Eternal Moon

Chapter 18: By Divine Right

*Author's Note:

Dear readers, 

I just want to say a quick thank-you for all of the support and love. Every single read fills my heart with joy and humbles me beyond anything. I love sharing my work with you all, and I hope that I can continue to entertain. 

Please leave a "like" or comment after reading. Any and all of your support means the world to me. 

Sincerely, 

Vanessa

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Despite the appearance of the rising sun, the morning quickly became cloudy. Jamie had still not reached the village border but she could tell she was close. Hoping to avoid any other residents, she bypassed the main road and opted for the woods instead. There was little chance of running into one of the townspeople or Kane being able to easily find her if he chose to do so. Doubtful, considering how late they had both stayed up the night before. Jamie had been lucky to get three hours of sleep herself.

Their conversations from last night reverberated in her head over and over, much to her dismay. She wanted to forget everything about Kane and this place; it would make life that much simpler. But Kane had finally told her all of his secrets - his childhood, his family, Sorcha, and the curse.

Like Sorcha, Kane was another window into the past that historians could only dream about, and he'd given full access to Jamie. He'd illustrated a life even more brutal than she had imagined and it had only gotten worse after he'd become a monster. Five hundred years of just wasting away, brooding in loneliness as the world passed by in a blur. How he had managed to stay sane, she had no idea, and she'd told him as such. And his answer had surprised her.

"I tried at first to end things," he'd admitted, his eyes dark but not as haunted as usual as if unburdening his woes lifted him somewhat. "But Sorcha made it so that I could never die. I spent several months in a drunken stupor but that made no difference to the full moon. I'd transform every month no matter what."

The light brown whiskey in swished his glass. "I wasted plenty of years before I realized I had to do something. So I started doing everything I could."

He'd built sheds, grown vegetables, started crops, mended fences, studied languages, read every book, and learned as much as possible. Exercise, woodworking, brewing - the sky had been the limit or eternity for that matter. Although, he still occasionally brooded.

"The past few years have been particularly hard, though I'm not sure why. Knowing Sorcha was nearby and unwilling to release me could not have helped."

Had he not done his penance? The more that Jamie learned about her ancestor the more she became disgusted. Not to mention ashamed. What cruel twist of fate had brought her into his life?

But Kane had thought nothing of it. He had not cared at all that she was related to Sorcha. In fact, he had said rather assuredly, "We are not our parents, lass."

Maybe that was part of the problem, Jamie mused. With no music or podcasts to listen to as she walked, Jamie had nothing to occupy herself but her thoughts, which was usually a recipe for disaster. But it had allowed her the time to think and process how she had gotten wrapped up in all of this in the first place. Why she had chased the idea of Gealach Lán so doggedly and staked her entire thesis on it.

The brush underneath her stolen sneakers crackled, adding to the soundtrack of the woods around her. Birds flew by and twittered at each other. A nearby brook chattered happily while squirrels and chipmunks went on the hunt for food. Cool whorls of the Scottish breeze rustled the leaves and twigs ahead of her, guiding her way.