Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
Ignistar is tonight. My father has demanded I attend and behave, although I’m not entirely sure what I’ve done on past High Days that causes him to say that word with such disdain.
Thom and I haven’t slid down the banisters or gotten sloppy drunk at one of these things in years.
Strangely enough, Ignistar is actually the one I like out of all of them.
Ushering in the new year with hope that things will change for the better.
But it never does change, does it? And certainly not for the better.
— From the journal of Violet Andrever
Istood in front of the mirror, taking my first look of myself in something other than leathers or nightclothes since I had gotten here.
Cadhla’s sister had transformed me so completely I didn’t recognize myself.
Gone was the girl who worked in the fields or trained with a sword.
The girl staring back at me actually looked like a princess.
I couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not.
I missed Nana. She would have had something to say that would put me at ease.
She would have known how to act, known what to expect.
And even more than that, this was the first Ignistar in my life that I hadn’t spent with her.
I sent a brief prayer to Ignis—who I now knew was the god of this festival—to watch over her and keep her safe.
There was a brief knock on the door, and Finn poked his head in, followed closely by Griff.
Finn took one look at me and swore softly. “Damn, Lexie. Is this what you look like when you clean up?”
I could say the same for them. I caught myself before my jaw dropped open.
Both were in black coats, tight black dress pants, and tall dress boots.
But that’s where the similarities ended.
Finn wore a cream shirt with a red vest, red stitching running down his long black coat.
His light brown hair fell in rakish curls over his forehead.
Griff, of course, was in all black. But the color was all that was typical.
His normally rugged appearance had been modified with finery.
His white, starched shirt opened in a vee and was covered in black brocade vest. He had been poured into a matching black long coat that swished around his mid-calf, every back muscle highlighted by the fit.
He had swept his sandy hair back into loose waves but kept the scruff.
The only word I could come up with for how he looked was regal.
Finn’s eyes were full of admiration as he removed a small flask from his pocket, took a drink, and then held it out to me.
But I wasn’t paying attention. Something about the look in Griff’s eyes stopped me cold.
There was a softening there I’d never seen before.
He took a deep breath, as though his lungs had just been fully emptied.
He didn’t just look at me—he devoured me, his eyes sweeping up and down my figure.
I knew what he was looking at. The crimson satin was fitted tight in the bodice, dripping off my shoulders to reveal bare, creamy skin.
It hugged my waist before flaring out to move like fire, flowing and pooling around my feet.
At my shoulders, chiffon pieces flared back from the sweetheart neckline like wings of flame.
My hair had been fashioned beautifully, with some braids pinned back but also curls that dripped around my face and over my shoulders.
I wasn’t entirely sure what possessed me to do so, but I spun in a circle, the golden shimmer sprinkled throughout the fabric sparkling in the light.
I didn’t think it was possible for Griff’s eyes to go darker.
He whipped the flask out of Finn’s hand and took a long drink.
“Come on, Princess Lexie, let’s get you out of here and presented to the kingdom,” Finn said. “Then we can party.”
I groaned, holding out my hand for the flask. Griff passed it to me, still warm from his palm. I gulped down a mouthful, whatever was in there burning as it went down.
Finn took possession of the flask and pocketed it. “You two better not drink all of it before we get into the hall. We’re going to need it.”
“We’re going to need a lot more than what’s in one flask, but it’s a start,” I told him.
“Are you ready?” Griff stepped forward, his eyes still dark with that suppressed emotion.
“We’re not worried that we will be presenting any would-be assassins with a golden opportunity to murder me?
” Probably should have asked that earlier.
Though I wasn’t sure what my options were if he said yes, since there was no way I was fighting in this thing—duck, I supposed, although that wasn’t really my style.
Wielding a channelblade could work, I mused.
“No. I will be by your side the entire time.”
The certainty and possessive way he said that made me shiver in spite of myself.
Finn elbowed Griff out of the way to grab my hand and pull me out of the room. “Griff may be the one escorting you in the Great Hall, but I’ll be escorting you to the Great Hall.”
Laughing at his silliness, I put my arm in his, Griff following closely behind.
The halls were surprisingly empty, which made me feel like I had eaten a brick.
There was only one reason they were this empty—everyone was in the Great Hall to celebrate Ignistar.
Waiting for me. I prayed to any god who was listening that I somehow managed to get through this without embarrassing myself.
Long before I wanted to, we arrived. Guards lined the hallway, dressed in uniforms I had never seen before, as though they too had been required to dress up for the occasion.
Gone were the usual navy blue; in their place was a shining gold, with touches of the other channels’ colors.
Each of the uniforms had a patch on their left shoulder, denoting their channels by colored, braided stripes, their rank on their left breast.
As I looked around the entryway, I noticed that the draping had changed—gold that matched the uniforms and red to honor Ignis, the god of fire.
Gold and red fabric wrapped around the massive staircase in spiraling patterns, like frozen flames pushing toward the ceiling.
Plush carpets, so deep my feet sank into them, lined the halls.
Evergreen boughs were placed over doorways, filling the area with the scent of pine.
Griff held out his arm to me. I looked at Finn, where he gripped my hand tightly, as though he was loath to let go.
I raised my eyebrows, and he started, handing me over to Griff.
There was a charged tension in the air as I took Griff’s arm, heat traveling up mine as we touched.
Finn bowed slightly, his hand over his heart, and backed away, to find his seat.
Then it was just me and Griff.
“You look…” He trailed off, silent.
When he didn’t resume the thought, I teased, “So surprised to see me in something other than sweat-soaked leathers you couldn’t think of an adjective? Beautiful would work. Or captivating. Gorgeous. Stunning—”
“Radiant,” he interrupted me softly. “Like watching the sun set with a kaleidoscope of colors splashed across the horizon, the sparkle of the stars appearing in the night sky.”
I fell silent, his words causing my heart to thump so hard I thought it might leave my chest. This couldn’t be all duty for him, could it?
I finally found some words. “I had no idea you were a poet.”
He gave me a half-smile that caused a twinkle in his eyes. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Princess.”
There was a weighted pause before I asked, “You sure you’re willing to do this?”
He simply stood there, unblinkingly holding my gaze. “It is my honor, Princess.”
I looked away, facing straight ahead as the doors started to open to vast fanfare that caused my heart to speed up.
So many faces craned in my direction, looking for a glimpse of the princess who was prophesied to be the savior.
I released a shaky breath. “Just do me one favor?” I said out of the corner of my mouth.
“Anything.”
“Don’t let me fall?” I glanced up at him, and his eyes softened.
His free hand moved across his body to cover mine where it rested on the inside of his elbow. “Never, Princess.” He said the words as if they were a vow. “I will never let you fall.”
The doors were fully open now. It appeared that every resident of the castle had turned out for their first official glimpse of the princess and the party that followed.
Men were all dressed the same as Finn and Griff, most of them in black coats with crisp, white shirts, although there were some pops of red in their vests or cummerbunds.
But the women—there was every shade of red, from the deep crimson that I was wearing, to burgundy, rose, and lighter pink.
And the decorations. The hall was unrecognizable.
Fire was represented everywhere. The thick red and gold drapes on the walls shimmered in the light of the standing torches spread every few feet apart, creating the illusion that the walls themselves were alive with fire.
The skylights that so perfectly let in the golden light during the day were now dark, stars twinkling as though they too wished to join in the merriment.
Boughs of evergreen, woven in garlands and interspersed with bright-red holly berries, were twisted with gold ribbon, threaded over doorways and rafters. The scent of pine permeated the air.
Mona was right—this was magical.
If only I wasn’t the entertainment.
Griff and I stepped as one, and made our way down the long golden carpet that stretched the length of the hall, absorbing and reflecting the firelight as though it was a river of gold.
I hesitated as all eyes turned to me, but Griff gave an encouraging squeeze that enabled me to steel my spine and continue on.