Chapter 42: Eclipse

“Wonderful,” Oberon praised. “I knew you would make the best decision.”

What. The. Hell.

Eclipse couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She was already fed up with that arrogant bastard enough, what with all the ridiculousness she had to face over the last few days. She had even kissed him for stars’ sake! But turning on the entire kingdom? Betraying everyone in Ophelia? It passed a dangerous line that turned him from a fool into a downright enemy.

What were they thinking, trusting this man? All throughout their stay, they had come to know him as selfish, conceited, vile, and so many other words Eclipse couldn’t even fathom. Even then, they had worked to cajole him, to get him to understand.

It was all thrown away in an instant.

She watched as he shook Oberon’s hand, her arms being held back by one of the guards as another pressed a sword to her chin.

“How could you do this?” she yelled, and the guards holding her tightened their grip. “How could you join those sick bastards?”

That seemed to catch Oberon’s attention. “Don’t we have a spirited one. Bring her to me,” he said smoothly.

The guards tugged at her arms, shoving her towards the open grounds. She tried to resist their pushing, but she was no match for their strength, regardless if they were using a Gift or not. They brought her before Oberon and his horse, Damian silently standing by.

Strands of her hair fell down her face. She hung her head, unwilling to look Oberon in the eyes. Maybe, by some slim chance, he wouldn’t recognize her?

“Well, if it isn’t Eclipse Soleil…”

Or not.

“Aren’t we a long way from home? What’s an established young woman like you doing in a discourse such as this? Were your outbursts in the Courtroom not enough for you? Did they not satisfy your foolish ideals? Escalating to battle seems quite drastic, I must say.”

Eclipse remained silent, her teeth bared.

“Haven’t you heard about your poor parents, how they’ve been desperately wondering where you’ve run off to? Although, I’m not sure they really are in any condition to dwindle about you as of now. They have their own, much more important concerns. Mainly for themselves.”

He’s just trying to play with my mind.

“Go. To. HELL!” she spat.

He flinched back in surprise. Good.

“I would think your parents would have taught you better manners. Then again, you had no respect for me even in our little Courtroom encounters. Perhaps I should have the honor of killing you myself. I’m sure your parents wouldn’t mind.”

“No!” a voice cried, and for a brief second, Eclipse was sure she had heard Arcturus.

She hated Oberon all her life, but only a few months ago, Eclipse never thought she would meet her death at his hand. Only a few months ago, she thought she would live a full life of luxury, although trapped in that starsforsaken Court. She would live to an old age, married off to some wealthy admirer. But now she would die at…how old was she now? Seventeen? Eighteen? Surely her birthday had passed.

All her thoughts vanished as Oberon unsheathed his sword, fear coursing through her. Suddenly, she regretted everything she had said to him. All the times she had scorned him and challenged him and tried to take down everything he said from her seat in the Courtroom. All the times she had purposefully tried to make an enemy of Oberon. If she had not been so careless, perhaps he wouldn’t be filled with such hatred for her.

But she meant what she had said. All of it.

“Wait,” Damian interrupted, “I have a proposal for Eclipse.”

Eclipse’s eyes widened. Excuse me?

“My dear Eclipse, we are both Persuaders, Ash Courters, joined together by our glorious Gifts.”

What the hell, what the hell, no, no, NO—

“I ask that you join me, darling. Join your own Court. Councilman Oberon presents quite an attractive mission. To take our rightful place as the supreme rulers of Ophelia! The Ash Court is the most powerful Court. Your Court is the most powerful Court. So join us. Join me, my dear Eclipse. I know you are desperately in love with me!”

Oh. Not what I expected.

She still had an answer ready, but if she said it, there would be no going back. She would definitely be killed, maybe at the prince’s hand himself.

Fuck it.

“I will never join you, you TRAITOROUS SON OF A BITCH!”

Damian’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped as he stared at her. Eclipse shot him a devious smirk, her glare burning into him through the locks of her mangled hair.

A sea of murmurs rang through the crowd. Even in a battle, no one expected the prince to be disrespected like that. That is, everyone except Eclipse’s companions. They most definitely saw that coming.

“Why, this is unfortunate,” Oberon said with a shake of his head. “I thought you would be smarter than this, Miss Soleil.” He paused, and Eclipse finally met his hard eyes.

“Kill them all.”

Oberon readied his sword again, and Eclipse used everything in her to try and break free from the guards’ grasps. She kicked and pushed and let out countless yells, but their grip was like iron, and they wouldn’t be letting her go.

That is, until an arrow came zipping down at her from above, burying itself right between her and Oberon before he could make his strike.

She peered at the mysterious weapon. A thin, white feather, decorated its end, a contrast to the red of the Ash Guard’s arrows. Even Andie’s arrows didn’t look like this.

A nearby Ash soldier swiftly collapsed as he cried out, a similar shaft piercing through his shoulder.

Suddenly, a flurry of arrows showered above them, raining down like deadly snowflakes in the winter. Eclipse ducked behind the guards at her arms, not afraid to use them as human shields.

A sea of cries and yells broke out, the entire battle in a mass confusion once again. That’s when a deep horn blew out from above, the crowd turning their eyes to a nearby hill.

A line of archers stood uniformly with their bows as they prepared to fire another wave of arrows. Their silver armor was streaked with white, marking them as an entirely different army.

The Zephyr Court!

And then from the opposite side came a roaring warcry. Eclipse whipped her head around to see an army of blue, the leading soldiers holding mighty spears as they charged. Finally, the Zephyr and Aquae Guards had arrived!

“Attack!” Oberon roared, and the entire scene erupted into a bloody battle once again.

Eclipse immediately brought her elbow up, slamming it into the nearest guard’s face with everything she could muster. The sword that had been at her chin dropped as the woman holding it got distracted, and Eclipse opened her mouth to Persuade her before that awful feeling washed over her again, a hollow suffocation.

No matter.

Gritting her teeth, Eclipse launched herself at the soldier, knocking the woman to the ground. Her head struck against the rocky dirt, and Eclipse involuntarily winced. Prying the blade from her fingers, Eclipse sprung back up, the heavier sword awkward in her fingers. It would have to do until she found her own, dropped somewhere when Oberon’s pests had come for her.

The frenzy of color grew even more disorienting as the Zephyr and Aquae guards spilled into the battle in a clash of blades, their lines of white and bright blue mingling like paint on a spinning wheel. Their own captains could be seen on their war horses, mouths wide open in shouts.

Yet Eclipse could see many of them come with apprehension, confused expressions marring their faces as the Silmorite slammed into them, hungrily eating up their Gifts. She saw true fear plaguing her allies while the Ash Court fought with ease. With their slight disadvantage, Oberon’s men charged at them with a vicious zeal for more bodies to fight.

It was sickening.

A flash of gold caught her eye, and Eclipse spotted Damian back where she had left him, pulling himself onto his horse not-so-gracefully. He snapped the reins, a terrified look on his face, and shot forward, narrowly missing an arrow zipping past his head. Eclipse attempted to trace his path through the lawless crowd and saw him traveling deeper into the Ash army’s ranks.

The traitor is running! The starsforsaken Prince of Ophelia is ru—

A guard decked with the Royal purple came straight at Eclipse, holding curved, wicked blades in each hand. His eyes flashed with malice, and Eclipse held up the borrowed sword in front of her on instinct.

This guard wasn’t her ally anymore. His allegiance had changed the moment Damian decided to betray his kingdom.

Eclipse gripped the sword and ran straight for the traitor guard, the blade high over her shoulder. Before she could swing, however, the guard lunged to the right. Instinctively, Eclipse twisted to defend her right.

She had moved too early, the man anticipating her defense. He landed and bounded around her in a flash, disorienting her in a spin of metal. His blade cut into the leather piece protecting her side, almost completely slicing through the material. Eclipse dropped to her knees, thanking the stars for her armor as she scrambled forward, lugging the heavy blade with her. As she flipped around, she was met with the raised arms of the guard.

Leave me ALONE!

With a cry, she kicked right between the man’s legs, causing his strike to falter in a strangled yell. Eclipse took the opportunity to stagger to her feet and messily slam the flat side of the sword into the side of his face. There was a wet crunch, and Eclipse pivoted on her feet and madly dashed away, not bothering to look back.

Where is that damned blade?

She rushed around the chaos, trying her best to make herself as invisible as possible. The heavy steel in her hands almost dragged itself on the ground, and she cursed at its hilt.

There.

Her own blade stood there, its tip sunk into the ground where she had slammed it right as Oberon appeared. It was somehow still miraculously there, tilted at an angle and splattered with red stains. A shaky thought hit her.

I cut so many people down with that.

Eclipse swallowed the lump in her throat and shook her head, coming to a stop in front of it. She swapped the sword in her hands for her own, the familiar weight in her hand a relief. She dug the other sword in the same spot before spinning around, the cries of battle muddling in her brain, becoming a background noise that she didn’t appreciate.

A yell, and Eclipse turned to see an Ash soldier charging right at her. Everything Astrid taught her was starting to run through her mind. With her sword at the ready, she met the woman with equal vigor, the metal vibrating in her hands. They stayed locked in place for a few moments, Eclipse’s arms burning, before she shed her blade to the side. Eclipse moved as soon as their swords parted, bouncing to the other side and lashing out. Her enemy was prepared, and bent forward while spinning on her heel, avoiding the strike by a breath and turning to face Eclipse. She brought her sword with her body’s momentum up, and Eclipse barely matched it, her arms screaming in pain as they worked to fight back.

Locking eyes with the woman across their weapons of death, Eclipse grinned on impulse and spat in her face.

With a hiss, the woman shed her sword again, but instead of jabbing, she stepped back, her sword still pointed slightly downwards.

“Freeze,” she snarled, her eyes flashing.

Eclipse felt her Persuasion try to wrap around her like a vise, trying to thread its way into her muscles.

Weak bitch.

With a grunt of effort, she ignored the command, breaking away at the woman’s will chip by chip. She watched with relish as the woman’s eyes widened, her mouth forming a small o.

Finding her chance to strike, Eclipse stuck her sword out, catching the woman right under the ribs and in between her plates of armor. Blood burst out like a waterfall, and Eclipse involuntarily pulled her sword back in shock. The woman looked down at her stomach in quiet fascination before collapsing.

Eclipse stumbled back, staring at the woman’s body. She couldn’t even tell if she had stopped breathing.

It doesn’t matter. She is—was—aligned with Oberon, the man behind all this pain. This is a battle. She was going to kill you.

Her thoughts were becoming a distraction. Scanning around her, she did a double take at a purple-lined soldier fighting with one of Oberon’s minions, furiously sprinting around their opponent.

So it seemed the Royal Guard was critically divided—some followed Damian’s awful path, while others either didn’t get the message or didn’t listen.

Please let it be the latter.

A shout tore her attention from the guard, and she almost tasted metal as a blade came down on her. She ducked and swerved like Astrid had trained her, a silent thanks rolling through her mind. Springing back up, she prepared to swing before catching the blue of the guard’s armor.

“Wait, wait!” she cried over the discord. “I’m with you! I’m not a part of that army!”

The man’s expression shifted, scanning her and her worn leather plates. He lowered his sword, but still kept it in the half gate guard, defensive.

“How the hell are we supposed to know who is who?” he called back.

Eclipse opened her mouth to respond, before catching sight of Captain Falio over the man’s shoulder. He steered his steed straight into a group of Ash soldiers, breaking them up and sending a few to a faceful of dirt. Even from here, she could feel and see his fury, swinging his blade in all directions at anything that dared to wear red.

She thanked the stars he was with the people of Ophelia.

“Follow your commanders,” she shouted back, glancing around. “Follow the Terris, Aquae, and Zephyr, and anyone of the Royal Guard who stands with the captain!” She pointed to Falio.

“Then tell me why can’t I use my Gift?”

“Silmorite!” Her voice was growing hoarse.

The man gave her a firm nod, distress plain on his face. Then his eyes shifted again, and he jumped to the right, a growl coming out of his lips. Eclipse flinched and almost thought he was attacking her, but his blade rammed into that of an Ash soldier behind her.

She backed away, sweat pooling underneath her armor. Holding the sword like a lifeline, she kept watching the ensuing battle around her, no one taking note of her yet.

Being small has its advantages, she thought grimly.

“Eclipse!”

A faint yell. She had somehow heard it over the raging sounds of war, but she heard it nonetheless. She whipped her head around, trying to find the source in the sea of limbs.

“ECLIPSE!”

“Arcturus?” she whispered softly, still searching.

An anguished cry, filled with rage.

Eclipse turned to the sound, but far too slowly.

A piercing pain. Eclipse locked eyes with another female, almost touching noses.

“You killed her, you bitch,” she whispered, her eyes burning, aflame. “You killed her.”

Eclipse looked down. The Ash woman’s hands were wrapped around a hilt, sticking out of her side. Blood covered her fingers, crimson and fresh.

A hot feeling spread through Eclipse’s abdomen, creeping up to her mind.

The world tilted. The sky seemed to grow wider, the soft blue a stark contrast to the deep red on her body.

The last thing she could recall was the angry, tear-streaked face of the soldier, paired with the faint yells of her people.

✦✦✦

“She’s bleeding out.”

…

“No!”

…

“Get her out of here!”

...

“Eclipse, stay with me…”

…

…

“Please…”

✦✦✦

Consciousness pulled her out from the murky depths of her mind, slugging through until her senses began to come back. It was like tugging herself out of a very, very deep trench of sand.

Automatically, Eclipse let out a groan. Where was she? Was the battle over? Was she dead? Is this what that felt like?

Everything hurts.

She couldn’t be dead. Dead people didn’t feel pain, did they? Well, she wouldn’t know—it’s not like she had ever been dead before.

If she wasn’t dead, then where was she? What had happened? Where was the battle? And the armies? And her friends?

Eclipse finally willed her eyes to crack open, her vision unfocused and dull. The sky was a blur of light grey, and it shifted as she slowly moved her arms and pressed her palms into the ground. They were met with a scratchy fabric, and it rubbed against her scratched hands as she sat up. The shade of trees and whispering winds surrounded her, the sun blocked away by the cloudy sky. It was dark for the daytime, as though a storm were about rain down on them. How did she get to a forest? Where the hell was she? She was in the battlefield only a second ago.

But then she remembered. The soldier, the woman with the tears in her burning eyes. Eclipse had been stabbed. Brutally. Painfully. That Ash guard wanted to make her suffer. Because she had killed that other woman.

She had killed someone. She had ended her life. Every time Eclipse had taken down an enemy, it was never fatal. Never. Until now. She had ended the life of someone who was loved, enough to earn Eclipse a furious mourner out for revenge.

I feel sick.

She forced herself to look down at her torso, expecting to see the bloody hilt protruding from it. Instead, her abdomen was free of any blades. Her shirt was ripped and torn, exposing parts of her stomach that were hastily wiped clean of blood, leaving behind sticky spots of red and dust. Tight layers of bandages were wrapped around her stomach, a small dot of blood already seeping through, and she found it slightly difficult to breathe. She placed a hand over the dressed wound, feeling it faintly pulse in tune with her heart.

Her leather pieces sat beside her in a thrown pile, parts of it darkened and scratched heavily. A cloth completely soaked in blood was thrown off to the side, and Eclipse briefly wondered if the crumpled thing was a piece cut from her shirt.

Eclipse looked up from the pile to find Clover tied off to the side, grazing lazily in the silence. Is that how she had gotten here? Her satchels were yawning open and mostly empty.

And then there was the knife. Washed off and clean, set aside and removed from her body. It wasn’t doused in crimson red, or even evident that it had been in her at all. But it was definitely the same knife, the memory of its brown hilt in that woman’s hands replaying in Eclipse’s mind.

How had it been taken out? Who had removed it?

A faint shuffle came from her side, and she turned to see a figure, hunched over as they rummaged through scattered contents on the ground. Their hair was dusty and disheveled, their back turned to her, sporting the same leather armor as her own. Cloths and vials and all sorts of supplies were thrown around, and the person desperately grabbed one of the vials with a bowl in their hand.

Eclipse tried to sit up straighter, but the tightly bound bandages barely allowed movement. She let out a hiss under her breath as a flash of red-hot pain ran through.

“Arcturus?” she whispered, and he lifted his chin, whipping his head over his shoulder. He was a mess, to say the least. His eyes were frantic, his entire face flushed with worry and confusion. At the sound of her voice, his eyes widened, staring at her for a good moment.

“Stars above…you’re awake. I…you’re awake!” He stumbled over to her.

Stopping on his knees down beside her, Arcturus set down the medicine and the bowl of water, a small cloth hanging at the side. His fingers trembled, and they seemed to pause in the air as he continued to stare at her. Dirts and flecks of blood spotted his face, and Eclipse had the urge to wipe them away with her hand.

“I thought you were lost. I didn’t know if I could save you. I’m no Healer, and I only know the basic techniques for a medic! But I was the only one who had some ounce of knowledge, and Antares told me I needed to take you out far if you were to survive and—”

“Arcturus,” she whispered again, his desperation emitting from him in waves. It made her heart sink.

He paused, searching her face before locking eyes with her again, a beautiful brown. “I’m sorry, I…I’m ranting to you while you sit there with a knife wound. And then with the prince, Damian, he—”

He paused again, collecting his thoughts. “I’m sorry, Eclipse. I know that must have been quite a shock for you.”

She stared at him. “Damian?”

He nodded, looking away and reaching for the cloth and water. “He sided with Oberon, and well…I just assumed you were involved…”

So it had worked. She had actually fooled him, for all the cursed things to go right. But was she still keeping up this act for him?

Oh to hell with it, Eclipse! You almost died, and you still care about being petty? To hell with it all!

“You healed me?” she asked quietly, still watching him.

He nodded silently, squeezing out the bulk of the water from the cloth. He raised the damp fabric to her forehead, but she weakly pushed his hand away.

Tears burned behind her eyes, her heart and mind fighting a battle within her.

“Why?” she choked.

He looked up with a perplexed expression. “What do you mean? You were going to die. Never would I let that happen.”

What was she thinking? Her paranoia had grown to a tumorous size, enough to scramble her thoughts and actions to hurt the people around her. She had failed to see that and had purposefully hurt her friends. Let her pettiness get in the way of her priorities.

And in return, he had saved her life.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” she said, her voice hoarse. “You should have just let me die.”

“What?”

“It probably would have been best.”

He stared at her in disbelief, his soft lips partly open. “What in the stars are you talking about?”

Eclipse turned her face away. She was inconsiderate and selfish. Arrogant and blind. She was everything she hated about the world.

Arcturus was her friend. He cared about her. He had done nothing wrong, nothing to intentionally hurt her in any way. And she had tried to make him miserable. All because she was jealous? She cared about no one but herself.

A tear escaped, making its way down her cheek. “I’m so sorry, Arcturus,” she whispered, blinking rapidly. All her life, she had been angry at the world. Angry at other people. Now the only one she could blame was herself.

And she hated it.

“I’ve been such a awful fool. I twisted my perception of everything and made everything a much bigger mess than it needed to be. I made things harder for us. For you.” The dam had broken and more tears ran down her voice, warm against her skin. “And I never loved that vile idiot! I only spent time with him to spite you. I wanted nothing more than to see you hurt. I wanted you to choose me. But I couldn’t face the truth. And I was just so jealous.”

“What? Why in the world would you be jealous?”

She sniffled, her side sending a fresh wave of pain. “I…You and Cassiopeia...you seem so happy together. So perfect for each other.”

Something flashed in his eyes, and she could tell he understood. He set down the things in his hands. “Oh…no. It’s not what you think. I can explain.”

It burned to see him with Cassiopeia. She had so much more history with him than Eclipse did, sharing a deep loss she couldn’t even begin to imagine. They belonged together, and what right did Eclipse have getting in the way of that?

She shoved down her pride, and stopped him before he could speak.

“No!” she cut him off firmly, sucking in a breath. It would hurt to say, she knew, but it was right, necessary. “You don’t have to explain anything. You…you should be free to love whomever you wish.”

“Yes, but—”

“I have no right to get in the middle of it. I acted like a child, a horrible brat to you.”

“No, Eclipse—”

She pressed her hands on the ground, skidding them painfully as she tried to move back, her dirty hair falling in front of her face.

“Go, be with the one you love. I don’t deserve any sort of treatment.”

The pain became too much, and she stopped with a barely hidden sob, dropping her head in her hands, the tears falling into her lap. She would get over it, she knew. She had to. Maybe within a week. Or a month. Eventually. If they were happy together, how could she possibly ruin it for them?

Still, the gaping hole that had been torn into her, both literally and figuratively, hurt more than anything in the world.

Eclipse expected him to leave. Gather his things and walk away. He had already done more than enough for her. They’d have to go find the rest of their friends.

Instead, he shuffled closer to her, gently grabbing her arms and bringing them close to his chest, his arm wrapping around her waist. Eclipse refused to look up, confusion muddling with her grief. Arcturus gently pushed her dirty hair away, gathering it at her back. He cupped her face, bringing it to face hers and meeting his eyes. Stars, the eyes that always seemed to hold a piece of the universe.

“But I’m already with the one I love,” he said with a soft smile.

“What?” she said, her breath mingling with his.

That sweet, beautiful smile was still there, both teasing and inviting her.

“What about Cassiopeia? I saw you together! And she clearly loves you.”

“No, you’ve got it all wrong,” he explained. “Cass and I are just friends. Actually, she’s my best friend. She always will be. And I love her, but not in the way I love you.”

“Me?”

A nod. “Nobody but Eclipse Soleil. From the moment you walked into the apothecary, I knew I felt something for you. I always looked forward to your visits…you made work days more exciting.”

He paused, Eclipse taking in everything he said.

“I never thought I had a chance with you, because you never seemed to have an interest in me. I mean, how could you? The heir of a high family with a simple apprentice who couldn’t even get his brewing right.” He laughed for a moment, then turned back to her. “But that night under the stars, it changed everything. I felt like you actually wanted me.”

I did want you. I do want you.

But the words never left her lips. They just couldn’t. She was too shocked to react, feeling as though she was stuck in an impossible dream.

“All throughout my days in the apothecary, I felt myself drawn to you. But only during our experiences in the forests, training and evading and plotting together, did I finally realize my feelings meant something more.”

He took in a breath, his hands softly holding her own as she kept her gaze straight at him.

“I love you, Eclipse Soleil. All of you, the brilliant, the crazy, the kind, the angry. You take everything awful in the world and bathe it in light.”

His words echoed through her mind, her heart racing along with them. The pain of battle, of her gaping wound, felt like nothing but a forgotten memory. Everything in her surroundings melted away, the cloudy sky, the rustling trees. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his, a feeling of something warm, something magnificent enclosing them both.

“Kiss me,” she breathed, her hands raising to his chest where she could feel the comforting beat of his heart.

Arcturus blinked, his gaze flickering to her lips. She had caught him off-guard, and his hands weren’t sure where to go. He slid his arms around her, his face only inches from hers.

She couldn’t stand the wait. Bunching up his shirt, she closed the small gap between them with a jerk of the fabric, bringing his lips to hers.

The wonderful feeling of him against her enveloped Eclipse completely, comforting and bright.