Empress of the Gods

Atarah

They ran from that place the moment the guards tried to approach them. Atarah would never get used to running from one place to another, but with William by her side, she could bear it.

It was weird that after a long journey passing unnoticed the word spread of their presence in Zehava. She didn’t think Jack had anything to do with it, but she didn’t take out that possibility. Without a horse, coin, and a half-full stomach, they were running through the trees, listening to the whistle of arrows that they were trying to dodge. Myrah managed to stop some of them with an ice shield, but it hadn’t been enough. The fae soldiers outnumbered them. Atarah evaluated the situation. She couldn’t control her gifts, but with Galad’s roar, William’s strength, her sister’s gifts, and their combined fighting skills, they could make it. She left Robbie out because he didn’t like to use violence unless it was necessary.

Atarah couldn’t risk using her gifts. She couldn’t risk that the beast that dwell inside burnt everything in its path when she released every drop of power she had. She didn’t want to hurt anyone, so they needed to find a way to escape from those fae soldiers because she didn’t plan to spend the night in a fae cell.

William didn’t allow anyone of those soldiers to lay a hand on her while he managed to dodge some of their attacks. The fae soldiers might outrun him in strength, but he knew how to use his weaknesses in his favor. Seeing William fight reminded her how good he was. Robbie tried to dodge every single strike, and Myrah used her gifts as much as she could with the training they received when they were younger. Her sister looked like she knew what she was doing and reminded her of the coven. Myrah formed some ice stalactites that she threw to the fae soldiers, who tried to shield themselves.

Galad came out with a loud roar and threw with his wind to the fae soldiers that surrounded them.

They ran until they found a lake that was strangely calm. There was fog above the water, and there was no boat near the place, which meant they would have to swim across the Midnight Waters Lake. Elysia once told Atarah a story about it, which led her to realize that Elysia’s name from Blackfall’s guild had been inspired by those waters. It was one of the favorite places of the new Silverclaw leader, who gave her a way to get there in case something went wrong.

She tried not to make a sound when the water touched her skin that awakened her senses, but at the same time made her look for a source of heat. She listened to Robbie complain about how icy it was while Myrah tried to swim as fast as she could to get to the shore. She didn’t like not being able to see what was at the bottom of that lake.

The only light that guided them was the moon at its highest point. William stayed behind Atarah and when she saw her sister and Robbie safe on the shore, she turned to see William holding him by the arm. They could barely see in the darkness of the night so she wouldn’t be able to see him in the eyes, but the sound of his voice could tell her a lot of things. She couldn’t stop thinking about what Elysia told her in Ekkirah.

“Do you really want to help us?” she asked. Atarah’s eyes tried to adapt to the darkness to see his reaction. The little she could see she did not take her eyes off William, who seemed surprised and deeply hurt by her question. Will shook his head as he turned to see somewhere else. It was clear that he knew that lake as Elysia did.

The fae soldiers stopped following them when they saw them entering to the lake. There was elemental magic in those waters that she could not fully understand, but not being honest could drown anyone there.

He didn’t reply right away. Myrah screamed from the shore, “You have to be kidding! I don’t think it’s time to ask him that.”

She knew Robbie told her sister what he heard with his fae hearing.

“I thought we had already left all that behind.”

“Answer the question.”

William pondered his answer without taking his gaze away. Atarah tried to avoid that moment, but she was responsible for her sister and wanted to confirm that they were safe. It was one thing to risk her life and another to risk her family. She knew what that meant for them, but she thought that if someone could understand it when she explained it was him.

“Yes,” he bitterly replied, which made her release him, so he continued swimming. When he didn’t hear her swim, he stopped and waited for her, but without looking at her and keeping his distance from her. Once she got where he was, they continued swimming until they reached the shore.

“What was that about?” Myrah asked as soon as they came out of the water, feeling the freezing wind on her skin. Her fingertips looked like raisins after that moment in the water.

Atarah ignored her sister’s question and followed William, who angrily walked away from her. “Will,” she called him so she could explain to him when he abruptly stopped walking and faced her, making her take two steps back.

“Yes, what the hell was that, Atarah?”

Despite how guilty she felt for doing so, she knew that if it was true, then they had nothing to fear, and it wouldn’t have all ended in tragedy.

“After all this time and what had happened between us, how could you do that?” William asked, agitated. She was going to let him say everything he had in his head. “After everything I’ve told you, you still do not trust me. I understand that my past disturbed you, but after everything we have been through …” He was so angry that he shook his head a couple of times in denial and took a deep breath before saying: “I’m going to get firewood.”

She followed. “Are you still thinking about taking the Dimneas dagger?” she directly asked.

“Is that what worries you?”

“Yes, it is one of the many things that worries me because apparently everyone is looking for me. Not to mention, I am a pawn on the board of the gods, and that dagger is linked to my destiny. And let’s not forget the cherry on top that I need to survive the Tsaraath trials,” she replied, realizing all the verbal vomit that she had expelled. “So yes, it worries me because my life is not the only one that is at risk, but the ones around me. And I also carry all the weight of the world on my shoulders, being the night flame,” she said before turning her back and glancing at Robbie and Myrah, who had remained silent, listening to their fight.

Having her sister with her made her overprotective, something she detested, but she had to do due to circumstances, knowing that she could hurt William in the process, who after her verbal vomit took her by the waist and hugged her from behind without saying a single word.

Myrah and Robbie gave them privacy. They collected firewood so they could make a small campfire to camp in that place.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” he asked, softening his gaze.

“Because I was trying to understand it and understand what all that meant,” she replied, losing her gaze somewhere in the trees. “I know that being in these lands your life is at risk more than usual, so I’m not going to ask you to stay with me without you knowing the risk that implies.”

“I’ve seen the way they look at me in these realms, knowing who I am, and I can’t stand the idea that being with me makes them see you as a threat.”

Atarah was starting to feel nervous about Will’s words. She didn’t know what he meant with them. She was trying to understand it. “I get it,” she said, walking away from him, but Will took her wrist.

“I don’t want them to hurt you.”

“I can take care of myself,” she replied, trying to make him let go of her hand, but he approached her.

“I know you can do it,” he said with his gaze on her wrist. He held her hand with one hand, and with the other, he caressed her knuckles. “I know, but it scares me how much I love you. How much I would like to kiss those lips every night until dawn,” he said, running his thumb on them. “I’m so afraid of losing you as I did with them,” he added, referring to his family. “I wouldn’t dare ask you to come with me because I have nothing to offer you. I am afraid that if I take you to a human realm, they will try to kill us, and if we stay, they will do something to you if you try to save me.”

Atarah sighed, not knowing what to do, but she still wanted to be with him. She just placed her hand on his cheek, and he rested his forehead against hers.

“We will figure something out,” she whispered to him. “Together.”

Being close to Will and the fire helped her stop feeling cold, and no one said another word that night. Galad had come out of her interior, lying near her while he observed Will, but unlike other occasions, he had not given him warning grunts, but simply watched him. Will stroked her hair while her sight got lost in the fire.

On the other side of the campfire, Myrah was sleeping, and Robbie was snoring too much. It was a quiet night before continuing their journey to Euthoria. They had already discussed the routes they would take to get to that place and avoid being near the borders of Drykahria or any other driadae kingdom that was out there.

That night, there were not many stars in the sky and the moon had a circle around it. According to what the witches believed, it was a sign of trouble. She tried not to think about it and closed her eyes. All she wanted that night was to rest, and at some point in the night, she fell asleep.