The Moon's Fangs | 1
27 | a sacred place

We veered off the trail leading up the mountain, treading through an uncharted grove, hip-high in overgrowth.

Nox healed little nicks and scrapes accumulating against my legs nearly the same moment thorns and sharp blades inflicted their mark on my skin. The initial sting from the cuts quickly vanished upon Nox’s aid, giving me a strange sense of… invulnerability. This must be how superhero complexes are born. If I kept the Guide, I could say goodbye to Band-Aids.

I looked ahead, not yet seeing an exact destination point. Wherever Reks led us, it must be abandoned for quite some time now. Was there a chance it still existed? I hoped it did. I didn’t want Reks to fall onto another dead end from his past.

Every few seconds I peered over my shoulder to check whether or not Nolan and the other soldiers gained on us. But visibility through the thick trees worsened the deeper we went, and midnight’s shadows played tricks on my eyes.

“If I’m not worried, neither should you.” Reks ducked under a large root bowed up out of the ground.

I blinked, barely stopping in time before headbutting the thing. “It’s not that I don’t believe you…” I pressed a hand on the knotted tree root and ducked under it. “...it’s the shadows. I swear, it looks like they’re moving behind us.”

“Oh, is that all it is?” he turned, draping an arm over the arch as he scanned the shadows. Then he pointed. “There’s our little eavesdropper. Right there.”

I followed his gaze, seeing nothing for a moment until a pair of reflective eyes blinked within a tangle of brush. Reks whistled, drawing the low tweet out like a flute, causing the creature to pounce from its hiding spot and frolic around a nearby tree.

I gasped, eyes glued to an animal that resembled a fox in figure, but with a thick tail longer than its own body and feathery, dark brown fur narrowly dipped in a blaze of orange, like vibrant new leaves in the fall. A pair of antlers crowned the creature’s head, pulling back like branches behind its downy ears. Traces of orange hinted around the edges of its soft cedar face.

“Oh my gosh… it has Thumper ears.” My voice crooned from the adorable overload. My fingers brushed my lips in awe. “It’s so beautiful. What is it?”

Its youthful eyes studied us with cool interest behind the trunk of the tree. Its long tail curled around the bark as it craned its neck to sniff the air.

“She’s a kinya,” he said, speaking softly as to not scare her away. “Orleizen legends mark them as guardians of the Ourea Mountains. This one looks to still be in her first few years of life. You can tell by the size of her antlers.”

“A kinya…” I echoed. “Is she keeping an eye on us to make sure we don’t harm the forest then?”

“With her youth, it’s more likely curiosity. Their sense of duty is strong, and they take pride in keeping balance to the orleizen forests among the Ourea Mountains. Before The Fall though, their numbers did expand into a wider range beyond these mountains and were known to always be stretching their territory. Now with the desert and barrier severing their means for growth, it’s safe to assume the matured kinyas may act aggressively toward strangers, out of an intense desire to protect life on these mountains. It’s best we don’t approach her.”

He looked at me as if he knew I wanted to go over and pet the kinya until she fell in love with me. Her feathery fur looked soft enough to snuggle into, making my fingers tingle in anticipation.

I tore away from his all-knowing look with the irritating ability to see right through me. It wouldn’t surprise me if he could read minds. My lips pursed. “Well, you never know… back home, animals love me. I’m practically an animal whisperer.” That pertained mostly to docile animals like dogs and cats… but he didn’t need that little detail.

A noise, like a boot cracking a stick in the distance, sent the kinya trotting away. “No… dangit.” I pouted. My heart leaped along with it, wishing it hadn’t run away. But that sound probably belonged to one of those soldier units tailing us. Maybe even Nolan.

A strange symphony of chirps and brays, like a flock of never-before-seen birds taking off from the canopy came from the same direction.

They were on the move, and we needed to be too.

So, we kept going.

We kept going until Reks paused next to the steep wall of the mountainside we’d been sticking close to the last few minutes of the trek. It was an unremarkable spot, no different than anything else we’d seen up to now.

“Past this point, we’ll be untraceable.” He said, reaching over to lift a drapery of labyrinthine roots and weeds suspended down the side with one hand, then set his other on my shoulder.

Nox trilled up my spine, like it had just been given a dose of concentrated caffeine. But for me, his unexpected touch warped my senses into melting honey. It made it hard to focus as I stared blankly at the pale moss and vine-drenched wall, then back at him. “What? Is there supposed to be a secret door or som—”

I was abruptly caught off as I reached out to touch the rock, hand falling through it like air. Not rock. Air. I tumbled forward, head next in line to phase through the counterfeit. Reks’ hand slid down my shoulder to curl around my bicep and keep me steady.

The abundant curtain of vines swept back over the fake rock as we slipped through it, completely defying what had just happened. The vines didn’t travel through it. Only we did. The damn labyrinth was in on the hoax too. They swayed in ridicule.

His hand slipped away from my arm as I blinked at the opposite side of where the rock should have been. From this side, inside the mountain, it was like a pristine window, or better yet, a one-sided mirror. Yet this time when I reached out to touch it, the tips of my fingers smoothed over a bumpy surface instead of passing through like seconds before. Despite it not really being rock, it felt like it. The texture felt real.

“Hh- what kind of illusion nonsense is this?” I blinked, smoothing both of my hands over it, testing my weight against it. It proved sturdy despite my best effort.

“A veil.” He explained. “Much like the barrier surrounding the empire, except one this small can be disguised… so no passerby learn of its existence. But it isn’t as strong as the astral barrier. It wouldn’t hold well against severe or repeated attack.”

“Ah, I get it. It’s built for stealth instead of defense. Who knew the mountain could be hiding something like this.” I marveled.

“The Ourea Mountains preserve many secrets.” He quietly noted.

The thought of more undiscovered secrets made my chest hum with an unrequited thrill. My eyes fell down a pathway overgrown with lush foliage a beautiful mixture of purple, white, and deep blue shades. An ascension of uneven resin-infused steps led through the moon-kissed groves.

It was too beautiful to not follow. Much like Reks’ eyes, it beckoned me up its steps.

Outside of this veil, it would have appeared to stop at the mountainside. Nothing special. But that was a beautiful lie. Bright moonlight spilled through the astral-spun illusion to give life to this hidden slice of heaven.

“If it’s a barrier like the one around the oasis, then why were we able to pass through it so easily? Does this one not require waypoints?” I asked, taking the lead up the whimsical steps, leaving Reks to follow somewhere behind.

“This place belonged to Ellison. It was her personal garden.” his voice turned reflective. “She wanted a place to hide when the world demanded so much from her. So, when she found this spot, she made it her own. Before, it looked like the rest of the forests. But after years of care and attention, she turned it into something else entirely. It’s quite overgrown now, but beautiful all the same. When she decided to share this kept secret with me, she granted me permission to walk through by guiding me in with her hand. I wasn’t sure if it would work when I tried it with you, but here we are.”

I had noticed how he kept a hand on me when I tried to touch the stone upon entering. That must have been what Nox had been worked up and excited about. He must have been able to give me access in the same way the empress did for him. And since it felt solid once more when I touched it from the inside, that probably meant he was my gatekeeper to get out as well.

I shied a glance at him over my shoulder. Even bandaged up and partly covered in dried blood, he was a portrait of charm. Despite wearing the uniform and blood of a warrior, he never looked more in his element than he did at this moment, marveling at the dreamy state of the gardens.

He and Ellison must have once been close for her to share something special like this with him. I knew a thing or two about needing a place to escape to. My place of escape was small in comparison and not as expertly hidden as this place, but I wouldn’t share it with just anybody. I barely shared it with Blaire.

“They must have demanded a lot from her to feel the need to create a place like this. To hide it from the world.” I said. “Was it because she was an empress? Or did it have to do with Sio?”

“It’s a long story I don’t have all the details to myself.” he admitted, the smoky whisps of his voice closing the gap between us the deeper we traveled through the garden. “Short answer is yes. She neither chose to be an empress, nor the successor of the Key. She was born into that life. And both were quite demanding. Needless to say, her free spirit eventually gave in to the opposing forces.”

My fingers swept through low-hanging birch leaves the shade of cool cornflower blue. “Everyone needs a place where they can escape to. I can understand that. For me, it was a clearing in the woods behind my house on Earth. I spent so much time there to just think or gaze at the stars, my dad eventually set up a hammock for me to lounge in. After he did, I ended up staying there so long some nights, I’d fall asleep. Blaire came out a couple times, but she and my dad understood it was a place of escape for me and let me be.” I smiled at the thought of those peaceful memories, then laughed. “There was actually a time when I woke up to an actual wolf staring at me - literally only inches from my face.” I widened my eyes at Reks to imply that was a big deal. “It scared me so bad, I… think I screamed in its face before tipping out of the hammock in a complete panic. I must have scared it though, because it was long gone before I came to my senses.”

“Perhaps you whispered to the wolf in your dreams. You did say you are an animal whisperer, did you not?” A wry, patronizing smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Shut up.” I simpered, giving his shoulder a little push.

“Did that keep you from returning for a while?”

“Of course not. I brought food with me so I could feed it the next time it showed up. But it never did.” I admitted with a sideward pout.

“Ah, now I get it. You’re one of those danger seekers.”

“I am not.”

He eyed me. “Since the moment I met you, danger has followed your every step.”

“I know. But I can’t seem to get rid of him.” I winked and pursed my lips in a playful smile, insinuating him to be said danger. But I wouldn’t admit out loud to liking the kind he wielded.

His mouth parted, dragging his canines over his bottom lip in a tantalizing way. “Do you have a thing for playing with creatures who want to bite you, Stargazer?”

Oh, gods.

Heat rushed to my face. Was he implying that he would bite me? The thought of his lips - his teeth - touching any part of me sent my heart fluttering and a tight sensation to dip low past my navel.

“O-okay, vampire.” a nervous laugh bubbled up as I turned to hide the fire erupting under my cheeks.

“Vampire?” He echoed, head tilting.

Oh, right. He wouldn’t know anything about Earth mythology. But with a quick glance over my shoulder, I could tell by the distant look in his eyes that he currently had his Guide looking into what I referred to. With the wide variety of vampires, he’d likely see many different versions.

“Are you comparing me to a bloodsucker?” Reks queried. “I’ve encountered a race similar, and trust me when I say they are not remotely as pleasant as some of your fairytales suggest. They share a lot of similarities with spiders. But if you replace that sexy—”

“I-I was just joking. Jeez.” My nose crinkled in distaste. Real-life vampires, who bore spidery characteristics? Count me out.

I suppressed a shiver, searching for something to take my mind off that icky crawly feeling.

I bent down to get a closer look at a cluster of dove-gray flowers in full bloom, similar to peonies in shape. “I don’t think I’ve seen these before. Would the Black Market like them?” I asked, attempting to get us back on track to the reason why we were here in the first place.

Reks bent down beside me, cupping one of the flowers between his fingers. The petals spanned across his entire palm. “These would be a beauty if scattered across Asylum, but they aren’t rare enough, nor would they survive long underground. Ashlets are flowers of the night. Without the moons, they would wilt.”

I pursed my lips, quietly admiring the overlapping layers of gray petals nestled in his palm.

“You know… something special happens with ashlets on a night when more than one moon hangs in the sky.”

“Really?” I looked up, noticing two moons, one larger than the other, peeking through the canopy. Both were full and bright in the night sky in their rival to out-luminate one another. “What happens?”

A curious notion tugged at a corner of his lips. “Blow on it, and you’ll see what I mean. But not too hard.”

After getting my mind out of the gutter, I played along and leaned over to the one he held between his fingers and gently blew. White dust swirled up from its stamen. It shimmered and glowed like bright moondust, dancing in the air before swaying back down to kiss the tops of the petals and the surrounding area.

“The pollen reacts to the overabundance of moonlight when disturbed,” he explained, making a gesture with his hand over the other surrounding ashlets. “If we were to run through a field of these flowers right now, it would look like we ran on stars.”

The picture he painted in my mind left a stunning imprint. I wanted us to do just that - replace a field of them and run across stars.

Then Reks suddenly blew hard on the other surrounding flowers, like impromptu birthday candles. I gasped out as the shimmering dust danced wildly in the air around us. Each particle was like its own tiny comet; they descended like falling stars enwrapped in a slow dance.

A strange, elated feeling overcame me as the white dust sprinkled my hair and face. A laugh bubbled up in my throat, and I looked at Reks in that time-stilling moment. It was a sight I’d instill in my memory forever. The way each particle reflected across his dark eyes was like a meteor shower across a black sky.

The moon-kissed glow shone across his eyes as it dusted his face. Yet his attention wasn’t on the shimmering dust raining down on us. It was on me, arresting me even further. A look I’d never seen before, one that resembled… peace. He looked at peace. In the short time I’ve known him, he never wore this face, this identity.

His features softened, like an invisible weight evaporated from his shoulders. And a smile as beautiful and charming as I’ve ever laid eyes on lifted the corners of his lips, slow and serene-like. It made my heart run at the exact opposite speed.

“Do you hear that?” His voice swept across me like smooth smoke.

The thought of him being able to hear my racing heart made it only beat harder.

But then I heard what he referred to—water. The soothing cascade of water in the distance.

With a nod of his head, he led the way to the source. We passed by more clusters of the dove-gray ashlets. Every few steps I plucked a couple out of the ground until I held a bouquet of them. With every exhale of breath, some of the shimmering dust would escape from my bouquet and scatter across the front of my chest, stomach, and legs, where the shorts and bralette didn’t cover me.

Reks hadn’t noticed me arranging a bouquet of ashlets, but when he turned around to look at me, he had a flower of his own in his hand. He blew a flurry of pollen at me, laughing as the dust sprinkled across my front. The face he made when seeing my upcoming counterattack made it all the sweeter.

A wry smile splayed across my lips, and I blew hard enough to send a gust of shimmering dust from my bouquet to coat the entirety of his right side before he had the chance to turn completely away.

My hand clasped over my mouth to hold in the loudest part of my laughter.

Specs fell from his lashes as he wiped the flower dust from his lips. He gave me a daring look full of avidity. “Laugh it up. It only fuels my need for revenge.”

I laughed, wiping dust from my eye. “Hey, don’t start something you can’t finish. But you better be careful. I can be pretty competitive when I want to be.”

His smile sharpened. “Is that a challenge, Amelia?”

The sound of my name leaving his tongue made my nerves curl in wild anticipation.

“What if it is?” my brow rose, daring him to try me.

He shook his head in a slow, testing way that made me want to push him further - to replace out how exactly he planned to reenact revenge on me. When he reached back behind himself, I thought he'd play his next move in our little game, but instead, he pushed back the hanging brush to reveal something else entirely.

A nearly perfect circle of peachy spring water encompassed a tree rooted within its center. Its strong trunk twisted up to spread out in multiple arms of blooming saffron flowers stretching wide over the spring overlaid with rolling white mist, faintly tinted to match the liquid hiding underneath. Water trickled out from a few hollows of the tree, like a natural fountain.

Long, flower-filled vines hung from its outstretched limbs, just barely out of reach of the subtle mist curling across the peachy waters. Deep, vibrant foliage twined around the outskirts of the clearing, completely overgrown in the most beautiful way across uprooted arches and curved trees, closing in and around this intimate clearing.

My lips parted in wonder, but no words came. It was a view that had the capacity to take someone’s breath away—it took my breath away.

Little bugs fluttered around the fringes, emitting a soft glow like fireflies.

“Does Earth have sights like this?” Reks asked me.

I sucked in a belated breath. “Everything I’ve seen since falling here are places I thought only lived in books…” The longing in my voice made me realize I wanted to see more. I wanted to see what else Orlaith had to offer. Beyond that. I wanted to see… everything—experience it all. And I wanted Reks there, too.

The notion pulled longingly at my heart.

Reks sighed. “It’s too bad the water is frigid to the touch.”

“Aw…” a pout began to form on my lips. “Well, you could at least get the blood cleaned off-”

Suddenly, his hands grasped my sides—throwing me over one of his shoulders in one expert swoop.

I gasped out, realizing too late he made a run for it to the water he warned to be ice-cold. Ashlet dust flew everything in a wide spray, and I felt him tugging off my boots—heard them hitting the ground as he ran.

“Reks! Don’t you dare—!” My squeal cut short as he launched off the edge, sending us plunging into the peachy depths.

I squeezed my eyes shut, body tightening to prepare for the icy impact. But I was instead greeted by the exact opposite.

Heat. Heat engulfed me as we submerged in the springs, immersing me in both warmth and surprise. It was a hot spring. Our air bubbles mingled as his hands slipped away so I could swim back up.

I was the first to break the surface, taking in a deep breath of fresh, balmy air.

The sky glittered in a sea of stars embracing the two moons, like endless possibilities between the canopies.

I laughed, then sighed, dipping back into the water, letting the steam drift over my skin, cleansing my senses. It rolled like dragon’s breath over the rippling surface, brushing past the delicate petals scattered across it. Petals from the saffron tree, and over a dozen ashlets from my bouquet. They floated side by side, like suns and moons with nothing to stand between them.

Reks surfaced only a foot away from me with the stealth of a crocodile sneaking close to his prey.

Most of the white dust from the flowers washed away, but there were areas on him where it matted to his skin. It gave off a beautiful shine like melted pearls in the moonlight. My eyes couldn’t help but follow the trail of iridescent sheen down his temple, trailing down the side of his neck.

In the water’s misty reflection, I looked no different. The sheen of moondust shimmered across parts of my skin and left my soaked hair with an almost celestial semblance.

He untied the knot I made in the bandage around his head and pulled it free. He tossed it to the bankside, then dipped his head back into the water to wash away the last of the blood.

The pearly dust created their own constellations as he spread the particles through his midnight-black hair when sleeking it back from his face. The hot water partly unraveled the braid behind his ear, slicking it back to the nape of his neck with the rest of his hair. I quite liked how long it looked when wet.

“You tricked me.” I splashed him, kicking my legs at a steady pace to stay afloat.

“I warned you, did I not?” as he swam closer to close the small gap between us, I swam backward in a playful manner.

“You mean your little line about revenge?” I quipped, giving him a once-over.

He breathed out a domineering sound before drawing out my words. “My little line?” He advanced on me just as my back met the edge. Every inch of my body melted like a wick to a flame when his fingers brushed up the side of my jawline, trailing back past my reddening ear to tangle into my hair. “You don’t know when to give up. Do you? You’re outmatched, Amelia.” his dark eyes arrested me, refusing to let up as his fingers spread out to grasp my neck.

His words - his touch - my name on his lips ignited an insatiable, wholly intoxicating sensation.

“Is that supposed to intimidate me?” I purred, holding those dark eyes as his firm hand pressed around my neck. It sent a pulse shuddering through me.

“Yes. It is.” He leaned in so close, our bodies brushed under the surface—barely an inch wavered between us, like an unsteady territory line on the brink of being crossed. With him this close, I felt the shake of his own breath from his parted lips.

His eyes searched mine at that moment, teetering between duty and desire. In that single look in that single second, I saw him trying to predict what would happen if he chose the latter. His gaze dropped down to my lips, and I wetted them before a slow, suggestive smile lifted at a corner. He may have had a hold of me, but I had captured him too. And I wanted to be the one to cross that line between us.

Consequences be damned.

Burning desire overtook me, and I relinquished all my control to it. I kissed him, pressing fevered lips to his.

Everything intensified. Hyper-awareness jolted through me the second our lips met. His breath hitched, pulling away with an unexpected fire flickering in his stare, like a blazing sun igniting the abyss which swallowed it. His fixed stare targeted me as his arsonist, and he’d ensure the flames consumed us both entirely.

Our kiss had been soft and slick, one stolen by my selfish need. But our second… was so, so much more.

His hand tangled further in my hair—a grip that promised repercussions for daring to cross onto his side.

A low, seductive sound rumbled through him. “My turn.”

His mouth captured mine, hungry yet savoring—deliberately slow. He tasted sweet and heady all at once, like melting ashlets on my tongue.

I tilted my head back to give him better access in his delicious invasion.

His hand curled possessively around the nape of my neck, sending heavy throbs through my veins. He deepened the kiss. Our lips glided breathlessly across each other’s; bright heat exploded inside me as his tongue slid across mine, explorative and utterly wicked. My legs looped around his waist as his hand explored the length of my thigh, pulling me closer.

More.

My hands slid up the sides of his neck, and I tugged needily at the end of his hair, his braid. A feral sound from him reverberated against my mouth before he nipped on my bottom lip in response. My back arched, pressing flush into him from the pleasure it elicited.

A voice in the back of my head screamed for me to slow down - to remember why we were here in the first place - why he was here.

With a face like that.

I pushed away everything—everything but him, the feel of him against me, the way his body reacted to my hand smoothing down his chest, snagging the shirt like I wanted nothing more than to rip it off him. His hips pressed into me, a sinful smile catching between.

You look like Ellison, a little voice in my head whispered. He wants you because you look like her.

The subconscious thought sprinkled uncertainty throughout my racing blood, blackening into shame. I look like her. The hungry desire behind his touch made sense. It wasn’t for me. It was for the woman he used to love. The woman who had shared this hidden place with him, because he had been special to her.

It made me feel unclean, like an imposter in my own skin.

“S-stop. This is a mistake.” I pushed him away, face flush with frustration and embarrassment, among other things. “I shouldn’t have kissed you. Forget it happened.”

He pulled away, dipping back into the deep end of the hot springs. He pressed swollen lips together, not meeting my wavering gaze.

Could he not look at me because he felt guilty? Dirty for using me as an outlet to vent his frustration and true feelings for Ellison? This wordless response only confirmed it.

It made me sick with anger. At him… but more so at myself for letting it happen. I crossed the line first, only proving the consequences were in fact, damned.

I gritted my teeth through the rise of broiling frustration. “I am not your rebound.”

I didn’t meet his gaze before diving back into the water, away from him and away from whatever he might have said if given the chance.