Chapter 30 #2
The hall was carved from black timber instead of stone, and around it stretched a ring of crimson ceremonial tents. In their centre stood tall obsidian altars crowned with unlit bonfires. The court was already gathered beside them, their cloaks snapping in the wind.
From somewhere around the tents came a low humming, soft and melodic.
People moved in spirals around the unlit pyres, their hands raised in slow rhythm.
Children ran laughing between them, scattering handfuls of glittering dust. A wind-flute sang above the chants.
It should have felt like a festival, yet something inside me refused to settle, as if I were standing at the edge of a threshold I would never return from.
Daigen helped me down from the saddle. My legs trembled when my boots touched the black sand. His breath brushed my neck, his fingers resting at my hip a moment too long, as though he couldn’t decide whether to let go. The heat of it frightened me, but I leaned into it anyway.
If this was the first and last time we would celebrate together, I wanted to remember it.
“Welcome to Sol’vaneth,” he said quietly. “Where our blood remembers.”
I didn’t understand what he meant about blood remembering, but it soothed something inside me.
He guided me forward. I tried to bury the dread clawing up my throat and focus only on the moment.
Bloodstone nobles lined the path to the longhall, their faces painted for Sol’vaneth.
Some were streaked with gold, others with red sunbursts, black antlers, or moons drawn in midnight ash.
They bowed in silence as we passed. Daigen didn’t spare them a glance. Why did his own court fear him so much?
Lord Kalias was the only one smiling. Thràena was nowhere to be seen.
èllia didn’t lift her eyes from the ground, though she looked beautiful as always in a red fitted red gown that shimmered like firelight, amber suns woven into her hair.
I tried not to stare, or to think about the years she had stood at Daigen’s side when I had only days left.
Captain Izyák stepped forward and, to my surprise, offered a smile.
A genuine smile. A gold handprint lay smeared across his face, stretched from jaw to temple, like it had been a blessing left there by someone he loved.
Or perhaps he’d been slapped by Ellia, who I caught watching him from the corner of her eye.
I returned his smile before moving on. Emerias came next, his skin traced with glowing red lines and twin crescents at his throat that pulsed faintly with magic.
I didn’t understand what any of the markings meant, and perhaps I should’ve been afraid of them, but all I felt was a deeper fascination and longing to understand them.
Understand Daigen.
A hush followed us as we passed into the courtyard beyond the path.
The rest of the king’s guard waited there in rigid formation.
The sound of wind over ash carried between them, lifting their cloaks.
Daigen’s hand stayed at the small of my back as he led the way.
He was smiling, though. Not the cold, formal smile of a king, but something softer, almost boyish.
He’s happy, I thought. Happy about what? The festival?
Or the choice that waited after it?
I wanted to feel that happiness. Instead, the moment felt like a farewell dressed in celebration.
Whispers drifted from behind the tents as we crossed the courtyard.
The murmurs were too low to make out fully, but I caught snatches here and there.
Something about the emissary and fate, and the gods’ punishment.
I pretended not to hear them. Daigen didn’t acknowledge them either.
His smile never faltered as he greeted his people.
At that moment, he was the perfect host. The perfect king.
We paused at the longhall entrance. Up close, the structure towered above us, its black-timber beams carved with gold vines that shimmered under the braziers. Inside, servants hurried to set the feast, but Daigen didn’t lead me in.
Thràena waited for me by the doorway, her hands clasped at her front. She had the biggest smile on her face I’d ever seen.
“Preparations will take the rest of today," Daigen said. “But the night is for the Sun-Given.” He leaned closer, lips grazing the shell of my ear, his breath caressing me. “There will be a hunt that begins at dusk. I will come for you then.”
I turned sharply, my breath caught between a question and a plea. A hunt?!
But Daigen was already turning away, issuing orders to the court with a voice too calm to be real. I smiled as I watched him go and tried to keep myself together. If I broke down, I’d never get through the night. And apparently it involved a hunt.
Several nobles rushed to follow him, and the noise of preparation became a distant hum. I stood alone beneath the archway, questions burning through me. Who were the Sun-Given? What was I supposed to do now?
Thràena came to my side, radiant now with gold paint across her eyelids and sunbursts painted along her cheeks and nose. Her excitement sparkled in the dim light.
“Blessed Sol’vaneth, my lady!” She picked up my hands and squeezed them gently.
“Blessed Sol’vaneth,” I echoed, hoping it was the right response.
Servants brushed past carrying trays of food, the scent of spices filling the air. A roasted pig was brought forward to crown the high table. The smell was incredible.
“I have everything prepared,” she said, tugging me forward. “Come, you must see.”
Her enthusiasm was contagious. For a moment, she reminded me of Rueryn, and I let myself smile as she led me across the hall. The tables were already laid out. One in particular had two wooden thrones with red antlers curling out from them.
I tilted my head and looked up at the sun and moon lanterns hanging from the wooden beams. Beautiful red and gold silks swayed between them.
The walls were all painted with symbolic carvings; Bloodstone warriors kneeling before their gods; women dancing around a bonfire under a burning moon; The Sun Sister and Moon Brother facing each other, their joined hands offering the other a sun and moon.
The air was thick with rich spices and roasted game.
My mouth watered. I could still hear singing from outside, carrying softly through the hall.
Everything was beautiful. So beautiful it hurt.
Upstairs, two guards stood outside a black door.
They watched us slip inside. My eyes went first to the garment displayed by the bed, and my breath caught.
It was stunning. Midnight-black silk flowed from a halter outlined in gold.
The skirts fell to the knees, slitted front and back, the hem glittering with red and gold embroidery.
Tiny sun-trees climbed the edges, their branches tipped in flame.
On the inner lining, stitched so delicately I almost missed it, was my name.
“The king had this made for you when you first arrived,” Thràena said softly behind me. “Isn’t it stunning?”
I nodded, unable to look away. Stunning, yes—but when was I supposed to wear it?
“He mentioned there’s a hunt?” I asked.
Thràena’s smile widened, her eyes shining. “The hunt we all look forward to every Sol’vaneth. At dusk the fires are lit, and you will be sent into the woods alone. It is your task to run—to disappear into the mountains and let the Blood Gods guide you.”
She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. “The king will come for you then. If he finds you before the final fire burns out, he wins the right to present his offering.”
My pulse jumped. “O-Offering?”
“The king must hunt something worthy. An animal chosen by the Blood Gods. If he catches you, he kneels by the fire and lays his prize before you. It is his vow to you to chase you across realms, for his heart belongs only to you.”
I should have felt comforted, but the meaning twisted in my chest. If Daigen chose me here, he would be defying the Moonstone King’s demand—and declaring war.
“What happens if he doesn’t catch me?” I asked, my voice thin.
Thràena hesitated. “Then you remain unclaimed.”
Maybe that was his plan—to let me go unclaimed so he could surrender me safely. I should have been relieved. But the thought hollowed me instead.
“Don’t worry,” Thràena said brightly, mistaking my silence for nerves. “There’s rarely a time when a mate goes unclaimed. The hunt is more of a tradition than a trial. A way to show devotion.”
That was the problem.
I didn’t want to see how much Daigen cared about me.
Because then I'd never survive him letting me go.