Empress of the Gods

Atarah

The breeze wrapped around her, fluttering her hair. It also moved the leaves on the branches of the trees, imitating the sound of the rain. She could see the sunlight that passed through them, letting the sunset slowly disappear for Ayla to make her entrance.

The caravans were near Ekkirah’s borders and some of Hannele’s people tried to hunt on the outskirts, so they could have dinner.

Atarah brushed the tips of her fingertips. She could still feel the tingling of her gifts, which made her think it had to do with her being a few steps closer to that place. She remembered how her gifts increased when she set foot in there.

After so long, she was starting to feel more like herself despite being afraid of the path she was traveling. She was terrified, but that feeling of freedom didn’t compare to anything else. Which made her think that there was a possibility she could control Galad, only she didn’t know how, and she wasn’t really interested in doing that to him.

Atarah felt as if she was waking up from a long sleep she didn’t know she was in. But at the same time she did, it felt like a danger that seemed to resurface from the center of their world.

Ever since they had left Egorah, she wondered if what was happening in that place had anything to do with what she felt was to come.

She doubted that the kingdom of Lhrastsha would gain interest to what happened in the other kingdoms, since the only place they would fight for would be Khrysaor. She couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to that place she called home for so many years. She didn’t hear anything about it when they were in that village. Just pure silence, as if nothing had happened.

She could feel it in the wind that this was just the calm that preceded a great storm. She worried that she didn’t know how much time they had left before something happened that could change everyone’s fate.

“You can feel it too, can’t you?” Dhara asked when she approached her, pulling her out of her thoughts. She looked at her, confused. “The warning in the wind,” she added.

“You can hear it?” she asked, surprised, and Dhara nodded.

“The spirits in the wind whisper to everyone who is willing to listen. Mother Dryderia is observing you, lassie,” she mentioned to her, while she looked at the sunset in front of them, hugging herself. “When the time comes, you will know what to do.”

Atarah recalled Rhiannon saying those words to her.

“Everyone keeps saying that, but I don’t know if I’m even on the right path,” she confessed to her.

“You do know. Listen to the spirits of the wind, but don’t listen to them with your head.” Dhara gently put a finger on her head. “Listen to them with your heart,” she continued, putting her hand on top of her chest. “Be yourself. You were born to create your own path, not to follow someone else’s. What does your heart tell you?”

Atarah didn’t know what to answer. “I don’t know,” she muttered.

“You have all the answers that you seek. Only you need to learn to listen with your heart,” she explained to her with a contemplative look on her face. “You remind me of the General Silverclaw of Lhrastsha. The witch of the northern island who was destined to reign over the witches, but for a strange reason refused.” Dhara seemed to have her gaze lost in the sunset again.

“Did you meet her?”

“No, but once I saw her in the golden city, and that was enough to get a glimpse of her destiny. I’m sorry for your loss,” she said as she gently squeezed her arm. “You need to remember and accept who you are.”

Remember what? She wondered, but before she could say anything, William appeared next to her with a plate of food. It was much appreciated.

Things had changed between them, and it didn’t have anything to do with the truce. “If you want to get to Ekkirah, you will have to find a way to get on a merchant ship. Surely Duncan can help you with that,” she continued. And as if she had seen the question on her face, she added: “He is the leader of Hannele’s people and the shapeshifters. I am sure he will be able to do something for you.”

“Where can we find him?” Will asked.

“On the port. We will meet him there after our last stop with the carnival.”

Along the way Atarah realized that none of Hannele’s people saw Galad strange or as a threat, as if they were used to it. That, and seeing a bear change to his human form behind one of the caravans, confirmed the presence of shapeshifters among them.

Atarah was grateful she crossed paths with them because she could feel nothing but peace. They had not viewed her in a strange way, making her feel comfortable around them.

A couple of guys got out their instruments and Robbie got excited about it. They even invited him to play his mandolin with them to enjoy the night. Some of them started dancing around the fire. Atarah felt like a feather that floated in the air every time she danced. She missed dancing. Moving as if nothing worried her.

The children’s laughter as they ran around made her smile, while the grownups enjoyed the music they were playing. She had seen a couple, almost her sister’s age, running behind the caravans. She couldn’t help but envy that feeling of not having the world on their shoulders.

“Did you lose something?” she asked, knowing William was staring at her before she turned to see him.

“No, I’m just taking in the breathtaking view.” He took a sip from his drink while he looked at the fire before he glanced at her again.

She looked away to hide the blush on her cheeks as she tried to suppress her smile, biting her lower lip. “Do you like what you see?” she asked with her gaze on the fire, knowing that he had not looked away.

“A lot.”

Whatever it was in that wooden cup was loosening his tongue.

She could feel her cheeks warming up. “Looking is not going to get you anywhere, Will,” she replied when she stole a sip from his drink, feeling the liquor burning on her tongue and holding his gaze before handing it back to him.

When she joined the others dancing, he continued staring at her. She moved as if the music carried her, but she tried to stay conscious; without getting lost in it. She saw William smile when she spun, but he didn’t move. “Come on, Will. Do you ever have fun?” she asked him when she took his hand and made him dance with her.

The only sounds left were the murmurs of the party and the ones nature gave them, like the sound of the crickets.

She couldn’t stop looking at the moon and the stars and more to that bright star she loved to see. Atarah was surprised to see Will looking at her as if she had something on her face. She arranged her hair behind her ears a couple of times, trying to hide her cheeks that blushed under his stare. He even smiled when she looked at him, wondering why he was staring so much at her.

Robbie was snoring close to them as he hugged his mandolin. Whatever that drink had knocked him out. Other than her new friends’ snoring and the cracks of the wood in the fire, the night was calm.

The silence between Will and her ceased to be uncomfortable and became something different.

“I’m not surprised to see him like this,” Will said, pointing his gaze to Robbie. “He seems to enjoy a good party.”

She laughed at his comment, as she remembered how Robbie drank as if it wouldn’t affect him the next day.

She hugged her knees and rested her chin on them as she fixed the blanket Will gave her when he saw her shivering from the cold. “I just hope he remembers who he is in the morning,” she said with a short laugh. “He seems to be the life of the party.”

William threw the branch he’d been playing with into the fire. “That’s right. Sonneus protects us,” he teased.

She couldn’t help to close her eyes only for a moment when she rested her head on her knees. She felt so tired that she thought she would sleep for days. After the beat down that fae Ragedion had given her, it was no surprise fatigue was catching up with her. She hadn’t had a moment to rest or to properly heal her wounds. When William saw the bruise on her arm change from red to purple like her other wounds, he reacted as if he was determined to find the person who did that to her.

“Rest, I can stay awake to guard all night,” he offered to her. But she needed to stay awake because she was the one who volunteered them to take the first watch.

“And let you fall asleep at any time?” she replied, shaking her head in denial. “I don’t think so. It happened once, but it won’t happen again,” she added, trying to keep her eyes open. She was sure he knew what she was talking about.

“Funny,” he replied, and she smiled with her eyes closed.

Atarah opened her eyes to see the stars and the moon again. Not having enough of it. If she could, she would stay up all night looking at the night sky.

“Do you know the story of Sonneus and Ayla?” she asked, thinking about the story of the Sun and the Moon.

He shook his head, “No.”

“They were in love, but they couldn’t be together. Two lovers who were destined to remain separated with only a few moments to be together.”

That was one of her favorite stories she read in a book she found in a library in Khrysaor.

“It sounds like a tragic story.”

“It is.”

Sonneus and Ayla tried to be together, but there was always something that stood between them.

“Do you think they are benevolent after knowing everything we have done?” he asked curiously. She could see regret in his eyes, and she knew what he was asking.

She meditated her answered. “I think it’s more important to know if we can live with what we’ve done. I don’t know if they are benevolent or not, but what I know is that we might not be able to change the past or have control over what happens later, but we do have control over the decisions we make. Just because we made mistakes in our past, it doesn’t mean it defines us,” she replied.

They turned him into a weapon and only Uphine knew what he had endured.

“So grown up of you.”

His answered made her beam. “Wow, so you do have a sense of humor.”

“Not with everyone. Do you always know what to say?” William asked.

“I have my moments,” she replied. “So, am I guilty of making someone wait at home?” She subtly asked, making him smile for a moment.

“No, there isn’t. But what about you? I guess you must have a line of suitors waiting for you to turn around to even look at them,” he guessed, but she didn’t recall having a queue, waiting for her to look at them. She knew her driadae beauty dragged attention and had even had a fling or two, but nothing formal. The first time she’d been with a man had not been for love, but for lust. She wouldn’t even call it lust. She just wanted to feel something. It was the irony of being a driadae who could feel everyone’s emotions but wanted to feel something. The truth was that in the same way humans distrusted them, so did other creatures. They were always expecting them to show their true nature at any moment, as if they were forgotten nymphs.

“You might be surprised to learn that none of them were waiting to ask for my hand in marriage because they were partly afraid of being related to the Silverclaw clan leader, and I guess they were afraid that Galad would attack them at any moment,” she replied without telling him what she thought. It wasn’t a lie what she told him. Even when they admired Rhiannon and the coven, they feared them.

She stopped for a moment thoughtfully, looking at the fire with a serious face. “It doesn’t matter where you were born. It doesn’t matter if you are a human, driadae, a witch, a shapeshifter, or a fae. There is always the fear of the unknown. They are afraid of what they do not understand, and the worst thing is that sometimes they do not want to understand it,” she said in a low tone, hearing the sadness in her words.

There was always one species that believed itself to be better than others when, in fact, none were. Powerful creatures moved the kingdoms at their will without caring how it affected others. They only sought power and glory and everything that the other lands could offer them. She knew that each one of them were moving their pieces on the board and the two of them were only mere pawns in their game.

“I don’t think they knew what they were missing,” he casually said, referring to her suitors. She smiled at his comment. “It’s very difficult to find a woman like you,” he added. Those words made her face him, making her see that he was looking at her with admiration.

“Oh hunter.” She slowly approached him with a feline grin on her face, as if she were stalking her prey. Will didn’t move when she put her hand on his arm and slowly moved it down. She looked at those ocean irises that gazed at her with curiosity at what she was about to do. She only took his canteen from his hand, knowing what he was thinking. “You have no idea. I’m sure you’ve never been with someone like me,” she whispered in his ear, only for him to hear. She took a sip from the canteen with a triumphant smile.

He brought his hand closer to his canteen, touching the back of her hand with his thumb. “Well,” he said, slowly approaching her to whisper in her ear. “We need to change that, don’t you think?” She let go the canteen, but she didn’t look away and only slightly bit her lower lip. She thought he was about to kiss her when Robbie’s snoring interrupted them. She looked in another direction, feeling that suddenly the air was too hot. And when she turned again to see him, she noticed his gaze was still on her, but she only settled next to him without saying any other word, thinking about Will’s hands exploring her body and wondering how his lips would feel on her skin.

For the love of the Gods, Atarah, we have more important things to think about; she scolded herself in an attempt to erase her thought about Will. She couldn’t let him distract her.