“I’ve never seen them act like this” Calix watched me, wide eyed, as he brought his horse closer to mine. “They’re usually only drawn out at night when the stars are high in the sky. Legend says they were created by the Goddess Asteria herself and she made them out of pure starlight. Supposedly, that’s why they only come out at night because they’re drawn to the stars. Like calling to like.”
Calix reached out towards one of the starflies on my shoulder, but only succeeded in scaring them off—the starflies all flying off at once. We both watched, mesmerized, as they flew away in a sparkling conflux of color, disappearing into the thick red leaves of the Darkelms that hid them away.
“Why would they act like that then?” I asked him, the experience was utterly bizarre, but I couldn’t deny learning that creatures who were supposedly created by my namesake liked me and felt—kind of unfathomable to me, in a good way. I had never been allowed to learn much about the goddess growing up. We were only taught the basics about the Fae gods, and anything beyond that, like the many stories collected in their vast mythology, was not permitted. Fae gods weren’t for mortalsafter all. But I’d always been curious, and learning about my namesake was something special for me.
Calix shook his head, silvery white hair shaking back and forth and stealing my attention for a moment. I would have assumed the starflies would have been more attracted to him—King of Night and its skies, with hair the same sheen as their wings.
“I have no idea. Maybe they can tell you’re named after their creator. Who can say?” He shrugged, but his eyes seemed too intent, looking from me to the tree that the starflies had disappeared into. It didn’t seem like he was dodging giving me the answer—he seemed truly astounded by what had just happened.
“Well, I’ve always been drawn to the stars, maybe they can sense that. Like calling to like, as you said.” My admittance had Calix’s eyes back on me and away from the trees.
“Is that so?” He rumbled, his brow riding in tandem with the side of his mouth as he smirked.
“I used to sneak out of my room at night to go watch the stars.” I nodded with a soft smile, thinking back on those nights. “They were—so unlike anything else in this world. They weren’t just shining specs of light in the sky to me, but something perfectly free. They could roam the sky at their leisure, never forced to the ground. They were able to avoid all the trials and tribulations of life on Adamah, and I envied them for that. I would have given anything to trade places with one, even for a night—just to spend that time dancing around the sky and lighting up the world.”
I bit my lip, ending the stream of wistful thoughts spewing from me, and wishing I could swallow them back down. They symbolized weakness—a representation of the years I spent under slave masters, where freedom had been a dream. Before Calix somehow managed to deliver exactly that. It was embarrassing how often I spent dreaming of a different life. My mother always chastised me for getting lost in dreams, and Ididn’t need this tantalizing king to know how pathetic I truly was.
A finger lifted my chin upwards, and I was immediately caught in Calix’s intense gaze. The aurora was beginning to bleed into his purple irises as he stared at me with an expression I couldn’t begin to unravel.
“I understand. More than you might think.” Calix admitted, a growl lining his voice, matching the fierceness of his expression. “I may not have dealt with the same thing, but I’ve spent plenty of nights flying the skies, wishing I could just stay lost in them. There, nothing else mattered but the sky and the stars and the moon. I could leave everything else behind and justbe.”
It was difficult to look away, a fire catching deep inside that urged me to dig my claws into him and until I found his heart in its cage and grasped it—making itmine, and mine alone. I blinked rapidly; the urge was so savage—it took me more than a moment to bury it deep down where I kept everything else I couldn’t deal with.
I could have sworn his canines had lengthened, looking more like full fangs as his lip curled up and he inhaled deeply—a moan rattling in his chest. I could imagine what he was sensing from me at this moment—I nearly sighed, another ruined pair of panties thanks to King Calix.
I forced myself to shake off the strange occurrence, pulling back and offering him a shy smile. After a moment, he managed to break himself out of whatever primal surge had overtaken us, but I ruminated on the words that prompted the sudden spike of arousal, and realized that Calix, of all people, actually understood and felt similarly—not thinking me pathetic for my musings. It filled me with a rush of unexpected warmth. Not just lust or the breathless kind of wonder he often inspired, but something deeper—something dangerous.
We continued on our way, directing the horses down the beaten path, but I kept feeling the distinct sensation of Calix’s eyes on me. After what felt like an eternity, he finally brought his horse to a stop, and I followed suit, dismounting Arianrhod. I looked up at the trees surrounding us, wondering what exactly he was hoping to show me. He smiled secretively, like he knew something I didn’t—which, I supposed, was true.
“Come on.” He tilted his head to the right before walking in that direction towards what looked like a thicket of trees.
He pushed aside the red and black branches, revealing a small path that he stepped onto, holding back the branches so I could follow.
“This isn’t what I want to show you, but since it’s on the way, I figured it would be a good time to visit.” Calix said as we walked into a large clearing, my eyes widening as I took in the area.
“What is this?” I breathed, as we walked toward a giant stone statue. Three people were depicted, one of them holding a large bowl that was filled with—some type of water? But not any water like I’d seen before.
“This is our altar, where we come to pray and where we host most of our celebrations.” Calix informed me quietly, and I looked over at him with wide shocked eyes. It was illegal for humans to see such a thing in all of Celesterra.
Calix chuckled, “We don’t forbid humans from attending here, in fact, most of them have converted to follow our gods…since they found out the truth.” He finished softly.
I opened my mouth to ask what he was talking about, my brows drawing together, but he walked up to the largest statue.
“This is Erebus, my ancestor, one of the two kings of the gods, alongside Earendel.” He informed me reverently, and it was clear Erebus meant a great deal to him. “Erebus is the god of darkness. Here, his idol protects the Night Water. Thiswater comes directly from the Otherworld, holding the essence of darkness itself within it.
My mouth fell open as Calix grabbed my hand and pulled me forward to get a closer look. The water was indeed dark, but the black depths glittered, and purple and green swirls shimmering within it, making it look like galaxies swirled around the bowl. The essence of darkness may be contained in it, but that couldn’t be all it was.
“How in Tartarus does water from the Otherworld exist in our world?” I asked, feeling breathless with wonder as I looked over at him.
“That is knowledge left unknown.” Calix smirked with a lazy shrug of his shoulders. His wording caught my attention, after months of trying to riddle out Cyrus and his family—I knew doublespeak when I heard it.
That knowledge was deliberately left unknown. And if I had to guess, well—who better than a descendant of Erebus to keep the god’s secrets?
I blew out a heavy breath. I supposed I couldn’t be mad if he was keeping the secret for a literalgod.
I looked at the other two figures depicted in the statue, curiosity rising. “Who are they, then?”
“This is Nox,” Calix smiled widely, pointing to the statue of a male on the right. “He’s the god of night, the one who has dominion over my kingdom. Erebus is his father, meaning night is part of darkness.” Catching the confusion on my face, he explained further. “Think of it sort of like how our kingdoms work here. Erebus is the king, so he handles the high-level tasks, while Nox is like a lord who oversees some of the king’s domain.
