He scratched the back of his head. “I’m sorry,” he whispered and looked down at the ground. “I have to. This is my chance to actually do something worthwhile—to be someone others respect.”
Evelina turned away from him, wrapping her arms around herself. “But you don’t have to prove anything to me. You’re already doing something worthwhile. You’re my friend.”
“And I’ll still be your friend while I’m gone,” he whispered. “But the rest of the empire isn’t you. Eurydice picked me, Evie. I’m gonna help them end this war, and when I come back, I’ll be someone you can be proud of.”
“Please,” she begged.
He pulled her into a hug and whispered, “I’ll be back to visit often.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Her chest squeezed at the memory. She needed a distraction from her own mind. So, she did what she did best and worked. Her thoughts wandered to what it would be like on the border, of all the ways war could harm yet another soul as she restocked herbs and mixed pain-relieving tonics. Did Eurydice even let those who killed and destroyed into Caelum?
The rebels were a puzzle that no one had been able to piece together. There had to come a day in this darkness that light was able to shine through the pain and death. But despite the grief that swirled in each day since the war started, tonight would be a reprieve from that.
Evelina checked the moon’s position out the window, seeing that it had already begun to cast a soft glow on the dark forest below. The autumn equinox moon was bright and round, not a single cloud in the sky.
Annora had told her of their plan to wait until the very last moment, until all of the other bonded couples had completed their ceremonies and no one would see them as they caught the last stream of moonlight.
But Evelina was late. As usual. She was supposed to wait on Senna to escort her, but he wasn’t here yet—and she didn’t have any more time to spare. The window of time they had to complete the ceremony was ticking away.
“Are you nervous to be on the border?” Gloriana asked. She was the only other healer still in the infirmary—she hardly seemed to leave.
Evelina paused and swallowed. She was. But not entirely for the reasons Gloriana would have guessed.
“A little,” she admitted. “Less so with you there too.”
Gloriana smiled. Evelina’s eyes darted over to the window nervously. She needed to go before it was too late. She waved goodbye, slipping out before she missed the ceremony entirely.
With soundless footsteps, she padded barefoot through the dark palace. The stone floor was warmed by the palace itself—the Essence from all the sleeping fae keeping it alive. An orb of light formed in her palm, the glow guiding her path. It was second nature to call on her light.
Why she possessed the light affinity was beyond her. Didn’t the moon goddess know she preferred to be in the background? Instead of being one of the rare faeable to wield light, she would rather have a normal nature or animal affinity like her siblings.Plus, it wasn’t usable in a way that was interesting like more powerful fae would have wanted.
Evelina slipped out of the palace and into Lilium Glade. The glade had been here long before her and was sure to stay long after—a forest brimming with warmth. The moon was shining brightly, proud almost, feeling more like a taunt than a comfort.
Evelina wasn’t happy with the Goddess of the Moon right now. Eurydice had seemingly left her people behind, their land stuck in war with no end in sight. She has been silent without a single sign of comfort in the midst of the empire crumbling to pieces.
The sound of hushed laughter caught Evelina’s attention. It echoed through the forest, disrupting the quiet of the night. But she knew that laughter.
She couldn’t help but smile a little at the sound of her friend’s happiness.
“She’ll be here soon.” Annora’s light voice filtered over to Evelina from somewhere deep within the forest. Evelina’s fae hearing caught every word.
“She’s late,” came Aldric’s warm tone.
A soft sigh followed. “She’salwayslate.”
Evelina crept through the forest. The night was the darkest it’d been in a long time, offering her friends a chance to let their love escape the bounds that society was attempting to tie them in. She neared the couple and found them standing beneath a narrow willow tree. Its branches were long and wispy, so light that they swayed against the smallest breeze.
Their hands were clasped together, their eyes wide. Annora’s lithe body was draped with thin lavender fabric, while Aldric wore a deep amethyst tunic—the color worn during a bonding ceremony. A sign of one’s devotion to their bonded. Aldric was like most Nox, tall and spindly. His deep olive skin shone in the night.
They were so immersed in each other that they didn’t even notice Evelinawatching them.
“So, you’re finally ready to do it?” Evelina said.
They spun around, their eyes wide with surprise.
