“What happens if Ellie cannot accept this Fey bond?” Lauriana asked with obvious agitation. “We’ve raised her in the Church of Light, and she believes as we do that all souls belong to the Bright Lord. Ellie pledged her soul to him at her first Concordia ten years ago.”
“Madame Baristani, the Fey worship the same gods as Celierians, including the Lord of Light,” Marissya reassured her. “Shei’tanitsadoes not violate the bond between believers and the gods. Indeed, truemates exist onlybecausethe gods decreed they should.”
But Lauriana wouldn’t be soothed. She cast a frightened glance at her husband. “I don’t like the sound of this at all. Sol, you know why I insisted she complete her Concordia. And haven’t I been right?” Lauriana turned back to Ellysetta, and to Rain’s surprise, there were tears in the older woman’s eyes. “I know you hated me for pressing Den’s suit, Ellie, but at least with him, I knew your soul would be safe from the perils of magic.”
“Mama!” Ellysetta pulled away from Rain and crossed the room to kneel at her mother’s feet. “I could never hate you.” She grasped her mother’s hands and pressed them to her face. “You’re my mother, and I love you. Even with Den, I knew you had only my best interests at heart. But you heard Lady Marissya: the Fey aren’t evil. They walk the Bright Path, just as you’ve raised me to do.” Ellysetta’s voice dropped lower. “I promise you, I will not forget the vows of my Concordia. And I do not believe the Bright Lord would abandon a soul in his service. So, please, be happy for me. I want this. It’s what I’ve always dreamed of.”
A nearly imperceptible wave of power whispered in the room.
Rain exchanged a look with theshei’dalinand her mate.«Marissya. Dax.»
«We feel it too, Rain.»
All three of them turned their attention to Ellysetta. Surprising, amazing Ellysetta was weaving Spirit. The weaves were delicate, incredibly subtle, invisible even to Fey eyes but faintly perceptible to their heightened senses. Had they not been in such a small, confined room, sitting close to her, with the weaves around the Baristani house buffering them from the random surges of power that came naturally from all living creatures, Rain doubted they would even have sensed her magic at all.
Ellysetta was weaving ashei’dalin’scalming power with an untutored expertise so natural, and yet so powerfully and flawlessly done that even Marissya could not hide her astonishment. Compared to Ellysetta’s weave, the delicate probing touch that Marissya had tried to use on Ellysetta’s mind was as subtle as a hammer strike. It was obvious that Lauriana had no idea she was being influenced. It was equally as obvious that Ellysetta had no idea she was doing anything more than offering comfort, and that made her skill all the more incredible.
“Ah, kit, perhaps you’re right and I’m being a silly old woman, seeing demons in every shadow.” Lauriana wiped her eyes and nose with a handkerchief. “Your faith in the Most High makes shame of my doubts. You’ve always been a bright soul, even at the worst of times.” More tears spurted when she embraced Ellysetta again, and she gave a self-conscious bark of laughter. “Well, now I know I’d best bring several handkerchiefs to the wedding.”
Ellysetta laughed, too, as did Sol, and the emotional moment passed. The spidery weave of Spirit dissolved, leaving no trace of its existence.
“Rest assured, Master and Madam Baristani,” Marissya continued, “if for any reason Ellysetta does not accept the matebond, she will have the choice of remaining in the Fading Lands or returning to Celieria. Should she elect to return, the Fey will dower her sufficiently so that she may remarry or live independently for the rest of her life.”
Sol’s brows rose at that unusual generosity. “That is very kind.”
Theshei’dalininclined her head. “The Feyreisa will be expected to attend at least some of the upcoming court functions. Am I correct in assuming she’s had no training in the noble graces?”
“There was no need. We’re simple folk.”
“I will arrange for her to meet with instructors who will teach her what she will be expected to know, both about the Celierian graces and those of the Fey. Once we return to the Fading Lands, the Fey will see to any further education she requires to fulfill her duties as our queen. The rest of the marriage contract is standard. If you wish, I can leave it with you so you may have your solicitor review it.”
“That’s not necessary. I’ll look at it now.” Sol took the contract and began to read. When he was satisfied there were no nasty surprises, he went to the writing desk in a corner of the room and signed both copies of the contract. Rain signed them also and affixed his seal, a tairen rampant, in a blob of purple wax. Behind them, Lauriana, Ellie, and Marissya began to discuss wedding preparations.
Rain settled back in his chair and let the conversation flow over him. To his credit, he managed to sit through three-quarters of a bell of wedding plans before the first yawn hit him. He managed, admirably he thought, to stifle it, but Sol looked at him and grinned.
“Ellie girl, why don’t you take your betrothed for a walk in the park? He looks like he could use some fresh air.”
Rain was far too pleased with the idea of escaping the detailed discussion of flowers and color schemes to take offense at Sol’s teasing.
The twins, who had been listening at the doorway, jumped into plain view. “Can we come to the park, too?” they asked in eager unison.
“Girls,” Lauriana rapped in a stern voice.
“Nei. It is all right. They may come.” Rain nodded at the younggirls and hoped their presence would put Ellysetta at ease. His consideration earned him the silent laughter of the Fey warriors, who were amused their king would stoop to bringing infants along on his courtship. He deserved the teasing, of course. Courtship among the Fey was as much a masculine rite of passage as the Soul Quest and the Dance of Knives. Fey men vied openly with one another to prove their greater strength, bravery, and skill in all such rites. But Rain was the first Tairen Soul ever to claim ashei’tani, and he would shamelessly employ whatever methods he could to win her.
Ellie’s quintet accompanied them, along with thirty other Fey who, fortunately, were little more than dark shadows that she glimpsed now and again as she, Rain, and the twins walked through the streets to the riverfront park a scant mile upstream from the National Museum of Art.
As could only be expected, they garnered a following of curious Celierians, all of whom were suddenly inspired to take in the view of the Velpin River at sunset.
Though the Fey warriors deterred the onlookers from venturing too near, Ellie was painfully aware of the many eyes focused on her party as they made their way to the park. The stares made her realize just whose company she was keeping, and how inadequate and inexperienced she must seem to him.
“What are you thinking?” Rain asked after the silence between them had dragged on for several chimes.
“I was just thinking that I must seem very young to you,” she admitted.
“Aiyah. Indeed you do.”
“I’m sorry.” She clasped her work-roughened hands before her and stared hard at her ragged fingernails. “I’m sure you would have preferred someone older, more experienced.”
