“I trust I do not need to prepare you for what comes after the Rite?”
I shake my head, “No, Lady.” I bow my chin to her, and she presses her forehead to my own. “You are ready. You were always made for this.”
The Lady calls the sisters back, and they follow her out of the cavern. I am alone in this dark, small space. I notice a shallow bowl has been placed near the nest of furs; there is a chalice of water beside it, and I understand its purpose. Meditate. Seek the guidance of Naedra. Prepare.
I ground myself, pressing my hands to the cold stone floor. I breathe my doubts into the earth below me. When I inhale, I draw peace into my body, letting it wash over me like rain.
I pour the water into the bowl and wait for the surface to still.
…
Chiron
Two days ago,I was enjoying a feast amongst friends. I had little care other than what novel thing I could chase tomorrow. When the messenger arrived in our halls, it brought my existence to a screeching halt. Now I’m halfway across the kingdom, tying my mount to a stone for the night, and preparing to sleep on the cold, damp ground. I’ve slept under the stars before, but the weight of them pressing down on me with words like destiny and trinity has never felt so heavy.
Destiny. I am the firstborn son of Connor Grey and Arianelle Daciana. Representative of Nerine.
Born to the Trinity. Tomorrow night, I’ll be bound to two strangers for the rest of my life. I toss in my bedroll, seeking a comfort that will not come. In my mind, I’ve known this has been my place for my entire life. I am the heir. I was always meant for the trinity of monarchs.
It’s very fine to have it wrapped up for you, a tidy foregone conclusion. But facing the reality of bonding to not one, but two people who could be as different as day and night to me? It has kept me awake more nights than I care to admit, even to myself.
I was summoned to my parents' antechamber two nights ago. My father was beaming with pride.
My mother, graceful as ever.
“The day has finally come, Chiron. Your bonded have been chosen. Nerine keep you, my son. You leave at first light for the Isle of Naedra.”
In one small moment, life as I have known it, has sunk into the cold lake of Nerine.
I do not go unprepared for my duty. My tutoring and shadowing of my parents has been the bulk of every day since childhood. But the Trinity? How could I prepare for that when my parents haven’t been a trinity since before my birth?
I close my eyes to the oppressive sky. The stones surrounding me block some of the harsh winds. My mount’s steady breaths nearby create a barrier to the world around me. I imagine that beyond this shore, my future bonded are also sleepless, restless in their beds. The hollow in my stomach grows unchecked at the thought of them. The stability of everything relies on me—no. Us. I breathe in through my mouth, out my nose.
Get it together. Nerine, if you’re listening…make me ready.
…
Wren
Any other night,I might find it amusing to realize that I live on an island dedicated to the spirit of the Sky, and there isn’t a high point that isn’t man-made in sight. I let out a small breath, not a laugh, because nothing about this is funny. The closest I can get to the sky this night is the roof of the shrine where the beacon sits. So I do.
Ten years ago, I arrived at the Isle of Caelestis, the Isle of men…I knew I was exactly where I was meant to be.
The Atheneum holds more of the history of humanity on this land than any other place in the world, and all of it was open to me. Brother Damon showed me my quarters: starkly empty, an austere space to study and contemplate. I’d never known peace like that before. I had imagined that I could live out my entire life on this small piece of land, learning and teaching. I had a certainty deep within my soul about it. This is my home now. Until five days ago, when my idyllic cloister of brotherhood was shattered.
I understand the magnitude of what happened. I believe in the spirits of this land because I have witnessed them. I have studied them with relentless hunger. But that suspension of all of my plans did something irreversible to me. As I knelt on the stone floor of the Atheneum, Damon witnessed my anguish in all of its destruction. I knelt there for hours.
If this was all of my solitary life I was allowed to have, it was worth it. If this is the price I pay so that one of my brothers can remain here, I will pay it. I have been resigned to that fact since I left my dear library that same night—bitterly so. I sit a while longer on the sanctuary roof.
The sky is clear tonight, and across the sandy shore, the Isle of Naedra looms before me. My education has been extensive, and I know what to expect for the Rite and for the trials ahead. What I cannot seem to wrap my mind around is thewhoof it.
Today I am one, tomorrow I am one of three. My mind drifts across the water now, to Elemyr, to whatever Prince rides this way. South, too, to whatever priestess prepares now with her sisters.
I have dreamed of being alone; now that dream is stolen.
CHAPTER FIVE
Vonetta
