The rise and fall of his chest felt like a battle cry, as if he were preparing for some sort of war I had no knowledge of. Wide violet eyes and pursed lips solidified that thought, and I realized that I had not once been explained what he wanted with me, despite the many times I had asked. His free hand lifted, cold knuckles grazing my flushed skin. A wave of his other hand had the room returning to its former glory. How strange, to go from feeling Bellamy’s heat for months to now being forced to endure the presence of a creature that felt like ice. It was disconcerting. When his thumb rubbed against my bottom lip, I tried to lean back, needing more space before he got any ideas. His grip held firm, face going stern as he assessed me.
“Asher. Such a beautiful name. Blessed and happy. Did you know it means that?” There was a harsh and mocking edge to his words, as if a hidden meaning lay beneath them that he thought I was foolish for not understanding. “I can make you happy. I can bless you. It’s your destiny, my love. I am your destiny, whether you accept it or not.”
With one final pull, I wrenched myself from his grasp, stumbling backwards as I did so. Wrath was there, his fur coarse from his new height. A deep hiss emanated from him, and I smirked as Padon took a hesitant step back. Seeing as he survived a dagger to the heart, I imagined he would live to tell the tale of Wrath’s, well, wrath. Still, it brought a bloodthirsty sense of glee to me as he raised his hands in submission.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, kitty cat.”
Wrath shook with pent-up rage, moving around me to block my body from Padon’s view. I scratched his side, leaning into his warmth.
“Do not threaten my creature,” Wrath said, his eerie voice so deep it rattled my bones. I burrowed deeper into his side, trying to show just how much I appreciated his protection—his love.
“That was hardly a threat.” I could hear the smile through his words, tearing another hiss of disapproval from Wrath’s throat. “Fine, I won’t threaten her again. Asher, will you please allow me to show you something? I think it’s time you get out of this palace.”
At first, Wrath did not move, opting to stare at Padon silently. I peeked around his body, catching a glimpse of the unsettled look that was on the emperor’s face. Laughing with glee, despite Padon’s more calculating aura, I patted Wrath’s side one last time before walking around him.
“I will be okay, Wrath. If the so-called emperor tries anything funny, I will castrate him and rip out his heart.” Wrath smiled at my graphic threat, but did not back down. “Thank you for taking care of me. Now, go take care of yourself. Get a snack or terrorize innocents or something.”
With one last scratch under his chin and a quick kiss to his nose that he was not fast enough to dodge, I waved bye and walked to Padon, who was holding a pair of blush pink slippers out to me. I reached up and grabbed them, scoffing at the way he momentarily held them too high for me to reach. After I slipped them on, he motioned towards the door.
When he tried to grab my hand as we entered the hallway, I pulled it away and swatted his arm. Flashing him a look of disapproval, I forced myself not to laugh when the oh-so-mighty emperor feigned offense by putting his palm to his chest and gasping.
We continued forward in companionable silence for all of thirty seconds before he began speaking.
“Did you know that there are worlds where the moons bleed red and creatures sparkle different colors?” His tone was soft, almost contemplative, as if his mind had wandered. Briefly, I wondered if Padon had visited those other worlds. If he were strong enough to bring me here, then it made sense for him to be able to go other places. How enchanting, to see so much of the universe. To learn and bask in something new. A part of me would always believe that life was about the adventure—about seeing extraordinary things and becoming extraordinary because of it.
“Bellamy has told me many stories of other worlds. He told me of one where dragons roam the skies and another where gods walk among mortals. His favorite was the story of a world where magic is imbued into the land itself. Creatures are separated by mere kingdoms rather than seas, and they live in peace with one another. I loved the one about a world that is completely submerged in water, all living things breathing from gills and swimming with fins.”
Padon was silent by my side, face stoic as I prattled on, my own mind taking me elsewhere. To better places with warm and strong arms around me.
“More than once, he lulled me to sleep with those stories, his voice the only thing that could bring me peace and soothe me.” I sighed, smiling at the memory of him laying with me in my too-small cot when we traveled through Eoforhild. Or even the times when he would come into mine and Noe’s room at one of the inns, laying on the floor and holding my hand until I fell asleep. How had I ever denied him? Denied my feelings for him? Padon scoffed, earning a glare from me. “I love him, you know.”
“You love the idea of being loved. Don’t mix up the two.” His arms crossed as he spoke, so much vitriol in the words that I wondered if it were truly me he was speaking to.
“Yet I hate the idea of being loved by you. What does that say about you, Padon?”
He stiffened at my harsh words, his arms falling to his sides as we walked on. Suns and moons and stars were hidden within gray wall sconces and flowing curtains and even parts of the gray runners at our feet. The most covert decorations though, somehow, those designs had caught my eye time and time again over the last week. Demanding my attention.
Neither of us spoke again until we came to a stunning foyer, the gray marble stairs hugging the wall and wrapping around the nearly circular room. Two towering glass windows sat on either side of the large double doors. The glass on the left was painted with an image of the night sky, stars twinkling around the four moons. On the right, the glass was depicting what I assumed was daylight. The sky, far brighter than that in Alemthian, was a deep blue, a teal sun larger than I had ever seen taking up the center of the painting as puffs of clouds surrounded it. The true eye-catcher was the ceiling though. Above us was a painting portraying a nearly black sky with thousands of stars, constellations I could not begin to name connected by thin lines to create the universe itself. It was like seeing everything the ethers had to offer and suddenly realizing how small I was in the grand scheme of it all.
When we made it to the doors, Padon shoved them open, revealing a nearly identical scene. Their sun was teal, a vibrant and almost menacing color that cast the entirety of the sprawling town into an odd sort of glowing darkness. Structures towered beyond, most of them made of glass. Voices could be heard as they traveled to us on the wind, my magic sensing the joy and despair and love and hatred from them all. The very things that I was so used to in my own world.
I turned around, unable to resist looking up at the looming palace.
It was magnificent, made almost entirely of glass with towers reaching towards the teal stained sky as if they might puncture it. Perfectly symmetrical, there was a haunting beauty to it as it reflected the scenery of mountains and clouds and the sprawling city behind us. Despite the stunning architecture, I could practically feel the wickedness pulsing from it, as if great atrocities had been committed within those walls.
With a chill that skirted up my back and made my teeth chatter, I turned back towards the beautiful city beyond, feeling far less unsettled. I noted then that the city was taller than it was wide. An awe-inspiring bit of innovation that I had never seen before.
“Do you like it?” he asked, sounding for all the world like he was gifting me the sight before us. I nodded, my jaw hanging loose and my eyes wide as I took in the beauty of it. “Then I think you’ll love this.”
Padon grabbed my hand, holding firmly as we were consumed by a cloud of darkness. Whatever this was, it did not feel like portaling. There was no painful tug or pull, no sense that time and space themselves were attempting to rip us apart for defying them. No, this was quick, like taking a step and ending up in a whole new world.
“Where are we?” I asked, my voice barely audible as I stared in awe at the sweeping mountains. Snow coated the peaks, a chill floating in the air. Wind blew our way, smelling of brisk winters and fresh pine and the heat of the morning sun. There was an odd sense of familiarity to that scent, as if I had stood atop a mountain much like this and breathed in with the same relief I felt now.
I had, actually. Throughout our winter trek across Eoforhild, I found solace in few things, but the wondrous sights were always one.
“We are in the Draca Mountains.” I faced him, quirking a brow. What an odd name.
Unless—
