The Sun's Shadow

Chapter Thirty-Six

Roman approached him and leaned down to snap his fingers in front of his face. That broke him out of the haze so he implored, "Tell me what happened."

Sandros shook his head violently. "I couldn't save him."

When he said it, Roman looked into the woods to wait for Leon to catch up and explain his brother's nonsense. Except he saw nothing. Heard no one's approaching steps.

"Where's Leon?"

Ele sensed the commotion and pushed her way out of Kaanan's arms. He hesitated on releasing her, but knew he couldn't keep her there forever. So he placed her gently on her feet. Together, they walked to console Sandros, who just kept shaking his head- Refusing to accept what transpired.

So Roman pressed the question again, "Where's Leon?"

"I couldn't... I couldn't bring him back. I needed to run and..." Sandros mumbled some more and none of it made sense. Ele bent to her knees so she could rub circles on his back. He fell into her open arms and shuddered, "One of those bastards killed him. And they're coming. A whole bunch of them."

Kaanan had to back away. Gone were the monsters inside him and the hole they left needed to be filled. Now it brimmed with rage.

He looked in the direction of the woods they'd have to come from, readying to fight. "They'll pay for this. I'll make them suff-"

Ele snapped her fingers at him to demand to be noticed. 'No! This will become an endless cycle of bloodshed and lead us back where we started. No more sacrifice. We will mourn Leon, respectfully.'

He hated how right her words were. No one craved vengeance against the satyroids as much as he, but that had to be forsaken if it meant ridding his body of the demons entirely.

"Charles." He called forth his uncle, who he knew was listening to what transpired. Charles approached and put a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "I need you to command the army once more, they'll listen to you. Sandros, how many would you say are coming?"

"None." Wylda chirped. She materialized from the dense forest before her son attacked a retreating army and announced, "I killed Taurean. For all he's done to our family and all the twisted methods he stooped to, only for a title... He deserved it."

If her words weren't proof enough, she held up his severed head and threw it towards the huddle. It rolled to Kaanan's feet and he grimaced. Ele had to look away.

Wylda wiped her bloodied hands on her dress. "I stuck around in the shadows until his sons showed up. Two rather handsome men if you can look past their hairy legs. They're carrying his body home now for a proper satyroid funeral. Without that, of course."

All of this said so flippantly, as if not on the brink of war. She hardly paid mind to her burning home filled with priceless antiques and memories. Everything that happened in there was built on lies and a curse.

Kaanan tasted the stench of blood in the air. Ele was right... Enough bloodshed occurred today to last them all a millennium. Although they evaded war for now, the future remained uncertain.

He addressed everyone, "Then Ele and I have to leave for the lodge. I'll be back for judgement once things die down, don't worry. If the army finds me now, they'll take her too and she was innocent in this. Sandros, go be with your family and mourn. We all mourn tonight."

Spoken like a mindful King.

Roman helped his friend to his feet and avoided looking at the blood that must belong to Leon.

"I'll help him get there." Still, Roman refused to look at Ele.

She stood and smoothed down her dress that was covered in dirt and badly charred. Her hands fell limp at her sides. 

They lost a friend today... Leon. Every heart beat ached a little deeper than the last the more she thought about him. His boyish grin and breezy demeanor that caught her off guard many times.

Kaanan slipped his hand into hers. He needed the support, same as her.

"I'm so sorry." The apology that came from Kaanan's lips left everyone in awe. The words hung in the air, lingering. He followed it a moment later with, "Okay Ele, say your goodbyes. I'll give you some space." 

He squeezed her hand before letting it go to walk over to the trailhead. Charles and the Queen followed him to say their farewells in private. 

Ele stared, motionless, at the ground. What was she to say to people who couldn't understand her? So she decided on a universal gesture.

First, she went up to Sandros and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly to express sympathy and love. He snuggled her closer to his chest and inhaled to get her scent stuck in his nose.

"You're something rare. Don't let Kaanan ever forget it." He pulled away because he knew she had one last goodbye. But he needed to tell her, "Leon had hopes you'd get your wings back. He told me that night, after we saw your glow, that he wanted to see you in all your glory. He sees you now."

Tears fell from both their eyes and littered the ground. They embraced once more before he walked to go tell Charles the news about Leon. That left Roman and Ele, both avoiding the inevitable.

He cut the silence and tried to remain neutral. "Your wings are beautiful. They, ah... Suit you."

She nodded, eyes widening from the sheer awkwardness between them. Her lips flattened and he stared at them.

"I want to kiss you. I know that's wrong given all we've been through." Once said, he couldn't retract his declaration. But after she walked away today, there was no telling the next time he'd see her.

She needed it too. One last time.

Roman caught the change in her heart and rushed to take advantage before it flew away. Before she flew away. He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her close, tight against his body to feel her every curve. If the rest of his days were spent in this position, forever trapped in time, then he'd be a happy man.

Ele balanced on the tips of her toes to meet him halfway. Their lips brushed before he greedily pressed his into hers. The cushion of her soft mouth made him want to settle there for eternity. The claiming mark on her neck set ablaze when they touched and worsened each second, turning into something erotic and uncontrollable.

That's when he pulled back. "Tell me now if you want to stay here or go with him. Don't let fear control your decision."

Her eyes remained closed after their kiss. Without him igniting the mark, she managed to think clearly and decide without influence. Roman had picked up on simple signs and she also worked slowly to spell out the words he had yet to learn.

'I have to go.' After saying it, she placed her hand on his chest.

Roman grabbed it with both hands and brought it to his lips to commit her scent to memory. Such a strange girl, who did strange things to him. He loved her. It was his love for her that allowed him to watch her walk off with another man.