Caelan stood atop the slanting rock with nothing but unending miles of dense forest behind him, staring at the afternoon sky as the sun began to dip into the yawning crevices of the towering peaks. A soft breeze ruffled through his hair with the comforting gentleness of a mother's touch.
Yet, his mind tossed onto the treacherous seas of his thoughts. He fought the turmoil within himself, a war waging between his heart and head. Up until just a month ago, he had it all figured out.
Then, he had entered their lives like a plague of locusts and stolen away everything he thought he knew. Secrets, lies, and deception had revealed things about Aedlyn, he would have never known, were true.
Caelan had, after finding out about the magick that ran through her veins, assumed she was powerful. But never had he imagined, it would be to such a ludicrous extent.
His chest tightened as an unnamed heaviness weighed down on his heart. They were trained killers, assassins. Yet, when he had beheld her raining thousand bolts of lightning down on her twin....something about it had shaken him to the core.
No matter how much he tried, Caelan just couldn't get those milky eyes out of his mind. In all the years that he had known her, she had never worn such an expression before. Just thinking back to the wickedly twisted smile on her face sent fear trickling down his spine.
Anger flooded through him as he thought back to their conversation in the cavern and how he had stormed out. His fingers tightened into fists.
How could she have been stupid enough to bargain away her soul!? And that too for just a few sentences! A muscle in his jaw twitched. He felt like whacking the back of her head and shaking some sense into her.
But most of all, he was afraid. Afraid of what it would do to her. What it had already done to her.
He let out a frustrated sigh, raking a hand through his hair. A tangled mess. Just like his heart. Why did she have to do all of this in the first place? It had all been for nought anyway.
The Key she had almost died to retrieve was in her twin's possession. Caelan couldn't understand what was so special about it. He admitted, the life they had led, up until a month ago, hadn't been perfect. But it was a million times better than the mess they were caught up in right now.
All this trouble had started the moment that boy-Prince had set foot in The Veil. He sucked in a breath, watching the sky turn into a crisp orange, the flaming sun, setting the forest on fire.
Fire. It burned within him. A desire. For her. His mind wandered again as did his fingers, brushing against his lips. Reliving the feel of her mouth against his. He could still taste her on his tongue.
Heat rose to his face, remembering the places his hands had been on her body. She had been such a perfect mess, with her tumbling midnight locks, wild and untamed, and her cupid lips that had almost made him lose control.
He had taken one look at those sharp-angled eyes, burning so bright with passion, a flaming turquoise that flooded even the darkest corners of his heart with light and realized what he should have, a long time ago.
He was in love with her. Every inch of her. Every flaw and every imperfection. He loved the tiny little scab on her chin and the slight tilt of her nose. He adored every scar on her body because they made her who she was. He wanted to worship them with his lips, until she loved them too. Worship her with everything he was.
So, he had told her and then watched as her face had slipped into a cold mask of indifference. Felt the almost unperceivable tremor in her voice when she had refused to accept his love. He just wanted to know why.
He scoffed, hanging his head, glancing at the firewood he had collected. It all came down to how far he was willing to go for her. And the answer came to him as naturally as summer after the cold. There was no hesitation, no doubt. Because when he looked at her, everything else faded away. She was the only thing that mattered and he would go to the ends of the world for her.
Sighing, he jumped off the boulder, bundling up twigs and branches he had managed to find. Nightfall was mere hours away, and they had a lot to do.
But most importantly, he had to face her again and tell her that he didn't care if she had made a deal with some Goddess. To him, she was still the same Aedlyn, who would pin him to the ground in a chokehold for stealing her pudding.
He had to taste her lips one more time, let his fingers weave through the elegant tangle of her midnight tresses and let her know he would always stay by her side, no matter the cost. He had to go back to her.
-----
Caelan spotted the clearing within a minute or two of walking. He had meant to head straight for the carven, but to his utter surprise, he was greeted with the sight of Aedlyn, looming over the Crown Prince. Intrigued, he crept closer, hiding himself behind a fairly large boulder.
A faint voice asked warily, "You know something, don't you."
Aedlyn. He could almost picture her hawk-eyed gaze staring into the depths of the poor Prince's soul, dauntless and unyielding.
"Yes I do." He heard the Prince say. Something in his voice was different. His tone was almost too ominous, too....grave. Caelan's brows furrowed as he strained his ears. He could barely make out the next few sentences, only catching a few phrases along the lines of sigil and different.
Then he heard her ask, voice growing louder, "Different how?"
Caelan's heart stopped as Zaivian answered. Dread churning in his gut, leeching away his colour as the Crown Prince spoke, "Like someone who has been touched by the other side."
----------------
Aedlyn blinked. The sound of blood rushing through her ears, drowning out every other noise. "What are you trying to say?" She asked, not taking her eyes off the Prince as he looked away, eyes lowered.
She stepped in closer, forcing Zaivian to look up, into her eyes. "If you didn't want to tell me, then you should have just kept your mouth shut." Her voice was low, almost a snarl.
Aedlyn straightened, hands folded across her chest as he let out a sigh, looking down again. She clucked, about to tell him to speak up or be cooked for dinner instead when he finally opened his mouth, "The sigil is like an imprint, a...a reminder."
"Of what? The trade?" She ventured.
"Of the fact that whoever you made the deal with was not of this world."
Aedlyn stared at him for a good, long minute. Wondering, for exactly how long he had been cooped up in that Palace of his before finally opening her mouth to speak, "Did you fall on your head as a child, perhaps?" She questioned, trying to keep a straight face.
"Its hard to believe, I kno-" Zaivian began, wearing a solemn expression of the arithmetic's tutor she vaguely remembered having. But that was a lifetime ago.
"Kaius!" She yelled, blatantly ignoring the Crown Prince, who seemed as confused as a newborn lamb.
The boy-Prince, who had been dozing off on a boulder, not too far from them, shot up to his feet, looking like a scared deer. Aedlyn watched, open-mouthed, wondering how she had ended up with two psychotic loggerheads in the middle of nowhere.
"I'm here!" the green-eyed boy exclaimed, wide, startled eyes staring straight ahead, as stiff as a log with his hands at his side. Then, as if some semblance of common sense had found its way into him, he turned, staring at them for a moment before making his way over.
Aedlyn sighed, puckering her lips as the boy-Prince shot her a sheepish smile, "Sorry, I dozed off."
"Tell me," she exacted, "Did your brother fall on his head when he was young? Or perhaps, recently?"
"Hey! It was you who asked for the truth-" Zaivian began but a loud snicker that sounded too much like a hyena, drew their attention to his brother, who was trying hard not to burst out laughing.
The Crown Prince glowered at him, a look that conveyed what was to happen once they were alone, before turning to her, "Look, you can choose what you want to believe, but what I said is the truth." He said, jaw clenched a hint of annoyance in his voice, brows slanted.
"Are you telling me," She drawled, "That there are worlds beyond ours?" Aedlyn asked, frowning. She witnessed the Boy-Prince's face fall faster than autumn leaves, as the laughing curve of his lips flattened into a grim line, wide eyes darting to his brother, who was regarding her with a moue of annoyance.
"You told her?" Kaius asked. His voice was quiet yet clear enough to convey his disapproval. In just a heartbeat, he had transformed from a sniggering boy to an adroit Prince.
"Its alright Kaius." The Crown Prince assured, but the boy's frown did not relax.
"No. It's not alright." Kaius asserted, "We don't know her. We don't know what her motives or what she plans to do with such an important piece of knowledge! She's a trained murderer for crying out loud!"
"Kai-" The Prince attempted to pacify his brother who continued raving on about how Aedlyn was about as trustworthy as a snake, "For all we know, she might kill us in our sleep!"
"What the fuck did you just say?" A voice drew their attention to its source.
To her mild surprise, it was Caelan, standing beside a boulder, hands balled into fists at his side.
"Who the fuck are you to say that huh!? Don't forget, you aren't so holy and pure either. You hired us to murder your own brother and then tried to kill us to cover your tracks." Caelan spat in the Boy-Prince's face, who had practically shrunken into himself.
Zaivian grabbed Caelan's shirt, bunching it up in a fist as he spoke through gritted teeth, "That's enough." His violet stare seemed to glow as he pinned down the blue-eyed boy with it.
"Let. Go." Caelan mimicked his tone, eyebrows lowered as he glowered at the Crown Prince.
"Or what?"
"Or-"
"Enough." Aedlyn decreed, her voice booming through the notch. For a second, she felt the powerful thrum in her blood, a reminder of who she was. What she was.
Everyone had stopped to regard her with wide eyes, slack-jawed as she ordered Zaivian to let go of him.
Then, turning to the boy-Prince she leaned in, pinning him under a death stare, she spoke, "If I wanted to, I would have left you at my sister's mercy. I didn't, which was, as it seems, a mistake."
She paused, straightening, "And you're right. You don't know me, or my intentions, and if I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be standing here. We can go our separate ways. Although, I reckon you would last about....a week at most. So I suggest you let me have my answers and in return, you can have our protection."
"We don't....don't ne...need your protection...." Kaius stuttered in a meek voice.
"Is that why your brother is so quiet?"
"He has already apologized for what happened. You and I both know he was under your sister's infl-" Zaivian interjected, stepping up to her, but Aedlyn cut him short.
"My sister's influence." She finished. "Yes I know. But there wasn't a drop of magick involved. It would have showed. Your brother would have been merely a shadow of his former self, not an impulsive, sharp-tongued boy."
"Wha...what? Of course there was magick involved!" Zaivian exclaimed, brows wrinkled as he stared at her. She met his uncertain gaze with an unwavering stare of her own. His lips parted, an incipient sense of dread etched on his features as he slowly turned to his brother, "Right, Kai?"
The boy-Prince stood with his head hung low, unable to meet Zaivian's searching gaze. Aedlyn watched as the earth-shattering realization dawned on his face. The inner corners of his brows shot up, nose twitching as his eyes wavered. She took the hint.
"Seems like you two have a lot to discuss." She said, then leaning towards The Crown Prince, she whispered, "You know where to find me." Before stalking away.
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It was a quiet night. Tranquil, with a full moon bathing the mountains surrounding them, in its soft, silvery light, countered only by the brilliant orange glow of the crackling fire that burned below. The countless stars seemed to fade away into the velvety darkness.
But Caelan's heart seemed to weep, throbbing within his ribcage, producing a dull rhythm as he climbed up to the ledge that jutted out from the cliff's flank. He carried nothing but a waterskin and an incipient dread regarding her state of mind.
They had eaten their food by the fire in absolute silence, save for the occasional shouts radiating out of the little carven. Caelan hadn't been able to take his eyes off her, a thousand thoughts running through his head. And to say that he didn't want to beat the living Hel out of that spoilt little brat of a Prince would be a lie. Just thinking about it set his blood on fire, fingers balling into a fist.
He had been shocked to say the least, when not even a hint of emotion had fleeted across her face at the imbecile's words. Instead, she had simply contemplated him with an unblinking stare. It was almost as if....she didn't care. He had swallowed instinctively at the cold indifference in her voice. For when she had told the boy-Prince to leave, Aedlyn hadn't done so as a threat. She had merely put forth the facts, and that was that.
Then, she had stood up and left. Not even sparing him a glance. It had worried him. Her reaction, or rather the lack thereof was, to him, just as baffling as performing a feathered stitch. So he had done nothing while she had climbed atop the ledge, except for staring at her doing nothing, just standing at the edge, facing forward.
He huffed, panting slightly as he stepped onto the rock, eyes trained on the silhouette in front of him. A cool breeze kissed her cheek, weaving itself through her midnight locks before blowing over him, cooling the sweat that had precipitated on his forehead. The wind carried a faint smell. Her scent. Just a hint of lavender present there.
"Aedlyn."
No answer.
"I know what he said was...." He trailed off.
Then, stepping closer, he sucked in a breath, "I know what that spoiled imbecile of a Prince said was....hurtful. Quiet more than that, actually." He paused for a reaction but instead, was faced with an unsettling silence.
"I want you to know that what Kaius said wasn't true, you are not-" he stopped himself, unsure of how it would affect her if he completed his sentence.
Finally, she turned around. His heart skipped a beat as the moon's opal glow constructed a tiara around the crown of her head, wisps of her hair escaping from behind her ear. In the soft light of the night, she seemed....delicate. Like a Goddess, pure and completely beyond his reach.
Her eyes bore no tears or conflict. They were empty, completely blank as she finished for him, "Murderer."
Caelan opened his mouth to oppose but she cut him off, "That is exactly what I am, and that is the truth."
It was then, that he realized, she truly meant what she spoke. And for the first time since he had known her, he didn't know how to feel about it.