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Anincouldn’twaittosee her sisters. She needed to tell someone about Kes and his ridiculous behavior before she burst! She made her way down to the front entrance of the palace, passing a gruesome display of heads mounted on spikes in the main hall. If Kes hadn’t been such a brute, she would be able to ask him about the heads, but she refused to speak to him.
She didn’t have to wait long before the witches arrived. Witches didn’t actually fly. They placed spells on all sorts of things to fly, so they could ride them making it seem like they were flying. Most used something easily discarded like a broom, but some arrived flying in wingback chairs. One witch was even riding a whole couch. She had to laugh to herself; witches were always over the top. It was one of the things she found endearing about them.
Finally, she spotted her sisters riding in on what looked like their fighting staffs. They were always prepared for battle. She smiled and ran down the steps to meet them halfway. This time they all tried to remain slightly more dignified by not attempting to take each other down in their usual greeting; they blamed it on the finery they were all wearing. She embraced each of her sisters with gentle hugs to not disturb their gowns. Although they had just flown through the air for miles and were looking slightly windblown.
Linking arms, as was their way, they began to ascend the stairs. Just as she knew they would, they immediately started to tease her about her mate and asked where the dashing bird happened to be. She launched right into the story of what had taken place the night before, getting more and more fired up as she relived the whole conversation. She still couldn’t believe he had used one of his questions on her.
Once she finished telling her sisters all the details, the two shared a look with each other which often meant she was not going to like what they had to say. She groaned loudly and untangled her arms so she could stand in front and face them.
“Can you truly not take my side in this? I am your sister after all.” Anin crossed her arms and was ashamed at the way her foot gave a little stomp.
“It isbecauseyou are our dear sister we must be honest with you,” Lyra said.
“Kes has a good point, heshouldknow who is after you and why they want you dead if he is to do his job. Not only as your sworn protector, but also as your mate. Even if he hasn’t realized it yet, it does not mean he is not affected by the bond,” Panella said.
At the mention of the bond, Anin rubbed her chest again. It felt like something was torn inside her, and it was rather uncomfortable.
“Sister, does the bond pain you?” Lyra asked.
Anin told them during the fight with Kes she had felt like something inside her had torn or frayed, and it was mildly uncomfortable. Her sisters shared another look that had Anin groaning, again.
“What now?” she asked, frustrated that not only were they not on her side, but they were ganging up on her as well.
“It sounds like when you fought, you might have rejected him in some way and strained the bond. You must be careful. Without a mating ceremony, the bond can be permanently severed,” Panella said.
She had told him she didn’t trust him, had that been the moment? Anin panicked slightly at the idea of having the mate bond torn and Kes lost to her forever. Then she thought perhaps it would be better that way so it didn’t destroy him when the Day Court finally got their way and killed her.
“Try not to worry too much sister. It can be repaired, and quite easily.” Lyra looked like she was trying to hold something back, and Panella was giving her a look that meant “keep it together.” “I must confess something, Anin,” Lyra blurted, causing Panella to sigh. “Kes came to the coven on his own earlier today.”
“He – what?” Anin asked in shock.
“He came to speak with us,” Panella finally conceded. Before she could continue to tell Anin why, Anin got angry.
“He tried to get you two to answer the questions I would not, didn’t he?” She seethed as she mumbled about egotistical males under her breath.
“Actually, no he didn’t,” Lyra said, stunning Anin silent. “He said he knew asking us would be the worst thing he could do, and he knew we wouldn’t say anything anyway.”
“Well then, why was he there?” Anin asked, confused by Kes’s behavior.
“He said he assumed we knew what trouble was coming for you, and what it might look like. He simply asked us to keep an eye out during the ceremony and the festivities that will follow. I don’t think he intends anything but your safety when he asks for your secrets, Anin,” Panella said, which made Anin question her own behavior. Her pride was making it difficult to see she may have overreacted with Kes. Perhaps she would let him sweat it out this crescent night. She would speak to him when she must, after her sisters left to return to the coven leaving no more excuses to be made.
“Well, he’s still a bird beast.”
All three sisters laughed at that.
Forty Nine
Etain’shappyflutteringssoonturned into ones of nervous energy. She started to work through a list of “what ifs” in her head. What if she messed up? What if she fell? What if the court made snide remarks and then Ciaran went on a rampage? What if…the possibilities were endless in her head. Her palms were beginning to sweat, and she started to feel a little faint as she stood at the double doors. They would open any minute, and she would begin her walk down the aisle.
Before she could spiral any further, the doors swung open revealing another cavernous room of the palace she had never been to before. The walls were covered in a dark motif, which resembled the woods she had run through a few nights prior. The painting was realistic and gave the illusion of being in the woods. The ceiling was painted like the night sky with flecks of reflective silver for stars. Another of the large glowing white balls hung from the center of the ceiling to represent the moon.
The members of the court and the witches sat along benches that looked like two trees had been bent just above the roots, then carved into seats. The legs of the benches looked like roots, and where the two trees met in the center, the branches twined together all along the back of the seats leading down to the ground. She had never seen such craftsmanship.
She realized she had just been standing still while everyone watched her take in the room; her cheeks flushed. Then her eyes found Ciaran’s, and the what if’s went silent. As if she were under a spell, her feet began to carry her down the aisle towards her mate. She no longer cared about the worries that had been plaguing her a few moments prior, because she was about to be forever connected to her prince in an unbreakable way. She smiled at him as she made her way closer.
She was still several paces from where Ciaran stood at the altar when she began to see a bright white creeping into the edges of her vision. She panicked as the white took over more and more of her sight. She stopped walking and cried out for Ciaran before everything went white.
Etain was aware she was herself, but she was also not. The white began to disperse into a fog, then cleared just enough so she could see something happening, but she couldn’t make out faces or hear anything specific. She tried to think if this could be some sort of memory, though she had no recollection of anything like this. It felt more like a dream than a memory, yet she knew she wasn’t dreaming. She saw a room filled with Night Court creatures, but she couldn’t recognize any of them. It was like they had faces, but as soon as she looked directly at them, their faces blurred. She saw a large group of beings suddenly appear; one in particular stood out. She couldn’t suss out if it was male or female, or something else entirely.
