Heir To The Iron Crown: Dyrith

29 - Tuttugu og Níu

Eidis had tears in her eyes as she watched me.

"Rayne," she called out. Her voice, a croak.

She wiped her tears away as she broke into a disheartened laugh.

"I'm a mess, sorry," she said, trying to regain her composure.

I'd been in a similar position oftentimes before, where emotion built up behind my eyes and there was only so much I could do to hide it.

"Do you want to come inside?" I asked her. I felt Renee's presence behind me, as she walked to where I stood to see who was at the door.

Eidis just shook her head, no.

"What do you want?" Renee asked her in a curt tone. She probably knew about Eidis' involvement with everything that happened during the second attack on Fathilagt.

And Renee wasn't one to forget easily.

"I'm sorry to take your time," Eidis said.

"Are you hearing this Rayne? Didn't this chick throw cold water on you because you had cake on your birthday? Didn't she try to steal our man?" Ima asked me. You'd think her tone would be one of fury, but instead she sounded just as confused as I was.

"I heard that the Luna ceremony was today, and that Valente had finally chosen his mate," she continued. "Everyone is actually in shock because it's so sudden.

"They're trying to guess who it could be, but my mind instantly went to you. All this time we thought you were probably dead, and I lived with the guilt of never having apologized after hurting you more times than I could remember," she said.

"Eidis," I said to her in a firm tone. I knew what she was trying to do. Getting in my good books, now that I was going to be Luna, wasn't going to work well for her.

I didn't need her half-hearted apology now, of all days.

"Whatever happened, I'm past it. We've both come a long way since then, you don't have to do this," I told her. All I needed, was for her to leave.

She gave me a broken smile.

"I guess I deserve that," she said. "But I want to do this anyway, for my sake. So that I can finally forgive myself."

I crossed my arms, in a show of impatience.

"Eidis, I-"

"I was punished Rayne," she cut me off.

"Rightly punished," Imadis chimed in. I could tell she was rolling her eyes.

"I was punished over and over again for the things that I did, and I am not proud of those things. But I am responsible Rayne. I hoped I could make a man love me, when I didn't love him. I loved the idea of being with him, the idea of the power I would get with him.

"I didn't realize Kristján wanted Alpha for himself. If I did, I would have told him he was no match against Valente.

"But my brother's actions, or Sylvia's actions, could never justify what I'd done. Still, I think I've suffered the most. My brother died, but he was saved from a terrible punishment that would have been far worse than death. And Sylvia, she got away with a stern warning, because Valente couldn't bring himself to convict his own aunt.

"But me," she said, shaking her head. A laugh without mirth escaped her lips.

"I've been suffering since before the day you left, and after as well. I wish I could find my mate, my real mate, who could take me away from this place, and help me start again.

"But I can't bring myself to go looking for him, especially when I can't forgive myself. Everytime I think of him, I feel as if he's already rejected me from afar, and that's why I haven't found him yet."

Her tears were flowing freely now, there was no point in hiding them anymore.

"I need you to forgive me Rayne. I've not hurt anyone as much as I hurt you. All these years I went to sleep, wondering how I could never get my life back, because I could never apologize to you.

"But when I heard that Valente had found his mate, even though everyone is still wondering who it could be, I knew it would be you. It sounded impossible at first, but Valente choosing a mate that wasn't you, was a lot less likely than you still being alive."

"Is that why you're here?" I asked her.

I watched her face carefully. The harshness that had dripped from her features all those years ago was now gone, and she seemed different.

"Yes. I need you to forgive me Rayne," her words left her lips in the tiniest of whispers. I could tell she was ashamed, truly ashamed. "I need you to forgive me, so I can tell myself before I sleep tonight, that I'm worthy of friendship, affection, and love."

I looked at Eidis for a long time, trying to pick apart her story, trying to find a hint of insincerity in her words, but came up empty.

She didn't look me in the eye, her head slightly bowed.

I didn't want her to fear me, her respect was more than enough.

I pulled her in a hug, because the condition she was in, I couldn't relate to. I had no idea what she was going through, any description of her situation wouldn't be able to match the pain I could see in her eyes at this moment. It looked like that pain resided there permanently, it had built itself a sturdy home in this girl's heart.

I knew she'd had no friends since that night, everyone looked at her with nothing but hate.

Her mother was all she had, but even she didn't look at her daughter the same way after finding out about her true intentions.

"Kristján's mom was devastated that night. Not so much about her son's death, but more so about the betrayal her only two children orchestrated. She said they had disrespected their father's legacy, and she didn't know if she could ever forgive them," Valente had told me on the flight here.

I heard a sob on my shoulder, and for the first time, I pitied Eidis.

She pulled back to look at me, with teary eyes.

"You held on to me when I was about to fall from the Birch tree, you protected me, even when I wanted to poison you. You demanded my release from the pits, Frida told me. Even after everything I did to you, you didn't want me to be hurt. You're a true Luna Rayne, and I can't wait to see you take your title at the ceremony," she said. A smile graced her lips, this time however, it was genuine.

She took a step back, nodding towards Renee and then giving me one last look.

"Thank you," I heard her in my mind.

I was startled at first, but then as I watched her turn around and walk away, I realized why I could hear her through the mindlink.

She was the first member of Fathilagt to have accepted me as her Luna.

She had accepted me back.