Chapter 17 #3
“You’re standing just out of sight, keeping watch.
I don’t know if there could be a better example of lurking than that,” I replied.
“Or I could come out there. Not sure how relaxed I would be in...” I grinned as Kieran appeared in the doorway.
Walking over to the corner of the room, he dropped into the chair and looked at me. I gave him a little wave. “Hi.”
“Hi.” He stretched out his long legs, loosely crossing them at the ankles.
I stared at him. He stared at me. I picked up the small plate from the platter. “Cheese?”
A faint grin appeared as he shook his head. “You’re going to make this weird, aren’t you?”
“I offered you cheese.” I placed the plate back on the bed. “How is that making anything weird?”
“You waved at me.”
I crossed my arms. “I was being polite.”
“The fact that you’re being polite is also weird.”
“I am always polite.”
Kieran lifted his brows, and I didn’t need to read his emotions to sense the incredulity.
“I was going to offer you the last of the chocolate, but you can forget about that now.”
He laughed as he leaned back. “So, what are you more uncomfortable with right now? The fact that you tried to feed from me, or that I saw you naked—though I saw a lot more than that—?”
“You really don’t need to bring any of that up,” I stated, glaring at him.
“Or is it the Primal notam ?”
“I’m regretting inviting you in here,” I muttered. “Honest? All of it makes me a bit uncomfortable.”
“You don’t need to worry about how you were when you woke up,” Kieran told me. “It happens.”
“How often have you really had someone try to eat you upon waking up?”
“You’d be surprised.”
I opened my mouth to ask for details but then closed it, thinking it was probably a road I really didn’t need to travel right now. “I don’t know what to think about any of this.”
“It’s a lot. A lot has changed for you in a very short period of time. I don’t think anyone would know what to think.”
I peeked over at him, wanting to know how he felt about the whole thing, but I really wanted to know if we had somehow communicated without speaking. “I—”
“Let me guess,” he said. “You have a question.”
I frowned as I crossed my arms over my chest.
“What?” He glanced over at me.
“Nothing.” I exhaled heavily. A moment passed. “Kieran?”
“Yeah?”
“I have a question.”
He sighed, but there was a slight curve to his lips. “What is your question, Poppy?”
“How do you feel about the notam ?”
He was quiet for a moment and then he asked, “How do I feel about the notam ? What do my people think? They are amazed. They are awed.”
“Really?” I whispered, picking up one of the pillows and hugging it to my chest.
“Yes.” He rose and made his way to the bed, sitting so we were shoulder to shoulder. “So am I.”
I could feel my face heating. “Don’t be. It makes me feel weird.”
He grinned as he dipped his chin. “I don’t think you understand why we feel…honored to be alive when a descendant of the gods is present. Many of my kind are not old enough to have lived among them. Alastir was one of the only few, and well, fuck him, right?”
I grinned. “Yeah. Fuck him.”
He smiled. “But the children of the gods have always held a special place with the wolven. We exist in this form because of them. Not because of the Atlantians.”
I squeezed the pillow tightly as I wiggled down onto my side, remaining silent.
“My ancestors were wild and fierce, loyal to their packs, but the kiyou were driven only by instinct, survival, and pack mentality. Everything was a challenge—for food, mates, pack leadership. Many didn’t survive very long, and the kiyou were on the brink of extinction when Nyktos appeared before the last great pack and asked that they protect the gods’ children in this realm.
In return, he offered them human form so they could communicate with the deities and have long lifespans. ”
“He asked and didn’t just make the kiyou wolven?”
“He could have. He is the King of Gods, after all. But he made it clear that the agreement was not servitude but a partnership between the kiyou and the deities. There cannot be equality in power if there is no choice.”
He was right. “I wonder why Nyktos asked for this partnership. Was it because he is the only god who can create life? I imagine being given a mortal form was like creating new life. Or perhaps because he is the King of Gods?”
“Probably all those reasons, but also because he is one of the few gods that can change forms,” he said.
“What?” I didn’t know that.
He nodded. “He was able to take the shape of a wolf—a white one. You haven’t seen much of Atlantia, but when you do, you will see paintings and statues of Nyktos.
He’s often depicted with a wolf either at his side or behind him.
When the wolf is behind him, it symbolizes the shape he can take, and when the wolf is beside him, it represents the offer he made to the kiyou. ”
I let that sink in, and of course, my mind went to one place. “And yet I can’t shift into anything.”
“You’re really hung up on that, aren’t you?”
“Maybe,” I muttered. “Anyway, did some of the kiyou refuse?”
Kieran nodded. “Some did because they did not trust the god, and others simply wanted to remain as they were. The ones who took his offer were given mortal form and became wolven. We were here before an Atlantian ever was.”
It made me wonder why a wolven didn’t rule then, especially considering that they were viewed as equal to the elemental Atlantians and the deities. Were other wolven in positions of power like Jasper? Like…Alastir had been? “Has a wolven ever wanted to rule Atlantia?”
“I’m sure some had the desire to, but that pack instinct from our ancestors remains inside of us.
We prefer to watch over our packs to this day.
A kingdom is not a pack, but several wolven are Lords and Ladies and oversee smaller cities and villages,” he told me, shifting onto his side and resting his weight on an elbow so we were facing each other.
“The Lords or Ladies in Atlantia are often land or business owners. They’re not all from an elemental line.
Some are wolven, some are half-mortal, and others are changelings.
They aid in ruling alongside the Queen and King.
There are no Dukes or Duchesses, nor do titles necessarily stay within families.
If land or a business is sold, the title and its responsibilities transfer with it. ”
Hearing all of this was a stark reminder that I needed to learn a lot about Atlantia, but I wasn’t exactly surprised to hear that they had similar class structures, and I felt safe assuming that this was another thing the Ascended had copied.
I was, however, surprised to hear that the titles transferred.
In Solis, only the Ascended were considered nobility or of a ruling class, and they held the position for life—which was basically an eternity.
“Discovering what you are doesn’t mean we no longer respect the Queen and King,” Kieran said after a moment. “But you…what you are is different to us. You are proof that we came from the gods.”
I tilted my head. “Do some need a reminder of that?”
Kieran grinned. “There will always be people who need to be reminded of history.”
“Explain,” I stated.
His pale eyes warmed. “Every so many decades, an arrogant, young, elemental Atlantian demands a bonding or behaves as if he or she is better than all the others. We’re more than capable of reminding them that we consider everyone equal, but at the end of the day, we are not in service to anyone.”
I smiled at that, but it faded. “But there’ve been issues between the wolven and Atlantians of late, right?”
“A lot of it is the land issue. We lost so many of our people during the war, but our numbers are growing. Soon, it will be a problem.”
“And the other issues? They have to do with Casteel’s parents still ruling?”
“No one is comfortable with that, but we can sense that something has to give. Our land issues. The uncertainty about the Crown. The Ascended and Solis. I know that may sound strange, but it’s a part of our instincts that remained from the time when we were kiyou.
We can sense unrest,” he said, and I listened intently, wanting to understand what was causing the division between the wolven and the Atlantians.
“And things that have happened have aided in that sense of unease.”
“What things?”
“From what I heard from my sister and father, there have been a few unexplainable incidents. Crops destroyed overnight, sheared and trampled. Homes inexplicably catching fire. Businesses vandalized.”
Stunned, I lowered the pillow to the space between us. “Other than the fires, none of that sounds exactly unexplainable. Those aren’t natural incidents.”
“True.”
“Has anyone been injured?”
“Not seriously.”
Yet went unsaid. “Casteel hasn’t mentioned any of this.”
“I don’t think he—”
“Wanted me to worry?” I finished for him, irritated. “That is going to need to change.”
“In his defense, a lot has happened.”
I couldn’t argue with that. “Does anyone have any idea who is behind this or why?”
“No. And it is bizarre.” Kieran sat up. “Everyone who lives in Atlantia believes in community, the strength and power in that.”
“Obviously, someone doesn’t believe in the strength and power of community,” I remarked, and he nodded. We hadn’t even had time to discuss what happened in the Temple. “Do you think Alastir was involved in any of that?”
“I don’t know.” Kieran exhaled heavily. “I’ve known that wolven my entire life, and I never expected him to do what he did.
I haven’t always agreed with him. Neither has my father.
But we always thought he was a good man.
” He dragged a hand over his head and then looked at me again.
“But if he and the others acting on his belief believed they were protecting Atlantia, I don’t understand how damaging crops and businesses would help their cause. ”