The Night Watch | The Nocturnal Chronicles {Book One}

Chapter 33 - The Stars

"The stars shine brightly in the darkness of the night. Do you watch them like me? Have you seen that shooting star? I make a wish every time. A wish for you to come home to me."

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The Time.
There is a time in everyone's life when you feel love for someone. It doesn't always come when you expect it nor is it always for someone you would have expected to love. But, love is love. It has many meaning because you can't encompass everything that love is. Love is more than a word, a feeling, or something that is shared between two people. It is something that has the power to change the word. The power to change everything a person is. Maybe that was why Erudessa had never truly understood it. She never let herself believe that she could change.

But, Edwin had managed to do what Rowe never could. He gave her the ability to become someone she wanted to be. He gave the chance to change. Because of him, she got the strength to become someone good. He saved her from herself, and he pulled her out of the grave she was digging for herself. But, she wasn't the only one changed. Because love works both ways in a relationship. Erudessa had managed to change Edwin as well, but unfortunately, that might have meant his life. Instead of saving him, she signed his death certificate. That was something she could never undo.

Love was the most basic human emotion, and the most powerful. It was dangerous and amazing. It could kill and it could create. It could tear your heart from your chest or it could quicken its pace. If humans were smart, they would realize that love was the most dangerous weapon in mankind's arsenal. But, man was stupid and blinded by love. That was the same for everyone. Anyone who had loved their parents, their friends, significant others, or just strangers they plucked off the street or from taverns.

Erudessa and Reyna sat on the bench on the porch in front of the cottage. Erudessa had her legs crossed beneath her and was playing with a loose thread that hung from the hem of her shirt. Reyna was staring at the blood-soaked snow saying something about the cruelty of man, but Erudessa couldn't process what she was saying. She was trapped in her mind. It seemed like she always was. Her mind was like a prison. Every time she committed a crime, she got locked up. Every time she felt she done something wrong, there she was. Trapped, with no way out.

The moon was full and hung high in the center of the sky. The trees swayed with each passing gust of cold wind. It was silent as the world always in during this time of slumber. Winter, the world's moment of rest. Everything was supposed to be calm and relaxed. A time to renew. Not for Erudessa though. It seemed like instead of rest, she was put through more work than any other time in the year. Even worse, she wouldn't be able to fall asleep even if she tried. Tired but she couldn't sleep. Cold but she remained outside. Sad but beyond hope.

There wasn't much that would change if she could find happiness in something. She cared about people and they always ended up either getting hurting, changing, or dying. Though, she hadn't cared about many, but it wasn't like it'd be a good idea if she did. She didn't want anyone else hurt because of her. Mostly, she didn't want Edwin to die. He had made her happy, but he had made the mistake of getting involved with her destiny. Maybe she shouldn't have told him about having to kill Rowe. He could still be alive if she hadn't.

It was obvious to her now that Edwin knew he had the possibility of dying because he wasn't going to stop until Rowe was dead. He didn't want that on her conscious, but it wasn't his call. Why did he think that he could kill Rowe in her place? She should have done something. She should have convinced him that living for her was better than dying. Did he even realize how much she needed him? Did he know that he was all she really had? She needed him and she just let him put his life on the line. But, he didn't listen when she begged him to stay. He just walked away.