Annora looked down to the ground, her fingers picking apart blades of grass into tiny pieces. “The war has been stalling for years now,” she continued. “No side is making any real gains. And with each battle, we lose someone.”
Evelina nodded. She knew all of these things but didn’t understand what it had to do with the equinox. “We’ve lost a lot of lives—too many,” she agreed.
“Exactly!” Annora threw her hands into the air. “We’re immortal to the natural aging process, and yet we’ve been to more luxes than the average human.”
Evelina missed the time when years would go by without a lux, without having to attend the celebration of a fae passing onto Caelum. There had never been a time where more fae passed than humans—not until the war.
Annora reached forward and gripped Evelina’s hand. “While our lives may not be short, they are numbered,” she said softly. “And that’s why I need your help.”
Evelina’s gaze shot back to Annora, and she found determination across her friend’s face. She knew that look; it was one she’d seen Annora use on countless fae.
“I’ve been keeping a secret from you,” she whispered. “About Aldric.”
The corners of Evelina’s mouth twitched upward. She’d been watching Annora and Aldric sneak around for nearly a year now. She’d noticed the way their eyes sought each other out the moment they entered the same room, how they found small excuses to touch each other, and how his eyes never left her.
And then everything Annora had been saying clicked into place.
This time, Evelina did smile. The first real one in a week. In this desolate, war-ridden land, her friend had found happiness—had found the purest form of love.
“You’re going to bond with him.” Evelina’s chest warmed, the heaviness against it briefly lifting.
Annora’s eyes widened. “Yes,” she breathed out. “You knew?”
Evelina laughed, her joy mixing with her tears. “I saw you two in the Radix Room, way up at the top of the Mother Tree.”
“But we haven’t been to the Mother Tree in months…” Realization cut across Annora’s face. “You’ve known this long?”
Evelina shrugged. “I knew you would tell me when you were ready.” She gave Annora a comforting smile, one that said she understood why her friend kept it to herself. Then she raised a brow, a soft smile still tilting her lips up. “So I’m guessing you need my blood to get you in.”
All of those with Manor blood had access to the Celestial Temple, where bonding ceremonies took place. She and her siblings took turns helping with the ceremonies at each equinox. Queen Embry would often be there, just to be near her people during such a sacred ritual. Evelina had just had her rotationduring the most recent spring equinox. She could remember the fae coming to the doors of the temple, unable to stop themselves from touching their mates even in the presence of others.
But Annora’s parents—as lovely as they were—would never approve of their daughter bonding with Aldric. The stories of those who chose the wrong fae—thinking they were their bonded when they weren’t—haunted every forest, village, and fae alike.
To go before Eurydice on the night of the equinox and try to bond one’s soul with the wrong person led to forever being separated from one’s true mate. There was only one chance to get it right, and it was partly why fae couples often chose to not bond.
“But more than that, I need my friend there,” Annora said quietly, the tips of her ears tinged pink.
There were days Annora felt more like family to Evelina thanher own siblings. She loved her siblings deeply, but Annora was someone shechoseto be her family.
Evelina lurched forward and gathered Annora into a hug. Annora squeezed her back, both of them laughing and crying.
“I’m so happy for you,” Evelina said through the tears.
“It pains me to do this behind their backs, but my parents would never let me risk it,” Annora said softly, pulling back from Evelina. “They can’t break a soulbond once the ceremony is complete. And I need Aldric like I need air. My body sings when he’s around, and my heart is already his. He’s the other half to my soul.” Her voice broke.
Evelina gave her a reassuring smile, but Annora didn’t smile back. She had a contemplative look on her face. As sacred as this ceremony was—happiness in its purest form—Annora’s eyes were heavy, sad. A cool wind swept through the glade, rustling the flowers around them.
“I’ll do it,” Evelina promised. “Of course, I’ll do it.”
“I never would’ve thought I would be lucky enough to find my soulbonded,” Annora whispered.
Truthfully, Evelina understood Annora’s parents’ fears. But she found it easy to trust in Aldric and Annora’s connection, because she knew the feeling too. That absolute certainty that stilled all the worry and stress, a love like the lunaria flowers that hid them away now in safe protection.
She and Annora sat in the glade the rest of the evening, reminiscing on their childhood and all that had changed. Their conversation was a mixture of sadness and joy. They talked until they both felt a little less empty inside.
A hollow ringing bounced in her mind, the memory of the grove still haunting her. She could still hear the warning bells piercing the air. Each time the Riders sang their cries of battle in the sky, Evelina’s heart would thrash in her chest. When she heard that awful warning, her mind drifted to a certain aerial commander, wondering if he would be racing into battles of his own.
Six
