The temple was beautifully elaborate. Pews carved from the interior of massive tree trunks were splayed out in a circle around a large elder tree, which was growing in the middle of the room. The trunk of the elder tree had been shaped with magic, to form the image of two Elvish women entwining their bodies within the bark— the Elvish goddesses, Idril and Caralyn. Beside the Elder tree was a wooden altar large enough for a person to lay, with ivy that wound up the base, and a stone basin that held shimmering silver water. A long aisle started at the double doors and led up to the center of the room, through the middle of the pews. The windows were stained glass, depicting the story of how Idril had found Caralyn and bestowed upon her the powers of a deity. Emerald banners hung from the stone walls beside the windows, displaying the sigil of the Elvish house of Majestica— a tree surrounded by seven keys. The ceiling had a huge skylight, and yellow sun poured in from above to ignite the entire space.Everything was bathed in lovely tones of red chestnut, gold, and green. The entire room smelled of incense and mint.
“Wow. It’s pretty in here,” Kallie said as she looked around. Oberi soared over the pews, describing what she saw to Charlie.
“It would be a beautiful place to hold a wedding,” I said, looking around. “So much sun.”
Opal was here as my lady, as well as my guard, Eldin. They curtsied to me, and Abigail introduced me to avery tallElvish mystic standing before the elder tree, who wore robes that seemed to be spun from the wings of moths, if such a thing were possible. The robes were that beautiful, and were in metallic colors. From my studies, I’d learned that initiates wore copper, regular mystics wore silver, and the highest roles in the temple wore gold. Other Elvish mystics were gathered around her, but they had their hoods up to conceal their faces. The tall Elf was wearing a gold diadem with a white pearl dangling from the center, so I figured she had to be in charge.
Abigail gestured to the tall Elf before us. “Princess, this is Valindra Essiel. She is the Great Mystic of our temple, and has been for over five-hundred years.”
She didn’t look a day over twenty-five. Valindra inclined her head to me and said, “Welcome, princess. Let us proceed with the initiation.”
“You’ll do fine,” Charlie whispered to me, and I swallowed. I wasn’t so sure about that. I was eager to step into this role, but now that my time was here, I was afraid. What if I wasn’t able to do this, and I let the Elves down? So much was riding on me to be a good princess, and if I failed, the entire nation would come crumbling down. It was almost more pressure than I could handle. What if the goddesses didn’t accept me, because I wasn’t an Elf? I couldn’t serve Charlie’s people properly if the Elvish goddesses didn’t want anything to do with me.
I had a hard time making normal people accept me, and now I had to impresstwodeities, neither of which I shared a bloodline with. I didn’t think this was going to go well.
The mystics took me to the back of the temple. Opal helped me into a white dress so I could bathe in a circular pool beneath a thin waterfall. The Elvish mystics threw diamond dust into the pool as I bathed, and Opal washed my hair in rosemary perfume. They put a golden robe upon my shoulders that shimmered whenever I moved, and dotted my face with makeup they’d made from powdered flowers. Oberi sat on a perch over the pool and hummed a low tune as the mystics intricately braided my hair beside the water.
When the mystics wandered away to prepare the needed elements for the ceremony, Opal leaned in to whisper, “Don’t worry. The goddesses will accept you.”
“What if the goddesses think I’m a bitch?” I whispered back.
“Youarea bitch. That’s probably what they like,” Opal joked.
After I was finally ready, it was time for me to be presented to the public. When we came back to the worship hall of the temple, the patrons of the palace had gathered in the pews for the ceremony. I peeked out from behind the door to the back and almost choked. Shit, the room was already full of hundreds of people. Everyone was going to see it if I made a mistake.
My grandparents were sitting close to the door I was peeking behind. “Ooh, I’ve always wondered how Elvish religious ceremonies would be performed,” Grandpa Elliot whispered in excitement to my grandmother. “Now we get to observe one in person!”
“Such a joy,” Grandmother Eleanor said dryly. She saw me and gave a firm nod.
I knew what that meant.You can show them— don’t screw it up.My grandmother didn’t care if I was queen of the elephants as long as it put me in a position of power.
Opal asked if I was ready, then wheeled me out. Whispers went up around the room as people saw me. Everyone looked excited and happy, though I wasn’t sure if they should be. There hadn’t been a female Elvish monarch in such a long time, but I couldn’t say for certain I was the one they’d been waiting for.
I spotted a couple of friends gathered in the middle of the hall. Opal’s daughter sat in Ez’s lap, and he held her up so she could wave at us as I rolled by.
“I can’t believe you guys dragged me out of bed so I could go to church. Last place I wanna be,” Chancey complained. He actually lookednervousas he glanced around— like he thought an Elvish mystic was going to jump out from behind a pew and start beating him over the head with a holy book.
“This isn’t church, dumbass,” Alistair told him.
Ivy wiggled their manicured fingers at me, and I managed to grimace back.
My parents sat in one of the front rows. Mama gave me an encouraging smile, though I still must’ve looked worried, because my father reached out as I passed.
“You can do this, peanut,” Daddy hushed, giving me a little pat on the back.
I was the daughter of a chieftain, and I had helped my dad with all kinds of ceremonies back in Kinpago. After all, as the firstborn of a chief, I could summon my ancestors, so I was used to being put on the spot.
But this was so different from Elementai lore. After all, who was I to initiate myself into this? I was trying to learn an entirely new religion on top of the one I’d been raised in. This was my specialty, and I was good at understanding other cultures as an anthropologist, but learning something and actually putting it into practice were two very different things.
My eyes scanned the room for anyone else. Marcus wasn’t here, and my heart dropped. I knew he was taking time tohimself right now, but this was important. I really wished he’d shown up to give some support. I guess he really had been serious about needing space.
Charlie was in the pew closest to the elder tree, sitting beside his grandfather. Elvish men didn’t typically participate in spiritual ceremonies, as the Elves considered temple rites a consecrated act, where only women were sanctified enough to communicate with the goddesses.
I wanted his ass to be up here. If I had to do it, he should, too.
Cameron was here with his wife, though I’d noticed they’d chosen a pew opposite Charlie’s. Hopefully they could keep the family drama to a minimum. This was a sacred place, and it didn’t need to be ruined by arguments.
Opal pushed me to the center of the circle, in front of the elder tree, before she went to sit down. Oberi nestled in the branches of the elder tree above my head. Before the ceremony began, I took one last look around the sanctuary.
