A Walk Amongst Shadows (Book 2)

XXXVI

I stood frozen to the spot as I watched him get farther and farther away from me. Something’s wrong, I thought to myself. The look in his eyes was something I had never seen in him before. Even when he was fully turned, his eyes had never looked so dark. Black, sure, but this time there was an emptiness, like I was staring into a void. He wasn’t Aris anymore. It was enough to send shivers down my spine. I knew whatever was coming next was certainly not good. I was shaken. A part of me wanted to run after him but another part was terrified by what I would find if I did.

“Oi!” I heard a voice call and then suddenly Stellan appeared beside me. His hair was as wild as his eyes. “What happened?” he demanded more than asked.

“I-I don’t know! Aris was here, then he vanished, and when he came back, he was w-wounded!” I tried to remain calm so that I could get the words out in a logical order.

Stellan leaned in his face bore an expression of extreme concern. “Wounded?” he asked in disbelief. He slowly shook his head, “That’s not possible.”

“There was blood! A lot of it!” I snapped back. “He was out of breath and could barely sit up.” I heard the hastened footsteps of Greta and Lex as they joined my side.

“What happened?” Lex asked.

Stellan held up a hand to cut him off. “Where is he now?”

“A-after I healed him, he turned and ran off.” My voice was shaky, but I was managing to keep it together. I felt tears building up in my eyes and tried desperately to blink them away.

“He didn’t say anything?” Lex asked, mirroring Stellan’s concern.

Greta bit her lip as she surveyed us all.

“He told me that he was sending someone to keep me safe and for me to know that he loves me.”

I saw Stellan and Lex exchange a knowing glance, both of their expressions darkening as they did so.

“What?” I asked, desperate to be privy to whatever it was they knew that I didn’t. My question was ignored however as Stellan addressed Lex and Greta next.

“You two stay with Rose, I’ll go find him.”

“You sure you don’t need backup? I mean, it is Aris after all.”

“I can handle him. Stay here and make sure nothing else happens until we get back, alright?”

I furrowed my brow. What else was meant to happen? I didn’t even know what had happened just now. Was I in actual danger? Lex made a move to argue, but Stellan had turned and was gone before he could say another word.

“Come on,” Greta motioned, “let’s get a fire going. It’s getting chilly out here.” She walked back towards our modest campsite and began fumbling with the kindling.

“Is he going to be okay?” I asked, confused by how calm and unconcerned she seemed to be.

“He’ll be fine,” she answered. “This isn’t the first time Stellan has had to deal with this kind of thing from Aris.” She paused for a moment and then added, “at least he’s running away from civilization this time…”

“She’s right, Rose,” Lex reassured, giving me a sort of half smile. “He’ll be just fine.”

“Then why did you and Stellan look so worried a second ago?” I half asked, half accused.

He looked hesitant.

Greta kept her back to us, seemingly very focused on the fire.

“Tell me what’s going on.” I was starting to get annoyed.

Lex sighed. “It’s not his running off that got us worried, it was the fact that you saw him injured. It’s not uncommon at all for us to get hurt, but the fact that he hadn’t already healed himself would have to mean…” he looked to Greta as if he was unsure of how to proceed.

“It means that father was the one who hurt him. He’s the only one who can do that sort of damage to us.” Greta supplied.

Lex gave a quick nod in agreement.

I felt my heart sink. “But why would he-”

“That’s just it,” Lex interrupted, “we don’t know. I’ve been a shadow walker for a little over a thousand years, and I’ve never seen father injure one of his own.”

“Me either,” Greta chimed in looking down at the ground as she spoke. “But I can’t imagine it means anything good.”

“Surely father wouldn’t do something like this over a simple defiance,” Lex said.

Greta shrugged. “I don’t know. I suppose it would just depend on what he was asking him to do.”

“This is about the prophecy, isn’t it?” I concluded.

They looked uneasily at each other.

“I’m not a child!” I snapped. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Greta threw her hands up. “Honestly, Rose, we don’t know.” She sighed in exasperation.

Lex nodded in agreement. “She’s right. We’ve only just recently learned that father sent Aris after you in the first place. There’s been nothing but speculation ever since.”

“Father has kept us all in the dark. There are rumors that Stellan knows more than the rest, but not even Eloise has been able to get any information out of him.”

“Wait, why would Stellan know more than the rest of you?” I asked.

“Has Aris not told you?” Lex asked. Then upon seeing my expression, he continued, “Stellan is father’s firstborn.”

I raised my eyebrows. I knew Stellan was old, but that he was the first? That was news for me.

“He’s known father longer than any of us. He’s frequently privy to knowledge the rest of us are not.”

“Is that why he went after him alone?” I asked.

Lex shook his head. “Na, Stellan’s just one of the few who can handle Aris when he’s like this.”

I nodded. I didn’t need Lex to explain that part. I ran my hands through my hair and sat down beside the fire.

Greta sat beside me and placed a hand on my knee. “Stellan will find him,” she gave me a pitiful smile “We’ll figure the rest out from there.”

I nodded, suppressing the urge to cry. I had no doubt Stellan would find Aris. What worried me was whatever it was the dark god ordered him to do. I can only think of one thing that would cause Aris to flat out defy his father: me. I am in danger.