He sketched the sign of the Lord of Light and intoned the final blessing of today’s devotions. “Arise, daughters,” he said when he was done, “and walk in Light.”
The three women rose, and the air of formal ceremony faded.
“Well, that’s that, then,” Selianne said, rubbing her hands together and flexing the fingers that had been clasped in prayer formost of the last bell. “Tomorrow is the Bride’s Blessing. Are you ready, Ell?”
Ellysetta nodded. “I think so.”
“Nervous?”
“A little.”
“It gets worse when it’s time for the actual wedding.”
They all laughed, including Lauriana. Ellie’s expression grew a little more solemn. “You seem to be feeling better now, Mama.”
“I am.” From the corner of her eye, Lauriana saw the archbishop turn to descend from the altar. She pressed a quick kiss on Ellie’s cheek, then Selianne’s. “You girls run on. I’m just going to have a word with Greatfather Tivrest.” She hurried towards him. “Your Grace? Can you spare a moment, please?”
“I wonder what that’s about,” Ellysetta murmured to Selianne.
Her friend shrugged. “Wedding stuff, most likely. I’d better be going. Gerwyn’s out of town, so Mama’s watching the children.”
“Still? He’s been gone for days.”
Selianne nodded glumly. “I know. I miss him terribly.”
Ellysetta felt the tingle of magic as the Fey tore down the barriers around the isle, then a familiar rush of emotion and power. What was Rain doing here? He’d always waited until she returned home before he collected her for their daily courtship bells. “Sel, Rain’s here.”
Poor Selianne looked as if someone had jabbed her with a knife. “I, uh... I think I’ll go out the back.” She turned and fled.
Ellysetta watched her disappear. She supposed it was a good thing, after all, that Selianne wasn’t going to attend the wedding. It wouldn’t look good to have her Honoria faint from fear of the groom during the ceremony. Of course, it would look even worse to have the groom murder the Honoria because he read her mind and discovered she was part Eld. At least, she and her best friend had been able to share this much—and thank the Bright Lord thatRain’s dire predictions about the Mages consuming Selianne’s soul had not come true.
She gave a quick, fanning wave, marshaled her thoughts, and hurried out of the cathedral into the bright sunlight where Rain stood waiting on the manicured lawn.
“Did you miss me so much?” she asked, a teasing smile on her face.
“Have I been such a poor suitor that you must ask?” His teeth flashed in a smoldering smile, and his voice lowered to a throaty purr. “I shall endeavor to do better.”
Oh, my. She knew that look, that tone. Her cheeks flushed scarlet.
He laughed softly and moved close so that his body almost touched hers, but didn’t; energy zinged between them all the same. Teasing her.
Her eyes narrowed. Two could play that game. He’d even taught her how. Mindful of being in a public place, she didn’t use her hands. She just closed her eyes, concentrated, and sent her essence rolling over in him in pulsating waves. His breath hissed on a sharp intake, and she smiled in satisfaction as she felt the rewarding stun to his senses.
When he caught his breath, he regarded her with glowing, half-closed eyes. “If I’m very, very good,shei’tani, will you do that again when we’re alone?”
She laughed. Without a care for their public location or the worshippers walking past them, she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly.
The teasing passion in his eyes softened to a different, more tender emotion, one that made her heart skip a beat. His hand trailed down the side of her face, brushing back spiraling tendrils of hair. “Come,shei’tani,dance the skies with your mate.”
He didn’t escort her outside beyond the city walls as he usually did. Instead, he Changed right there on the cathedral lawn, muchto the outrage of the priests who saw him. Ellysetta barely noticed. She settled into place on Rain’s back and together they sprang into the sky.
“You see what I mean, Your Grace?” Lauriana pointed out the window at the disappearing shadow of the Fey king’s tairen form. “He calls his magic right here, on holy ground, with no respect for our beliefs or our ways. He’s encouraging Ellie to try magic as well. I’m sure of it. She’s so in love with him, she’ll do anything to please him. I fear that in time she’d even turn her back on the Bright Path if he asked it of her.”
Greatfather Tivrest turned away from the window and paced across his private office, his brows drawn together in an expression that was half scowl, half thoughtful deliberation. “It is perhaps providential, Madame Baristani, that you came to me today to discuss your fears.” He glanced up, apparently having come to some sort of decision. “Will you follow me, please?”
He lit an oil lamp from his desk and led her to a small, windowless room adjoining his office. Long velvet drapes hung from floor to ceiling to ward off the chill of the ancient stone walls, and a small altar sat in one corner, its stone surface cluttered with dozens of red candles. The room still smelled of smoke and sago flowers as if someone had been burning those altar candles only recently.
Moving to the left wall, he parted the drapes to reveal a small metal door that he proceeded to unlock with a key he pulled from a pocket inside his robes. The door swung inward, opening to a narrow, curving stone stairway. A dim glow of light shone up from the darkness below.
