“I’ll summon you tonight. It’s quiet after the festivities. We can go overmysst,” she whispered hastily.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Vi kept her eyes on his face as it disappeared. She felt the strands of light release from her fingers, knots of tension in her magic relaxing. He was gone, as though he’d never been there at all. And it was that impermanence that put an ache in her chest.
“Come in,” Vi called, finishing up her braids as she emerged back into her bedroom.She was finding it easier and easier to switch back and forth from talking with Taavin to engaging with the rest of the world. It was a necessary skill to ensure he remained her secret.
“You look beautiful,” Jax said from the doorway.
“Good thing my face healed, right?” Vi remarked, pausing to rub the bridge of her nose lightly. She wondered if it had set correctly.
Jax laughed, then had the decency to look guilty for it. “I meant your clothing, not your face.”
“I told you I wasn’t insane for wanting to go a little untraditional.”
“By all standards… it’s certainly something no one would dare call traditional,” he appraised. “But it’s a very nice merger of North and South.” The statement was punctuated with a yawn.
“Too early for you?” Vi grinned. “It’s not much earlier than we used to get up for our magic lessons.”
“Yes, well, we haven’t had those in some time thanks to Sehra stealing you from me for lessons.” Jax glanced at the window. “Speaking of Sehra, I believe I saw her headed down.”
“Is it that late already?” Vi jumped from her seat.
“Not late, perfectly on time.”
They walked down together through the tree fortress, across the same pathways and passages Vi had traversed more than a week ago to get to the Mother Tree. The barrier she had to scale was completely gone. In its place were pathways of fresh grass lined by woven roots, and patches of flowers nursed to bloom by the tender hands of a Groundbreaker. As far as Vi could tell, there was no sign or suspicion of her earlier trespass.
Jayme was waiting for them on the outer edge.
“Good morning, princess.” She gave a small bow of her head. Even in her nicest dress clothes, attending a sacred event, her sword was still strapped to her hip.
“Good morning.” Vi ignored decorum and pulled her in for a close hug. “And happy solstice.” She felt the woman relax in her arms.
“Happy solstice to you as well.” Jayme gave her a pat on the back.
“This is your first time, right?” Vi linked arms with her friend, walking toward the tree.
“Yes, I usually stay in the capital or go home over winters.”
“How is your father doing?” Vi asked delicately. The opportunity to broach the topic of Jayme’s family wasn’t frequently afforded; speaking about them upset Jayme terribly, and while Vi had no desire to trouble her, she wanted to make plain that she cared. “Have you heard word since arriving?”
“Mother says he’s well.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Over the years, it had come out that Jayme’s father was ailing… some constant, chronic problem. But Vi didn’t know any further details. The only solace Vi took was that he had grown sick long before the White Death made landfall. So there was no suspicion of the deadly plague being the cause of his illness.
Her father’s sickness… Friends made on the road… Her ambition to become a guard… It suddenly struck Vi just how little she actually knew about her friend. There was the same sickening feeling that accompanied the realization about Andru’s knowledge of Romulin.
“Happy solstice!” Ellene ran over from her mother’s side, throwing her arms around them both and interrupting Vi’s thoughts before they could run away from her. They echoed the sentiment back. “I thought you were going to be so late you’d miss it.”
“The sky is barely turning colors.”
“Yes well, we need to—”
“Ellene, your place,” Sehra called over to her daughter.
With that, the rest of the room fell into their places as well.
Sehra and her wife, Za, stood before the statue of Dia and the Mother, Ellene sandwiched between them. There was a ring of men and women around them, and Vi stood with them. She recognized some of the others in her circle like dignitaries, nobles, and even a Crone of the Sun. Vi tried to peer under the woman’s over-sized cowl, but could only see the lower half of her face, as was customary. It was rare to see crones in the North… perhaps she’d come with the same caravan as the old woman in the market.
