“They are indeed, Master Baristani, and they bloom only in the footsteps of a Fey woman bearing young.”
Sol’s eyes went wide. “You mean Ellysetta... my Ellie-girl is—”
“Nei.Not Ellysetta,” Kiel said. “She and Rain are not yet fully united, and truemates do not breed outside the bond. These flowers bloom for Marissya and Dax.”
Kieran had a silly, stunned grin on his face. “I’m going to be a brother. A brother, Kiel. Mymelais with child.” Tears filled his eyes.
Kiel smiled. “Mioralas,my friend. I couldn’t be happier for you.” He clapped his hand on Kieran’s back. “You should be the one to tell them. Weave the news now, quickly, before our brothers shout it all the way to Dharsa.”
“Aiyah... aiyah,I will... right now.” He could hardly concentrate. He closed his eyes and pressed the bouquet of Amarynth tohis face, careful not to bruise the precious blooms. Weeping, laughing, soaring with joy, he spun the weave.«Mela... gepa... it’s Kieran.... »
The Fading Lands ~ Plains of Corunn
Rain, Ellysetta, and the others were halfway to Dharsa when Kieran’s weave reached them. They’d just stopped to eat and stretch their legs, which was good, because Dax’s legs folded beneath him when he heard his son’s words.
Kieran expanded his initial private weave to include them all as he heaped love and blessings upon his stunned parents. Dax was now sitting on the ground, holding his truemate in his arms. The fierce Fey lord wore a look of such staggering joy and devotion, it made Ellysetta’s throat go tight.
Amarynth bloomed in Teleon. Marissya was with child.
Fertility had returned to the Fey.
Rain dropped to his knees beside theshei’dalinand her mate. “Miora felah,Marissya.Miora felah,Dax. Brightest blessings of the gods upon you.”
Laughing and crying at the same time, Marissya enfolded Rain in her arms. “Joy and blessings to us all,kem’maresk, kem’Feyreisen. And joy to the Feyreisa most of all.”
“Me?” Ellysetta blinked in surprise. “But I haven’t done anything.”
Theshei’dalinturned a radiant, tear-stained face in Ellysetta’s direction. “Your weave,” she explained. She gave a choked laugh and shook her head. “That awful, inescapable seven-bell weave you spun in Celieria.” Her joyous laughter pealed out, stealing any possible sting from her words. “Ellysetta... little sister... sweet gift from the gods. You wove much more than Spirit that night—and may the gods shower ten lifetimes of blessings on you for it.”
«Steli! Fahreeta, Torasul!»Rain sang the news to his pride-kin, who were chasing tavalree on the plains just to see them run.«Come celebrate and wish us joy. Marissya of the Fey bears young!»
The three tairen joined them swiftly, and Steli bent her head to sniff both Marissya and Dax, then sang a few notes of tairen song. A soft, unevenly pitched and off beat echo rang in Ellysetta’s ears. The white tairen sat back with a satisfied look on her face.
«So that is the scent I smelled,»she declared. She spoke not in tairen song but in plain Feyan, woven on Spirit so Marissya and Dax would be sure to understand.«The Fey-kin bears one of the pride.»
Marissya and Dax both gaped. “I bearwhat?” Marissya gasped. She splayed one hand across her flat belly; the other clutched Dax like a vise.
“A Tairen Soul?” Rain threw back his head and laughed. He grabbed Ellysetta up and swung her around in circles. “Shei’tani. Ah,shei’tani, you wondrous woman. This is definitely not how I expected the gods to spin this weave, but I welcome it all the same. A child of the Fey—a Tairen Soul—thanks to you.” He showered her face with kisses.
Dax started laughing. “You know what this means, of course, once word reaches Dharsa? Our women will insist the Feyreisa be fed a steady diet of keflee and pinalle until all the Fading Lands bloom white once more!”
Ellysetta’s eyes went wide.
“Oh, no!” Marissya gave a laughing groan. “Gods save us all.”
Chapter Thirteen
No moon, sun, or star ever dazzled the night
Like the radiant grace of Ellysetta the Bright.
From “The Star of Chakai,” a warriors’ song of Ellysetta the Bright
The Fading Lands ~ Dharsa
The remainder of the journey to Dharsa passed rapidly. Spirit weaves carrying exuberant greetings and well wishes continued to pour across the common path. By midday, the wide, rolling grasslands of the Plains of Corunn gave way to graceful swells of densely forested earth that rose and fell like waves on the ocean, all building towards the Shining City.
Constructed entirely of white stone, its many towers capped by gleaming gold spires and domes, Dharsa rose like a jeweled diadem from the rich greenery of the forested hills. The city was built upon a ring of five outer hills, all circling a larger central peak topped by an immense, shining palace. Graceful buildings of incredible beauty and delicacy soared amid lush stands of greenery, terraced gardens, and trees laden with scented blossoms and plump, shining fruit. Water cascaded from breathtaking fountains and artfully arranged cliffs, feeding streams that wound down the hillsides before merging into the wide, shining ribbon of the River Faer. Birds of every shape and color flittedand swooped from tree to tree, filling the sky with a rainbow of dancing colors and song.
