Shadows

Chapter Five

"Oh, come now, Odin can't be that bad!" Adi exclaimed, her accent thick in her voice, and I raised an eyebrow at the vixen. "You haven't talked to him while he's sober." I retorted and she smiled, her green eyes twinkling. "I saw Icas while on Asgard, handsome devil he is still, I wonder if age will make him ugly, I pray it won't." She had caught my interest immediately by mentioning Icas, and I leaned a little closer, the book I had been skimming falling from my hands. "And?" I implored her and she smiled again, though this time a smirk grew on her lips. "As your best female friend, I can only say that he loves you and would do anything for you- even if he wasn't on the same planet." And still she would not say a word about his being, I did not want the flattery- I wanted news on the man that I had lost to exile.

"Adi, please!" I begged, my own accent seeping into my words. Her smile grew. "With those electric blue eyes and gods that physic! Heavens!-" I interrupted her dramatics, "I don't think your husband would be very happy to hear of this!" I cut through and she started to laugh, "Fine! You win, here's your blasted letter! Read it later though, please! I go to the countryside in a few weeks and I don't particularly want you fawning over someone who you lost." I took the letter quickly, taking in the red seal the imprint of his ring, a smile slowly gracing my lips as I rolled my eyes at Adi.

"I hear an Altheos took dinner at your home, is it the Hand to the Queen?" Adi asked, her tone suddenly becoming serious, and I stopped tracing the seal to look at her. "If it was, what of it?" I responded, tone sharp; she raised an eyebrow at me and took a sip of her tea. "He's dangerous. That's all I'm saying." I didn't trust her words but I knew better than to test her. "Besides," She added a moment later, "If he is in your bed you have the most powerful man in Astapor, Asgard and Ulara under your thumb." She took another sip of her tea, eyes shining and I sat back, the book on the floor long forgotten. "I told him I couldn't do it Adi. I told him that it was due to the circumstances that I was forced into." She nodded her acceptance of my words and I chuckled, my fingers playing with the handle of my cup.

"Why are you wearing men's breeches?" She inquired after a few minutes and I glanced down forgetting I had them on. "They're comfortable and I was planning on riding before you showed up on my doorstep." I took a sip of tea before continuing, "I can lend you a pair if you wish to ride with me." She held a thoughtful look on her face for a moment, and I watched as the light hit her dark hair and turned it amber. "I suppose riding with you shouldn't be too bad. Though you do love to ride, almost as much as you love to read and sword fight." I smiled at her words, words that were spoken as she looked into her tea.

A few minutes and an outfit change later we were mounting the horses, our banter filling the stables. And still our cheery disposition wasn't cracked; we rode for a few minutes, the country side hot in the summer heat. "Gae!" Adi called out and I stopped, turning in my saddle to see why she had stopped. Damarion sat astride his horse, two of his siblings next to him. Aenessa and Varion. Aenessa Altheos, a vixen of a woman- the Mistress of Sin. How odd to think of them with their godly titles; Varion, the Warrior. Still they watched me with intrigue, and I trotted the horse to where they waited. Adi happened to be explaining something to them when I made it to their circle, "We're going to tea later." I raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "Isn't that right Gae?" She added a moment, green eyes shifting to me.

"I was unaware." I felt the smirk on my lips; it didn't betray how on edge I truly was. She swatted me with her hat, and Varion laughed. "But if you insist then I don't think I'll be able to turn you down." My words were met with a glare, her lips resisting the urge to quirk up and I raised an eyebrow, waiting. "See I know you found it amusing, I'm just waiting to see how long it takes you to smile." This time she raised an eyebrow, red lips pursed, but her smiling eyes betrayed her. "There it is! It may not be on your lips but it is there." I exclaimed; this time she did smile, a laugh escaping her lips, and I saw how Varion was staring at her adoringly. Aenessa though, she watched me with sad eyes, and Damarion watched the clouds. Distant. I'm sorry love, for the pain I inflicted.

The smell of blood reached my nose and I nearly bolted after it, the strain evident in how tightly I now gripped the reins. "Gae?" Damarion asked, and I looked at him, took a deep breath and tried to steady my thoughts. "Gae, are you alright?" Adi asked and I realized I was staring intently at my hands, my palms starting to bleed from my nails. "I need to go." I muttered, vision starting to tint red, their pulses becoming louder in my ears. "Gaetho!" Adi exclaimed as I rode off into the woods, her voice echoing in my head. Even after I was out of sight I still heard them speaking, their words not dulled, and their pulses not quieter.

The woods were dark, or was that just my vision starting to act up again? Eventually I fell off the horse, laying in the middle of a stream, the cold waking me up. "Gaetho!" I heard someone call; how long had I been lying here? It could've been hours or minutes. The sun was starting to set though, perhaps it was hours. "Gaetho!" The voice was closer and I smelled their blood- was it Varion? Perhaps. "Gaetho!" The voice was closer, and soon a face loomed over me, warm blooded fingers tilting my face to look at them; as if they could tell if I was dead.

"Please wake up!" They exclaimed, their violet eyes reminding me of my brother's. Vahaerion was dead though- wasn't he? "She's over here! Gods damn it!" It was like listening at the end of a tunnel; then Damarion was over me, blocking the stream from my face, and he pulled me into his lap, a knife in his hand, blood dripping from his palm. A drop hit my lips and I knew immediately that I could kill him with one drop in my system. His sleeve was rolled up, arm out in front of me and somehow I understood that he trusted me still. Silently, I took his wrist, and bit into the flesh there, bit into the vein underneath. All I could feel was the return of my strength, my sight, my hearing, and my mind; slowly I began to figure out who was standing where, Aenessa and Adi stood off to the side, their intrigue and curiosity coming off them in waves.

I pulled away then, not daring to make eye contact with Damarion. His pulse had slowed, and I bit into the flesh of my wrist, meeting his eyes after a moment, and nodded towards it when he looked hesitant. Slowly he took my wrist to his lips, and I felt my own pulse quicken with the proximity of his lips and his body; just as slowly as he had lifted my arm he drank, and just like that he was gone, releasing my wrist and making me question my sanity further. The bite on his wrist healed with my blood in his system and I rose, wondering how the hell I had managed to get into the situation. I paused a few feet from the stream, hand resting lightly on the bark of a tree, and looked over my shoulder at him. "Thank you 'Marion." Was all I said before I departed the group.