Nathaniel Wesdon hummed softly to himself as he walked in the woods. He needed to de-stress, and spending time with nature was just what he needed.
He had just returned after a long meeting with the other kings of Elyson, and the discussions were far from relaxed, a far cry from the previous meetings they had. It was the first time in a long while that there had been tension among the kings, but Nathaniel knew that this will only be the start of the conflicts among the five of them.
He sighed. Although he had sided with Zachary, he knew Jonathan and Kaelan had a point as well. After all, magic had been all but nonexistent in the world, so what were the chances that it would come back now? Still, the stars had told him the same thing, and they were never wrong.
He had to admit that reading the future from the stars is not ordinary. In fact, it is only his people who are able to do it, the Druids who have kept the Traditions even after all these years. Their race is now slowly dying, what with the advent of the more "modern" people (and Nathaniel sneered at this thought).
Nathaniel himself was not a pureblood Druid, a thought that still brought him pain. Certainly, he was thankful to Endymion for having assigned him to be the ruler of his own people, but they themselves looked upon him with distrust. No wonder, given that his mother had run off from the village to marry an outsider, a fisherman, something that the Druids considered as worse than sin. His mother had trained him in reading the stars from a very young age, almost from the cradle. He quickly became adept at it, so much so that he quickly surpassed his mother's skills. Sometimes, he even thought that if he was a pureblood, he would have become the default ruler of the Druids, as he was acknowledged, albeit grudgingly, by his people to be the best Reader. Even so, it had been a good move of Endymion to have assigned him as the overseer of the Druids. While they looked at him with distrust, they still accepted him as one of their own. Had it been the other three who were assigned…
Nathaniel felt a surge of pride and love for his brothers. They had kept his secret safe from everyone, at the risk of their own lives. While there was nothing magical about reading the future from the stars, there was still sufficient paranoia left in people, especially those from the Elysion, that they would automatically label it as the occult and have his head for it.
A rustle among the trees interrupted his thoughts, alerting him that he was far from being the only one in the woods. "Who goes there?" He asked sharply. A twig cracking was the only warning he got before he felt a pair of strong yet feminine arms wrap around his neck. Laughing ruefully, he wrapped his own arms around the young woman, delighting in hearing her laugh. "I thought I'd find you here," he murmured, running a hand through her hair.
"Really?" The woman pulled back and raised an eyebrow at him. "And yet you ask who is here with you?"
At this, Nathaniel chuckled. "Nothing gets past you, does it?" He said, a smile tugging his lips. He kissed her on the cheek before pulling her back in his arms again. "It is good to see you again, Astra."
MNMNMNMN
Here's the first sequel/companion piece to "Ashes and Secrets". If the story doesn't make sense to you, please do check "Ashes and Secrets" to get a clearer idea about this story.:)
Anyway, reviews are much appreciated. Thanks for reading!
