CHAPTER 22
People danced and mingled beneath the massive oak, while musicians played songs of revelry for the entire courtyard. It filled me with energy. Every sway of my hips, every spin of my body, chipped away at the bindings that kept me stiff, until I was weightless, unhindered.
Reagan was behind me, his hands sliding up and down my arms, his chest a breath away from my back.
He crossed my arms over my chest, tugging me closer.
My smile broke free as I sensed his intentions, just as he stepped back and spun me out.
He released one hand, leaving the other clasped.
Our arms arched as I twirled away, the air rushing past me, only to be reeled back at a moment’s notice.
It was a good thing he was paying attention to our surroundings because, with the amount of caution I had, I might have bowled right over someone.
My momentum carried me straight into his embrace, his arm wrapping tightly around me.
Reagan leaned me back until my hair grazed the ground. Cheers erupted from the other dancers, and he leaned me an inch further.
When he pulled me upright again, the movement was so swift that I couldn’t help but laugh. Reagan grinned as he rose with me, pulling me into him and swaying us around.
As the final notes faded, he stepped back with a theatrical bow and brushed a dramatic kiss across the back of my hand.
I dipped into a mock curtsey, lifting the hem of my dress with exaggerated grace.
The two of us straightened at the same moment, breathless from the whirl of it all, and he drew me in again until my cheek rested against his shoulder and his hands settled at my waist.
“Is this . . .” Reagan began, his voice so low and raw that I had to look up at him. “Where you want to be?”
A smile unfurled of its own accord, and I nodded. His gaze drifted to my mouth, his chest rising and falling against mine. I lifted my chin, and he leaned in.
“Don’t you look good dancing,” a voice interrupted, shattering the moment like a stone thrown into still waters.
We turned our heads to find Varian a few steps away, his face set in a look of haughty disdain, his eyes flicking to Reagan’s hands on my waist.
Reagan didn’t let go, his grip tightening ever so slightly, pulling me a fraction closer to him as Varian approached.
“You’ve got a knack for drawing a crowd, cousin,” Varian said, his voice carrying that usual condescending tone. “If only ruling an estate were as simple as hosting parties.”
Reagan gave him a half-grin. “You speak as if you have vast experience with either.”
A subtle twitch passed over Varian’s dark brows before his insufferable gaze found me. “Jane Darling, isn’t it?” he asked, as though the name was too trivial to remember. “You look truly stunning tonight. Who would have thought a human could be so magnetic dancing?”
His gaze swept over me, yet it looked far from admiration. I straightened, refusing to wilt beneath eyes that saw me as less.
“I think you’re confused,” I said coolly. “No one needs power to dance. Perhaps I could explain to you how it works.”
He smirked, seeming very sure of himself, chin held high and brows straight, his black embroidered blazer impossibly neat.
“I’d prefer a demonstration,” he said, side-eyeing Reagan. “Like the one you just showed my cousin. Would you mind, cousin? I think you need to summon the lights anyway.”
Varian extended a hand toward me, and I stared at it as if it were poison. “I’m spent. Perhaps next time.”
He lowered his hand, the indifference in his expression making it clear that the gesture had nothing to do with me.
“Another time, then,” he said smoothly.
Before I could respond, Reagan’s hand pressed against the small of my back. “Why don’t we get you something to drink?” he said, steering me toward the banquet table. “Enjoy the Rite, Varian.”
As we walked away, Reagan’s voice dropped low. “I thought that mouth of yours couldn’t tempt me any further. Seems I was wrong.”
I glanced at him. “For such a tempting mouth, I expected you to have kissed me by now.”
His eyes peered down at me, smouldering, his voice near a growl. “Don’t test me, Jan. I’m one word away from forgetting what I said and having you right here.”
My bottom lip caught between my teeth, thighs tightening with the rush of heat.
Even as he fetched our drinks, Reagan’s gaze lingered on the motion beneath my dress before snapping back to mine, as if he were daring me to speak again.
Maybe I would speak just to see if he would be true to his word.
“Can I interrupt this unbearably tense moment?” Finnegan cut in, his brows arched as he looked between us. “You two seem like you’re about to eat each other, but I’m trying to enjoy this food table.”
Reagan answered him through clenched teeth, “So leave.”
Finn chuckled. “I would, except that you’re being called to start the Rite.”
Reagan couldn’t have appeared more disinterested in the Rite if he tried. With a heavy inhale, he drained the rest of his drink in one long gulp, setting the glass down. “I’ll be back soon.”
Something inside me stirred, resisting the thought of parting from him, as if it would be painful.
I wanted to slap myself at the thought. The elven dust must have been ruling my system for me to be this unhinged.
I bit my lip to keep myself from asking him to stay.
He caught that too, and his fingers found my chin, freeing my lip from my teeth before he leaned down and captured it with his mouth.
“Bleeding skies,” Finnegan muttered, rolling his neck.
Reagan broke the touch, his lips brushing mine as he pulled away.
“You’d better be free of that dust before I come back.”
Without another word, he turned and strode toward the centre of the courtyard.
◆◆◆
People gathered around the oak tree.
A woman walked in front of me, her cerulean silk robe adorned with odd symbols sewn into the hem. A vertical line that trifurcated in different directions was repeated several times, distributed between an inverted square U and another symbol with two horizontal lines zigzagging across each other.
The memory of a book in the study rose to my mind, and I tried to remember its title. It was something with the letter R that was on the tip of my tongue.
A few men wore long robes, and I noticed the strange symbols again. They appeared in other forms, branded in the texture and embroidered on the fabrics.
Barracus, who was now closer to the centre, observing as the Mage Lord positioned himself next to the tree, also wore a long black robe with a high collar and strings connecting at the middle of his chest, secured by metal clasps on both sides.
Cerridwen was near him and another woman.
She wore a maroon gown with a high collar of feathers that opened on both sides of her face.
“The best part of the night.” Her voice reached me before I saw her.
Alameda settled next to me, Coriander on her heels, both of them staring at the tree. Reagan placed his hand on the trunk, his mouth moving.
One glance to my side showed me exactly what he must have seen in my eyes. Alameda’s brown irises were circled by a thin gold line.
“How is the elven dust for you, Jane?” Coriander asked, looking enlivened.
“It’s more intense than I’m used to,” I answered, remembering the strong urge to dance and tear at Reagan’s clothes. Both urges had already been there, but somehow intensified.
The Mage Lord chuckled. “Yes, your senses are heightened, and your inhibitions lowered. It’s quite normal.”
As if I had only noticed now, I surveyed the courtyard with a different sight, a better one. The keen scent of frost and forest was stronger, feeding my sense of awareness of being around nature.
From a significant distance, I could clearly see the glowing veins in Reagan’s hand, connected with the trunk, illuminating the cracks between the wood and forming pale blue pathways that slowly reached the leaves.
“He’s calling on the lights.” Alameda beamed, eyes locked on the tree that was now illuminated by the wisps from within.
Coriander placed his hands on Alameda’s shoulders.
In a second, those wisps that covered almost every surface of branches and leaves dimmed like closing eyelids.
We were left in the dark with only the moonlight and the centre tree brightening the space.
I was still able to find the half-illuminated faces of Gwinifer and Finnegan between the shadowed heads of the others.
They were next to someone whom I recognised as a battle mage.
A beam of pale light broke through the top of the tree, cutting through the night. The beam slowly turned into a ray, its brightness becoming stronger and clearer. I could see small, almost imperceptible pinpricks of light flowing inside the opaque beam.
I watched almost without blinking as the light shifted and changed again. Green, violet, and teal colours streaked through the white. The black shapes of trees and heads contrasted with the marvellous sight of the aurora lights shining over the peaks of the mountains and the snow.
Alameda held her palm out, facing the ground, with Coriander following suit. Luminous lights emerged across the entire courtyard, radiating from every mage.
It was beautiful, charged.
It took seconds for the lights to fade.
“Jane, tell Reagan we had to go?” Coriander asked.
“Of course. It was great seeing you.”
Alameda grabbed my arms and pulled me into a hug, her scent of cherries and vanilla reaching my overly sensitive nose.
“We will see each other again soon,” she whispered. “I truly hope he seizes Zara’s favour for himself.”
She slipped from my arms too quickly, leaving me to wonder at her words.
I scanned the area beneath the tree, but Reagan was no longer by the trunk. Instead, he stood a few paces away, nodding as he spoke with a small group, his hands tucked into his pockets.
He appeared so young compared to the others.
“Impressed?” Varian asked, coming up to my side.
I glanced at him without bothering to turn.
Why was he here? Was he alone at the Rite? I hadn’t paid attention.