodded slowly. “Uh-huh.”
Zathrian shrugged. “Makes no difference if you believe me or not.” He closed the distance between us.
“ I was surprised to see you. Out here, I mean. I was about to head back to the Mountain when I ran into you. Gods, if something happened to you, Neil would surely find some way to blame me and that is the last thing I need to be concerned with right now.” He huffed.
“But I must warn you, not everything that glitters is gold.”
What is that supposed to mean, exactly?
“And what are you ominously implying by that, High Lord?” My tone was laced with a fa?ade of honey.
“If you aren’t the Airhead you claim you are not, then you should know exactly what I mean. I think you do, deep down. You are merely in denial about it,” he said, leaning in close enough for us to be face-to-face, despite our height difference. “You forget how well I know you.”
My eyes remained locked on his. I had some sense of what he was hinting at, but he was wrong.
Neil loved me.
Neil protected me.
Neil cared for me.
Neil would never do anything to hurt me.
Neil knew what was best for me.
“He loves me!” I blurted out. While Neil had never said it, it was there.
It was there in the glimmer of his eyes when he looked at me.
It was there at breakfast when he encouraged me to eat even if I wasn’t hungry.
It was there when we shared quiet glances as we passed each other in the halls.
It was there the night at the Summer Solstice festival when we danced the night away, and it was undoubtedly there when he put his head between my thighs.
Zathrian’s expression looked exactly as it did the day Gelia died. The day I died.
“Aerilyn.” His eyes softened.
“Don’t. Don’t stand there and act as if he is some sort of monster. If anyone is a monster, it’s you for trying to meddle in things that have nothing to do with you,” I hissed.
“It has everything to do with me. You don’t have any idea who he is, let alone what he is. I am not the monster you make me out to be.”
“You speak of him being a monster, yet you are the one who let Samael do what he did.” I took a step back, tears welling in the corners of my eyes.
I did my best to keep my composure as I clenched my jaw and turned away from him.
“You pushed me into him. You might as well have killed me yourself. It isn’t just her blood on your hands, if you even care. It was mine, too.”
Zathrian was speechless. I pushed past him and made my way back toward the path.
I made it to the treeline when I heard rustling to my right.
When I looked over, it was to see Acheron and that same curly-haired man from the Summer Solstice festival kissing.
It wasn’t just a peck on the lips, but slow, sweet.
A kiss with such burning passion, that just by momentarily glancing, I knew it could only mean one thing. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
My blood boiled. The Realm of Stars and the Realm of Clouds were enemies.
I stared, unable to understand why Acheron would betray not only his Realm, but Neil, his closest friend and High Lord.
Neil had done everything for him, and as his Right Hand, it didn’t make sense.
Out of all the Divine beings he could have been kissing, why did it have to be someone from the Realm they all detested the most?
How could he do such a thing? Whose side was he truly on?
Acheron pulled away from Mateo. “W-what are you doing here? You should be at the Manor. You aren’t allowed…
I-I can explain, Aerilyn, please—” He attempted to approach me, but I pulled away.
I turned back to Zathrian, then to Mateo and Acheron again.
I shook my head and let out a groan of mere frustration.
Unbelievable.
“I’m going home.” I trudged back up the path toward Neil’s Manor, Acheron following close behind. My heart was heavy, and all I wanted to do was lay in bed. I didn’t say a single word the entire walk back.
I made it back to the doorway to my bedroom when I turned back toward Acheron.
“It’s not my secret to tell.” I paused. “I simply do not understand why you would betray Neil like this.” I exhaled, closing the door in Acheron’s face and locking it behind me, half tempted to scream at the top of my lungs.
I simply didn’t understand. Was Acheron a spy?
Was he… How long had this been going on? It didn’t make any sense.
Neil, please come home.