When I woke up, I was blazing in the circle of Apollo's arms.
I snuggled closer to him, sighing as I inhaled his wonderful scent. It may sound weird, but I could smell him forever. And it was so warm lying next to him. His skin was smooth and hard, and it was like every square inch of him was fired up like a heat lamp. His heat was so bright it was fighting to make its way under my eyelids.
Wait.
I opened my eyes, and was immediately blinded by the blazing sun. The sky above us was deep blue, without a single cloud to mar its surface, and the sun seemed unnaturally big. I looked around in confusion and panic; we were lying in some kind of desert - the ground was flat and cracked, and the dusty landscape went on forever. A dry, weak wind did nothing to abate the heat.
"Apollo - " I turned to him, my hand reaching out to shake him awake, before I recoiled in horror.
It was clear he was dead. His eyes were open; the green was glassy and vacant, and so flat it wasn't natural. That wasn't the worst part. He was shirtless, and deep set cracks riddled his chest and arms and face. His marble pale skin looked dried up and papery, and his hands were curled in stiff claws.
"Apollo." My breathing sped up frantically. "Apollo! Apollo!"
I was sobbing and screaming his name now, my hands on his papery flesh and shaking him like a rag doll. "Apollo! Wake up, damn it! Apollo! APOLLO!"
"Lilah! Lilah darling, I'm here."
My eyes snapped open, and I looked around wildly. I was back in the caverns in the mountain; the ceiling was rocky and roughly carved, and a single lamp bolted into the rock wall was the only offering of dim light. The room I was in was small, clearly some sort of living quarter, with a basin against the wall and a wooden chair beside the rickety bed I was in. My armour had been neatly folded and sat in the chair, looking like an unremarkable pile of leather. Apollo was kneeling next to me, his eyes wide and concerned and his lip pouting in worry. He was clearly alive; the Apollo of the desert had been a terrible dream.
"Oh Apollo!" I threw my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest.
"There now." He soothed, his arms going around me. "Everything's alright; I'm here now."
When most of my trembling had abated, I peeked up at him. His face was still as flawless and beautiful as it always was, and his emerald eyes looked back at me with concern. "Bad dream?"
I nodded.
Without a word, he gently climbed into the narrow bed with me. I snuggled even closer to him. His hand stroked my hair softly.
"Whatever happened in it isn't reality, Lilah." He told me quietly. "This here - right now - this is real, and it always will be."
I thought at first he meant just this moment, but then I realized he meant what was between us. "Can I ask you something, Apollo?"
"Anything."
I propped myself up on my elbow so I could see his face. "What happens when I die? Like, when I grow old and get sick or something? I can't live forever like you."
Apollo's face was carefully smooth, but I saw something that almost looked like panic flit into his eyes before leaving again. "I haven't really thought about it..."
"That's a lie." I said flatly.
He sighed and reached up to touch my temple. For the first time, I realized that there was a bandage there from where I'd hit my head. "You know me too well. Yes, I've thought about it. Many times."
"And?"
He looked pained. "I don't know what to do, Lilah. Time is fickle for you; it'll run away before either of us even begin to notice. I don't like to think of when you'll leave me."
We were both still as we looked at each other. His perfect face was troubled as he looked at me, and I had no idea what my face must look like.
"What if you change me?"
"No." I was surprised at how vehement he was. "I'll never throw this life on you, Lilah."
"But - "
"No buts." He said firmly. "As much as I want you with me forever, I won't make you go through that pain. It's far too excruciating for anyone to handle; you'll be begging death to take you."
I pouted at him. "Is there any other way?"
Apollo sighed. "There are others, but there are drawbacks to each - "
Someone cleared their throat in the cavern opening. There weren't any doors in the mountain, so I don't know how I didn't notice Prenjaw in the doorway, shifting his feet uncomfortably.
"Prenjaw!" I exclaimed, overjoyed. "How's your head?" Remarkably, there wasn't any sign of the gash I'd seen bleeding profusely earlier.
"Us mongools heal remarkably fast, Lilah." He said politely.
"Is something amiss, Prenjaw?" Apollo asked him.
"My father requests your presence in the war room. He's afraid the faeries we drove away will regroup."
"That's a fair assumption." Apollo nodded grimly and slid away from me gracefully. "I'll be back soon, alright love? Just get as much rest as possible."
"Alright."
He kissed me briefly and then he was gone.
Prenjaw coughed awkwardly. "Are you in need of anything?" He asked me.
I looked around."Not really. Thanks, Prenjaw."
For some reason, the silence was awkward.
"What's on your mind?" I asked him.
He scuffed his feet on the rock floor. "I didn't realize that you and Apollo had already wed."
I blinked at him. "What?"
The fierce mongool I'd seen earlier had disappeared. The one in front of me met my eyes uneasily. "Well, he was in your bed..."
It took me a second to realize what he was talking about. I flushed dark red. "Oh, Prenjaw! That wasn't what it looked like, he was just beside me to comfort me."
"Really?"
I nodded fervently. "We were just lying next to each other, I swear. In our culture it's okay."
"I see." Prenjaw looked relieved. "If you were in fact married, I would have been in error to give you this room. Rooms for our wedded guests have skins in the doorway for privacy."
I was pretty sure my face resembled a tomato. "Yeah, don't worry about it."
Prenjaw dipped his head in a bow. "Well, if there's nothing I can assist you with - "
"Wait!" I tumbled out of the bed, my head spinning momentarily. Prenjaw leapt forward and grabbed my elbow in alarm. I swatted him away. "I'm okay! I don't wanna lie here all day while everyone's worried about the faeries. Is there anything I can do?"
"Are you sure?" His light green eyes searched mine worriedly. For the first time I noticed that his pupils were thin black slits. "Apollo will want you to rest."
"Apollo's actually doing something useful, so he doesn't know how I feel." I rolled my eyes. "I'm fine, really. There must be something I can do."
"Alright." He nodded slowly. "Well, we can never have too many people on the welcome committee. "
"Welcome committee? Who's coming?"
"Come see." Prenjaw smiled and offered me his elbow again.
---
I was a little apprehensive being on an opening again. The morning was bright and sweet smelling, and the air was still chilly from the night's passing. The view was beautiful; jagged mountains stretched to my right and left as far as the eye could see, and the snow on their peaks sparkled like glitter in the morning sun. However, all I could think of was the solstae that had attacked me on the ledge last night.
It was super clear now that I was his target. Two attacks later, and there could be no one else. But why was he after me? I was just the silly human girl that Apollo loved - if anyone was completely useless against his plans it was me. I couldn't ignore the fact that the murderer was hell bent on killing me - I just couldn't figure out why.
Prenjaw saw me scanning the air nervously.
"There's no need to worry." He told me soothingly. "We have guards now. If the heathen returns, he won't be able to get to you."
I glanced at the silent line of mongool guards in front of us. Their muscles bulged in the sunlight, and their weapons were gripped confidently in their hands. "That's true."
Princess Hagal sniffed from beside her brother. "Trust a human to hide behind the protection of other magical parties. It's so typical."
"You hid behind us as well, sister." Prenjaw pointed out dryly.
Hagal shot her brother an annoyed look. "That's different."
"How so?"
She didn't answer. I smiled a grateful smile at Prenjaw. His sister was difficult, and I wasn't sure how to handle her loftiness. However, I'd prefer her over Isidre any day.
"Prince!" A guard pointed up into the clear sky. "Someone is approaching!"
"Faeries?" I whispered, panicked.
"No, no." Prenjaw smiled grimly into the sky. "The solstae."
I froze, but Prenjaw wasn't paying attention. I followed his gaze.
At first, I couldn't see anything. The sky was a clear, pale blue, and the sun was a white dot in the canvas. However, as I scanned the sky carefully, the blue began to shimmer slightly. It looked like the sky was melting into a mirage, and the longer I watched, the more the shimmering waves began to solidify. Around a dozen glowing, gold clad figures began to drift down like sunlight, their trajectory leading straight down to the ledge we were on.
I gaped, open mouthed as they lazily alighted down on the ledge. They hadn't even lifted their arms; the solstae had the gift of hovering. The mongools had obviously seen this before, but I was amazed. Despite my apprehension, it was jaw dropping.
A familiar face moved gracefully through the group.
"Prince Helios, welcome to the humble mongool stronghold of Xiou." Prenjaw said formally, bowing his head deeply.
Everyone followed suit, and after looking around in bewilderment, I did as well.
"Prince Prenjaw." Helios sidled past the line of guards and reached to clasp Prenjaw's hands. "Princess Hagal! It's so good to see old friends."
"You as well." Hagal beamed at him, her light eyes fluttering flirtatiously. I couldn't help raising an eyebrow.
"And if it isn't the lovely Lilah Winters." Helios brightened - a surprising feat since he was already luminescent - as his huge indigo eyes met mine. His smile was warm and genuinely delighted. "I didn't know you were here! Where's Apollo?"
"Hi Helios." I shook his hand clumsily. "Apollo's inside with King Narlay."
"Fantastic!" Helios beamed at me happily for a few moments longer than necessary - earning me a dirty look from Hagal - before turning back to Prenjaw. "I assume you invited us here to confer with him? Well, lead the way, dear Prenjaw - "
"Actually." Prenjaw said smoothly. "We invited you for a different reason, Helios."
"And whatever could that be?"
"It's a sensitive matter." Prenjaw replied politely. "If you would please accompany us inside."
"Of course." Helios beckoned to the rest of his party, who had all been watching everything curiously. They were all youthful and beautiful. their skin glowing even despite the bright air. They drifted forward immediately at the prince's gesture.
"Follow me please, dear Helios." Hagal took Helios' elbow and lead him inside, her hips sashaying seductively. She seriously had no shame.
Everyone began to follow silently, and Prenjaw caught my hesitating. "You as well, Lilah."
I took his elbow again as we followed the rest of the party. "Are you going to ask him about the hooded guy?"
Prenjaw nodded. "We need to do this delicately. If Helios feels for one second we are accusing him or his people of treachery, he and his father could decide to declare war on the mongools. We need to make it clear that we are not accusing him of anything."
"Do you think he knows who it is?" I asked worriedly.
"Probably not." Prenjaw rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. "The solstae are given a lot of freedom from King Raea. They can move between the clouds and earth at their own free will, and it isn't monitored. If someone was sneaking down here on their own agenda, no one would know unless he expressly told them."
"Oh." I was deflated, although I knew it was silly to assume Helios and his father knew who the hooded figure was. If they had known, they would have stopped him.
We filed into a room that was similar to the war room, except there was a long table full of brightly coloured Chinese pastries. In the far corner, a simple wooden table with three chairs sat waiting. The guards directed the solstae to the pastry table before stationing themselves at intervals against the wall. Hagal was fussily getting Helios to take a seat at the table.
"Are you sure you don't want something to eat? There are many different delicacies laid out - "
"Your hospitality is astounding, dear Hagal."Helios smiled politely at her. "But I'm really fine. Do take a seat."
"Actually, sister." Prenjaw placed a hand on her shoulder. "I must ask you to sit this conversation out."
She recoiled from his hand as if it burned her skin. "What?"
"I put three seats on purpose." Prenjaw pointed out.
"That's enough for us!" She sounded extremely affronted.
"No. They're for me, Prince Helios and Lilah."
Hagal looked like she wanted to scratch my eyes out. "What is the meaning of this? Why is she even here? She's not royalty, this isn't proper - "
"Hagal." Prenjaw growled, suddenly stern. His green eyes were hard as he looked at her. "Lilah is a witness. She is integral to the discussion. What do you have to offer?"
Hagal was silent. With another lethal glare at me, she curtsied once before sweeping indignantly from the room.
Helios cleared his throat. "Lilah is a witness to what, Prenjaw?"
Prenjaw ushered me into the seat across from Helios before sitting beside me.
"We were attacked yesterday, Helios." Prenjaw got straight down to business. "Lilah was attacked, to be specific. An individual in protective hood and gear tried to kill her."
"What?" Helios looked shocked. "Why was she targeted?"
"I'm not sure." Prenjaw replied. "From what Apollo has told me, this figure attempted to kill her once before. He believes the figure is tracking them in order to stop Apollo from rallying an opposing army."
"But why is he not targeting Apollo then?" Helios asked curiously. His slender arms were crossed on the rough wooden table, and the contrast between the old wood and his luminous skin was almost comical.
Prenjaw shook his head. "We can't answer that for you, friend."
Helios leaned back, his face thoughtful. Behind him, his companions floated around the room, muching delicately on the pastries and talking in soft voices like wind chimes. They lit the dim cavern like fireflies. The guards watched them silently, following their movements like an insect would watch a light.
"Alright." Helios said slowly. "I presume you want us to place watchers. I can have more than a hundred of them in place, watching for this figure - "
"Helios." Prenjaw interrupted quietly. Helios looked at him expectantly, but he hesitated.
"It's a solstae." I blurted out.
Both the princes looked at me.
"What?" Helios looked at me, baffled.
Suddenly, Prenjaw pulled out a dagger. The solstae around the room immediately fell silent and stiffened - apparently they'd been the observing the situation secretly. However, their apprehension was unneeded; Prenjaw simply laid the blade down in the middle of the table. At second glance, I realized it was the blade Prenjaw had given me the night before. The dried blood on it sparkled dully in the dim light.
Helios had stilled, his face unreadable as he looked at the dagger.
"Is that solstae blood?" He asked quietly.
Prenjaw nodded. "Lilah managed to injure him before he escaped. Her armour is also stained with gold blood."
The silence was so still I was afraid to breathe. The solstae behind Helios looked like ghosts; they stood ramrod straight and absolutely still, their faces hard as they watched. Helios' face was still unreadable, his eyes boring into the blade as if waiting for it to spontaneously combust.
"Dear God."
His face suddenly crumpled in anguish, and it dropped into his hands. I looked at Prenjaw in surprise, but he was watching Helios grimly. The solstae prince's shoulders were trembling slightly, and his face was completely obscured with his slender golden hands.
The solstae behind him looked unsure what to do.
When he dropped his hands, Helios looked pained. "How could we not have known of this? How is it possible?"
"Helios - "
"It was one of our own who started this blasted war?" Helios' voice was strained, his body leaning as far is it could toward Prenjaw. His face was agonized in his chagrin. When Prenjaw slowly nodded, his huge eyes darkened in anger.
"There will be monitors on air traffic." Helios boomed. The solstae behind him jumped. "No one will be allowed down to earth unless it is on royal business. Any suspicious persons will be arrested. Have homes searched for this hooded gear you speak of!"
He leaned toward me, his face angry and hard. "You injured him?"
I nodded silently, frightened at his intensity.
"Where? What are the nature of his wounds?"
"Um - well... I stabbed him in the shoulder a bunch of times." I told him nervously. "And Prenjaw got a dagger into his back. He wasn't flying very well when he escaped, so he might be really hurt."
Helios was suddenly on his feet. "We will search all our healing posts! All the homes! Anyone with suspicious wounds like that will be questioned!"
He spun around to head to the door, but halfway there he seemed to remember me and Prenjaw. He spun around to face us again.
"I am extremely grateful that you informed me." His voice was more civil. "Others would have been afraid to inform my father and I."
"We just don't want this war." Prenjaw said quietly.
Helios nodded curtly. "I promise we will find this traitorous fiend. Your life will never be threatened by a solstae again, dear Lilah Winters."
I nodded uncertainly at him.
"Fare you well." Helios bowed gracefully before darting quickly from the room. His party followed hastily, and the guards filed out after to escort them.
It was just me and Prenjaw left. I looked at him as he rubbed his eyes wearily.
"That turned out better than expected." He remarked drily.
"He seemed really angry."
"I expected that." Prenjaw stood up slowly, offering his hand to help me up. "The solstae are very protective of their home and people. This is a serious offense; starting a war without royal consent is like sentencing the solstae to death. When they find this man, he will be punished severely."
I was quiet. Part of me was glad that Helios knew now - the attacker wasn't a secret anymore. However, another part of me felt tired. No matter how hard he looked and changed rules and enforced curfews, Helios would never find him.
This anonymous solstae designed a war. He would be too clever to catch.
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