Chapter 42
Nausea roiled in my stomach. Oh, how I despised shadowwalking.
And Dion—he should have warned me before transporting us.
That bastard.
Our travel through the darkness appeared to be endless, the void not nearly as welcoming as the dark plane had been during my dream as Feroy’s captive, and when we finally resurfaced, I leaned forward in Dion’s grip, trying my best not to retch. “Gods, princeling, a warning would have been nice.”
“Couldn’t risk someone overhearing us.”
“Everyone else around us was busy being threatened by you.”
“Yet their ears were working.”
“Dion. What in the gods’ names?”
“Can we not have this conversation now? We’re on a bit of a schedule.”
“No, you’re going to answer me a few questions first.”
“Naya—”
“Don’t Naya me.” The more convinced I was about my ability to keep my dinner down, the more biting my tone became. “What if Galrach hadn’t stayed back? Would you have killed everyone?”
“Yes.”
Well, I’d asked. A frustrated groan left my throat. “You can’t slaughter—”
“I can, and I will. My grandfather is as obsessed with power as I am with you. Without loyalists, he has no true leverage anymore. So, I sent him a sign. Should he dare to mess with you and me again, I’ll take his sovereignty away.”
My mouth opened, closed again, then opened once more. “That’s not keeping a low profile.”
“I changed my mind about that. Galrach can go fuck himself for all I care. So what if I can’t attack him? Let’s see how he’ll enjoy ruling a barren court.”
“No, Dion. That’s not the way to do things. And I definitely won’t have any part if you mass murder the entire—no, Dion, gods. There must be another way to handle your grandfather without punishing innocents. Also, can we maybe concentrate on saving the worlds first before waging a war?”
“There’s a good chance both are connected.”
“But we can’t be sure. Will you please hold yourself back for a while? Yes, you had the upper hand today, but who knows how Galrach will twist everything. You mentioned how cunning he is. Maybe he wanted you to believe that you’ve gotten to him? We need to be more clever.”
Dion’s jaw worked before he dipped his chin. “I’ll talk to the others about leaving Alaiann as soon as possible. Can we let this topic rest for now?”
Uneasiness danced in my stomach, but I nodded. Only time would tell how the High King was going to retaliate against his heir’s rebellion. Boxing up those worries neatly, I stored them deep in the overcrowded attic of my mind, then proceeded to examine our current location.
In front of us was a giant temple structure bearing the symbols of the Triad. Just like Alaiann Palace, the building appeared more organically grown than artificially made, and I marveled at the sandstone construction.
“What is this place?”
“This is Galanta’s main temple for the Divine Triad and the best location imaginable for the First Act of Courtship, especially since no one without a holy purpose is allowed inside, not even royalty.
But I’m going to smuggle us in.” Dion’s eyes had regained their excited spark—the glow had been dimmed during our discussion since he loathed it whenever I criticized him—and somehow, his almost childlike enthusiasm was endearing.
Dion tugged me up a broad staircase, staying as hidden in the dark as possible. My brain had finally given up on trying to make sense of the entire night, and I concentrated on the here and now. Sneaking into a temple sounded like a harmless adventure.
In front of the carved entrance doors stood a single guard under a floating set of lights, but even I could discern that he wasn’t alert at all.
For a moment, I was nervous Dion would live up to his usual bloodthirsty self, and I readied myself to intervene should he act stabby.
Luckily, my worry had been unfounded because, in the end, passing the warden unnoticed was insanely easy, and getting into the temple was equally so.
If I wanted to keep people out, I wouldn’t let the door stand open, but this might just be another fae tradition my tiny human brain couldn’t comprehend. What did I know?
Dion held his finger against his lips and grinned at me as he pulled me deeper into the silent building.
We’d almost reached a small hidden door on the left side of the giant hall when a female voice whipped through the air.
“You’re not allowed to be here.”
Every muscle in my body tensed, but Dion was still relaxed as he tugged me casually under his shoulder.
“No one stopped us on our way in, so according to the divine traditions, you can’t deny us access to the Grand Crypt if our purpose is connected to one of the Cardinal Rites.
We’re even dressed for the occasion. See? ”
The female—a priestess, I concluded—stepped closer, but her face was veiled, her hair hidden.
She reminded me of the time when Rewi and I had been very young and had stolen my neighbor’s bed linen to pretend we were ghosts.
“Crann taca an bhais.”
“Call me Dion. The Right Hand of Death is such a mouthful.”
My stomach cramped at his sarcasm, and the sense of adventure faded away, leaving only anxiety in its wake.
It didn’t go past me how Dion degenerated into an increasingly unhinged state, changing moods on the slightest whim, and not for the first time, I worried that there was something seriously wrong with him.
Even the earlier scene wasn’t that typical for him after all.
Yes, he’d always been ethically impaired, in the absence of a better term, and his ego and he agreed on them being vastly superior to everyone, but his behavior was escalating.
He was regressing into a purely impulse-driven condition, and my gut told me that this wasn’t normal. But I’d dwell on that later.
“Manners, princeling.”
Dion sent a glorious glower my way, and I forced my lips into a smile despite my worries. Everything tonight bordered on the surreal, and I only wanted to curl into a corner and laugh hysterically.
The priestess examined us wearily. “What rite are you claiming?”
Dion smiled at me, then turned his attention back to the ghostly priestess. “The Rite of Courting. I’m here for the First Act of Courtship.”
Since her face was veiled, I couldn’t read anything in her features, but she radiated tension. Her cutting tone confirmed my suspicions that she wasn’t thrilled and would likely put up a fight. “Are you then? Why should I allow this?”
Dion’s arm around me tightened to the point of discomfort.
He was all over the place, and his biting words flew from his mouth like arrows as he took a step toward the female, hauling me with him.
“And you’re the gatekeeper to the gods? Since when does a member of the clergy stand above the Triad, deciding for divinity whose endeavor is to be blessed and whose isn’t? Let us pass.”
“You’ve intruded on this holy place. I’m invoking divine laws.”
“Then study those fucking laws. Yes, you’re allowed to deny anyone admission, but where is it written that you have the authority to throw a person out who gained entry and is claiming a valid purpose?”
“That the priesthood has such power is self-explanatory.”
“There’s no written edict.”
The priestess fell silent before stepping out of the way. “You’re right. And in the end, the gods will punish you, not me.”
Great. Dion had made the local deaconry his enemy as well. He was collecting those cheaper by the dozen today.
Ignoring the priestess, he tugged me by my hand through the door that we’d been heading to earlier, then deeper into the temple, until we reached a set of stairs leading down.
My dress was a major hindrance, especially since Dion refused to free my arm, so climbing down without falling turned out to be more challenging than it seemed.
When I took the last step, I sent a quick prayer of thanks to Immaru—almost a compulsion, given we were guests in her house—and after crossing a short corridor, we arrived in a small room.
“Oh.” My breath hitched as my brain digested that we stood in an exact copy of the crypt in Amalach, where Dion and I’d conducted our first rite together, the Rite of Binding.
“This is—”
“Like in Amalach, yes. All Grand Crypts were built to look alike.”
“Oh, is there a reason?”
“There’s an old legend existing, but if you don’t mind, I’d prefer to skip telling the tale for now. My theory is another one anyway.”
“Sure, I don’t mind. But what’s your assumption?”
“As far as experts are concerned, the first place of worship in Seascann served as a model for all the others. So, whoever decided to copy the original crypt must have intended that wherever worshipers went, they’d find the same essence.
No matter how grand the temple around the inner sanctum is, the core stays the same, just like the hearts within our chests.
It’s a pity all remaining Grand Crypts in Ivreia have been made inaccessible. ”
“There are more of these in Ivreia?”
“Yes. After all, we have the same religion, don’t we? And the same hearts.”
“Do we?”
“Well, I’m no medic or healer, but from an observational standpoint—”
“Ugh, I get it. No need to go into details.” Refusing to ponder about when and why Dion had been studying real organs, I backtracked. “Then why have all the crypts been hidden away as well? It’s not that our kings abolished worship.”
“No, but examining the walls should answer your questions.”
Of course. Scenes depicting humans and fae in unity were etched onto the surfaces all over the crypt as decoration. Like in Amalach, I marveled at the craftsmanship. “Luckily, our royalty only cut access instead of destroying everything.”
“Even a grieving Amarion wouldn’t have gone so far as to desecrate places of divinity. Curiosity sated for now?”
Dion was scratching his chin in a gesture so unusual for him. His nervousness was infectious, perhaps also due to the whole chain of events leading us here. So much had occurred in the past few hours, and an exhausted weariness snuck up on me.
And I still had no clue what kind of ceremony Dion had in mind down here. After the last unpleasant surprise in Amalach, I’d sworn to myself never to enter another rite blind, and if the name were any indication, I wasn’t sure I could fully trust the prince.
“Never. But I’ll save the rest of my history questions for later.”
“Then come over and stand by my side.”
“Not without an explanation.”
“We don’t have much time. The priestess won’t leave us alone for long, and only the gods know how much leniency Galrach will grant us before he comes up with a disruptive plan. But I promise to give you all your answers back in our suite.”
“No.”
“Naya—”
“No, Dion. Back at court, this whole affair will already be over, and there’s nothing I can change if some of the effects aren’t to my liking.”
“You can relax. This is only the first act. The whole rite can be aborted at any time by either party involved. But I have to start the initiation as soon as possible.”
“Mh.”
A sigh worked itself from Dion’s throat. “Fine, in short. My goal over the next weeks or months is to win your affection and prove that I’m a male worthy of you. Today, in this ceremony, I’ll ask the gods to witness my intent and give their blessing.”
“You have a rite that involves divinity in courtship?”
“Fae have rites for basically everything. It’s because my species is so damn driven by instinct. Rituals and traditions prevent at least some accidents. And even Galrach respects them begrudgingly—most of the time.”
“Accidents?”
“Like me throwing you over my shoulder and carrying you somewhere so you can never leave me again?” Dion grinned, and his joke would have been funny if I hadn’t been well aware that he’d considered such a sentiment himself already once or twice—or all the time.
And although he’d told me earlier today—had his confession really been this evening?
—he’d given up on such plans, the way he was changing moods lately left me somehow wary.
“No, Dion. No locking the human woman in a tower. Bad princeling.”
Dion glowered for a moment, then his features morphed into pure amusement before they settled back into a carefully crafted neutrality. “Do you trust me?”
He’d asked me the same question right before our binding. I’d trusted him, and I’d regretted having done so dearly. Sinking my teeth into my lower lip, I observed Dion, who regarded me with his head tipped to the side. “I want to.”
“I’ll never let you down again. You’ll see.”
I’d promised him a chance, hadn’t I? So, I forced a deep breath into my lungs and nodded as I exhaled. “Are there special ceremonial words I have to heed?”
“No. You’ll speak from your heart. Only the initiating party has to put in all the effort during the Rite of Courting.”