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The final thing the land wanted to convey to him was a plea. The land was rotting away, both in the Night Court and the Day Court. The balance had been thrown off for far too long, and the land was dying. It was a plea to save it, and Ciaran promised the land he would do everything he could to restore balance and end the rot. It was as if the force of the land believed him, and it swirled around his head several times before it, and the moonlight, vanished.
Ciaran looked at Etain, her eyes wide in disbelief. Whatever she had been given had obviously surprised her. It was then he noticed two things. First, her wings had retreated, likely from the force of the power that had just poured through them. Second, there was a crown on her head. It looked to be made of starlight and held the full moon in the center and two crescent moons on either side. They appeared to contain actual moonlight, and Ciaran realized it was also the symbol of the witches.
He leaned over and told her what he saw, then asked what his crown looked like. She studied it for a bit before describing it as a crown of shadows, which flickered like a flame and looked to hold a million stars within it. She was about to explain what she had experienced, but he reminded her they were surrounded by beings. Some of them were likely traitors, best if it was a conversation held in private. Etain nodded her agreement.
The Chronicler then asked Etain, Ciaran, and everyone else to rise. The room was told to bow before the King of the Night Court and Shadows and the Queen of the Night Court and the first Queen of Witches.
Ciaran cut a curious gaze to Etain after hearing her new title, and she gave him a tight half smile, which looked to say, “I tried to tell you.”
He gave her hand a little squeeze, letting her know everything would be fine.
When he looked back, he saw the witches walking towards them in a single file line. Each one kneeling before Etain and greeting her as “My Queen.” They all looked upon her with reverence, as if this had been something long ago foretold.
Ciaran scrutinized his own court. He saw uncertainty about their queen also being the witches’ queen, and what that might mean for the future of the Night Court. They also looked like they had witnessed something they would never forget – the power of their land.
Once the long line of witches had finished greeting their queen, Ciaran clapped his hands and the room transformed into a ballroom. It was the same woodland room filled with woodland inspired decor, but now it held a dance floor, tables piled high with food, fountains of wine, and of course, the lounges off to the side. No Night Court celebration could be complete without them.
The whole room vibrated with excitement waiting for him to declare the party started. He turned to thank the Chronicler first, but they were already gone. He turned back to the room of revelers and grabbed Etain around the waist to pull her into him.
“Let the celebration begin!”
Music filled the room, and Ciaran dipped Etain so he had to bend low to kiss her in a way that held a promise of the crescent night that was to come.
Fifty One
Aninhadbeensincerelymoved by the mating ceremony. She couldn’t help but look over at Kes who was sitting in the front row of seats, with an empty one next to him. Anin had chosen to sit with her sisters, who never failed to point out how cruel she was to her mate. It was clear they did not approve. As the ceremony progressed, she found herself wishing she had swallowed her pride and sat with him. She craved his presence.
Once the party had begun, she hadn’t really been trying to avoid him. She just wanted to dance with her sisters and the other witches like she used to do at the coven. She could pretend she wasn’t being hunted by her court and her life was once again normal.
Periodically, she would make eye contact with him across the room and give him a small smile. He would begin to make his way over to her only to get intercepted by one of the members of his court.
She wanted to ask Etain about her vision, although one look at the mated pair, and it was clear they were not to be disturbed. They were deep in conversation with the head witch, likely trying to unravel Etain’s vision. Watching her friend have a vision in such a powerful way was frightening, and yet awe inspiring at the same time. She had a feeling sometime during first night tomorrow they would go to the coven to help further decipher the meaning of her vision. Whatever it was, appeared to terrify Etain.
Anin knew she would have to come out with her secrets soon. She was placing this whole court in danger by not letting them know who they were harboring her from. She wasn’t entirely sure why she hadn’t told them already. She could blame the Lunar Ball and her unwilling trip with the Day King for not mentioning it before Kes had come for her. But now she wasn’t sure why she was so hesitant and had adamantly refused to tell Kes when he’d asked.
Well perhaps that wasn’t entirely true. She feared telling him. What if he discarded her after she told him, because she was more trouble than she was worth. It was easier to keep the wall between them than it was to let her guard down and be rejected by him. It also wasn’t fair to hurt him the way the mate bond had let her know she had.
All this ran on constant repeat in her head, distracted only by her sisters and their crazy dance moves. They danced for hours barely pausing to replenish their wine and fill their bellies. She watched the beings on the dance floor and was surprised to see several members of the Night Court mingling and dancing with many of the witches.
She knew Etain, being both Queen of the Night Court and of the witches, would tie the two together. She was curious to see what that would look like after this night. Many covens worked only with the moon to strengthen their magic – would they be freely welcomed into the land of Night? She looked around to the outliers of the room and thought perhaps change wouldn’t come that easily, as she took in their sneers and obvious distrust of the witches. Then again, she had come to know Etain and Ciaran, and they were both formidable forces when it came to achieving a goal. With their alignment through the completed mating bond, she would like to see anyone stand in the way of the future they demanded.
If only the Day Court had such rulers. The Queen was ruthless in her pursuit of more power, or “ultimate power,” as she called it. Anin was sure the land of the Day Court had abandoned the queen and king, because both had worn crowns of golden metal, nothing like the ethereal crowns of moonlight and shadow Etain and Ciaran received. Perhaps they had worn crowns from the land at one point, or maybe the land had found them lacking and never gave them gifts or crowns. It would explain the queen’s constant desire for more and more power. If the land had not given her power freely, she would find a way to take it, she was relentless in that way.
The hour was growing late, and the witches still needed to fly home. Anin said her goodbyes to her sisters and the rest of the coven. All looked to have enjoyed themselves immensely, and Anin was elated they had been able to attend this momentous event. She knew the other covens would be just as curious to hear every single detail, as they were jealous.
Right before her sisters flew off on their staffs, they gave her one last talking to about the way she had been treating Kes. She assured them it was heard, and she would go back into the ballroom and find him immediately after their departure. Seemingly appeased by her answer, the three hugged and reminded each other of their love for one another.
Anin stood under the stars and watched her sisters fly off, waiting for them to pause and turn back to wave. As soon as they did, she waved back and watched until they were too far in the distance. Sighing, she made her way back to the ballroom to find her mate. She hoped it wasn’t too late to repair what she had fractured.
Etain clung to Ciaran for dear life. She was terrified her vision had been about them. She couldn’t stop the memory of the pain she had felt from resurfacing over and over. She tried to distract herself with the many members of the Night Court who came to greet them at their thrones, much like they had the crescent night of the Lunar Ball. Only this time, they reluctantly gave her small bows with their heads, and each time Ciaran would give a growl in warning until they gave her the same respect they showed him.
While she knew she should be doing her best to pay attention to who each of the fae were, she couldn’t seem to focus. She saw Galetia in line several turns away. She was the only being standing before them Etain wished to speak with. She was desperate to get her thoughts on the vision Etain had before the mating ceremony. She turned her attention to the dance floor hoping the dancers were entertaining enough to make the time go by faster.
She was pleased to see many of the witches from the Silver Moon Coven had taken to the dance floor along with many of the fae from the Night Court. Where the fae all danced in jerky seductive ways, the witches spun and moved their bodies in naturally fluid motions. It took Etain a few moments to recognize they were doing a choreographed dance of sorts. Instead of partnering the way the fae did, the witches all danced in lines, each line doing something different before shifting to the next line.
Etain glanced back to the line of beings waiting to greet them and saw Galetia was now just a few beings away. She turned back to the dance floor to keep herself distracted for a little while longer, and was nearly shocked at what she saw. Several fae and witches had begun to try to mesh the two styles of dance together. It was turning into one of the most beautiful dances she had ever seen. Etain couldn’t help but smile at them. It felt promising for the future of the realm.
Finally, as Galetia was ascending the steps to greet them, Ciaran indicated the next group should wait at the bottom of the steps to give them some privacy while wrapping them in a sound barrier. Etain sat forward in her throne, while still keeping her tight grip on Ciaran, as the head witch joined them.
