by Eden Fierce
“You have to talk him out of it, Lukas. The nightwalker who killed Jonathan is dead. I killed her.”
“You did?” he asked, surprised.
“Remember when we stumbled upon the young ones? Father killed her child. That is why she—”
“Her child?”
I shook my head and cupped my brother’s shoulders. “There is so much we didn’t know, Lukas. They have children. They love them as our parents love us. There is so much more, but we haven’t time. You have to convince him. The elder of this coven said if I couldn’t convince Father, he would have to die. They want a truce, Lukas, but Father has to stand down. Do you understand?”
Lukas frowned. “How do you know they’re not using you? How do you know they’re telling the truth?”
“Because I’m one of them now. I feel the strength they have. That is the only answer to why we’re not all dead. They could have easily wiped us out so many times.”
“But they do! What about Jergden?”
“Those were rogue nightwalkers who destroyed that village. They were punished for it! It’s not allowed. They have laws too. They want to live separate but in harmony. Please keep Father out of the woods! It wasn’t a trap. Ayana acted alone!”
Lukas glanced at Daniel, contemplating. He nodded. “I’ll try.”
“Thank you.”
Lukas ran back to our home, torch in hand. I let out a quick breath, looking down at my hand. It was covered by Daniel’s. He pulled my hand to his lips, kissing them softly. “And if doesn’t work?”
“It will work,” I said. “It has to.”
Daniel took my face in his hands, letting his eyes scan over my every feature. “I feel we’re in an impossible situation. If your father doesn’t die, I’ll lose you to Evander when he ends your life. If your father dies, I lose you to you.”
I frowned.
“I know you, Eris. The guilt will consume you. You won’t be the same. Not the woman I—”
“He’s not going to die,” I snapped.
“Evander will punish you if Dyre attacks the coven. I can’t let that happen. We’ll have to run.”
“That doesn’t sound like the worst scenario.”
“Will you let me take you somewhere safe?”
“Not until I know my family will be all right.”
“What if they’re not?”
I closed my eyes and pulled away from him. “They will be.”
“But what if they’re not, Eris? Will you come away with me?”
I turned to him. “Why? Why do you protect me? Why do you risk everything? I’m no one, Daniel. I’ve been trouble for you since we met.”
“You’re not like the others. You don’t fight for Priory. You don’t fight for immortals. You want peace like I do. Like my father did. I used to see hope when I looked at you. Now I just see everything I’ve been missing, and I don’t want to miss it anymore.”
He pulled me against him, and leaned down, his lips nearly touching mine. “Let me protect you. Let me take you away from here.”
“I can’t until I know they’re safe.”
Daniel’s arms fell to his side. He walked away from me and then back. “I love you. I love you, Eris. I can’t lose you.”
Something in my stomach fluttered. He was so close, his scent overwhelmed me. I thought about the kiss under the falls, and then I thought of nothing else but the hope that he would kiss me again.
“You love me?”
“It’s unlike anything I’ve felt before. I can think of nothing else.”
His eyes fell to my lips, and he leaned down. Just before his lips touched mine, he whispered, “Do you love me?”
“I…”
“Do you love me?” he pleaded.
I thought for a moment. “If I said no…,” I began. Daniel’s face fell. “It would be a lie.”
He looked like the wind had been knocked out of him, but he grabbed me anyway and pressed his lips against mine. His hands grabbed at me like my answer was everything he needed to hear.
He pulled away, even though he clearly didn’t want to. “Eris, I’m begging you. Please come with me. Just until I can think of a way to make this right.”
It wasn’t fair, how he’d announced his feelings and then followed it with an impossible request. “If it were Cala, would you not do the same?”
He took in a breath, clearly frustrated. “But it’s not! She…” Daniel looked past me, in the direction of Cala’s home. “Maybe she would know how to convince Dyre.”
“What?”
“Come with me.”
DANIEL PRESSED ON THROUGH THE WOODS, not stopping until we reached the tree line behind Cala’s house.
“Should we wake her?” I asked.
“We can’t afford not to.”
He tapped on her window once, and then again. A flame flickered in the window, and a few moments later, Cala was pulling back the curtains. She left and then appeared again at the door.
Daniel hugged her. “Mother,” he said.
Cala smiled, but when she saw me, she gasped.
“Eris!” She looked around and then rushed us inside, blowing out the candle she held in her hand. “What have you done, Daniel?” she cried.
“She had fallen into Hopper’s Ravine, Mother.”
“Dyre believes her to be dead!” Cala said, worry darkening her face.
“Not anymore,” Daniel said.
Cala hugged me. “Oh, Eris. I’m so sorry.” She guided us into the great chamber. The inside of their home was much more extravagant than the outside. What furniture they had was elegant. The woodwork alone had taken someone a great deal of time and care. Cala kept the lights dim, and the stone floor was covered by many different, large pelts. I imagined Daniel had brought them to her. A spiral staircase snaked up one wall, and I wondered where it led.
“Here, rest on the settee,” she said, gesturing for us to sit on a wooden bench with a high back.
“Jonathan is dead,” I said. It sounded like someone else saying the words, and I gasped with Cala as soon as they came from my mouth.
She looked to Daniel. “Is it true?”
He nodded, sad. “We brought the Helgrens just inside the tree line, hoping to strike a truce.”
“Evander knew this?” Cala asked.
We nodded.
Daniel continued. “Eris had nearly convinced him that nightwalkers weren’t what he thought, but Ayana attacked Jonathan. He’s mad with grief, Mother. He means to attack the coven.”
Cala covered her mouth. “That will start a war!”
“I know,” Daniel said. “What should we do?”
“I should go to him,” Cala said without hesitation.
“He recognized Daniel,” I said. “He knows you know.”
Daniel shook his head. “You can’t risk that, Mother. He might accuse you of conspiring against the Priory. They would hang you.”
Cala put her hand on her son’s shoulder. “I’ve already lost my husband. I can’t lose both of my sons in the same night.”
“Jonathan nearly had him convinced, Daniel,” I said. “Maybe she should try.”
“Jonathan is dead,” Daniel said. His tone was final.
“I understand that you’re afraid,” I said. “But if Father attacks the coven, they’ll kill him. Maybe you too. We did this, Daniel. We have to make it right.”
“Saddle my horse,” Cala said. “I’ll get my coat.”
DANIEL BIT AT HIS THUMBNAIL while we waited for Cala. She had been inside my former home for more than two hours. It was a precarious situation for her to be in, trying to convince my father not to retaliate less than twelve hours after Jonathan had died.
He was likely washed and lying on the kitchen table surrounded by candles, as was our custom. Mother and Father would wait three full days, take his body to the churchyard, and cremate him. It broke my heart to think of Mother having to prepare him alone, and just weeks after they thought I had died in the Glades.
Danie
l patted me gently on the shoulder. “It’s a good sign she’s been there for so long. That means he’s at least listening.”
I nodded and settled against his side. He put both arms around me and rested his chin at the crown of my hair.
“Ilana said you’ve never taken a mate. Is that true?” I asked softly.
He squirmed a bit. “I suppose so.”
“Why not?”
“The first years after I was claimed, I concentrated on my parents. It was hard on all of us, and I tried to spend as much time with them as I could. Pairing off with someone felt like a commitment to what I was. As ridiculous as it sounds, I just held out hope that things would change. Then, as I spent more time in the coven, many of the women would approach me. Something was always missing. I don’t know how to explain it, because I’m not sure myself. It just never felt right.” He pulled me closer. “Until now.”
He nuzzled my neck with his nose and then pressed his cheek against mine.
“You don’t have to explain it. I understand.”
“You do?”
“You might have noticed that I wasn’t happy about my betrothal.”
I felt Daniel’s jaw twitch. “I wasn’t either. I tried to imagine what that would be like, watching him court you over the next year, and worse, the wedding. The children. I knew I shouldn’t feel such jealousy over someone I’d never met, but my heart wouldn’t listen to my head. When Dyre announced William’s name, I instantly hated him. When he left you alone in the woods, I wanted to kill him. He didn’t deserve you before. He should have been hanged for leaving you alone in the woods.”
“I shouldn’t have brought him there. I knew better. He had no training. I let him talk me into it.”
“He was a stupid boy who had no business betrothed to a woman such as yourself. I don’t know what Dyre could have been thinking.”
“William shared your sentiment. Possibly the entire territory. Clemens said Father chose someone with a gentle spirit to balance my strength. Maybe he hoped William would sit back and let me take the reins—that he would continue to allow me to hunt, since that was what Father wanted.”
“Excuses for a coward.” Daniel spat the words like they were laced with Eitr.
“I’m sure he’s just as relieved, now that I’m dead.”
Daniel squeezed me. “You’re not dead. You’re very much alive and in my arms.”
I sank back against his chest. “I always thought the idea of being with one person forever was a prison sentence. Now I just wish this could all be over so we can be together in peace.”
Daniel put his forehead to mine, his entire body relaxed. “That sounds like heaven to me.”
“It does, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t even have to look up anymore, Eris. You’re a sky full of stars.”
My mouth pulled up into a small smile, but then movement near the stone wall caught my eye. Daniel and I pushed ourselves up from the brush and watched from behind the tree line.
My father was holding a torch, and Cala was standing next to him. They were in an intense conversation, and Daniel grabbed my hand and squeezed.
“She’s my mother,” he said.
“I know.”
“If Dyre accuses her…”
“I know. We’ll take her away.”
“She doesn’t want to be turned.”
“We’ll find another way.”
Clemens walked through the front gate, with Emelen and Lukas right behind him. Lukas stood next to Cala, adding to their argument. Mother came out as well, standing behind Cala.
“Twice she’s seen our sons alone!” Mother said. “Twice she’s spared them! You don’t have to listen, my love, but see with your eyes! Remember the way she held Jonathan! Eris loved him, and she loves you. She needs you to believe her. She needs your help!”
“They’re taking sides,” I whispered.
Father was frowning, clearly conflicted.
Finally, Emelen took Clemens’s hand, and together they took a step and turned to face Father. “I believe her, Father,” Clemens said simply.
I gasped.
Father lowered his torch, and his shoulders sagged. “Do you know what that means, if it’s true? The people we’ve killed. The children.” He covered his face. Mother went to him and held him in her arms.
“It’s okay to admit that we’ve been wrong, Dyre,” Mother said. “It’s okay to trust our daughter.”
“I used to hate to cry,” I said. “I thought it made me look weak. But I wish I could cry now. I wish he could see my tears.”
Father walked toward the tree line, the darkness chased away by the torch he held. The branches bent back easily when he passed through, and he paused when he saw me.
“Forgive me,” he said, his voice breaking. He spoke not only to me, but also to Daniel.
I fell into his large arms, feeling not only the comfort from his embrace, but also from the trees surrounding us. I’d always felt at home in the woods, and now I knew why. But with Father holding me, I had the best of both worlds.
A snap broke through the silence, and Daniel turned, listening to the dark. I pulled away from Father, scanning the forest with my new eyes.
“Dyre?” Mother said, touching my arm.
I stepped back to protect her. “Clemens…Lukas…take Mother home.”
For the first time, neither of my brothers argued. They took Mother by the arms and led her away.
“Wait. Wait, I…,” Mother began.
When they disappeared into the tree line that separated the clearing from the thick of the woods, another sound made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
“What is it?” Father asked.
“Get your ax ready,” I said. “Something’s coming.”
Daniel crouched down in a defensive stance, and I did the same.
I gasped when dozens of figures appeared, led by Evander. Father’s heart rate began to climb, and I could hear his fingers tighten around the wooden handle of his ax.
“Evander,” Daniel said, clearly unsure of what to expect.
“I see you’ve succeeded in changing Dyre’s mind about us,” he said.
Evander’s chin was tipped up. He was proud, feeling he was above us all. The moonlight reflected off his glinting red eyes, making the red border of his olive-green tunic stand out. The gray wolf pelt that hung from his shoulders blew slightly in the winter wind.
He stood at the head of dozens of immortals, who were wearing black or brown leather tunics and loose-fitting pants tucked into their tall, fur-lined boots. The pines seemed to respect them, to give them their space.
I played Daniel’s words over and over again in my mind. Evander is merciful. Evander is merciful.
Evander motioned for the nightwalkers behind him to stand down. “I must say, Daniel, I’m surprised. Your plan to convince a head Prior to form a truce was bound to fail. And yet here you are.” He looked to my father. “Have you changed your mind, Prior? Do you accept our daughter?”
“My daughter,” Father said, his tone confident and firm. Hearing the absence of fear in his voice gave me strength. “Eris tells me we’ve been wrong about your kind. I’m willing to hear her out.”
“Interesting,” Evander said.
“You gave us your word,” Daniel said. “If Dyre accepted Eris, you would consider a truce.”
“It’s true,” Evander said. “I did say that. But I thought such a result was impossible. That’s like promising you the stars if you snuff out the sun.”
Daniel looked back at me, panic on his face.
Evander held out his hand to Daniel. “I’m afraid Heinrich has no use for a truce, Daniel. He has asked me to eliminate the Priory so that we may preserve the balance our own way.”
“And what way is that?” I asked.
“We’re taking over both sides of the tree line. We are the dominant species. Our days of hiding are over.”
“And what will you do with the humans?” Daniel asked.
“Breed them. Enslave them. Feed upon them. For nearly a century we’ve hidden, fed on vermin, bided our time. For the first time since the Fall, we outnumber them. I’ve been waiting for you to lure Dyre into the woods alone. He’s the only lead Prior left, since you and Eris so effectively eliminated the head of the Trou Priory.”
Daniel and I traded glances. I looked back at Father.
“They were going to kill a young one, Father. We had to stop them.”
Father’s brows pulled in, and then he pulled up his ax, holding it with both hands. “What do you want from me, Elder?”
“Only to die. The territories will be more easily managed without the Priory.”
Daniel held out his hands. “This is madness, Evander! Kyah wouldn’t want this!”
“Kyah doesn’t see that the laws enslave us, Daniel. But once she sees the new way of things, she’ll understand. If she doesn’t, she’ll be in the way.”
“You mean to kill her? Our queen mother?” Daniel looked out among the dozens of nightwalkers. “Do you hear this, coven? Do you agree with this?”
Some of them traded glances, while others didn’t seem surprised at all.
Evander lowered his chin. “We’ll eliminate anything that gets in the way, Daniel. Even Kyah.”
Daniel shook his head in disbelief. “This doesn’t sound like you at all, Evander. Do you even hear yourself? You believe in the laws! You believe in the balance!”
“I believe in the immortal! And I believe we are gods who will no longer cower behind the trees!” Evander growled. He barely moved his head to the side, and an onslaught of nightwalkers ran in our direction.
“Run!” Daniel said, grabbing my hand. I grabbed Father’s. “To the stone wall! Run!”
As we made a break for the Helgren compound, Father was knocked off his feet, but he held tight to my hand while Daniel and I sprinted across the clearing.
“Helgren!” Father’s voice boomed. “They’re attacking! Open the gates!”
The gates opened slowly, but by the time we reached them, there was just enough space for us to pass through. Daniel, Father, and I climbed to the top of the wall, joining my cousins, who were already poised with arrows.