The Eternal Flame

Chapter 20

      "There was nothing you could do Luna, you can't give that girl back her parents, but you can see that she is placed in a good home." Flame said as he kissed the top of my head and held me close to his chest. I had told him about the little girl. The way she cried in my arms. It broke my heart.

"I know my love, but..." I stopped.

"But?" He prompted.

"There are so many like her. So many..."

He sighed. "This feud will end Lulu." No matter how assuring he tried to make it, I could still hear the doubt in his voice.

"This feud has been going on for eons! It will never end! I will never be your mate, a real mate without getting us both killed!" I shouted as I stood and turned away from him. I felt him put his hand on my shoulder. I brushed it off and began to pace the soft grass underneath my feet, running my hands through my hair.

"Luna..." he hesitated. Then didn't say anything else.

I wanted to cry all over again. For that little girl, for all the children like her and for the ones who have suffered in this feud the most. I also wanted to cry because of the distress I was causing my mate from because I was being emotional.

"Allow me to make the Claim..." He said softly. His voice barely above a whisper; my head whipped towards him in shock.

The Mark of Claiming was nothing to be taken lightly. The Mark of Claiming was a claim that some mates would take when there were unable to complete their bonding. The Claiming basically states that you are claiming them as yours and that you will never take another person in place of your mate. That you will wait until for them to become full fledge mates. I continued to look at him. What could I say?

"If you make this Claim..." I said slowly. He continued to look at me with a blank my face; waiting for me to continue.

"You can never take a queen, never get married to another... your people-" He grabbed my hands into his. His amber eyes glowing slightly.

"You are my queen. My one true mate, I am willing to wait for you to be mine and only mine. When I saw you Lunatris, I knew, no other woman could compare to you. You have a fire in you that not even most of my own women are capable of. As for our people, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Will you accept my Claim Luna? Will you wait for me and take no other man in my place?"

I nodded. "I will accept your Claim."

He smiled and kissed me briefly. I smiled broadly at him.

He dropped down to one knee, his head bowed and his fist over his heart. His voice was low but perfectly clear.

"I, Flame, Prince of Rinna pledge this mark of Claim to you, Princess Lunatris of Inna, that so long as you are willing to have me, I am yours forever. That I shall take no other woman as my mate; that I shall seek no lover, for you are my one. My only, mate." I whipped the tears from my eyes.

"I, princess Lunatris of Inna, except this Mark of Claim." He stood and grabbed me and spun me around. I laughed and kissed him with a passion that rivaled the sun itself.

From this moment on, everything would change. However, bad or good; I knew that Flame would not leave my side. That I was sure off.

ZZZZ

"There is something different about you," Nix said as she watched me from across the room. I was busy humming to myself and thinking about Flame when I should have been thinking of war strategies lesson.

I looked up briefly and raise an eyebrow. "Oh?" I said before continuing my humming and put thoughts of Flame to the side. I didn't want to, but my father would become even more suspicious than he already was if I neglected my duties. When I looked up I flinched back because Nix was standing right in front of me peering down at me.

"Can I help you?" I snapped annoyed.

"Something is different about you... I can't put my finger on it. But there is... What have you been up to Lunatris? You are always gone at odd hours of the night, and the morning you act as if you're..." Her jaw dropped, and her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Oh, Moon Goddess... YOU'RE IN LOVE!" She screamed and grabbed me by the shoulders, shook me and started hounding me with questions. I was so stunned that I couldn't even give her a response to any of her questions. How in the name that is dark did she come to that conclusion?

Because you made it plain for everyone to see, it would not surprise me if that boy Rain knew before she did. Kida said smirking in my head. I growled at her.

What does Rain have to do with any of this? I snapped at her and waited for a reply, but none came. All the while Nix was going on and on about something, so I refocused back on her.

"Then we will have the wedding, oh my moon goddess you will be the envy of the whole planet. But of course, Father must meet him first-" Marriage? Meeting father?

I jumped up and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"No, Nix! No one must know about this do you understand me?" I said shaking her. She looked at me in surprise and then she looked down and back at me nervously.

"You didn't..." She nodded.

"I informed someone to tell them while you were lost in thought, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you wanted to me not to tell father yet. But this is big news Luna, you have found your mate-"

"What if it wasn't my mate?" I scolded her.

She gives me a look that tells me that even I shouldn't believe me.

"You're lying; it's written all over your face." I let go of her as my brain tried desperately to figure a way out of this. I found none. My only hope was to avoid him.

"Lunatris what is this I heard about you being in love," My father bellowed. I gulped and almost ran, but if I did, I knew that he would not stop until he has an answer.

"Father, it seems that you are mistaken, no one had captured my heart." I lied. It took all I had not to choke on the lie. For Flame, had stolen my heart more than once.

"Are you sure, for I was hoping was certain captain and childhood friend." My father said with a small smile at the corners of his mouth.

"You know how Nix is Father. Always jumping to conclusions..."

"Are you sure, Lunatris? I was hoping you'd finally except Rain as your mate, or at least consider it." I chocked and looked at him shocked.

"I-I," I stammered. I didn't know what to say. What could I say, my father just basically told me that he was hoping that I would make Rain my mate seeing as I wasn't going to find him. Or so my father thought.

"It is ok Lunatris, if you are in love with Rain there is no shame-"

"I'm not in love with Rain. I'm just happy. There is nothing wrong with that." I said as I made a quick exit. I so badly wanted to tell them about Flame but knew that would only spell disaster for the both of us now. The tension between our races was high right now, and anything could tip that scale.