Rae Lavellan

“There were so very few things that Atlas loved, but he absolutely adored the Moons. Well, one Moon in particular.”

“There was a world beyond this jail cell. A world full of wonder, joy, and beauty. Where spectacular things happened, meaning sometimes you had to blink twice and pinch yourself under your left arm to make sure you weren’t really dreaming. Where people did absurd things like laugh until their ribs hurt or get up early to watch the sunrise. Atlas had heard about this world, once. Maybe even glimpsed it through stories or other people’s joy. He hadn’t experienced it himself, though. And if he had, he couldn’t quite remember.”

“Cerridwen’s heart ached with a yearning that nothing in Neamh could soothe. She craved more. More than a selfless life. More than the quiet beauty of their world.”

“Atlas looked at her with wild eyes, trying to piece together how something so earth-shatteringly beautiful as her could exist.”

“That staring of yours is going to get you into trouble.”

“I told you,” she growled at him. “I’m not trouble.”

“With the way you’re looking at me, you certainly could be.”

“I love you. I knew it from the moment I laid eyes on you. It might sound silly, me being a Moon, you being a human, but I did. I felt a tug toward this place, toward you, like we were destined to collide. One beautiful, momentous event. My father always told me that love is a fickle thing. That few were lucky to stumble upon another and their souls would dance forevermore. Well, I consider myself to be very lucky indeed. Our souls are tied together by fate. And I promise, I will find you in the next life, and every one after that.”

“Every night, I looked up at you and wished. And if it was just this moment,” he whispered, his breath trembling against her skin, “just this one moment, suspended in time, that we had together, then I’m grateful that it was you.”

“I love you. I love you so deeply. You have taught me so much. There is beauty in this world, in love. Even in the darkest of places. In my last moments, I hope you know that I do not feel pain. All I can feel is an insurmountable love for you. It will never ever stop. It will be woven into the tapestries of time and when you look up to the sky. I hope you think of me. As I have always thought of you.”

“I could love her so violently. If only I’d let myself.”

“I see all of you, Atlas. The parts you think you have to hide. The parts you’re afraid of. I see them, and they don’t scare me.”

“When the time comes, I will accept that I must stay in this world whilst you go back to yours. But understand me when I say this, frost, I could not fathom an existence without you in it. The thought of the distance pains me. The idea of you disappearing pains me.”

“You sound jealous,” Cerridwen muttered.

“Of him?” Atlas scoffed. “You think I am jealous of a man who doesn’t know the difference between a rose and a sunflower? A man so simple he couldn’t come up with a better comparison for you than the flowers that grow outside this inn? That man, frost, was an idiot.”

“So, all the other women get you at your best,” Cerridwen groaned. “And what do I get?”

“Me, on my knees,” Atlas said.