“Ha! Iknewyou were bonded!” Seniia sounds triumphant. “Which means that you can sha—”
Gray lets out a low growl, cutting her off.
She holds her hands up, palms facing the wolf. “Sensitive topic. I get it.”
“What’s an... anam’caeur?” I do my best pronunciation of the word.
“We Reans have a stronger bond with those we consider anamè than with our own family,” Seniia replies as Vilder gathers his swords to continue his practice. “‘Anam’ means soul, and ‘caeur’ means heart and an anamè is one you share a soul-heart connection with that transcends the physical realm. It is a deep, intuitive bond between two individuals, and the bond will make you a part of a Rean’s anam’caeur.”
“It sounds beautiful,” I say truthfully. The concept of creating my own family deeply resonates with me. Not for the first time since I met them, I wish I were born Rean. But anam’caeur . . . the word is similar to what Llyr had been talking about. The anam’vile.
“What about anam'vile?” I ask. “Llyr mentioned anam’vile—veilwalkers—once.”
Seniia’s expression shifts slightly. "That’s different. Anam’vile means soul-veil and are those who cross the veils of the soul. It’s a rare gift, not a bond like anamè.”
I nod.Did Llyr have that gift?
“How many anamè can you have?” I ask.
“No more than five.” She lifts one finger. “One string is reserved for a mate—and that’s by far the strongest one. If you’re ever in a position where you must choose, you willalwayschoose your mate. Always. No exception. Some say the mating bond even transcends death. That once mated, if you die and are reborn, the bond will still be intact if the one reborn consents to it. That’s how strong it is.” She holds my gaze until I nod, making sure I get the seriousness of this mating business, then raises a second finger. “The second string is for a wolf, like I suspected with Vilder and Gray.” She throws a glance in their direction. “Although he is adamant to keep it secret for some gods know reason. It is not unheard of for wolves to accompany a Rean—we are related, after all—but wolves wanting to bond, to share their gifts... That is a rare thing indeed. There are only two alive that I’m aware of, one of them being the ashina...” She looks thoughtful for a moment, then continues. “If you are moonborn, like me and Vilder”—she lifts a third finger, the one with the beautiful blue crystal on a gold ring—“one string is reserved for the one elen you’ll be bonded to at the end of our initial year of training. The bond between two elen is second only to the mating bond, and in rare instances, it’s the same. If it’s not, a C’elen rarely mates.” She raises her last two fingers. “And that leaves two strings for the soul sisters or brothers you meet along the sacred journey of life.”
I frown. “Why do you say strings?”
“Because once you have agreed to be part of an anam’caeur, there is a string connecting your heart to theirs. Except for at the initiation, it’s mostly invisible, but once there, visible or not, it means you can track your anamè to the world’s end, if needed. There is nowhere they cannot find you.”
The mere idea of being bound not just to one but potentially five different beings, each with their own unique needs and personalities, causes an icy wave of fear to wash over me; my muscles tense, and my stomach clenches. Maybe this anamè thing isn’t for me after all. And althoughI can discern from the tone of her voice that Seniia herself yearns for those connections, these strings she’s talking about resemble the constraints of the brace a little too much for my liking. From the sound of it, there’s no room for escape, and the idea of never being able to hide from someone is nothing if not terrifying. Being human may not be so bad after all.
I push to my feet as the city of Caelen comes into view, fighting to keep my composure at the breathtaking sight.
Seniia comes to stand next to me. “It’s something else, isn’t it?”
I nod. “Something else” is a vast understatement for the view in front of me. I stare at the floating island suspended two thousand feet into the sky.
Five majestic waterfalls cascade down its side and into the sea, while silent cracks of lightning dance and zigzag between the floating island and an enormous glowing crater below. It’s a spectacle of raw power. Surrounding the crater, Caelen’s white-marble city stretches out as far as I can see in all directions. In the center, perched on the edge of the island suspended in the sky, surrounded by lush green vegetation, the Arc stands out with its striking architecture. The towering crystalline structure reaches toward the heavens, its beauty enhanced by the sunlight reflecting off its pristine white surface. It’s a sight to behold.
“Welcome to the Celestial City,” Vilder says next to me. “And the only floating island outside of the Western Plains.”
I turn toward him. He has removed his shirt, and his glistening sweat-covered chest makes it hard to look away.
“What are you made of?” I blurt, then do my best to ignore Seniia as she laughs out loud.Seriously, Laïna?I give myself a mental kick. I can’t believe I just said that. I’ve never had any problem ignoring men before. I’ve never even had the slightest interest. Not that it would have been a possibility while wearing the brace anyway, but still. On the other hand, human men have a long way to go compared to Reanmales...
I meet Vilder’s questioning gaze. “The city,” I blurt, gesturing wildly toward the pristine white city. “What is the city made of?” I cast a sidelong glance at Seniia, who looks like she’s about to burst, and narrow my eyes at her, daring her to make a comment.
“Caeur’kar,” he says. “Heartstone.” He wipes his forehead with his shirt, clearly oblivious to his own attractiveness. He leans his forearms on the railing, and I notice several more glyphs on his back.
“Ooh,” Seniia teases. “Showing off your powers, Vilder?”
He snaps his head in her direction, and I can’t help but enjoy that he’s the one a little flustered for once. “My shirt was soaked,” he says, exasperation written all over his face.
“Come on now, Vilder. You know you’ll be powerful, right? Once you’re fully initiated, there’s absolutely no way you won’t be amongst the most powerful C’elen on Rea.” She sizes him up. “How many glyphs are covering your body? I bet it’s over twenty.”
“Twenty-one,” he says, his voice clipped.
“Maybe they’ll bond us,” she says with a wink at him.
“What?” He stares at her with such horror in his eyes that I can’t help but laugh. “How many glyphs doyouhave?”
“Twenty-one.” A smile tugs at the corners of her mouth.
