There’s a soft click, and the tiny door swings open.
The water tendril disappears, evaporating into the air, and Caelum and I exchange a look of triumph before peering inside. The small compartment is dark, too dark to make anything out clearly.
Caelum frowns, then smirks. “Guess it’s my turn.” He waves his hand, and a small orb of light appears, casting a warm glow inside the hidden space.
“I forget you have light Strength sometimes.”
“Is it because my personality is so bright?” He chuckles, his eyes gleaming with amusement. “You just thought I was completely useless, didn’t you?”
I roll my eyes, but my heart races with excitement as the light reveals a small, rolled-up piece of parchment tucked neatly inside the compartment. Caelum reaches in and grabs it, carefully pulling it out. Just as he’s about to unroll it, the doors to the temple slam open, and Mistress Verisya strides in, her robes billowing behind her.
“Eirabella!” she exclaims. “Everyone has been looking for you! The ball is about to begin!” Caelum and I freeze, still crouched on the floor, staring at each other wide-eyed, like two children caught in the middle of mischief. Verisya shakes her head, exasperated. “You are a Keeper now. You cannot be running around playing games. You have responsibilities.”
She reaches for me, pulling me toward the door, but not before I cast a glance at Caelum. He’s holding the parchment, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
“You better not read it without me!” I shout, half-laughing, half-serious.
Caelum just grins, waving the scroll triumphantly in the air like a flag. “I make no promises. Go save the world, Aquilith.”
FIFTY-THREE
Rylan
I standin front of the mirror, tightening the straps of my Celestaris uniform, straightening the greaves and pauldrons, my heart pounding in my chest. No crown prince’s robes for me tonight. Tonight is about welcoming our Aquilith to the fold.
MyAquilith.MyEirabella. I catch a glimpse of my reflection. My hands are steady, but inside, I’m a storm of emotions. She did it. She passed—no, shewonthe trial—and tonight, the kingdom will see her for the force she is, that I always knew she could be.
Pride swells in my chest as I remember surrendering the Aquilith stone to Melton, the Master of Ceremonies, earlier today after she beat Selene. The stone that had been mine to keep until she’d passed that finish line, my right after killing the last Aquilith. Now, it’s Eirabella’s.
She deserves it. She earned it. I think about where the stone will choose to reside on her body, and what extra powers it will bring her. I make a mental note to speakto the royal tailor early tomorrow, to make sure her Keeper uniform is perfect. I’ll have it resemble mine, except looser at the shoulders so she can move freely, as so much of her power is in her hands.
Another smile pulls at the corners of my mouth. She’ll be nothing short of utterly magnificent.
A knock at the door pulls me from my thoughts, and I turn to see Mathis open the door without waiting for my reply, leaning casually against the doorframe, his familiar grin in place. But there’s something unsettling behind his eyes tonight, even though he’s trying to mask it.
His eyes flick over my outfit, and he raises an eyebrow. “I was half expecting to see you in full pompous crown prince getup, but no… look at you. All Master Keepered-up. Thought you’d be strutting around in that royal cape and pretty, pretty sparkly tiara of yours tonight,” he teases, knowing how much I hate putting that fucking thing on my head.
I chuckle, shaking my head. “It’s not about the crown tonight. It’s about her.”
Mathis steps further into the room, closing the door, eyeing me. “Can’t say I blame you for wanting to impress.” He pauses, crossing his arms with a mock-serious look. “But seriously, Rylan, when are you going to stop setting the bar so high for the rest of us? You’re making me look bad.”
I grin at him and give his shoulder a playful punch before straightening the cuffs around my wrists. “Trust me, you do a good enough job of that on your own.”
Mathis lets out a laugh, a low chuckle that echoes through the room. He’s always been the joker, always the one to keep things light. But tonight, something seems to be weighing heavily on his mind.
“You alright?” I ask, hoping he’ll tell me that everything is fine. I don’t really have the extra attention span right now.
He shrugs. “Uh, sure. Just a little tired, maybe. It’s been a long week making sure that all the extra precautions we took for the trial were in place, considering all the extra people coming into Aetherhold this morning.”
It really had been quite the operation, with pretty much every currently active guard stationed. Everyone has been on high alert since the attack a few weeks ago. As Captain, I imagine Mathis has gotten less sleep than anyone.
“Well, it went off without a hitch. Job well done as usual, man.”
“I guess,” he says, not sounding so convincing. “I did just get a report from the King’s Guards saying there was a small disturbance by the reconstruction at the East entrance. Turns out it was just some drunken lost tourists who had heard about the trial and were trying to see if they could find their way to watch Eirabella’s binding ceremony.”
“I’d be curious too, if I hadn’t been to a hundred of them. And that’s not even including my own Emberon and Celestaris ceremonies,” I point out. “But this one definitely feels more special than usual.” I finish adjusting the bronze cuffs around my forearms and pull down my sleeves. “Any word from Yosef?”
“Yes, he confirms what we learned after the attack from the two we captured. Their numbers are at least 50% more than we’d approximated and have been heavily recruiting in the last six months. Also, there’s a cell in the town over from the one where we stationed him last week, and he’s already befriended the widower who owns the building they meet in. He should be getting more information to us soon.”
