Lycandra's POV:
The Blood Eclipse was approaching.
And I wasn't ready.
You're going to be ready.
No. Don't lie to yourself Lycandra.
No one knows exactly when it is going to appear, you should take comfort in that.
Oh yeah? And then I relax and boom it's a Blood Eclipse tomorrow!
Breathe Andra.
No time for breathing, I need to keep sparing.
And sparing would make you ready?
At least ready enough to face Lexa because if that sweetheart makes it to the throne, I'm going to end my life as a blood eagle.
"How tragic!" A voice drooled in exasperation.
I stopped breathing and paused sharply, my spear thrust mid air.
Suddenly conscious of my surroundings, I scanned the bridge mountains with my senses but I couldn't even hear a pin dropping in the distance. Only the sound of the wind whistling through the trees and shrubs lingered for a while accompanied by the dash of flowing water against rock down below and I thought I most have imagined the sound.
Turn around. I heard a voice in my mind, quite similar to the one that had been echoing in my head moments ago.
Now that I thought about it, I figured that was nowhere near the voice of my subconscious.
Did two seconds of sparing somehow force out my wolf?
Was it possible for my wolf to be male?
Turn around, Andra...
Cautiously gripping my spear, I turned around.
Lo and behold, I came face to face with the source of the voice. My searching amber eyes recognized ocean blue ones and perfectly blonde hair that was tied up in a bun at the top of his head.
I was standing before the Prince Deucalion Jaha.
Deucalion had changed so much in the years that I hadn't set my eyes on him. My pulse quickened out of control and I feared he could hear it.
His godlike stature towered over me and I drank it all in gulping visibly, the Blood Eclipse already forgotten. He was easily the most beautiful creature I had ever set my eyes on. The rumors of his physical flawlessness were true afterall and I couldn't help but feel conscious about how my vest had clung to my body due to my perspiration.
"The Blood Eclipse will only appear when it believes it's chosen vessel is ready." He spoke exuding an aura of confidence that gave me unexpected butterflies.
I had spent the greater part of the last minute taking everything about him in and it was high time I fixed my stance and spoke like who I was meant to be.
His statement confirmed something though, he had actually been in my head.
I matched up to him suppressing the hormones kicking at my self control, "You were in my head."
"It's called telepathy, Andra."
There was something about the way he said my name like we've been long time friends or rather lovers.
The more words he spoke and how his gorgeous pink lips moved with slow deliberate grace began to feed fantasies I didn't believe I had.
"You're a wolf." I told him, intending to diminish his god-complex.
Duke smirked, "A royal one."
"How do you know about the Blood Eclipse?"
Deucalion sighed seemingly tired of our exhausting exchange probably used to more fierce confrontations. Sorry to disappoint, late bloomer alert.
In split seconds, I found myself on the mulched mix of earth and grass gripping my side and seething from the pain in my ankle, temple and abdomen.
"Is this how you're going to best your cousin in a duel? Get up!" He taunted me, his eyes void of any coherent emotion.
Whatever happened to sympathy?
That's how the weak get killed, Lycandra.
In a weird way, the fact that he could speak to me without his lips moving appealed to me and appalled me at the same time. Deucalion was fanning my infatuation with every move he made.
My small fingers curled around my spear as I tried to make it to my feet. I was hurting so much I couldn't stand upright. Mustering all the strength I could, I lunched the spear in his direction but he dodged it too easily and caught hold of my wrist, twisting it back.
I screamed, "Stop!"
He didn't. Instead he just stared back at me with dead eyes.
"You're hurting me!" I yelled and a for a moment I saw something flicker in his beautiful eyes before he quickly masked it.
He twisted it back further, "What are you going to do about it?"
I tossed my wobbly legs in his direction attempting to kick him in the groin but instead I lost my balance and he let go of me that instant so I crashed to the ground. Helplessly squirming in pain as tears clouded my siren eyes.
Beyond embarrassed, I voiced out my fear and frustration, "Fine I get it! I'm not ready and as long as I remain a late bloomer I'll never be ready and the Blood Eclipse will never come."
Heaving as more tears spilled out of my eyes and into my ears, I felt Duke crouch beside me on the dirt. Something about his presence made me feel understood, comfortable and soon I found myself sobbing carelessly recalling my troubles.
"I may loose my father soon..." I choked on a sob, "Duke, my world is falling apart and there's nothing I can do about it."
The familiarity with which I said his name put several undignified thoughts in my head. Curse my hormones.
His smooth fingers caressed my cheek softly and I felt all my sorrows melt away as I stared back into his ocean eyes, the clear blue sky and towering pine trees a nice back drop. My skin was tingling in response.
My breathing slowed.
Deucalion Jaha had me mesmerized.
A sharp pain erupted on my cheek as he pricked my skin with his finger. I felt the coolness of my blood and I panicked.
"What are you–" My words got lost in my throat the moment his lips made contact with my cheek.
It was the most chaste of kisses but it was enough to fill me with sensations. I hated how my body was reacting too easily to his touch. We were supposed to be enemies.
Our last encounter all those years ago hadn't been the friendliest one. Now that I thought about it our encounters always ended with someone's blood being drawn and it was always mine.
Duke hates me. I tried to remind myself repeating it over and over again in my head as if it'll help me overcome the effect he suddenly had on me.
He smirked against against my skin and lifted his head and that when I saw it.
Deucalion hadn't kissed me. He had kissed the blood on my cheek and somehow the thought sent a rush through me that I rolled my eyes unconsciously.
All the pain I was previously feeling suddenly evaporated.
That's when it dawned on me. Deucalion had healed me.
He healed me with a kiss.
It was the most poetic romantic thing that had ever happened to me.
"You'll be ready, Andra."
There it was again, the way he said my name. With a certain distinctive sense of I don't know... Longing?
Leaning back, he made to leave.
"Wait!" I exclaimed, scrambling up quickly and trying to catch my breath.
Caught up in the moment and lost in the vast ocean of his eyes, I didn't know when I asked, "Will you be here tomorrow?"
"No."
And then he zoomed off into the east mountains.
* * *
Humming absentmindedly and toying with the spear in my hands I made my way through the hallway of the Winter Palace.
My chance encounter with Deucalion had put all my woes aside and filled my brain with fairy tales. But it didn't change the fact that my world was still falling apart, I needed to go check on my Dad but I needed a decent bath first.
I was still tingling from all the things he made me feel in the bridge mountains today.
I pushed the door to my bed chamber open welcoming the homely feeling the space offered and padded in with a heavy sigh. But no matter how many times I sighed nothing was going to relieve me of the spell prince charm charm had seemingly cast on me.
Quietly I closed my door shut behind me only to turn around to a tall intruder picking out something on my dusty shelf.
My mouth fell open as I stared in silence.
The last person I had expected to set my eyes on.
He turned around to face me cradling my tiny wooden knight in his palm.
The spear dropped from my hand to the stony floor with a reverberating sound.
He smiled, "Hello Andra."
I think my heart stopped beating.
"Nathanael?"
* * *