Chapter Forty-Four
Ellowyn
Lighthearted conversation and jubilant laughter floated on the slight breeze as it wrapped its way around my body before twirling my hair, slightly lifting my spirits and my curls. I’d worn a small grin all afternoon, but it widened at the sounds of true relaxation that filtered through the open window.
“Nearly done,” Dresda muttered, mouth full of pins as she finished tacking my freshly curled hair to my head. I hummed and closed my eyes, letting the warm sun wash across my face as it faded from late afternoon to early evening. Soon, the courtyards below would be awash in revelry, small Mage Orbs strung together to create a sort of ethereal chain hanging above the party.
My heart thumped steadily as I gently played with the soft satin that hung off my shoulders and clung to my body. The fabric was cool to the touch, so silky and smooth as it ran through my fingers like water.
How different today is compared to my last wedding . . .
Dresda’s hands moved deftly through my hair, the sensations nearly lulling me to sleep.
“Are you that uninterested in your own wedding that you’d fall asleep minutes before the ceremony?” Dresda teased, her voice lighter than I’d heard in months. She’d followed Torin from the southern camp into Lishahl over a year previous and had encountered more than her share of hardships since.
It seems this wedding will be good for more than just us.
I laughed, a carefree thing.
Dresda’s strong fingers squeezed my shoulders. “It is good to hear you happy,” she whispered in my ear, patting my cheek lightly before stepping away.
“You should open your eyes now, godling. Take a look. Tell me what you think.”
I opened my eyes lazily, my soft grin growing ever wider at the image reflected in the mirror propped against the small wooden desk that sat in the corner of my room.
Turning my head this way and that, I watched as the gold in my hair caught the sun’s last rays, shining like some precious jewel. Hesitantly, my fingers trailed up my neck to gently caress the curls that were pulled back into minuscule braids before being wound and pinned into submission. The top of my hair resembled some sort of braided crown, while the rest of my curls were free to fall down to my lower back.
Somehow, Dresda was able to capture everything I was in Hestin with everything I’d become. It was soft and vicious, regal yet understated.
It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
My eyes misted slightly as my hands shakily came together in my lap once more.
“Thank you,” I whispered, placing my hand over Dresda’s light brown one resting on my shoulder.
“You do not need to thank me, godling. What you have done for all of us—” she shook her head, black bun bobbing with the movement—“We are forever in your debt.”
“I’m only doing what every one of you has—sacrificed for Elyria, for?—”
Dresda shook her head sharply, tears welling in her caramel orbs.
“You mistake me, godling.”
“Call me Ellowyn, please,” I implored her, squeezing her hand as my cheeks reddened at her continual use of the honorific. I hated it, even if it was accurate to my powers and position. It made me feel slimy and unworthy in a way—just because I was blessed with powers didn’t mean I was any better than the countless men and women who stood by our side in defiance of the gods.
Dresda’s shaky lips flattened into a small smile before she continued on a deep exhale.
“You saved my husband and son that day.”
I frowned. “Which day?”
“The day you sacrificed yourself. The Battle of Vespera? My husband, Guilherme, and my son were caught in the thick of the fighting when the gods broke through the barrier. They said they saw you standing against an army—like a single light in a sea of black. You raised your hands, and a wall of magic sprangforth. The two Mages my boys were fighting were disintegrated immediately. Guilherme’s crystal had just died, and Adan’s wasn’t far behind.”
I fidgeted in my seat, uncomfortable and unaccustomed to the praise falling from Dresda’s lips.
“I didn’t even know what I was doing,” I admitted quietly. “I was scared and saw Torin in danger and . . . my magic just reacted. I didn’t do anything special.”
Dresda hummed quietly, fingers trailing through my curls once more as she gathered her thoughts.
