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Chapter 6
The next morning was cold, and dark. A few guards from the village helped Leikos, Mae and I down to the docks, but didn't stay long. The ship that waited patiently in the water once belonged to their parents, but after their death Lei sold it to a family of merchants who traded around the ocean at the base of the mountain. They were kind enough to give us passage to the Lower Kingdom every year.
"We have a few minutes to spare if you and Mae want to walk around the shops." Lei announced after he and the guards finished loading our bags. I shot him a smile.
"By ourselves?" The guards had dispersed a few minutes before, and I was more than excited for my much-awaited freedom. He rolled his eyes before letting their dark gaze land on me.
"Yes, only for a minute or two. Be back shortly."
"Thanks Lei!" Mae cheered before grabbing onto my hand and leading me over to the shops along the shore-front that were just now opening for the day. He laughed softly after us. "This is so exciting!" She practically squealed as we walked along the displays sitting in front of the stores. "I just love going to the Lower Kingdom! Don't you? I hate the snow. It's always so cold and wet-"
"Ow." I stuttered when a large, cloaked figure suddenly bumped against my side. It was too early in the morning for the coastal villagers to be out and about, and there was more than enough room on the streets. There was no reason for someone to be that rude and walk so close. I grasped at my shoulder and snapped my gaze over to the culprit.
"Forgive me, my lady." It was a male voice, one masked by the heavy hood that blocked the stranger's face from view. I simply nodded as he gave me a soft bow before turning around and heading quickly in the opposite direction.
How odd.
"Emrie? Are you okay?" Mae asked worriedly as I rubbed absentmindedly at my arm.
"Y-yeah, he just sort-of surprised me."
A flash of blue and a strong tug in my chest caused my breath to catch in my throat before the man disappeared around a corner and into the thick morning fog. My eyes widened. "I-I'll be right back." I breathed out heavily before leaving Mae staring dumbfoundedly after me. I followed the path of the cloaked stranger, the one who shot lightening blue eyes at me right before he turned.
Perhaps I was just seeing things I desperately wished were there, but that part of me that seemed tied to the King was begging me to find out. There was no one there when I turned the corner, just a dark alley that led to a dead end. I frowned. I could have sworn I saw the man turn down here.
I sighed and turned around. Great, now my mind was making up fabrications of him. I was never going to be able to get him out of my head- I gasped when the cloaked figure from before suddenly flashed in front of me, and gently forced me back into alley.
Yes, gently.
"Hey-!" A pair of blue eyes so bright they shone against the darkness of the morning caused my voice to freeze in the air. I couldn't move, couldn't speak, all I could do was stare up at him- at those eyes, in a daze like before. We stood there silently for a few moments, like we always seemed to do before anything really happened.
The King blinked down at me, and despite the electricity surging through my veins at the sight of him, a thin shred of fear shone as well. His eyes turned dark. "I saw your note." That voice. I knew it was his, I knew it belonged to him, but hearing it outside of my dreams tore at my heart in so many disastrous ways.
"I-I didn't know if I would see you again before we left."
"Hm." His eyes glanced away as he seemed to huddle further into the dark cloak. I frowned, he never broke eye contact with me first, never really tried to hide them from me. I felt an odd, unfamiliar ache fill my chest.
"You were the one who bumped into me."
"I needed to get your attention discreetly."
It was silent between us for a few long, and rather unpleasant seconds after that. The silences from before were never this tense, this awkward. I enjoyed staring at his eyes silently, and he seemed to do the same with mine. This time though- this time he seemed disappointed.
"You left the village." He spoke a moment later, and I didn't miss the dark, unhappy tone in his voice.
"I had to, you saw the note-"
"Before today. You went out to place the note, and you went out the day before after I specifically told you not to."
His voice came out as a low, dark growl that didn't hide how displeased he was with me at that moment. I frowned and pressed my hand flat against my stomach, like that would help the unpleasantness settling there. He was- upset with me.
"Are you- mad at me?" My voice was soft and unsure as I blinked up at him, but he kept those beautiful eyes glanced away.
"Yes."
My heart dropped painfully in my chest and I sucked in a ragged breath. "Because I left the village?" Of course, that's why he was mad at me- but it was like my moronic brain needed confirmation anyways. Needed to know for sure so I could reprimand myself for it later. He was mad at me.
He grunted before finally bringing those spell binding eyes back to mine. Our gazes locked again as his ginormous body loomed ominously over my smaller one. "Yes." He growled again as that bright gaze flashed.
We stood there quietly for a while more, both of us gazing at the other. It felt like years before his eyes softened and his gloved hand slowly reached up to my hair. "Tell me why you disobeyed." His command was soft as his silk-covered fingers played gently with a strand of my hair, his soul-shaking eyes following the action, but I knew he was silently demanding the answer.
I wanted to close my eyes when he brushed that very same hand softly along my jaw, but I couldn't. His eyes wouldn't let me. "Did that Delfa- or whatever guy tell you?" I asked with a tilt to my head as that hand brushed my hair over my shoulder. I enjoyed those little touches, enjoyed how his eyes followed the actions. I never wanted him to stop.
"Delta, and yes. That's his job."
"It's his job to tell you when I leave the village?" I frowned up at him, but those blue eyes only narrowed.
"It's his job to do whatever I tell him."
"So, yes?"
He clenched his jaw, but kept that gaze on mine as his fingers gripped ahold of my chin. My breath caught in my throat as he leaned my face towards his. "Yes."
"Why?"
"To keep an eye on you."
"But why?"
"You are my mate, of course I'm going to have people watching you." He growled and let go of my chin to clench his fist at his side. I frowned at the action.
"You said you didn't want anyone to know about me."
"My generals are the exception."
"Why?"
His dark growl suddenly filled the dark alley we were hidden in and his blue eyes flashed dangerously. "Stop asking that. It's annoying." I snapped my mouth shut and looked away as he leaned heavily against the brick building beside us. He wasn't wrong, I was just beyond curious about what went in that beautiful, hidden head of his.
"I'm sorry." I breathed out into the freezing air surrounding us. He let out a heavy sigh.
"Don't be. I shouldn't have snapped at you, I'm just not used to letting people ask so many questions."
I gulped as those bright eyes stared holes into the side of my face. I couldn't bring myself to look up at him, at that captivating gaze that held me hostage for seemingly days on end. I couldn't believe I honestly let myself talk so freely around him. Sure, he thought I was his mate- and who knows? Maybe I really was, but that didn't give me permission to talk to him like he wasn't what he was. A King.
The King.
"Little one," He started softly as that gloved hand reached up and rubbed gently over my cheek. I tried not to push my face into his touch and hold him there forever, but it was honestly quite hard. "I am truly sorry, don't be upset with me."
Don't be upset with him. The King of the North- this situation was more than odd. "I trust my generals, with my life- and with yours. Otherwise they wouldn't be my generals. They are the only ones who know." I could only nod as his gloved fingers brushed gently over my cheek.
"Your note said you are going to the Lower Kingdom." He started softly as his hand dropped down to his side once more. I tried not to frown in disappointment. I thoroughly enjoyed his warm touch, even if it was through a glove. "You failed to mention how long."
My eyes flickered to his. Would he really care how long I would be gone? The look in his bright orbs said he did, but did it honestly matter? How did he come by the note so fast anyways? Had he finally come down the mountain the night before to see me? Or did his general bring it to him?
"We leave for the Lower Kingdom every year, usually for a few moons at least. Until the heavy snow fades."
I watched as that dark look washed over his bright eyes once again and he rubbed at the hood hiding his face. "Until winter ends." His voice came out at as a low grumble as it flowed easily over my shoulders. I wanted to close the few inches separating us, and bury into the no doubt thick and warm lapels of his cloak.
Then a whole new wave of sadness washed over me. Until winter ends... I wouldn't see him again until winter ended. Before I had been worried about him wanting to see me again, and now I was truly starting to fear the fact that I wouldn't for the next two or three moons.
"I cannot allow it."
"W-what?" I asked in surprise and blinked up at him with wide eyes.
"I cannot allow you to leave. You shouldn't even be outside of your village right now." The soft ease in his voice was gone and replaced with a dangerous growl as that gloved hand of his suddenly gripped onto the top of my arm.
"I-I don't have a choice." I whispered as his grip tightened and his eyes flashed.
"No, you don't. You're going back now-"
"No, I don't have a choice to stay. Leikos is my guardian, and he says we must go." I tried to tug my arm out of his grasp, even though I didn't want to. I enjoyed the way the warmth of his hand surged through the glove and into my skin. His grip tightened.
"I'm am your king, and your mate. You do what I say-"
"You don't want me." I snapped as my temper spiked, and his grip loosened enough for me to tear my arm from. I dropped my eyes as his widened. "You don't, and until that changes I have to listen to Lei. Besides," I mumbled and licked my lips as those lightening orbs glared holes into the side of my head. "I-I can't stay there anymore. All I do is sit through examination after examination as they poke and prod at me and force me to drink those funny colored medications. I need a break from it all."
I tried to give him a reassuring smile, but I still couldn't meet his eyes that I was sure were dimmed in a frown. "What are they doing to you?" The dark snarl in his voice surprised me and the firm grip he suddenly held on my chin forced my eyes up to his. I shuttered at the dangerous look passing through his gaze, one that made my stomach twist in almost fear.
I gulped.
"T-they don't know why the gold-power tried to kill me, why it wants you so much. So they keep testing to me to see-"
"It wants me because you want me. Do those fucking Underlings have no idea how the concept of mates or power works? I'll burn them all." He snarled and his blue eyes flashed as he began to turn away from me- but I gripped onto his arm before he could.
"No, don't! They're just scared! They don't know what's wrong with me and they are worried for their safety. Don't blame them for their fear."
"I will blame them for hurting you." He growled and the sharp fangs of his wolf flashed, but he didn't rip his arm from my grip like I half expected him to. I eased it closer to my body. His eyes were dark in anger as they glanced over me, and even though the angry king was rather frightening, my heart soared at how he wanted to defend me. I gave him a small smile.
"They haven't hurt me. Just made me very uncomfortable. I'm okay, I promise." I was practically hugging his arm by then, but he didn't seem to mind- he even took a closer step towards me.
"There is nothing wrong with you, little Underling." I watched as the anger slowly faded from his lightening eyes. All I could do was stare in wonder. Mate or not, eyes like that shouldn't exist.
"But the power-"
"Is magic formed in souls of worth. How ignorant is your culture?" The question was rhetorical and he rolled his eyes as I slowly let go of his arm.
"I-I-"
"Emrie! Where are you?!" Mae's voice called from the fog of the street and I jumped when it reached my ears.
The King raised an eyebrow at me. "Your name is Emrie?" There was a small smile pulling at his lips as my eyes flickered between him and the foggy street my friend was looking for me on.
"Uh, um, yes, did your general not tell you that?" I asked hesitantly and fidgeted with my hands as Mae called again.
"No, he failed to mention that." His voice was a dark grumble as his gaze flickered behind me.
"T-that's my friend. I should probably go before they start to worry-"
"No." His voice shook through me as his large hand reached out and gripped along my upper arm once again. "I was serious before. I don't want you leaving."
I stared up at him with wide, pleading eyes, but his never wavered. "But I have to-"
"Alone. I don't want you leaving alone. I will talk to this Leikos of yours and have one of my generals go with you."
My heart dropped to my stomach in disappointment. For a moment there, just a moment, I thought he was going to go with me. But of course he wasn't. He was a king, the King of the North. He had more important matters to deal with than following some silly girl around the Lower Kingdom all winter.
"Alright." I nodded reluctantly as he let go of my arm and began to turn. "You know," I called after him and watched as he slowly turned back to me with questioning eyes. "I don't even know your name."
The light in his eyes slowly faded and he tore his beautiful gaze away from mine. "That is for the best." His voice was dark once again as it filled the alley surrounding us. I frowned as his gaze glanced back down the street Mae was stilling looking for me on.
"How is not knowing your name for the best? I swear I won't go running down the mountain screaming it to whoever passes by." The corners of his mouth twitched up at that, and he let his beautiful eyes glance back over to me. "You know mine, it's only fair."
He raised one dark, beautiful eyebrow at that and I found myself blushing as he brought his full attention back to me. "I cannot tell you my real name for your safety- not because I don't want to."
"But..." I urged hopefully as his blue eyes flickered around carefully.
"My council calls me North."
I raised an incredulous eyebrow at him, but he just lowered his in confusion. "North?"
"Yes."
"Your own council doesn't even know your real name?"
"It hasn't been necessary."
"I'm not calling you that."
He crossed those beautiful thick arms over his chest with a scoff. "Then call me King."
"I-I think I deserve a name to call you by other than your title. Any name, it doesn't even have to your first- as long as it's not North." I murmured against the silence surrounding us. He grunted and his bright eyes turned amused as they stared down at me curiously.
"You think you get special treatment because you're my mate?"
His tone would have suggested otherwise, but just by the few things he's slipped out about his culture and the way he's acted around me so far- I could tell mates were more than sacred to his kind.
"Yes."
His eyes flashed darkly for a moment, and his face turned serious before he walked slowly back over to me. I stiffened as he leaned down until his mouth was nearly pressed against my ear, like he was afraid the ghosts in the alley would hear. I was almost engulfed completely in his cloak.
"Eirik."
Eirik- King Forever. How convenient.
"Is that your first name?" I asked softly as he slowly pulled away from me, his full lips just barely touching my cheek. I gasped as the light touch sent electricity straight through my body. He let out another dark chuckle.
"No, but it's as close to one that you are getting."
I tried not to let the frown tugging on my lips dampen my whole mood, and his dark chuckle gently eased the tension on my shoulders. "Run along to your little friend, while I find that boy I gave you back to on the mountain. I assume that is Leikos, yes?" I nodded as he turned again and headed once more for the street. I followed slowly after him until I reached the alley's entrance and saw Mae searching for me at the end of the road.
"And Emrie?"
My heart jumped as my name passed his lips. That voice alone was enough to make my head spin, but when he used it to say my name- it made everything in me freeze. I glanced back over at him with questioning eyes.
The lightening blue of his flashed as he stared over at me in a dark gaze. "Don't ever think that I don't want you." My breathing ceased at his words, and all I could do was stare at him with wide eyes as he turned on his heel and headed for the ship waiting for us at the docks.
Then take me with you.
But he wouldn't, and I doubted he ever would.
-&-
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