Mariah bit her tongue to keep from groaning. Again.
“Get dressed,” he called. “Did you think we’d skip training just because it’s a holiday? We have a war to win, princess.”
Bright colorsand gauzy fabrics glowed in the fading evening light.
Twinkling lights were strung around stone houses and between towering pine trees. Magically lit torches were staked along the wide well-trodden path, illuminating the way as the residents of Eyarfell wound their way down the bustling streets to the lake for the Solstice celebration.
Mariah drew in a deep breath, enjoying the brush of the summer breeze across her face. She adjusted the draping ruby fabric of her dress across her shoulders with one hand, squeezing her other around Andrian’s fingers.
A few of the residents walking beside them gave her shy, respectful nods. Their attitudes were improving toward Andrian, but she still couldn’t help but notice the wide berth many of them gave.
“Have you seen Matheo today?”
Andrian shook his head with a low laugh. “No.” He nodded down the path to where the trees were parting. “But I have a feeling I know where he is.”
They broke through the tree line, and Mariah’s breath caught in her chest.
It was difficult to see when they were up on the cliffs, but a great, sandy beach spread beside the sparkling, crystalline lake. A bonfire roared near the waters, soaring, lighthearted music filling the air. Trees ringed the open space, wreathed in shadow as the forest reached for the water. The twin moons sat full and brilliant in the sky, their silver and gold light shimmering around them.
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
Signe waltzed from the forest, Matheo trailing after her with a wide, boyish grin.
Andrian leaned into Mariah. “Found him,” he whispered. She smirked, meeting Signe in a warm embrace.
“It is. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I know you Onitans have your reasons for all the pomp and circumstance,” Signe said, releasing Mariah. “But I’ve always thought you were missing out on the true magic of the Solstice. I pray my people show it to you tonight.”
Mariah soaked up the impossible beauty of the beach. “How is this place possible? The tree line goes to the water in all places around the lake…except for right here.”
Signe grinned. “We aren’t sure, exactly,” she said, “but we think it’s the fullness of the moons. Their power pulls the water back, giving us a place to gather and celebrate the night.” She nodded toward the edge of the forest. Callamus watched his people filter down from the mountains with an expression of contentment. “Perhaps he can tell you more. I suspect his magic helps in more ways than we know.”
Mariah shook her head. “Some things I’d rather not know the answer to and simply enjoy for what they are.”
“Then you are learning, Your Majesty.” Signe bowed her head, the silver gauze of her dress flowing around her. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” she said, throwing a wink over her shoulder at Matheo. “I promised to show your Armature how Leuxrith celebrates the Solstice.”
“Don’t break him, please. I still need him after tonight.”
Signe grinned wickedly, but there was something soft and sad in her violet eyes. Something that chilled Mariah’s humor, but not enough to leaden her heart.
“Happy Solstice, Mariah.”
“Happy Solstice, Signe.”
The priestess bounded away, Matheo following her like an obsessed puppy. Something gold glinted over the lake, just before Cielle settled on a nearby branch. Mariah again wove her fingers through Andrian’s, pulling him onto the beach and closer to the lake.
“How do you think things are going in Kreah? Do you think everyone is okay?” The question had been nagging her for a while, but she hadn’t had the courage to voice it. Something about this night—the light, the dark, the warmth, the magic—helped the words slip onto her tongue.
Andrian pushed his free hand through his hair. “I don’t know,” he said, honesty bare in his voice. “You’ve sent Cielle out a few times, yet each time she comes back empty-handed. I trust that Drystan would alert you if something was wrong.”
“I have to trust that, too.” Mariah blew out a sigh. “But the silence worries me.”
“It’s supposed to worry you. You’re the queen.” Andrian tugged her close, free hand slipping around the nape of her neck and tangling in her hair. “I’ll worry with you. But not tonight. Tonight, you deserve a moment to put it all out of your head.”
“It’s not just them, Andrian,” she whispered, holding his brilliant, perfect blue stare. “What about Onita? What about everyone still there, caught in the path of Kol’s wrath? And what about what this night is meant to do; will Onita be okay without an influx ofallume?”
A fouler question lurked in the corner of her mind. A memory of the darkness she’d found in that abandoned building in Verith. Of the same darkness that had plagued the lights and power in Onita, one that she’d cast out from the reserves ofallumethat were channeled all throughout the kingdom.
