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Chapter 36
The further along the Mountain the ridiculous man pulled me, the more my heart seemed to fall into my stomach. The castle had disappeared behind the trees a while ago, and I feared North would not be able to fine us- no matter how he promised he always would. If he even knew I was missing.
"This is ridiculous. You have to let me go!" I snapped for the hundredth time as his vice-like grip continued to drag me through the dense forest.
The sun was falling further and further behind the horizon of the Mountain with each step we took, and the light from the moon glistening overhead offered little protection from the darkness of the trees. The snow, which I had once loved so deeply, sparked dangerously against the branches. I let out a shaky breath.
"Stop struggling, it won't do any good." Liberius growled with a sharp tug on my arm. A curse escaped my lips as the pull caused my feet to stumble over a fallen branch. "We are not far now." He murmured hurriedly, those disgustingly yellow eyes glancing hurriedly around the trees.
"Are you not excited to see your love again, dear Emerense?" He sneered, his fanged teeth flashing in the darkness as he glanced back at me. Sickness stirred in my stomach. "Or are you content whoring around with that lesser King?"
His words were a sharp slap to my face, one that left my mouth gaping open and my eyes wide in disbelief. "I-I..." I had never been talked to in such a way, not that I could remember at least. Whoring around... My mind was already tearing apart trying to figure out my relationship with the King, but to describe it in such a way-
"The truth is always hard to swallow, my lady."
"Fuck you."
"Oh! Someone's getting snarky!" His eyes flashed in amusement and that sickening smile of his only grew. "I like it. It stirs your power more. It won't take long to call to him now." I was too furious to say anything after that, the words just kept sticking in my throat.
I honestly never want to wish ill on anyone, but I would have given anything to watch North end him just then. We had been walking for what felt like hours, with no sign of any wolf-borne. Not even the border patrol. I feared what that meant.
It wasn't much longer until he pulled me through a thick clump of trees, our feet stepping onto a large, rolling clearing. Thick shin-high grass crumbled beneath us as he dragged me away from the forest, the castle nowhere in sight. I suddenly missed the cover of the trees.
The quickly fading sun was hidden completely behind thick, black, storm clouds brewing steadily along the Mountain, a cold, bitter wind blowing along with it. A terrified shiver ran down my spine, and the feeling didn't ease as a large, metal-like object, sitting directly in the middle of the clearing, entered my vision.
My breath turned into panicked pants deep within my chest. That could not be good. "S-Stop this right now." But the words were weak pleas as they stumbled past my lips, too weak for anyone to hear over the rolling thunder of the brewing storm. Not that he would have let me go anyway.
The closer he dragged me towards the odd machine, the darker the space around us grew. At first I thought it was just those ridiculous clouds blocking all hope of light- but then quick, slithering movements caught the corner of my gaze.
I snapped my head to the side, my eyes wide in fear as dark shadows flew beside us. Dark shadows that slowly began to swim throughout the entire clearing, hard, demonic red eyes glowing through the swarm. They looked nothing like the ruby red of the God I once loved. Still loved... I-I think.
I didn't think it was possible for the panic in my chest to grow anymore, but my heart raced unbearably hard in my chest every time one of those shadows flashed beside us. What were those things?
"Don't mind them." Liberius said on a laugh as he continued to pull us towards the metal contraption standing ferociously in front of us. It was rather short, just a few inches taller than me as it sat on a raised platform with thick, clunky metals arms reaching out towards the trees- thick, leather straps sat heavily wrapped around them.
I gulped. How much did I want to bet those straps were for me?
"They're just here to make sure we aren't interrupted."
North. They were there to stop Eirik if he somehow found us, something I had wanted more than anything. Then those shadows moved again, dark fog falling away into sharp talons and even sharper fangs. Fear shot down my spine.
No, no Eirik couldn't find me. I didn't want him to. I wanted him to stay so far away none of those demons would ever touch him. Besides, if Liberius's plan was successful and actually did summon Addie to us, he was a god. He could take care of himself, those demons would only kill North. My life wasn't worth that.
"What is that?" I demanded as his vicious grip finally pulled me to the front of the horrid metal thing. The smile he shot my way was sickening, and I tripped over my dress skirts as he started dragging me along the platform's steps.
"Just a fun little machine that will help that shy power of yours come out and play."
My eyes snapped to his, and my chest tightened as that very power seemed to curl inside me. The ruby warmed against my chest. The gold-power... that was what this was about. Then I wanted to slap my palm over my forehead and curse. Of course, this was all about that disastrous power. The essence of Adranus's star- of Emerense.
I knew that now. Knew it wasn't magic or power at all, but her soul- my soul. It was why it always desperately tried to reach Eirik, why it tried to leave my body to go to his. It wanted his soul, wanted that part of him that was attached to the eternal being it so loved. I shouldn't have been able to control it as I had in the past, because it was me. My very being.
And the direct link Liberius needed to Adranus.
I hadn't realized he had successfully pulled me up the platform towards the machine until I was shoved against the cold, hard, metal of its grasp. This thing, whatever it was, had the ability to drag out my soul, to use it against my will, and I had a sickening feeling it wasn't going to be pleasant.
I shoved against him again, pushed at his thin shoulders and wiry arms as hard as I could. He was not human, nor shifter, there was no possible way. No one who appeared so feeble but had the strength of ten men as he did was mortal.
"Let me go!" I screamed against the howling wind of the storm, against the hissing shadows swirling below us- their bodies taking shapes of massive serpent-like creatures before fading again into a solid, red-eyed mass.
"I said stop struggling." Liberius hissed, his sharp, bony fingers digging into my arms as he shook my body so hard my head snapped back against the body of the machine. My vision went blurry, and white sparks danced behind my eyelids as I let out a long, pained groan.
"I told you it wouldn't do you any good." He snapped as one of his thin arms pinned my back to the machine while the other started tying the straps around my waist. I groaned again when the little light in the shadow-crowded clearing slipped into my sight.
"It shouldn't be too long before he feels your power." Liberius started speaking as if we were having a normal every day conversation, his movements quick as he tightened the set of straps against my stomach and moved on to the ones at my arms.
"Heavens, I could feel it easily down the Mountain when you oh-so-valiantly saved that half-wit king. The problem is getting the moron to remember fully- only way to make it work."
He was rambling nonsensically to himself now, and I watched in silent daze as those inky, black, horrid shadows swirled around the platform like a putrid fog. My head as starting to throb, the ache where it hit the machine growing.
"What are you talking about?" I mumbled as he wound those leather bindings around my left arm and tightened them until they bit like knives into my skin.
"What do you think happens to gods who spend too long on the mortal plane?" He sneered as he moved onto my next arm. "They forget." The ache in my head was still strong, but his words were coming into clearer focus as my vision completely cleared.
"H-He wouldn't forget me..." My voice was shaky as it passed my lips, my breath coming out as fog in the bitter air. The pain in my head only grew as snippets of a previous life flew past my mind's eyes. Images of warm smiles, memories of loving kisses and warm embraces.
The stone warmed softly against my chest, but there was still no life streaming through it. Adranus wouldn't have forgotten me. He- He loved me, more than anything. I knew that, and I loved him. I remembered that. Remembered everything he had done for me, the battles he had fought for me, the life he had breathed into me.
"I broke the rules, Emerense. I breathed eternity into you without permission. I was never supposed to get involved with the stars. The decision of their rebirth is Axion's, not mine."
I remembered. He could never forget me. We were always meant to be. We were forever, eternal, he promised.
"Oh, indeed he would, and he did. But don't you worry that powerful little heart of yours, my dear." His voice was a mocking coo, one those dark shadows seemed to snicker along with.
"He couldn't have helped it. That's just what this realm does to the immortals. Makes them dumb, weak, perfectly capable of surrendering their power if pushed enough. And you're just the push I need."
"He will kill you." I snapped through the swell of past emotions and anger growing inside, but he only laughed, and the sound ricocheted through the clearing like breaking glass.
"Strong he may be, but I highly doubt the ignorant fool even remembers he's a god. Stuck in that stupid wolf-form he loved so much, I'm betting. Can you not feel him in the Mountain, my lady? Or have you grown as ignorant of him as he has of you? Trapped in your own little infatuation of that pathetic excuse of a king?"
There was a bitter hatred in his voice now, that amusement gone as those yellow eyes flashed an unearthly red. It made my stomach twist in fear, but that didn't squelch my anger.
"He's a great King, far better than you could ever be."
He did everything for his people, he does everything for them. I wouldn't be surprised if he sacrificed himself for their benefit- or sacrifice me. Whether that made him heartless or a glutton for punishment I wasn't sure, but he always put his people first. That was not something a pathetic king would do.
"Well, I don't want to be a king, now do I?" The amusement in his voice was back, but that horrid look in his varying eyes was anything but humored. He tightened the straps against my arms until they cut thin slivers into the skin, a few drops of blood trickling down the leather bindings.
"I want my place back on the High Council, and I want that bastard Axion to choke on his own son's blood."
"I had not made a decision yet, she was still under review. You broke the law, Adranus. That is not something I can ignore, even for my son."
"I love her."
"You are infatuated with her. There is a difference."
The conversation slammed into my mind as Liberius stepped off the metal platform, his robes following easily behind him. I groaned as more and more images flashed behind my eyes. The last thing I needed right now was a fucking head show. I needed to get out of this thing, needed to get away from that freak.
To make matters worse, the gold-power was starting to rear its ugly head in my chest- my soul was slowly starting to break free. "Not again." I grumbled under my breath as the familiar feeling of that warm, deadly, magic flowed from my heart to my veins and slowly throughout the rest of my body.
Even if I knew how to use it for more than healing, it would have only killed me in the process. What was a soul without a body anyway?
"Awe, yes, good!" Liberius practically cheered below the platform, those dark shadows swirling slowly around his robes. His eyes flashed red in the darkness around us. "We haven't even begun yet, and that power is already stirring. This is going to be easier than I thought."
I tugged helplessly against the bindings. I wanted more than anything to be free of the situation, for North to come out of nowhere and save me like he always seemed to do- but another part of me feared that more than anything.
Those dark, horrid shapes swirling throughout the entire clearing were more than just thick black clouds- they were demons. Creatures summoned from the depths of the Underworld. No matter how powerful Eirik and his Generals were, they held no match against creatures of such evil.
And Adranus, even if he truly had forgotten me, forgotten himself, was still a powerful being. I remembered how strong he was as a god. How fierce he became in battle. I had watched him conquer armies with nothing more than the power inside him. He could take care of himself against the shadows, but I feared I would be long dead before he ever could.
The power inside of me, my soul- the machine would destroy it. Would pull the eternal essence completely from my being and leave my body as a hollow shell. And Liberius would use that power as soon as he could. I would not survive the night.
I had convinced myself a handful of times before that I would die, and yet I always woke up in the end. The notion shouldn't have unsettled me as much as it was now. I knew there would be no waking up after this.
Eirik was not here, and I did not want him to be. I valued his life far too much to wish him to endanger it just to try and save me. That sharp, unpleasant sting building in my eyes caused my jaw to clench shut.
If Liberius's plan succeeded, I would never get to see North again. It was pathetic that out of everything that was happening, that knowledge was what made me want to cry.
Thunder roared overhead, and the howling wind began to send sharp stabs of rain against my skin. Lightning struck the entrance of the clearing, and I jumped at its close proximity.
Oh my Gods...
"It's nearly time!" Liberius shouted excitedly from the base of the steps, those eyes flashing between yellow and red in joy. The shadows swirling around us seemed to howl in excitement. I pulled harder at the straps, the power growing in my chest as my breathing clogged my throat.
Loud, bone shaking roars seemed to cry around the entirety of the Mountain, though I couldn't tell if it was from the massive storm, or the creatures waiting below. Thunder rolled across the sky once again, and the lightning that struck the clearing that time was far closer than before.
"Yes!" Liberius screamed ecstatically as the surroundings lit up with the intensity of the lightening bolt.
No.
I no longer wondered what the machines purpose was anymore, what it was supposed to do. It was drawing the lightening to it- to me. Dear Gods...
"Adranus!" I screamed against the thunderous noise of the storm and raging demons below, but my voice only got lost in the wind. The gold-power was spreading more quickly now, its light shining from the base of my fingertips, before quickly disappeared into the metal beneath my touch. It took the power right from my grasp- stole it.
"Adranus!" I tried again, though I doubted I wasn't doing any good besides screaming myself hoarse.
"Yes! Call him, little star! Draw him in!" The serpent's voice was mocking, but excited as thunder rolled again. I wanted to clutch desperately at the stone, to hold onto its warmth and pray into it until its true owner appeared. But the feel of it against my chest was hard and held very little warmth.
Lightning struck again, this time just a fraction away from the machine, its impact shook straight through me and made my insides churn. I panicked and started tugging so hard against the straps that it tore bloody strips into my arms. My hard breathing turned into hyperventilating pants as more of the gold-power started to flee from my arms.
It was going to hit me. The lightning was going to fry me from the inside out!
I watched with wide, terrified eyes as slivers of my soul got sucked into the machine, very little escaping and slipping around my fingers. The hyperventilating grew worse. I had to get out of here-
"You should be careful with that." An amused chuckle reached my ears as I let the light roll brightly around my fingers. I jumped and snapped my fingers into a tight fist in surprise as I turned to the unexpected voice.
"Careful w-with what?" I stammered at the eternally beautiful god standing casually in front of me, his arms crossed over his chest as he raised one dark, amused eyebrow.
"That power of yours. It can do some real damage if you truly wanted."
"I don't want that!" I practically squeaked as the light I was trying to squelch began to burn my palm. The god chuckled again, his bright eyes flashing in amusement as he took a step towards me.
"Of course you don't." His voice had grown soft, his eyes warm as he stopped before me and reached for my hand. I stumbled away from him, away from that inviting warmth his grasp offered. His lips quirked up at the corner.
"I just want to help." He eased softly and reached for my fisted hand again. I slowly held it up between us, my eyes hesitant as I gazed up at him in a daze. It was true what the others had said before, they were all unearthly beautiful...
"See?" He murmured as his strong hand slowly eased mine open, the light disappearing as he traced the lines in my palm. I sighed in relief as the heat died with it. "Just takes a little practice."
He smiled brightly down at me, the corners of his eyes crinkling at the action. The light from the newfound power inside of me had faded, and yet his strong fingers continued to slowly trace my skin. A whole new heat swelled to my cheeks.
"I-I am Emerense." I heard myself murmur softly as my eyes got lost in his entrapping gaze. His smile did not fall, but it seemed to turn rather sneaky as he brought my palm to his lips.
"I know." He murmured before pressing a soft kiss to the tender skin of my palm. "I am Adranus." My heart seemed to pound in my ears.
"The God of the Moon..." I murmured with wide, astounded, and slightly frightened, eyes. That smile of his turned into a small smirk as he lowered my hand once again, blue eyes piercing into my very soul.
"Yes, you could say that."
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