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-&-

Chapter 22

"Here, try these." Aeyron mumbled around a mouth full of food and shoved even more pastries into my hands. Who would have thought the King of the North's Second in Command had such a sweet tooth?

"Aeyron, I told you half an hour ago- I'm full. If I eat anymore my stomach will explode."

He rolled his eyes and stuffed what looked like another cookie into his mouth. "More for me then."

The wolf-bornes passing by, and even those in the shops, gave us funny looks- but they were more directed at me than at the mouth-filled piggy General. They could tell I wasn't one of them- that I was an Underling, as I heard someone whisper in a hushed voice before rushing off. Aeyron told me to just ignore them, but having most of an entire species attention on you was hard.

"News of you is spreading." He spoke on a more solemn note a moment later, his brown eyes hard as he scanned the crowd around us.

"I figured they would be suspicious of an Underling-"

"No, it's not that. They know you are the King's mate. They're curious about you."

They were curious about me... Well that didn't help ease the anxiety raging through me. I shuffled uneasily beside him and tried not to make it too obvious that I was cowering into his side.

The King had to go to a meeting with the rest of his Generals and couldn't come to town with us- but he made sure Aeyron knew not to leave my side before. The serious, angered look in his bright blue gaze had frightened me. He seemed truly worried about something- like he honestly feared someone was after me.

"Let's head back. It's getting late." Aeyron announced a moment later once all his pastries were gone. I nodded my head almost eagerly and let him take my arm to escort me up the snowy steps of the castle.

North and I had spent the majority of the day before together, and were really only separated when he dropped me off at my room- the one just a few doors away from his. It had been so surreal I feared that it was just a dream.

We had even ate breakfast together in the morning- just the two of us in this private little study at the end of the hall. It had been so nice and peaceful that I never wanted it to end. But Aeyron wanted to take me to the town, and the King had things to do.

I wasn't sure what to call him anymore. Adranus was his real name, but I didn't feel comfortable calling him that. He told me just to stick with Eirik, but that didn't seem personal at all anymore. North and the King would just have to do until I figured out the mess inside my head.

"Will you be fine getting back to you room from here? The King just sent for me- said it was important." Aeyron suddenly announced the minute we stepped through the main entrance of the castle.

I blinked up at his brown eyes as they stared down at me in apology, and nodded. I didn't bother asking the series of questions their comments brought to my mind anymore- I only ended up even more confused. I knew what powers the King held, I'm sure conversing with his General's without being anywhere near each other was only a small part of it.

"Thank you." He raised the back of my hand to his lips and pressed a soft, quick kiss there before letting go and turning on his heels. I let out a sigh and shook my head as he walked away. I would never get used to those wolves.

Ever since the King had moved me into his wing, I had been allowed to wander around by myself once in a while. I wasn't alone often, but the few times I was I tried to enjoy them.

"I knew there was something special about you." That slipper, slimy voice from the man the King seemed desperate to get rid of caused my steps to falter half-way up the stairs. I gripped tightly onto the railing as I raised my eyes to the pale yellow of his.

Liberius.

"Who would have thought that our Great King had a mate?" He was leaning almost casually against the railing at the top of the stairs, his thin arms crossed over his equally thin chest through the thick robes he was wearing. I tried to discreetly edge around the other side of the staircase, but I'm sure those beady eyes noticed.

"There's no need to fear me, child. I am not the enemy."

Yeah, right.

"Then who is?" I practically demanded as I hurried up the rest of the stairs. I need to be level with the creepy man, not below him. If I had to defend myself it was much better that way.

"Those who wish the King harm, of course. And I only care about what is best for him." His pale eyes flashed in the dim lighting of the stairwell- a malicious look crossing his gaze.

"I have a feeling you and I have very different ideas about what is best for him." I forced my voice to be strong, to not show any fear or weakness to the serpent like man sneering over at me. I would never give him that satisfaction.

"Awe yes," He said on an eerie chuckle. It sent a shiver of unease down my spine. "That power of yours is extraordinary. I thought I saw a shimmer of gold in your soul. You can do great things with a gift like that."

I kept my mouth shut at that. He didn't need to know that using the gold-power came at a cost- or at least when I used it on the King. None of this was his concern anyway- but I knew North said he was greedy and power hungry. The man was a seer and I feared the souls of the lost would tell him of a way to harness the gold-power for himself.

Men like him should never hold any kind of magic at their disposal.

"You have a very powerful soul, my dear. What a great match for the King you are." Liberius took a step closer to me, his eyes aglow in an excited, inhuman delight. I stepped away from him as waves upon waves of unease washed over me.

"And a very old soul. Just imagine all you could do with a power such as that." The seer took another step towards me, one I matched with a backwards step of my own.

Panic began to rise in my chest. What was he doing? What was this conversation trying to accomplish? I feared the look in his eyes- and the dark, excited expression on his face. My breathing turned ragged in my chest.

"S-Stay away from me." I was finally able to snap at him, even though my voice came out shakier than I had hoped.

"I've seen that power before." He continued, like I had never spoken at all. I took another hurried step away from him. "So bright, so unique the way it fled your body in such a bright glow-"

"Stop!" I finally shouted at him, and to my utter surprise he actually did. But when his pale-yellow eyes suddenly widened in complete terror, I knew it wasn't me he was staring at.

Before I could turn and look for the source of his sudden fear, the creepy advisor let out an inhuman hiss and stumbled backwards. "I knew it!" He snarled at me, his eyes still wide in fear before he turned on his heels and practically ran away.

The panic in my chest slowly faded as a confused, but grateful curiosity took its place. How odd... I turned slowly around, afraid of what I was going to see hiding over my shoulder that made Liberius scare so easily- but there was nothing. Just an empty stair-well leading to an even emptier hall.

What in the world just happened?

-&-

"I do not want you wandering the castle alone anymore." North practically growled as we sat at the head of the dining table a few hours later, his blue eyes murderous as I told him about mine and his 'advisor's' little encounter.

He somehow knew I had a run in with the creepy man- something about sensing my panic, or whatever- but he didn't know what words had been exchanged. I let out a small, disgruntled sigh.

I had just started gaining some much-needed freedom, only for one ridiculous incident to take it away. But honestly, with that creep wandering freely around, I didn't plan on going anywhere by myself anytime soon.

"You should have dealt with him before she ever arrived." Terif's gruff voice growled from our right, and my eyes widened at the accusation in his tone. Terif questioning the King's motives was not normal, and it didn't please North in the slightest.

He shot his Third in Command a scowl so hard it shook even me, but Terif only grit his jaw and cast this golden gaze at me- like he actually wanted me to say something for once. I narrowed my eyes at him. Oh, now he wants me to save his hide.

Figures.

"It's alright, North. Really. He just frightened me a little."

"A little is still too much. When I am not with you I need one of the Generals to be. At least until I have handled the situation permanently."

I didn't bother arguing, and not because I knew it was a lost battle. I didn't want to be alone where the seer and I could have any more of those lovely interactions. Even if the man had seemed terrified of my shadow.

The rest of the evening went by relatively fast. Though, I'm sure that was only because the King decided he would spend the rest of it with me. He was even teaching me how to play Chess properly! "You really are horrible at this." He grumbled half way through a game I thought I was doing very well in.

I scowled when he suddenly knocked my king over with a castle I hadn't seen.

I simpered down in my seat angrily.

His dark chuckle shook around the large room we were sitting in and wrapped around me like a warm cloak. My stomach fluttered at the sound. "Do not be upset, Little Emrie. I will let you win next time."

"That's not the point." I grumbled even though my heart fluttered at his words. He would just make little comments like that that made me question everything I knew about him. And not in a bad way.

"I still think you and Aeyron are cheating."

He laughed again as he reset the board, his strong fingers moving smoothly as they wandered across the board. "Perhaps we are."

I shot him a scowl which he just rolled his eyes at before leaning his heavy body back in his large cushioned chair. His blue eyes flashed as bright as crystals before a slow smile pulled across his lips.

"You have adapted to living here quite well. Aeyron feared it would be too much for you."

There was a hint of pride in his tone, one I didn't necessarily feel myself. I let my gaze fall to the chessboard as my fingers twirled a pawn between them. "It's been three months since I arrived. I've had time."

An uneasy tension fell over the room as his blue gaze narrowed until he was staring holes into the top of my head. Then he sighed and was leaning across the small table between us to grab my hand.

"I am sorry for causing you pain." He started softly, his deep voice gruff as he slowly smooth out my palm and let his strong fingers trace over its lines. That one simple touch sent my heart haywire.

"But I will not apologize for keeping you away from everything- from me. I believed it to be the best option to ensure your safety- at the time."

"I screwed that up anyway." I mumbled as he lifted my hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to the skin of my wrist. My heart fluttered at the action. His lips pulled into a small smile, one that didn't ease the butterflies in my stomach at all.

"Yes, and no. I was planning on keeping you close before I left for the Islands- when you got sick. But things happen."

Things happen.

Yes, they do.

"I have lived in isolation my whole life. I often forget that others are not as used to it as I am." His voice was suddenly a lot more somber than before, like back at that sacred frozen river. For a moment, I saw the lonely man resting just beneath his hard surface- but then he blinked and it was gone.

"You have your Generals. They would do anything for you."

They were loyal, faithful men- all of which would die for their King if he asked. His eyes stayed locked on the hand he held in his- his calloused thumb rubbing over my tender palm.

"I am with them only sometimes, and I would not deprive them of their own lives just to keep me occupied."

That one statement sounded so much like my own inner thoughts that it actually hurt. My voice seemed heavy in my throat as I reached over to our joined hands with my other and cupped his much large one between them. His blue eyes flickered to mine briefly before back down.

"It is easy to push everyone away when you have become so used to being alone."

His blue eyes flashed before he turned his hand palm-up to catch one of mine. "Yes, it is." I could only stare as he gripped my hand tightly and raised it to his lips- the warmth of his kiss brushing softly across the back. I couldn't stop the heat from flaring to my cheeks.

"But I do not feel that emptiness when I am with you."

My heart stuttered at his words, and my eyes shot to his as my breath left on a startled gasp. Well, that I did not expect. "When you are with me I forget, and remember, everything. You are dangerous, my lady." He kissed the back of my hand again, his blue eyes hidden behind closed eyelids.

I felt like all he ever did was speak in riddles- even though he knew I didn't understand. But maybe he intended it to be that way. Somehow, I still found the cryptic words endearing- although I wasn't sure why.

"I don't understand." I mumbled as he lowered my hand to the chessboard once again. His dark chuckle filled the silence in the air.

"I know. Perhaps that is for the best."

His words only made me frown. How in the world is my not understanding for the best? It only made my confusion and curiosity skyrocket.

"It is getting late." He announced before I could voice my distaste. I wanted to roll my eyes at the subject change as he stood to his feet and rolled his strong shoulders- but I had a feeling he wouldn't appreciate that very well.

"I will walk you to your room." It wasn't a question- more like announcement that I didn't have a say in. But I wasn't going to complain. Spending time with him was quickly becoming one of my favorite pass times- even if he did only speak in riddles.

I placed my hand in his outstretched one and let him ease me to my feet. My blush was inevitable as he entwined our fingers and ushered me gently towards the hall.

The little sitting room we had been spending most of the night in was in his private wing, and was a relatively short walk from my room. I held in my frown when we stopped just outside the door.

There was so much more I wanted to know about him- wanted to ask him. But I knew he probably wouldn't tell me. What were his parents like? What was he like as a child?

Was that lonely look in his bright eyes always there or did something happen to cause it? A thousand thoughts swirled through my head- thoughts I knew better than to ask him about.

"I'm afraid, I'm not as healed as I would like to believe."

My eyes shot to his and widened at the sleep deprived look passing over his handsome face. My heart thumped when his body leaned heavily against the wall beside me, a small smile pulling at his lips.

"You should rest."

His hand slowly reached into the air, the rough fingers just barley playing with the end of my hair as bright blue eyes glowed in the dimly lit hallway.

"I will, once I know you are safely in your room for the night." The look passing over his entrancing gaze was not one that sent pleasant feelings down my spine.

"Do you truly fear that seer so much?"

"I am afraid of nothing."

He believed the words, I could see it in his eyes- even though that didn't mean they were true. Everyone feared something, whether it be a person or a lonely life. There was always one fear, but I didn't necessarily want to know his.

"But I do fear what he is planning- and now he knows of your power. Nothing good can come of that."

"What do you think he will do?" My voice came out a lot quieter than I would have liked- a lot more frightened than I had hoped.

I was almost positive I could take Liberius in a physical struggle, but if magic were involved... Well, a soul interpreter was a lot more powerful than I.

"Nothing. I will not allow him to. Do not let your mind spend too much time worrying over this. I will deal with the seer."

-&-

Sorry its shorter than the other chapters, but I hope you all enjoyed!