After Varian paid for the alcohol Miguel and Rhaze drank, we left the bar. The moon dared to take a peek down pushing the clouds that hid it cautiously. Winds stirred and the leaves laughed to the tune of the night.
Varian led the way to the Witch's Peak, Kaina closely following him and had a small conversation with him. I walked in the centre with Rhaze humming a soft melody our mother used to sing for us. I withheld my tears. I would make her proud. I would make Evelyn Throne proud.
Behind us, Miguel walked, trying to put an arm around Arien. He kept dodging every attempt made by Miguel.
When we were quite far away from the town, far away for anyone to hear, Varian turned and asked me. "Can we trust this witch?"
At this Rhaze sobered up next to me. Her gaze became more focused and clear.
Kaina, on the other hand, looked the least bit bothered. She even let out a yawn and stared at me. Yet, in her green eyes, I saw a plea. She wanted to stay. But something said to me that even if I did not trust her, she would follow us. But what was the reason?
I frowned. While my heart trusted her without a second thought, my mind was running through all the possible ways by which Kaina could betray us. The more I thought, the more the conflict rose.
"Alioth did for a reason," Arien said. "Being Ursa's daughter, I trust her."
The combination of burnt wood, ocean and another scent that I could not pinpoint took a hold of my soul and made me question my own existence. From what I know, Arien was a shifter. But there was something else about him.
"How would you know Alioth trusted her?" I asked.
"If Kaina had malicious intent, Alioth would not have let her go," he said simply, as if it made all sense.
Rhaze who snapped from her contemplation looked at Arien. She looked like she wanted to say something, but thankfully, she bit back her words.
"Who is this Alioth?" Varian asked. "Is she like-"
"She used to guard Luna before Luna came down to earth," Arien said.
I blinked at him. How could he know that? Either he was Alioth's friend or... the other option made me gasp. He was alive when Alioth used to guard Luna and he had seen it himself.
Varian turned towards his friend. "How do you know this female?"
Miguel shrugged. "She was my cellmate."
Kaina gasped. "You mean to say, Alioth was in the Dungeons?"
"Yes," Arien said. "She was. Can't believe it?"
Kaina shook her head. "It's just that... I never thought stars could be thrown there."
"It was originally built for stars," I pipped. When I felt other's stare on me, I added, "Alioth told me."
"So you trust Kaina because of Alioth," Varian said. "Why do you trust Lyra and Rhaze?"
Arien inhaled sharply. "Because I was there when she nearly died. If you had not called me ten days ago, I would have been there to wreck the entire West Pack myself."
I could feel Rhaze's question burn me. I licked my lips. "After Cain threw me in the dungeon, Arien saved me."
Rhaze took a step back. "You already knew him."
I am sorry, sis, I said in the bond we shared. I should have told you before. I just did not find the right time to.
After a pause, she asked, He saved you?
Yes.
That gives me a reason to trust him, she said. It's a small thing, Ly. Leave it.
I could not. This female left her pack to accompany me. She took a title of a fugitive because of me and I did not tell this?
I am sorry, I said. I should have told you before.
Leave it, she said. When we finally have a place to rest for the night, I will ask you.
"That's the reason?" Varian asked. "That's why you did not question Lyra."
"Yes," Arien replied, focusing his silver eyes on me.
"What if she was thrown there for a reason?" Varian asked.
"Dude!" Miguel snapped. "What is wrong with you? I was there when that Cain boy threw Lyra in the Dungeon!"
"She has done nothing wrong, Varian," Kaina said with conviction. "I don't know about you, but I can see the strength in her. Not many females who found their mate only to be rejected, replaced and banished by their Alpha mate can survive."
"If I was alone, I would not have questioned so much," Varian mumbled. "Sage and Lira called me and they threatened me."
Miguel frowned. "Threatened you for what?"
Varian looked at Arien. "Ant's coming this week, right?"
Arien's silver eyes glowed with a sharp edge to it. "Ant had come today. Earlier when you left, remember I came a little late? Sage was here to drop Ant by."
"Who is Ant?" Miguel asked again. "Antony?"
"So..." Kaina drawled. "Because someone threatened you, you are skeptical?"
Varian nodded. "She does not seem malicious. If anything, she is closer to Ant's age than any of us. Perhaps Ant could use a little company. But I am terrified of Sage and Lira combined."
"Terrible combination indeed," Miguel agreed. "Both are quite terrifying."
"Who are they?" I asked.
Ignoring me, my cellmate raised his eyebrows at Arien. "Reminds me, what were you doing in the Dungeons? Why was it so important to talk to Alioth?"
He rolled his silver eyes. "As you know, Polaris being the Chief of the Dungeon, he knew that there would be release Alioth, Cathara and you when Lyra was sent there. Something urged me to go there that night to tell Alioth this. But never did I expect to see Lyra like that."
"Who is this Polaris and why would the Dungeon release anybody?" Miguel asked.
At the same time, I could not help but ask, "What do you mean by something urged you to come to the Dungeons that night?"
Arien sighed and sat on the boulder there. "I thought after all these years Alioth would have told you who Polaris is. My bad. Polaris is Northern Star and the Dungeon do release people after it thinks they have turned good. It's just that it takes so long time that people there die of loneliness and depression. You were the lucky bunch."
"Oh!" Miguel exclaimed softly. "I feel so lucky."
Facing me, he sighed. "I don't know how to describe it, but someone... something was pushing me to enter the dungeon that night."
When I looked at him, I nearly forgot about others standing next to us. There was something that I could not touch. "Would you have wrecked that pack?" I asked in a soft voice.
He nodded. "No one deserves to go through what you went through. Though rejections might be common, no one has the right to throw their mate into the dungeon just because they were their mate."
Silence fell over us and we broke the eye contact.
"So..." Varian began. "Can we leave?"
"We have to," Arien said and got up. "We have to."
When we started to walk, Varian asked, "What is your rank, Kaina?"
Kaina smiled sweetly. "I am the Reish of my tribe. My mother the Zayin. My magic is quite strong."
Arien's smirk widened. "Is that supposed to intimate me? There are only four Magycs in this world who have the chance to defeat me and the last time I checked, you weren't one of them."
At this, Miguel began to laugh. "But seriously why Arien though? It sounds awfully similar to Ariel."
Arien's smug expression shattered and a grimace took over. "I am so going to kill Leo."
Miguel grinned. "This is going to be so much fun."
"Leo," Arien spat. "Thought it would be a wonderful idea to adopt names, quite similar to our original ones, that somehow would help us blend in with the society. Because apparently, Leo is a totally cool name in society, while Aries or Sagittarius is not."
My brain froze. What did he just say? All the thoughts I had about him fled. Standing before me was not an ordinary shifter. He was one of the first. He was a Warrior of the Moon. One in legends and stories around the campfire. One of the four shifters who can take any skin they wanted. And this... this Warrior saved me?
Rhaze was no different than me. Her eyes widened and her breathing became erratic. While Kaina just blinked at him.
Miguel began laughing and then he wheezed. "Got to love him."
Miguel knew who this silver eyed shifter was? Then I internally scoffed. Had he not once told me that he had met a few of them?
"Yeah, yeah," he said dryly. "You got to love him."
"Is that why you are so bitter, Aries?" Miguel asked. "That we love Leo over you?"
At Miguel's confirmation, I gulped. I took in his features another time, and now I could see a layer which he had somehow managed to conceal the first time I saw him. His eyes were not silver like the metal, but silver like the colour, an artist would choose to paint the stars at night. For the metal would lose luster over years, while art had perfected a secret to withstand time.
And Alioth had once said that these twelve Warriors of Moon were the best among stars. That was the sole reason why the Moon made them protect his daughters.
Was it even possible for me to win against him? Possible for any wolf?
"Y-you are a Warrior?" Kaina asked, her voice barely heard. "Warrior of Moon?"
Aries glanced at her, then his eyes glazed, like the same way Mizar's did when he said which Raoul he was talking about.
"Reish Kaina?" he asked. "You were supposed to be the Zayin of the Northern Tribe. Zarola and Vessa were born after you."
At this, Kaina's face flared with red. "You have no rights to peep into my memories."
Aries shrugged. "Only the Moon has questioning authority over me. Not even Amaris whom I represent. I just... listen to her. So, I think I have all rights to peep in."
My lips parted. "Did you intrude my mind?"
"Is that any of your problem?" he asked.
"Yes!" I snapped. "It is my mind you are intruding. I think at least I deserve the right know whether you are or you are not."
A flicker of surprise flashed on his face before his handsome face became expressionless. "No. I did not intrude."
"How considerate," I muttered to myself.
"I did not find it necessary," he said coolly. Of course, be heard it. If he could hear what I thought about, what would stop him from hearing what my silent words were?
"Can we trust this witch?" Varian asked again. Did we not solve this by saying Alioth trusted her?
"Yes," Rhaze said for the first time. "I can vouch for her."
I was taken back. I had thought that Rhaze would be the last person to trust her. What was happening around me?
Even Kaina seemed surprised, but there was a glint in her green eyes.
Aries snorted. "Very well then. Betray me, or sell even a sliver of information about what is happening in Witch's Peak outside, and everyone here would die." He looked at me. "As much as I saved your life, Lyra, if you do say what happens in Witch's Peak out, I am capable of taking the very life I saved."
Does he have no regard for life? I started at him.
"I shall take my leave," Aries said. "Come later, walk slower, do something. I need to inform Ant about you all. That royal needs time for mental preparation."
Did he say royal?
Before I could even find my voice, Aries had disappeared. I stared at the spot he was standing and at the hand, Miguel had sneakily tried to put around Aries that was dangling in the air now.
*******
Varian cleared his throat, ten minutes after that Warrior of Moon left. "Shall we leave?"
Then a collective of responses was heard.
"A Royal?" Miguel whispered.
"Weren't all the royals killed?" Kaina asked.
"He is a star then," Rhaze said.
"A Warrior of Moon," I said.
Varian nodded. "Yes to everything. Ant is the last Royal. And yes, Aries is a star. And he does prefer if you call him Arien in public."
Arien... Aries was a star. And by what Alioth said, he ranked above her. Was that the reason why his eyes looked like silver stardust?
With that Varian led us again. This time, silence fell upon us.
After a few minutes, the spell became torturous and awkward. Thankfully Miguel broke it.
"Why are you here, Reish Kaina?" he asked. "What is your motive?"
As they walked behind me and my sister, I was unable to tell her face expression. But I could hear a softness in her voice when she answered.
"I will protect her," she said quietly. "I will protect her no matter what."
"You would change your loyalty for this alpha? Your mother us the Zayin of the Northern tribe!"
"Yes. And does that rank ever matter? I was there only to heal. I was bound to leave my home tribe sooner or later."
After her answer, the silence that blanketed us was surprisingly comfortable.
Walking through the rough terrain, Varian paused before a cave. He looked above. "The mountain top," he said, pointing it. "Is called the Witch's Peak."
"Why Witch's Peak?" Rhaze asked.
"The Zayin of the Eastern Tribe two thousand years ago had two daughters. His youngest daughter, Leyda had found her mate among a low-ranked warlock, Furok," Kaina said. "Furious, her father, force mated her with the Eastern Coven's Omicron's brother, Wayne. Being so close to the Omicron, Wayne had everything handed to him. When Leyda refused him, he grew furious. She fled and tried to reunite with her mate here, on the Witch's Peak. But this was her last stand before the Eastern Coven and Tribe found them. This place is said to bring mates together and Leyda's soul still protects this place."
Varian beamed at her. "Not many know that story."
Kaina gave a small laugh. "When my daughter was young, she used to demand so many stories. Just to appease her, I read a library."
At her words, Rhaze's face fell a little.
What is wrong? I asked.
Rhaze shook her head. Nothing. Why are you asking?
You became sad when Kaina spoke about her daughter, I replied.
I don't know why I am sad, Lyra. Why I am hurt like I feel betrayed.
I blinked. Is it because you saw your mate with his wife and child that you feel that betrayal now? That he rejected you?
Possibility, she said.
Nodding, I followed Varian. The cave was dark but a faint light was seen at the other end. Surprisingly, the cave was quite clean. The brown sandstone bounced off the moonlight that fell upon them.
Cool ocean breeze rushed through the other end. As we left the cave, a beach came to my view. For a second, I paused to soak in the beautiful sight.
The waters learnt the colours the sky was trying to teach with a perfection. In addition to the dark colour it reflected, the moonlight threw a few glittering crystals carelessly on the roaring waters.
I sighed as a breeze caressed me. Rhaze took in a deep breath next to me. While Kaina and Miguel were behind us.
"It's beautiful," the witch commented in a soft voice, matching the tone of the night. "Much more than what books said."
Rhaze said, "If I could, I would stay here for the rest of my life."
"I agree," Miguel said.
"I could use this for holidays and breaks," I said, shrugging. "As much as beautiful this place is, this is not my place. Leave me in a lab or something. I can stay there for the rest of my life."
Rhaze snorted. "Good luck and congratulations. I have never met an Alpha who is cooped up in a lab."
Kaina chuckled. "Isn't there a first for everything?"
Varian turned and frowned. "You are not going to come in?"
Nodding to him, I made my way to the house that was on the beach. It was a three-floor house. Exotic house. From what I could detect, the scent of chlorine said there was a pool in the house.
The main door was opened and Aries was standing in the middle of the living room. Footsteps echoed behind me.
"What is it, Aries?" Varian asked.
He pinched nose between his eyebrows. "I will leave."
"What?" Varian asked. Then he turned towards me. "Is she a problem?"
Aries shook his head. "The ones who killed the royal family might know Ant is with me. I cannot be anywhere here. Plus, I have a life where I am not a Warrior and I have to maintain that. I will come just to train Ant and leave."
"Why-"
"Give my room to the Alpha," Aries ordered. "Ant has not yet shifted and will not be anytime now." He glanced at me. "She needs space and my room is the largest in this house. Give it to her."
I was surprised. Did he just say that?
"Then-" I began.
He cut me off by calling a name. "Ant!"
Did he just give his room to you? Rhaze asked me.
Same confusion, sister, I replied.
A head raised from behind the kitchen counter. His eyes were the deepest shade of brown, so warm and rich. His hair was a mop of black, the darkest hue in it. His features were sharp, yet there was a feminity in it. As though if he draped in a female costume it would suit him.
Even if that male was younger than me, I could feel his strong aura. His royal blood demanded attention, like a moth to a flame.
The prince wore a black riding jacket and had paired it with leather jeans. His lean built said his strength laid mostly on his speed.
In his long fingers, he held a piece of cake which was half-eaten. He stared at Aries like a deer catching its predator. Perhaps that was the reason why I could smell nothing but chocolate on him. Even his scent was covered by the cake.
"Seriously, Ant?" Aries asked.
He shrugged and purposely ate the cake.
Rhaze blinked next to me and Kaina parted her lips.
"This is the prince?" Miguel asked.
A small smile flirted to Aries' lips. "Meet Ant. The last royal."
Varian frowned. "But I thought-"
"Sagittarius thought concealing in plain sight would be the best way," he said. "This one." He glared at a sweetly smiling Ant. "Is yet to change."
"How can I resist the cake?" He asked and I froze. The royal's voice did not match with his gender.
At my shock, he... no, she stepped forward and extended her hand. "Alpha Lyra Throne, nice to meet you. I am Princess Antlia, the last descendant of Luna."
A/N: What do you think now?
Any thought about Antlia? About Aries?
Did anyone guess it?
Anyway, I can't be sure when the next update might be.
Until then,
~Quill