CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR #2
I stepped into the stall and drew the hinged door closed behind me, shutting out the noise beyond.
From the satchel, I pulled a cerulean robe of satin.
The fabric spilled through my hands like liquid light.
It caught the faint glow around me as I slipped it over my shoulders, the cool silk settling against my skin.
The robe fell in smooth, flowing lines, skimming my form before pooling softly at my feet, its hem whispering against the floor with every small movement.
It fit close through the waist and hips, then loosened just enough to move with me, the fabric shifting like water.
Golden buttons fastened it at the center, each one delicately etched with fine, looping symbols that caught and held the light.
A hood draped down my back, its weight gentle, the lace along its edge soft and intricate.
It brushed faintly with each breath as if the garment itself were alive.
When I exited, Noctis wore the same-colored robe, except his outfit lacked the lace details. He froze, a slight lilt across his lips.
“Your beauty is well beyond what you wear, but… wow…” Noctis had never been speechless in the weeks we’d traveled together, but he seemed to struggle for the words.
My cheeks heated, and I walked past him, allowing him to lead me to the Mirrored Sky Festival. We cleared the markets quickly, the pier offering only a small number of shops along its coast. The end of the streets opened to a dark lake as far as my eye could see in the moon’s light.
Noctis stopped inches from the water and laid out a flat blanket. He motioned for me to sit. His market bag floated before us with his powers and emptied. Two bottles of wine, food, glasses, and two pillar candles.
“We have only a few minutes before it begins,” he mentioned, watching the water before us both closely.
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 to belong to 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 as her light waned, the first streaks of golden dawn kissing the horizon.