chapter twenty #2
But what if I travel to Anam’gate based on a strange woman’s ramblings only to discover she has tricked me?
That would make me the biggest of fools.
Void! She might want me dead for all I know.
Then I will have lost both Llyr’s trust—whatever is left of it—as well as what little freedom I have here.
But can I afford not to go? I will have to gather more information first, for sure, and supplies.
But I can take Maeve, and that would speed up the journey.
I chew on my lip, contemplating different ways I can get information out of Vilder without being too suspicious about why.
Opening my eyes, I meet Seniia’s gaze in the mirror.
“I guess I’ll just have to do as he says,” I say with a shrug.
“Kind of like it here anyway.” I force a smile, but it’s clear I need to work on my acting skills, because Seniia doesn’t look particularly convinced, but she lets it be.
I sink back down into the chair, and soon I’m staring at an almost unrecognizable version of myself.
Seniia has woven strands of gold into my mousy hair, and my usually bleak gray irises now pop with the kohl rimming my eyes.
“Ready to celebrate Lo’Ana?” She grins.
I nod to her in the mirror, and a smile spreads across my face at her excitement. “Ready.”
I MEET REü IN THE entrance hall. He looks handsome with his shoulder-length golden waves tied back at the nape of his neck, dressed in light blue attire that matches my gown perfectly. How he knew what I would wear, however, I do not know.
He bows at the waist, presenting me with a beautiful moonflower. “You look lovely, La?na,” he says, tucking the flower into my hair. “And I got you a little something to go with your dress.”
I blink. He has a gift for me?
He opens the small box that was hidden in his palm and presents me with a beautifully crafted piece of jewelry: a golden crescent moon adorned with small diamonds on a thin gold chain.
“Turn around.” He does a spinning gesture.
I let my fingers glide over the beautiful piece as he fastens the clasp. I’ve never owned anything so exquisite. “It’s beautiful,” I say, a little breathless. “Thank you.” I smile up at him.
He gives me a tight-lipped smile. “Don’t get any silly ideas into your head. It was my uncle’s suggestion. Said that as my date, you needed to look the part. As if that will make it less humiliating,” he adds under his breath.
Of course this is about him. His actions strangely remind me of typical petty human behavior, and it’s all I can do to keep from rolling my eyes. He’ll never change.
“Ready?” He offers me his arm to escort me into the ball.
“Sure,” I say. Might as well get this over with.
I place my hand on his arm, and he leads me into the ballroom.
It’s brimming with Reāns in their festive attire—many already swirling around the dance floor to the music of the live orchestra.
From the glass dome of the ballroom, the light of the full Celestial Moon shines down, accompanied by the pink light of the full Fire Moon, their rare alignment marking the sacred night of Lo’Ana—the moons’ rays blending with the glow of the numerous candles floating in the air.
Reü turns toward me, extending both hands in the formal dance position. “Shall we?” His tight jaw and rigid posture clearly express his discomfort at being seen with me.
I take it, ignoring the hostile stares and snide comments thrown my way as he leads me out to the center of the floor.
I’m barely tolerated at the best of times, and attending one of their sacred bonding balls clearly doesn’t sit well with them.
If it were up to me, I would happily have sat this one out, but as it’s been for most of my life, it’s not me who decides.
“So, tell me about the bonding ceremony,” I say as we glide across the floor. “I know nothing about it, except that it needs to happen during one of the Celestial Full Moon festivals.” I gesture toward the two full moons, Niia and Cyra shining down upon us through the glass dome.
“The tradition is old,” he says. “No one knows exactly how old. All we know is that it stems from the era before the Darkening, when most C’elēn could still shape-shift into wolf form.
Reāns, as you may have noticed, are very close to wolves.
We have many of the same instincts, share many of the same traits.
Still, only a C’elēn could transform into the shape of a wolf.
Become a wolf.” He spins me out, then pulls me back in so that my back is pressed against his chest. Arms crossed at my front, he holds on to my hands as we sway to the music.
The possibility of someone actually changing their shape is quite intriguing. I wonder if it hurts to change form like that. “What does all of that have to do with being bonded?” I ask before he spins me back out.
“Because a C’elēn who can shape-shift is dead without a bond,” he says as I place my hand on his shoulder once again, his hand low on my back. “And although the ashina is the only C’elēn for centuries to have been gifted a bonded wolf and shape-shifting, we still honor the tradition.”
“So, just a bonded wolf would not be enough to stop that?”
Reü gives me another spin.
“The wolf bond amplifies power, but the C’elēn bond stabilizes it. One without the other is . . . dangerous. Power shared is power controlled, as they say. The ancients learned this lesson the hard way.”
The music fades, and Reü leads me over to sit at one of the many tables. Something about what Reü just said nags at the back of my head, but I can’t put my finger on it.
“I’ll get us some refreshments,” he says. He allows me no time to answer before he’s swallowed by the crowd.
Except for the occasional snide comment, no one approaches me as I sit there, and I’m happy for it. I’ve had enough lectures this past moon about the sheep mentality of humans to last me a lifetime. I didn’t argue with them though. How could I?
I give Seniia a wave as she twirls by, dancing with the beautiful girl I noticed at the initiation ceremony, Fie.
Her golden gown highlights her warm brown skin, beautifully echoing the gold woven into her many twisted braids.
Given her numerous meetings with Seniia and the many heated looks they now share on the dance floor . . .
“Mind if I sit here?”
“Vilder!” My face breaks into a genuine smile. He looks as handsome as ever, his deep green outfit complementing him perfectly. “Of course.” I pat the chair next to me, then gesture toward Seniia and Fie. “Seems you may be off the hook in bonding Seniia,” I say.
He snorts. “It was never an option.” He lifts his wineglass in my direction. “Want some?”
“Why is it that you always bond an elēn of equal strength?” I ask, sipping his wine.
He purses his lips. “There are several reasons, but the main one is that someone who is a powerful wielder of elēn will rarely agree to give up any of his or her powers. Unless they are also mated, that is. But then again, mates more often than not are of equal strength as well.”
“Why would you have to do that? Give up your power, I mean.”
“Bonded C’elēn share everything,” he says.
“Their powers, their heartbeats, their lifespan. When one dies, the other follows. But if one is wounded and the other is not, the strongest can also share their anam—their life energy, or soul, if you will—with the one who needs it. Upon bonding, the powers of the two C’elēn will spread equally between the two, which means that if one is significantly weaker, the stronger C’elēn will lose a lot of his or her power, and who would want that? ” He flashes me a grin.
Reü returns with our refreshments and levels a venomous stare at Vilder, who now occupies his chair.
He remains silent, however, and Vilder pays no attention to him at all.
The hierarchy is unmistakable, even amongst the Accepted, and it’s evident that Reü, despite being the nephew of the keeper, has little influence over Vilder.
“I’m sorry,” I mouth to Reü over my shoulder—although I know it’s not my place as a human to interfere with their hierarchy—but he just shrugs and drains his glass before stalking over to a couple pretty Reān females.
Turning back to Vilder, I whisper so Reü won’t hear, “Is that why you don’t want to bond anyone? Because you don’t want to share your powers?”
Vilder looks away. A sternness settles over his features, replacing the casual openness of his expression. “I have my reasons,” he says in a clipped voice. “But power’s got nothing to do with it.”
It’s quite clear that the topic is off-limits, so I let it be. He probably feels powerful enough alone. He has a bonded wolf, after all.
A bonded wolf. A bonded wolf he keeps hidden from the C’elēn.
The pieces interlock. This makes no sense. He of all should want to bond. If what Reü said is right, Vilder will die if he doesn’t bond anyone. I study his stern profile. He can shape-shift? A million questions are at the tip of my tongue, but I don’t dare voice even one.
Lost in thought, I startle as Marduk appears, striking his scepter at the top of the wide stairs leading down to the ballroom from the level of the mezzanine. From the corner of my eye, I see how Reü straightens, his shoulders tightening.
The room falls silent as everyone stands at attention.
“She is here. She is descending. I present to you the ashina, Lady Morgana, C’elēn mother and the high seat of Reā.” He strikes his scepter five more times, then steps to the side to reveal the graceful Reān female.
I stand, then sink into a deep curtsy, sneaking a glance at her through my lowered lashes as she strides down the stairs.
Morgana’s ivory skin is a stunning contrast to her raven hair, which, despite her age, shows only a few silver threads.
Sapphire eyes, tilted above high cheekbones, scan the crowd as she glides across the room.
I’ve seen her once before—at a distance during Seniia and Vilder’s initiation—but up close, her features are even more striking.
She carries herself with a grace I have yet to witness, and I can’t help but notice how her powers hum around her as she passes by.
My eyes glide to the pristine white wolf at her side, but I’m quick to avert my gaze when the wolf’s eyes lock with mine.
We rise slowly, in unison. At the far end of the ballroom, the ashina now stands on the small podium, and the Initiated—their faces a mix of hope and apprehension—form a line in front of her.
With a slight nod, she gestures for the first two to approach, holding aloft a white dagger that must be crafted from the same heartstone as the Arc.
The female to the left has the same ivory skin and black hair as the ashina, making me think the two must be from the same area.
She extends her left hand, and her sapphire eyes widen as the ashina creates a quick slice across her palm.
The ashina does the same to the other—a petite female with a cascade of chestnut curls and freckled golden skin—then the two turn toward each other, pressing their bleeding palms together as they recite the sacred words of the bond after the ashina.
“I, Iulya, willingly bond my heart, my breath, my soul, and my magic with Meran, from this night until the eternal night claims me in its embrace.”
The ashina’s gaze shifts to Meran.
“I, Meran, willingly bond my heart, my breath, my soul, and my magic with Iulya, from this night until the eternal night claims me in its embrace.”
“From this night to the eternal night.” The ashina’s voice is not loud, but its power makes the walls vibrate.
“From this night to the eternal night,” the crowd echoes.
The two bonded females stare at each other with wide eyes as what I can only assume is the feeling of the bond settles, and even though the grin they share signifies they’re more than happy with the bond, my own chest tightens a little more with each bonding I have to witness.
Two bells later, I cannot breathe anymore, and I sneak out of the crowded room unnoticed. If anything, I’m sure they’re happy to be rid of my presence.