People began to gather around the edge of the lake, each wearing a different colored robe—seas of brown, blue, green, and even a couple silver. They each carried their own candle.
Noctis stood and held out his hand. For a moment, something in me held back. Here he was, standing before me, offering the type of compassion and adoration I’d only dreamed of. I had never been something to be admired, never deserving of charity or beautiful things. And yet, the urge to waltz into the moon’s glow held tight. Noctis’s eyes sparkled in the starlight, perfect and inviting. I took a step forward, my fingers slipping into his as a low hum filled the air. Voices rose around us, soft and steady, weaving into a quiet hymn that settled over my nerves like a gentle tide.
Silver streaks rushed to the surface as the waves crashed. Then, they fell and did not rise again. The lake froze entirely, and the entire night sky reflected into its surface. Above and below, the same sky stretched on, stars burning in the heavens and echoing in the still water, as though the world had been folded in two.
The song got louder, and people lowered onto their knees in the shallow depths. Their long robes dragged through the water, heavy fabric drinking it in until it clung to them in dark, sodden folds.
Noctis and I followed. I looked to him, awaiting the explanation for what to expect.
“Every year, when the moon reaches its peak, the lake stills and becomes a mirror of the sky. The night when heaven touches earth. We take these,” he explained, handing me a lit candle, “and float them across the lake. It’s our way of speaking to the stars. Of asking the heavens to listen to our prayers.”
The people began to wade in the shallow water. They released their candles to float in the still lake and then stomped into dances, water splashing them until soaked. They grabbed each other and twirled in arms, laughter flitting through the night sky.
I had never seen anything like it. There I was, standing barefoot in the shallow water surrounded with life, color, and laughter—everything I had been deprived of my entire life.
“You don’t have to watch anymore. You get tobelongto it. You don’t have to be brave tonight… just alive.” He grabbed my hand and lowered me down to release my candle into the water. It flickered, and I gasped. Light released from around the floating wax, like tendrils of power exploding from the contact of my prayer.
The water rippled, just barely, and I swore it showed Evelyn’s face. Alive. Eyes open and smiling back at me. They twitched slightly, eyebrows drawn down for a split second, and then my sister’s face disappeared.
Tears rippled the water as they fell from my eyes, but I wasn’t angry or sad. Hope flooded me that the heavens listened to my prayers. For Evelyn.
“We wear the robes of the person’s eye color we pray for. A practiced ritual through centuries as an eye-opening experience since most pray for healing and awakening of family and friends.”
How did he know Evelyn’s eye color?I thought, but it didn’t matter.
“I checked before I planned this trip,” he answered without me even needing to ask the question out loud.
“Dance with me,” I whispered. I didn’t know how to dance, but I wanted to celebrate with the people that spun each other around us. The ones that knew grief, famine, and pain, yet still chose to laugh.
Noctis pulled me to his body without question, one arm wrapped around my waist and the other holding my hand to our faces, and we swayed in the water to the humming songs until the stars settled high above us. We twirled as even the moon herself danced across the night sky, the tides rising and falling with her pull. We laughed, splashing down into the easy waves asher light waned, the first streaks of golden dawn kissingthe horizon.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
The next day found me waking from the deepest, untouched sleep, a luxury I’d gone without for longer than I’d care to admit. I sighed and stretched in the hammock, the scratchy blanket uncomfortably rubbing against my skin. Noctis’s pallet lay empty on the floor within our room, so I used the quiet opportunity to get ready for the day.
After brushing through my hair, I braided it into three pleats and pulled them through the ponytail at the back of my head. I scrubbed my morning breath with a fingercloth and mint leaf, a practice that used to feel odd but became more familiar the more memories returned. My fingers played with the final button on my tunic, snapping it shut just as a knock rapped at the door.
“Caelyn?” Calvin called through the other side. “You know… we need some urgency in awakening the titan… if that’s okay with you and all.” He sounded nervous, his words tripping on each other.
I threw the door open.
“Are we already at Yundantan Island?”
“For hours. It’s past noon. Also, could you please get your pet to stop terrorizing me? What have I done to anger it?”
I pushed past him and climbed up the ladder to the influx of light on the main deck.
“You should askhim,” I said through a smile behind me. Raven swooped down and clung to my shoulder. His glare locked onto Calvin, sharp and unyielding, like a soldier bound to my protection.
“What did you and Noctis do last night that made you so cheery?” he quipped back, and I laughed, refusing to offer him a response.
We walked to the railing overlooking the overgrown island. There were no signs of inhabitants from what I could make out as Jun and Noctis hammered stakes into the ground to tie off the ship. A large distance of water separated us from the shore, but with nowhere else to safely bank, the males worked to make it possible.
“No answer? I’ll take that as something…” he thought for a second, staring off at the sky with a finger to his lips, “fun.” A wicked smirk plastered his face.
I rolled my eyes. “I prayed to the gods.”
“Like the gods that banished your lovestruck Blood Tie that’s been in a similarly chippy mood this morning?”
