Chapter 21
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Chapter 21
"Would you like to hear the story?"
His bright eyes flashed in amusement as I nodded quickly. I loved learning about his kind's culture and customs, and I wouldn't mind listening to that heart lulling voice for ages.
"This tale is not in the book I had Terif give you. Some of the smaller details were, but the majority of the story is saved for parents to pass down to their children."
I could only sit silently and nod as I watched his beautiful mouth move with each word that passed his lips. "Adranus is the basis of our existence, but long ago- long before any wolf-born or shifter inhabited the world, he ruled the Night from his place high in the Heavens."
"He would often visit the mortal realm to run with the animals of his domain, but he would always have to travel back to the moon before the sun rose the next day. He lived this way for thousands of years, shining the moon's light down on the world."
Eirik paused, his lightening blue eyes flickering to mine. He licked his full bottom before giving me a slow arriving smile. "But those animals were little comfort. The more years that passed, the more Adranus realized the constant ache in his chest- was loneliness."
His smile soon fell and turned sad as he reached up to twirl a strand of my hair around his strong fingers. My heart skipped at the action.
"Sure, there were other Gods, even a few Goddesses who he spoke to and dined with, but none of them were ever enough to fill that empty hole inside his heart. So, he would sit in his palace on the moon and gaze down in sorrow at the world below him. What did they have that he didn't?"
I frowned at the look that passed over his bright eyes, that sad, lonely look- like he knew and felt the exact same pain Adranus had over and over again. I wanted to take that look away, take away the pain that I was almost sure he was hiding in his chest.
Terif said he was old, but how long has he truly been alone? He trusted his General's with his life, that was obvious, but did he ever consider them friends? Was I the only person that has ever seen any warm, or kind side to him? But event that side was short lived. He continued speaking despite my inner ramble, and I forced myself to focus on the words.
"Then, one day, the pure, perfect soul of a girl who died before her time, was reborn into a star. A star just outside his spot on the moon." My heart stopped beating as he reached up and tucked my hair behind my ear.
"He was fascinated by the glowing soul, disabled by her beauty. He would sit just outside of his palace and watch her shine all night long, and then stay there during the day until she returned once the darkness fell again. He was infatuated by her. For the first time in centuries, he had felt something more than just an empty loneliness."
He paused again, his blue eyes shining as his large hand reached up and brushed softly along my cheek. It took all I had in me not to press his palm to my face and bury my head there forever. His smile made butterflies erupt in my stomach.
I remained silent.
"All stars are pure, innocent, souls reborn- but they would all talk and laugh with the others residing in the Heavens whenever they chose. But not the one that peaked his attention. Oh no, she was quiet. She kept to herself. Occasionally she would laugh at something another had said, or would glance shyly over where the God of the Night resided- but other than that, she stayed silent."
"It struck a chord inside of him. What could he do to gain her attention? To make her talk to him?"
His thumb rubbed slowly over my jaw and brushed gently along my chin before he pulled away. It caused my stomach to tug painfully. I never wanted him to stop those soft touches, to stop from talking.
"He would tease her constantly. Give her little compliments that would always make her blush. Night after night he gave her all his attention. He stopped traveling down to the mortal world, stopped spending time with his night-time creatures. That emptiness in his chest was fading, and being replaced by the bright, shining light of his quiet, little soul."
This story made my heart ache. The King's voice was so soft as spoke, so caring as he told of Adranus and that soul. It made my own loneliness squeeze around my chest. Would he ever feel that way about me? Would he ever want me the way his god wanted that star?
"Eventually she started to warm up to him. Her giggles would turn into quiet laughs and her shy smiles slowly turned to bright blushes. He loved it. Loved the way she reacted to his compliments and sweet words. It wasn't long after that when she started speaking to him. Barely, and very soft, but words nonetheless. Adranus was ecstatic."
I now understood why he liked this story so much as a child. It spoke of a slow growing love that took time and effort, that pushed away the emptiness in an aching heart. I had no idea what type of childhood he had, but it had to be lonely. His life now had to be lonely. And I wanted to so desperately change that for him.
"He didn't realize he had fallen in love with her until it had already happened, until he had completely and totally fallen for the shy soul. They would talk for hours and hours- night after night, until the star had realized she had fallen in love with him too. He would do everything in his power to hear that sweet laugh- to ensure she had everything her perfect little heart ever desired."
His voice was so deep, so melodic, and I wrapped the thick, dark cloak tighter around me as I tried not to close my eyes in pure bliss. I could hear him talk for hours- days.
"Adranus and that soul were the very first mates of my kind. And they were happy. For a while, they were happy."
I didn't miss the shift in his tone, or the way his eyes darkened as they pulled away from mine. His whole demeanor turned sorrowful. It took all I had in me not to reach over and gentle smooth away the small frown pulling at his brow. I doubted he would have appreciated that. This was such a lovely story, but I was sure that look on his face meant it didn't end well.
"But then the wars started. The civil wars in the skies between all Gods and Goddesses. No one really knew how or why they began, but many upon many suffered because of it. Including the God of the Night."
The happiness in my heart from our little conversation was slowly fading as his face fell, and I couldn't help my own sorrow that filled its place. It didn't sound like this would have a happy ending at all.
"The star had begged him not to join in on the fighting, to stay with her where they were happy and in love. But he would not listen. He denied her the one thing she wanted the most, and he left. He was not there when the wars moved too close to the moon, too close to their home. He was not there to protect her when the fighting had knocked her straight from the night sky- had thrown her completely from the Heavens."
Tear were pooling in my eyes, tears I tried to hastily force down before he could see. This was starting to sound a little too much like when he left- when I had practically begged him not to go, but he did anyway. I didn't like this story anymore, it was making me unbelievably sad.
I turned my head away from him so he could not see the water I was trying to shove away. But he had already noticed. His blue eyes widened and he leaned towards me before I had a chance to wipe the water that fell on my cheek away.
"Don't be sad, little Emrie. It's just a story." He murmured softly, his eyes warm as his hand reached up and brushed an escaped tear from my cheek. I gave him a water smile.
"It's a sad story." I mumbled before resting my chin on my knees. His beautiful face pulled into a small frown.
"I don't have to finish, if you don't want me to."
"N-No I do! I do, please continue." My tears wouldn't be the thing to ruin this time between us, to keep that beautiful voice of his from talking. His frown pulled into a small smile.
"Are you sure?" He asked softly as he pulled away from me again with his blue eyes dark against the white snow around us. I nodded and rested my cheek back on my knees, my gaze blinking pleadingly up at him.
Never stop talking.
"Alright, the star was knocked from her place by his side and tossed into the mortal realm below. Adranus wasn't aware of any of this at first, he was too busy fighting in a war he had no part in."
Gee, didn't that sound familiar.
"But when he came back to his palace on the moon, ready to embrace his little soul tightly in his arms and never let her go- she was gone."
"He was confused, then furious when he noticed the carnage of his palace, of their home. He started rampaging through what was left of the skies, demanding that any God or Goddess he could get his hands on tell him what had happened."
"But no one truly knew- until they looked out into the night. It had been hundreds upon hundreds of stars that had been knocked from the Heavens- that had been thrown to the world below like pieces of lightweight garbage. He was enraged."
Much like the furious god in the story, Eirik's eyes started to glow with a simpering angry- as if he too could feel the pain and loss of his god's.
"He tore apart what he could get his hands on, convinced it was the other immortals fault that he lost his precious soul- the one good, pure thing he had ever truly known. She was gone, and it wasn't long before he realized it was his fault. If he had just stayed behind like she asked him to, like she begged him to, then she would be safe and sound wrapped in his arms."
The King was so passionate when he talked, so into the story and the emotions running through it. I was so enraptured by his talking that I could almost see the story play out in my head. And it was heartbreaking.
"He cast himself from Heaven voluntarily, left his place on the moon and his title as an all-powerful God behind to fall to the mortal world. He was determined to find her, to beg for her forgiveness and keep her safe in the mortal realm where no ridiculous civil war would ever take her again..."
His voice slowly trailed off, his eyes sad as he gazed over at me with a small smile. My heart thumped painfully.
"He never found her, did he?" My voice was a breathless whisper as the air turned to fog around me. He gave a small shake of his head.
"No, he didn't, but the story says that he has never stopped searching. That even now, he roams the world looking for her in the form of the one creature he always revered the most. A wolf. And that's where my kind came in." He said the last part with such a bright smile that it made the painful ache in my chest ease some.
Some.
"They say the very first wolf-borne was originally born a wolf, and a dear companion of Adranus. The Great God apparently granted him the ability to shift into the two-legged creatures that roamed the civilized portions of the world at will when the wolf fell in love with a human girl from a distant land."
This was definitely not in the book Terif had given me.
"It was because of the first wolf-shifter that Adranus created mates. He saw the love the wolf had held in his heart, and desperately missed the love he shared with his soul. He never wanted one of his creations to ever feel the loneliness he had- so he molded souls together before they were born to ensure they would never be truly alone. They would always find their mate, even if it took a while."
His blue eyes snapped up and locked with mine, the smile pulling on his lips sent my heart into overdrive. Mates... He believed that Adranus paired each and every single mate- that he paired us. I could see it in his eyes, his blind faith in some moon-god that I wasn't even sure existed.
"That wolf became the very first Northern King. The human part of him, the one gifted by Adranus, was a piece of the God's soul. A piece that is said to be passed down my line."
"Is it?" I asked softly as his blue eyes flashed. Aeyron had said something about a part of the god's soul living in Eirik, and even that little history book did as well. If what the General had said about the King's power was true, I didn't doubt he could have part of a god's soul.
North's lips pulled into a small smile. "Want to see something?"
I nodded eagerly and leaned away from my knees as the King leaned forward, his palm raising in the air between us. I watched in awe as the King whispered something before his blue eyes began to glow- then there was a flash of light before a little blue tornado started spiraling in his hand. My eyes widened at the sight, and I gasped as the little storm spun with complete control in his large palm.
"Even if a part of his soul is not inside of me," His voice was deep, hoarse even as it filled my eardrums, his blue eyes still glowing in unnatural light. "His power is." There was another flash of light, and then the tornado in his hand disappeared.
Oh my god...
"That's how you were able to appear on the ship!" I exclaimed excitedly and couldn't help but clap my hands as his eyes faded back to their regular blue. He gave me a small smile as his heavy body slumped back against the boulder.
"Yes, that is how I am able to do a lot." Then his eyes slowly turned hard, the light from before leaving. "I was named after him- destined to carry on his title in the mortal plane."
I tilted my head curiously to the side and gazed over at his drooped head. He suddenly seemed incredibly tired. I hope that little magic trick didn't zap him of all the energy he had been sleeping constantly for.
"Eirik isn't anywhere close to Adranus."
His eyes flickered up to me, and their lightning blue flashed in amusement before glancing out at the frozen river. "Eirik was the name of the first wolf-shifter, the one Adranus had turned. I told you from the start that wasn't my real name."
My eyes widened at his words. Oh lord, he was right. I totally forgot about that. "Your real name is-"
"Adranus, yes."
Whoa... talk about living up to a name.
"It was my father's, and my grandfather's- who was said to be the first son of Eirik. But he died long before I was ever born. We take our bloodline very seriously, Emrie."
I could tell.
"What was the star's name?" I asked softly as he leaned his head back against the large rock and gazed up at the cloudy, snow-falling sky. He paused, his eyes blinking slowly up at the white flakes. The hesitancy made me frown.
"I don't remember."
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