Empress of the Gods

Atarah

Fate has knocked on your door, but only you decide how to respond. Jack’s voice hovered inside her head as she strolled through the halls of that library. She couldn’t stop thinking about it.

This is your second life.

The gods have chosen you for a reason. Not your brother, not your friends, not me—you.

She seemed to walk aimlessly without knowing if she was still in the library or if she had accidentally arrived at the palace. Honestly, she didn’t care because she was trying to comprehend what that old friend who claimed to know her from her past life told her. Once again Atarah felt alone, even when she knew she wasn’t. She couldn’t share with anyone what Jack told her. Without mentioning that the man in her dreams who looked like a male version of her was actually her brother, and Jack met him.

She went out to the nearest balcony for air. The night was young, and the only light that was there besides the moon were the two small firepits that were on the concrete balustrade. She heard the crickets and the hoot of an owl that seemed to be nearby. The moon was at the highest point, and her favorite star, Aster, shone with intensity.

The story Jack told her became her favorite story of the ones she’d heard, and she knew that she would see that star differently. She contemplated her for years without knowing her story as she tried to find the answers to the endless questions that appeared in her head. She hated having more questions than answers.

Who do you want to be, Atarah? she asked herself, but she couldn’t even answer it. It didn’t matter who she wanted to be. She was bound to a destiny that wasn’t’ her own choice.

The only thing she could see in that twisted situation was that part of her nightmares were her memories of a past life, which meant she had been reliving her own death. The only question that still roam in her mind was the stranger in her dreams. That one with emerald irises with grey lines in them. She had never told anyone about him. Not even Elysia.

Atarah leaned her head on one of the pillars as she let out a sigh without taking her gaze from the stars. “This doesn’t make sense. None of this makes sense,” she angrily shouted to the stars as she separated from the pillar. “I’m tired of this. I’m tired of everyone using me as a pawn. You are practically asking me to become what you want, but what about me? What about what I want?” she asked, gritting her teeth, waiting for someone to answer. She expected Rhiannon, her mother, or the Gods to answer to her. “Do you want to know what I want? I want to be free,” she said, lowering her voice as she placed her hands on the cold balcony balustrade with her gaze down, feeling that a tear slipped on her cheek. “I want to be able to decide,” she ended with a sigh, as if it was a distant dream. “I want to decide my own destiny.”

“Then do it. Be free,” said a male voice behind her. She turned her gaze towards the voice. The light of the moon covered the balcony, allowing her to see a tanned attractive man leaning from the wall with his arms folded, looking at the silver moon. He looked like a statue carved in stone. The immortal beauty of the fae, who bled just as she did, never ceased to amaze her, but the one that was close to her was not like the others. It wasn’t until she saw his slightly pointed ears that she realized he was a half-fae like Robbie. He was a half-fae with the intoxicating and almost mesmerizing beauty of a nymph. He was too attractive not to notice. But there was also a warning in his gaze, as if he was someone you should never make angry.

Something about him made her feel restless, but not in the same way that Galad did when he perceived danger. His hair was mahogany brown, like Atarah’s eyes. She could barely see the color of his eyes with that light, but looked the deepest green. Also, his dark clothes fit him perfectly, as though they’d been tailored to suit his frame.

He hadn’t stopped watching the moon, but he didn’t seem to be in a better mood than she was. He most likely had been looking for a bit of privacy in that place.

“Sorry, I didn’t know someone else was here,” she said in a low tone, feeling embarrassed after she shouted to the sky. He must think she was insane.

When he didn’t even look at her, she began to walk back inside.

“It’s a beautiful night, don’t you think?” he asked in a deep alluring voice that instantly caught her attention. “I never get tired of seeing the stars and my favorite one is the one closest to the moon,” he added without looking away from the stars. He was talking about Aster. His voice invited her to stay, so she leaned back onto the pillar that was parallel to where he was and looked up at the stars again.

“Yes, it is.”

“What is a driadae doing in Zehava?” She felt his gaze on her. How did he know? “You have a beautiful birthmark.” He looked at her birthmark on her wrist that distinguished her kind from others. She didn’t hide her wrist from him. “Do you know the story?” he asked, pointing to the bright star with his gaze, or at least that was what she assumed.

“Aster and Dimneas?” she asked, and he replied by nodding his head. “Yes, I do,” she added with a half-smile on her face.

“What are you doing here, love?”

“I thought I was free to wander wherever I wanted. After all, this is a library open to anyone who wants to gain knowledge,” she quoted what she heard about the golden city.

His short laugh caused a strange feeling in her, along with his charming smile. “You are,” he said as soon as he incorporated, making her realize that he was taller than her and possibly the same height as William. “Only that you could hardly go unnoticed,” he added with a look that that fae, without intending, would put any creature on their knees. “By the way, you are the only one who decides your own destiny and no one else, love.” And before leaving her completely alone, he approached her and whispered, “Enjoy the night.”

By the time she turned around, he was already gone. He gave her a feeling that problems followed wherever that fae went.

***

She found Myrah near a hallway where there seemed to be a huge balcony like the one she had been in with the stranger. Suddenly, they heard screams from the guards in the distance, which caught her attention. The fae with whom she had been on the balcony was caught by one of the guards. But with only a few punches, he managed to knock him out. The hood of his cape fell to the back, so he put it on again. He was using a similar attire to Elysia with the Blackfall insignia.

An onyx gemstone fell to the ground and slipped near where she was.

The wind whispered to her. She heard voices that spoke at the same time. She couldn’t understand what they were saying until she clearly heard one of them mention the stone. When she picked it up from the floor, she felt the tingling at her fingertips in the same way she’d felt with the dagger, and as soon as she lifted it, the attractive fae approached.

“Thank you, love,” he said when he took the stone from her hands, letting her feel light touches of electricity in the palm. “Interesting,” he said with curiosity about what happened, and when he took the stone, he threw it into the air and caught it with the same hand. She remembered the feeling she had with the dagger, which led her to think that the stone was part of it. Which meant he was looking for the dagger as well.

“Stop flirting and get us out of this place, Leander,” shouted his companion when he touched his arm, so Leander continued running. Leander winked at her before he started running again towards the balcony. She realized what they were about to do, and she ran behind them for the stone.

Myrah followed her without understanding what was going on.

Leander’s companion, who was just as tall as he was, waited for him on the edge of the balcony. The moment Leander reached where his companion was, he threw himself with his companion from the balcony. A strange dark fog surrounded them, and they disappeared into thin air. They disappeared into thin air. She had never come across any creature with that kind of gift.

The guards did not take long to arrive, looking for him all over the balcony, but they were no longer there. They even looked around, expecting to find something that could help them find them, to no avail. Then one of them looked at her first and then at her sister as if he was expecting them to know where they had gone, and before they could ask them anything, Robbie and William showed up.

“One minute Myrah was next to me, and then I was talking to myself,” Robbie complained as he approached. The guards only gave him a quick and serious look before they left. “Alright,” he said, confused when he saw the face of the guards. “Now, what did you two do?”

Atarah gently hit him in the arm because she didn’t want them to link her with that fae that had escaped. They didn’t need to get into more trouble.

Myrah had her hands on the concrete balcony balustrade, observing the place where they disappeared. “That was the most incredible gift I’ve ever seen.”

“Which gift? What is she talking about?” William asked, approaching her with a smile. Atarah’s mind was on that stone from which she heard the same voices as she did with the dagger and the electricity she felt in the palm of her hand.

“Tarah?” she heard Robbie dragging her out of her thoughts.

“They were chasing a fae, and he disappeared into thin air,” she said as if it didn’t matter at all, when she couldn’t stop thinking about it.