Lord of the Fading Lands (The Tairen Soul Book 1)

My beloved is the sun

And I am the earth that thrives only in her warmth. My beloved is the rain

And I am the grass that thirsts for her quenching kiss. My beloved is the wind

And I am the wings that soar when she fills me with her gentle strength.

My beloved is the rock

Upon which rests the happiness of all my days.

—The Elements of Love, a poem by Aileron v’En Kavali of the Fey

That evening, two bells before sunset, Rain presented himself in full ceremonial splendor at the door of Sol Baristani’s humble home. Marissya and Dax accompanied him, along with Marissya’s quintet and another five Fey warriors carrying several chests.

After introducing Marissya and Dax, Rain bowed to Sol Baristani. ‘This is how I should have begun, Master Baristani,’ Rain said. ‘In the Fading Lands, a man brings gifts to the home of his beloved to ask her family’s blessing on the courtship. The gifts’—his hands gestured towards the three chests the Fey had carried into the room—’are intended to show the suitor’s depth of feeling for his prospective mate. The stronger the bond to his mate, the more clearly he sees her family through her eyes. If my gifts please you, then I have seen you clearly and the bond is true. Please, open them.”

Needing no further prodding, the twins fell upon the chest that bore their name and flung back the lid. Inside, a selection of brightly colored clothes with matching shoes and hair- bows and a collection of porcelain dolls in full court dress elicited squeals of delight. For Lauriana, Rain had selected a dashing burgundy dress adorned with black lace at the cuffs and collar, matching hat and gloves, a pair of gleaming black boots with sturdy heels and buttons up the side, and a black cape with downy soft fur at the collar. The clothes were sensible, but of superior quality and workmanship, obviously expensive but discreet enough that Lauriana could wear them about the neighborhood without feeling as though she were putting on airs. On the collar of the dress, an exquisite sun-and-moonstone cameo set in gold filigree gleamed with subtle and very feminine elegance.

Despite Lauriana’s distrust of the Fey, the stern lines of her face softened when she beheld the gifts meant for her. ‘It’s all lovely,’ she said, running a hand over the fabric before she could catch herself. ‘Thank you.”

Sol’s chest contained a collection of raw woods, the finest to be found, including a large block of black, almost grainless ebonwood and a slightly smaller block of pale cinnamon- colored fire oak that would gleam like copper flame once it was properly polished. Also nestled inside was a pouch containing a new burlwood pipe and a selection of fine tobaccos that made Sol smile in pleasure when he sniffed them.

‘Well,’ said Sol, caressing the wood with his master’s fingers, already envisioning the beauty waiting to be revealed by judicious application of his chisels and gouges. ‘The bond must indeed be true. I don’t believe you could have chosen better for any of us.”

Rain bowed low to show his appreciation of the fine compliment while Ellie’s five Fey guardians nodded approvingly and spread the word to the rest of the Fey that their king had successfully made his amends with his prospective bond-family.

‘With these, Master Baristani’—Rain touched the ebonwood and fire oak—’I ask that you make a particular piece.’ He carefully formed the image of what he wanted in his mind and, using a narrow weave of Spirit, placed that image in Sol’s mind. ‘Do you see it?”

Eyes wide with wonder, Sol nodded. ‘Yes.’

‘Can you make it?”

‘Yes’ Rain released his weave, and the picture winked out of Sol’s mind. Dazed, Sol touched his temple. ‘How did you do that?”

Rain explained, at least as well as he could to a mortal with no concept of magic. ‘It is like drawing a picture, only instead of paper, I use Spirit. All living creatures hold Spirit within them. It is the energy that allows you to think thoughts, to dream, to imagine. Because you possess Spirit, I can communicate with you using it. Fey magic is merely the ability to control the elements and the mystics, to open their natural paths and weave them to our will.”

‘And the mirror you made earlier?’ Ellie asked, beginning to understand.

‘Was Spirit. Not real, but a mental projection of a mirror that I created using Spirit. A bit more complex, because I tied to the image the ability to reflect the natural world. The mirror was both a picture of a mirror and a picture of what the mirror would see at any given moment. A master of Spirit can tap all of your senses, building taste, touch, smell, sound, everything into the weave, but an object created of Spirit remains an illusion at heart.”

‘Bel told me that Kieran commands Earth and that things made of Earth are real.”

‘Aiyah, but to weave Earth into substance, you must first have the substance to weave. You can pull it from the world around you, but that is difficult and takes great care and concentration as well as exceptional command of Earth. If you pull too much from something else, you damage it.’ Rain’s eyes crinkled at the corners. ‘Fey magic is not without its limitations, despite what mortals believe.”

‘What of the wizards that come to Celieria? Are all their feats illusion also? Do they control Spirit like the Fey?”

‘Some do. Most are charlatans. Others tap the dark magics, Azrahn chief among them. They use spells and charms to trap otherworld spirits and force the elements to their command.”

‘You’re speaking of the Elden Mages,’ Ellie said. The Tairen Soul’s face hardened instantly into cold, unyielding lines. ‘Aiyah. The black-souled spawn of demons. They use Azrahn and other magics for their own evil purposes. They covet what the Fey possess and kill without remorse—how can death stain a soul already given over to the dark?”

«Rain.”

Even without Marissya’s silent warning, Rain saw the worry on Ellysetta’s face. Frightening her with his hatred of the Eld was no way to court her. ‘Enough of the Eld,’ he commanded. ‘It is never a pleasant subject with me.”

He looked at Sol and Lauriana. ‘I asked Marissya and Dax to accompany me so that we might negotiate the Celierian marriage contract. Is there somewhere we may sit and speak?”

‘Of course. Lauriana has prepared the parlor and set out a plate of refreshments in anticipation of your visit. If you will follow me?’ Sol led the way into the parlor.

When Ellysetta did not immediately accompany them, Rain paused and held out an arm. `Join me, shei’tani. Celierian customs may leave such negotiations to the parents, but in the Fading Lands, the conditions of courtship and matebonding require the consent of both mates.”

Surprise and gratitude warmed her eyes. She placed her fingers on his wrist and allowed him to lead her into the parlor.

The small parlor seemed to grow smaller when the two Fey Lords entered. It had been built for Celierian comfort, not Fey, and the ceiling was slightly lower to create a cozy feel. Too cozy, Rain thought, as his head almost brushed the ceiling.

He moved to take the most vulnerable seat in the room, a large green wingback chair with its back to the window, and gestured for Ellysetta to sit beside him on a matching ottoman that placed her securely between the protective strength of himself and Dax. Lauriana bustled about the room serving keflee and frosted hazel-cakes before settling down beside her husband. ‘In twelve days’ time, immediately after the Prince’s betrothal ceremony, the Fey return to the Fading Lands,’ Rain began. ‘Ellysetta must accompany me.’ He felt Ellysetta’s quick spurt of surprise and trepidation. «Peace, shei’tani. I cannot leave you here alone and unguarded, but I cannot stay either.»

‘Twelve days,’ Lauriana breathed, staring at him in shock.

‘I hoped to return sooner, but Marissya has convinced me that Ellysetta needs time to prepare for her new life.’ Rain chafed at the delay. He wanted Ellysetta safe in the Fading Lands, protected by the magical barrier of the Faering Mists that surrounded the Fey homeland. He could not court his truemate properly here in Celieria, where he must remain vigilant, always on the alert for an attack. Neither could he forget his obligations to the tairen. If the Eye had steered Rain true, Ellysetta was the key to saving the tairen and the Fey, and that meant he must bring her to the Fading Lands as soon as possible. ‘If you are amenable, we will draw up the Celierian marriage contract tonight and hold the ceremony in two or three days.”

‘Two or three days?’ Lauriana exclaimed. ‘Impossible!’ She clasped her hands to her cheeks, horror etched on her face. ‘The Church alone requires seven weeks for devotions and the Bride’s Blessing. Not to mention all the other necessities. She needs a wedding dress, a trousseau. We must notify our friends and family. And then there are flowers, food, prenuptial dinners, receptions …. She shook her head. ‘No. I’ll need three months at least. Unless you wish to shame us and our daughter with some shoddy, rushed little affair?”

Rain’s spine stiffened. Shame his truemate? The insult was outrageous. ‘This I would never do.’ His voice was cold and clipped. ‘I do not have three months to give you. In twelve days, I leave Celieria. Ellysetta will accompany me then.”

‘It is very little time, I know,’ Marissya broke in. The shei’dalin cast a warning glance at her king. «Their ways are not ours, Rain. You brought me here to negotiate. Allow me to do so.» Turning her attention to Lauriana, Marissya continued, “Your daughter’s wedding will be as grand as you desire and will bring your family honor, I assure you.”

The sudden clearing of Sol’s throat made everyone turn to look at him.

‘The wedding will not take place until the blessings and ceremonies required by the Church are complete,’ Sol stated in a mild but firm voice. ‘In that regard, my wife and I are in perfect agreement. Speak to the Archbishop, if you like—I know the Church will abbreviate their ceremonial timescales under special circumstances—but until the Bride’s Blessing is complete, there will be no wedding. And irrespective of the Archbishop’s decision, the wedding will not take place sooner than one month from tomorrow. That gives my wife at least some time to prepare, and gives our family and friends a bit of notice so they can have a chance to attend.”

‘Two weeks,’ Rain countered.

‘Three,’ Sol returned swiftly. ‘And that is the absolute minimum”

Rain met his future bond-father’s eyes in a brief visual skirmish that ended when Ellysetta placed her hand on the arm of Rain’s chair and whispered, ‘Please.”

Though it chafed him to wait a moment more than necessary, Rain put aside his impatience. ‘Three weeks,’ he agreed. ‘But at least three bells of every day will be set aside for our courtship. And the Fey will continue to guard her and your family as they do now. That is not negotiable.”

Sol considered the offer for a moment, then nodded.

Rain sat back. ‘Then we are agreed.’ His hand covered Ellysetta’s, his fingers threading through her smaller ones. Pleasure filled him at the simple touch and made Ellysetta blush.

‘This may actually work out better,’ Marissya said. ‘Prince Dorian’s betrothal ceremony will be over by then, so the wedding won’t conflict with those celebrations. Which is good, as I know the king and queen will wish to attend.”

‘The king and queen? Oh, my.’ Lauriana sat back in her chair, fanning a hand before her face. ‘Three weeks to prepare a wedding the king and queen will attend …”

‘It will be fine, Mama. Don’t worry.’ Ellysetta gave her mother a reassuring smile. ‘No one will be expecting a huge celebration, and I would be happy with something simple. A priest, perhaps some flowers.’ But her words only seemed to distress her mother more.

‘Nei, shei’tani,’ Rain interrupted. ‘Since there is to be a ceremony, it must be grand, else it would not bring honor to your family or the Fey.’ The Celierians had always adored pomp and ceremony, and that had not changed in over a thousand years. Because Dorian and Annoura were planning to attend, the high-ranking Celierian nobles must also be invited, and Rain would not leave his shei’tani vulnerable to their cruel, wagging tongues.

He looked at Lauriana and Sol. ‘Marissya is correct. I will assign a group of warriors to help you. Those talented in Earth can make what your Celierian merchants cannot provide on such short notice. You may also hire whatever Celierian help you require. Marissya will have Queen Annoura provide the names of tradesmen supplying services for the Prince’s ceremonies.’ Annoura wouldn’t like it, of course, which almost made Rain smile. It would be a subtle punishment. Bel had told him of the way she’d dared to test Ellysetta’s mettle earlier in the day.

‘We will discuss the marriage ceremony again, but for now, let us attend to the matter of the marriage contract.’ Rain nodded at the shei’dalin. ‘Marissya is more familiar with your customs than I, and I have asked her to speak for me.”

Marissya leaned forward slightly. ‘With your permission, Master Baristani?’ She waited for Sol to incline his head before proceeding. ‘I have taken the liberty of modifying a standard Celierian marriage contract.’ She nodded at Dax, who produced two copies from thin air and handed them to his truemate. She passed one to Sol. ‘There is no need to settle a bride price. What Ellysetta brings to this union is be-yond price. In that, Den Brodson was correct. The Fey would have paid twenty times, a thousand times, what we did to break her betrothal.

‘We will speak to the Archbishop, and if he is amenable, the wedding will take place in three weeks, at which time Rainier will accept full responsibility for Ellysetta’s wellbeing, in accordance with your customs. Though the shei’tanitsa bond will not be fulfilled by this ceremony, in the eyes of Celieria, Rain and Ellie will be man and wife. When the Fey depart Celieria, she will accompany us to her new home in the Fading Lands. Your family, Master Baristani, may travel with us to the Fading Lands and remain there until the Fey matebond ceremony is held. Or we can send escort for you when the time comes.”

Sol set his copy of the marriage contract on the small table beside him and pulled a pipe and tobacco pouch from his pocket. He hesitated and glanced at his Fey guests. ‘Do you mind?’ When the Fey shook their heads, he filled the pipe’s bowl with dark, moist tobacco, tamped it down, then lit a match against the sole of his shoe and cupped the flame over the pipe bowl. The room was silent except for Sol’s quiet puffs as he lit the pipe. Fragrant smoke filled the air, a deep, rich aroma that smelled of flowers and spice. He puffed the pipe for a few moments more, then picked the contract back up. ‘Why would you not hold the Fey ceremony at the same time as the wedding?”

‘Ellie must accept the bond before the ceremony can take place.”

‘Didn’t she already do that this morning in Council?’ Marissya shook her head. ‘Ellysetta only recognized the bond today. She has not yet accepted it within herself.’

‘I don’t understand’ He frowned.

‘It is confusing, I know’ The shei’dalin smiled gently. ‘Acceptance of a truemate bond is not a conscious act. Ellysetta cannot just say `I accept’ and complete the bond. When she opens her soul to Rain and allows him in without reservation, when she willingly enters into his, then she will have accepted the bond. No one, not even she, can say when that moment will come. The path is different for every truemated couple, and it is never a simple one. Both Rain and Ellysetta will be tested, as will the strength of their bond, and they must prove their worthiness before the bond can be complete. She and Rain will know when it happens, and so will all the Fey. Until then, he must court her, as all Fey warriors court their mates.”

Marissya turned her head and captured both Rain and Ellie with her gaze. The shei’dalin’s voice lowered and grew so gentle it was almost hypnotic. ‘He must prove himself strong enough to protect her, gentle enough to win her heart, and worthy of the great gift of her love and her unconditional trust. She must find the courage to embrace the darkest shadows of his soul, and the even greater courage to bare the shadows of her own soul to him. When all barriers are sundered, all secrets revealed and accepted, she can complete the bond; and they will no longer be two separate people, but rather one person, one soul, complete for eternity, stronger together than either could ever be apart.”

A fierce longing rose up in Rain, closing his throat and clasping a tight, aching fist around his heart. Ellysetta turned her head, and her eyes locked with his. Of its own volition, his hand reached out to touch her cheek, even as her hand reached out to touch his.

Your soul calls out. Mine answers, beloved.» The sending was a tender caress. Her lashes fluttered down, half veiling her eyes. «One day, Ellysetta, you will say those words, and this Fey will at last know joy.»

‘What happens if Ellie cannot accept this Fey bond?’ Lauriana asked with obvious agitation. ‘We’ve raised her in the Church of Light, and she believes as we do that all souls belong to the Bright Lord. Ellie pledged her soul to him at her first Concordia ten years ago.”

‘Madame Baristani, the Fey worship the same gods as Celierians, including the Lord of Light,’ Marissya reassured her. ‘Shei’tanitsa does not violate the bond between believers and the gods. Indeed, truemates exist only because the gods decreed they should.”

But Lauriana wouldn’t be soothed. She cast a frightened glance at her husband. ‘I don’t like the sound of this at all. Sol, you know why I insisted she complete her Concordia. And haven’t I been right?’ Lauriana turned back to Ellysetta, and to Rain’s surprise, there were tears in the older woman’s eyes. ‘I know you hated me for pressing Den’s suit, Ellie, but at least with him, I knew your soul would be safe from the perils of magic.”

‘Mama!’ Ellysetta pulled away from Rain and crossed the room to kneel at her mother’s feet. ‘I could never hate you.’ She grasped her mother’s hands and pressed them to her face. ‘You’re my mother, and I love you. Even with Den, I knew you had only my best interests at heart. But you heard Lady Marissya: the Fey aren’t evil. They walk the Bright Path, just as you’ve raised me to do.’ Ellysetta’s voice dropped lower. ‘I promise you, I will not forget the vows of my Concordia. And I do not believe the Bright Lord would abandon a soul in his service. So, please, be happy for me. I want this. It’s what I’ve always dreamed of.”

A nearly imperceptible wave of power whispered in the room.

Rain exchanged a look with the shei’dalin and her mate. «Marissya. Dax.”

«We feel it too, Rain.”

All three of them turned their attention to Ellysetta. Surprising, amazing Ellysetta was weaving Spirit. The weaves were delicate, incredibly subtle, invisible even to Fey eyes but faintly perceptible to their heightened senses. Had they not been in such a small, confined room, sitting close to her, with the weaves around the Baristani house buffering them from the random surges of power that came naturally from all living creatures, Rain doubted they would even have sensed her magic at all. Ellysetta was weaving a shei’dalin’s calming power with an untutored expertise so natural, and yet so powerfully and flawlessly done that even Marissya could not hide her astonishment. Compared to Ellysetta’s weave, the delicate probing touch that Marissya had tried to use on Ellysetta’s mind was as subtle as a hammer strike. It was obvious that Lauriana had no idea she was being influenced. It was equally as obvious that Ellysetta had no idea she was doing anything more than offering comfort, and that made her skill all the more incredible.

‘Ah, kit, perhaps you’re right and I’m being a silly old woman, seeing demons in every shadow.’ Lauriana wiped her eyes and nose with a handkerchief. ‘Your faith in the Most High makes shame of my doubts. You’ve always been a bright soul, even at the worst of times’ More tears spurted when she embraced Ellysetta again, and she gave a self- conscious bark of laughter. ‘Well, now I know I’d best bring several handkerchiefs to the wedding.”

Ellysetta laughed, too, as did Sol, and the emotional moment passed. The spidery weave of Spirit dissolved, leaving no trace of its existence.

‘Rest assured, Master and Madam Baristani,’ Marissya continued, ‘if for any reason Ellysetta does not accept the matebond, she will have the choice of remaining in the Fading Lands or returning to Celieria. Should she elect to return, the Fey will dower her sufficiently so that she may remarry or live independently for the rest of her life.”

Sol’s brows rose at that unusual generosity. ‘That is very kind.”

The shei’dalin inclined her head. ‘The Feyreisa will be expected to attend at least some of the upcoming court functions. Am I correct in assuming she’s had no training in the noble graces?”

‘There was no need. We’re simple folk.”

‘I will arrange for her to meet with instructors who will teach her what she will be expected to know, both about the Celierian graces and those of the Fey. Once we return to the Fading Lands, the Fey will see to any further education she requires to fulfill her duties as our queen. The rest of the marriage contract is standard. If you wish, I can leave it with you so you may have your solicitor review it.”

‘That’s not necessary. I’ll look at it now’ Sol took the contract and began to read. When he was satisfied there were no nasty surprises, he went to the writing desk in a corner of the room and signed both copies of the contract. Rain signed them also and affixed his seal, a tairen rampant, in a blob of purple wax. Behind them, Lauriana, Ellie, and Marissya began to discuss wedding preparations.

Rain settled back in his chair and let the conversation flow over him. To his credit, he managed to sit through three- quarters of a bell of wedding plans before the first yawn hit him. He managed, admirably he thought, to stifle it, but Sol looked at him and grinned.

‘Ellie girl, why don’t you take your betrothed for a walk in the park? He looks like he could use some fresh air.”

Rain was far too pleased with the idea of escaping the detailed discussion of flowers and color schemes to take offense at Sol’s teasing.

The twins, who had been listening at the doorway, jumped into plain view. ‘Can we come to the park, too?’ they asked in eager unison.

‘Girls,’ Lauriana rapped in a stern voice.

‘Nei. It is all right. They may come.’ Rain nodded at the young girls and hoped their presence would put Ellysetta at ease. His consideration earned him the silent laughter of the Fey warriors, who were amused their king would stoop to bringing infants along on his courtship. He deserved the teasing, of course. Courtship among the Fey was as much a masculine rite of passage as the Soul Quest and the Dance of Knives. Fey men vied openly with one another to prove their greater strength, bravery, and skill in all such rites. But Rain was the first Tairen Soul ever to claim a shei’tani, and he would shamelessly employ whatever methods he could to win her.

* * *

Ellie’s quintet accompanied them, along with thirty other Fey who, fortunately, were little more than dark shadows that she glimpsed now and again as she, Rain, and the twins walked through the streets to the riverfront park a scant mile upstream from the National Museum of Art.

As could only be expected, they garnered a following of curious Celierians, all of whom were suddenly inspired to take in the view of the Velpin River at sunset.

Though the Fey warriors deterred the onlookers from venturing too near, Ellie was painfully aware of the many eyes focused on her party as they made their way to the park. The stares made her realize just whose company she was keeping, and how inadequate and inexperienced she must seem to him.

‘What are you thinking?’ Rain asked after the silence between them had dragged on for several chimes.

‘I was just thinking that I must seem very young to you,’ she admitted.

‘Aiyah. Indeed you do.”

‘I’m sorry.’ She clasped her work-roughened hands before her and stared hard at her ragged fingernails. ‘I’m sure you would have preferred someone older, more experienced.”

‘Nei, you misunderstand. If anything, I envy you’ When she cast him a startled, disbelieving glance, he nodded. ‘It is true. To you, everything is still fresh and new. That has its own appeal to someone like me. I had forgotten, you see, what wonder felt like. You have reminded me.’ He paused. ‘Those older, more experienced women, they have lost their wonder too, and in their endless searching for something to make them feel it again, they have let darkness into their souls. I would never prefer that.”

They had reached the park, and with a natural courtly charm, Rain Tairen Soul opened the gate and ushered her into the park. Thick, green grass rolled out before them like a carpet, while brown graveled paths offered stately, symmetrical walks bordered by blooming flowerbeds and immaculate hedges. Benches sat in select locations alongside the river and beneath the shady canopy of sheltering trees. The clear, Fey- cleansed purity of the Velpin flowed past, singing its soft water music. Rain led her to the walk that bordered the steep granite embankment. There, they stood together and watched the Great Sun set over Celieria, while Lillis and Lorelle played Stones nearby.

‘It is beautiful,’ Ellie murmured as the last golden-red rays of sunlight glimmered on the water.

‘Aiyah. Celieria has always been beautiful.”

As twilight settled over the city, the warm glow of candlelight rose up from thousands of street lamps to replace the brightness of the Great Sun. Once, long ago, the lamps had been lit by small armies of lamplighters carrying lit wicks from lamp to lamp, but now a Fey Fire-spell performed the task in one magical moment each evening. It was one of the gifts from the Fey, like the Velpin Water-cleansing spell, that had been bestowed centuries ago when Marikah vol Serranis became Celieria’s queen.

‘It’s been a thousand years since last you were here,’ Ellie said. ‘What was it like then?”

‘Not so different from now. Many of the buildings are new, which I would expect, given all the years that have passed, but the city itself remains remarkably unchanged. Except, of course, there are no Elden Mages wandering the streets and working their evil in the palace, thank the gods. And the only Fey here are the ones that came with Marissya.”

‘Do the Fey despise all Eld, or just the Mage families?’ He gave her a sharp look. ‘Why do you ask?”

She shrank back from the suspicion in his eyes and the sudden frightening fierceness of his expression. ‘N-no particular reason,’ she stammered. ‘I was just curious. A number of Eld families have come to live in Celieria over the last few decades—none from Mage lines, of course—but they’ve always been quite nice to me.’ His hand shot out to capture hers. ‘Who? Who are these Eld you have befriended?”

Shocked, she tried to pull her hand away. ‘I haven’t befriended any of them,’ she protested. It wasn’t technically a lie. Selianne wasn’t Eld, she was Celierian born and bred. ‘And even if I had, it wouldn’t be your business”

‘You are my truemate. Any Eld folk who’ve befriended you are utterly my business. Give me their names, Ellysetta.’ When she set her jaw and remained stubbornly silent, his eyes narrowed. ‘Must I summon Marissya?”

Fear shot into Ellie’s heart at the thought of the Truthspeaker invading her mind and stripping her soul bare, but even that frightening threat wasn’t enough to make Ellie betray her dearest friend. Her spine went stiff. ‘If you ever order the shei’dalin to Truthspeak me, I assure you, I will never accept your bond.”

Rain released her hand as if it burned him and spun away.

Bel, who had fallen back to give them a measure of privacy, took one look at their set, angry faces and stepped forward to mend the breach. ‘Ellysetta, kem’falla, you must understand, we have dealt with the Eld for centuries before you were born. The Feyreisen has only your safety at heart. The Eld can do you great harm.”

‘Because the Mages soul-bind their followers to them,’ Rain snarled, ‘enslaving them for their own evil purposes. Once a soul is claimed by the Mages, that person’s will is no longer his own. A man would slay his own parents, even his own children, if the Mages ordered him to do so.”

A muscle flexed in Rain’s jaw. Not even to please his shei’tani would he abandon a millennium of suspicion and outright hatred for all things Eld. What the Eld touched, they corrupted. Even an Eld who loved Ellysetta the woodcarver’s daughter could be turned into a tool for the Mages to use against Ellysetta the Tairen Soul’s mate. Through Ellysetta, the Mages could strike a mortal blow to the entire Fey race. ‘Promise me you will not go near anyone with Eld blood, especially not someone born in that cursed land.’ His voice was a whip cracking with the demand for complete obedience.

‘But—”

‘Nei! You are innocent of the evil in the world, Ellysetta. You have no idea what the Mages are capable of, what they will do to accomplish their goals.’ Her chin was set stubbornly, and Rain forced himself to take a deep breath. For thousands of years, the daughters of Celieria had been taught obedience from the cradle. How was it that his shei’tani was the one Celierian girl in the whole miserable kingdom who had not? ‘Ellysetta … shei’tani … I am sorry I threatened to summon Marissya. I should not have done so. But promise me you will never again go near these Eld. The danger is too great. Even to them. Your presence would bring them to the attention of the Mages.”

Her out-thrust chin lowered. Uncertainty crept into her expression. That possibility had obviously not occurred to her. ‘They would be in danger because of me?”

‘The gravest danger.”

Tears filled her eyes. She blinked them back quickly, but he saw them. And the sight nearly broke his heart. ‘You have my word,’ she vowed, her voice barely audible.

‘Beylah vo. Thank you.’ He reached out, wanting to comfort her and mend the breach between them, but she turned away and took a quick step to avoid his touch. He grimaced. Less than one day into his courtship and he’d already all but alienated his shei’tani completely. Marissya would scorch his ears if she knew how badly he was bungling.

Gravel crunched beneath his booted heel as he turned, looking for something, anything, to distract Ellysetta. His eyes fell upon the twins, who had ceased playing Stones and were now begging Kieran and Kiel to show them some Fey magic.

‘So you would like to see Fey magic, would you?’ The forced heartiness in his own voice sounded false to Rain’s ears, but the twins didn’t seem to notice. Their eyes lit up and their little mouths curved wide in eager grins.

‘Oh, yes, My Lord Feyreisen! Please!”

‘My name is Rain. You may call me that.’ He held out his hands to them. ‘Come, I will show you some magic my father once showed me.”

‘You have a father?’ Lorelle took his hand without hesitation, though Lillis held back.

‘I did. He died in the Mage Wars along with so many of my people. His name was Rajahl vel’En Daris. He was a Tairen Soul, like me.’ He remembered his father as a proud, somber man, devoted to his mate, his son, and the protection of the Fey. What gentleness his father had retained was reserved for his family, and Rain still treasured the memory of his father’s rare, beautiful smiles and his even rarer laughter.

‘He died with your mother, the Lady Kiaria, at the Battle of Torrin’s Pass,’ Ellie said.

Rain shot her a startled look. ‘Aiyah. He did, though I am surprised you know of it. Torrin’s Pass was a terrible battle, but very small. I would not have thought it made the history books.”

‘It didn’t, at least not as more than a footnote. I read about it in an old book of Fey poetry.”

‘Ellie reads lots of Fey poetry,’ Lillis offered, now venturing to put her small hand in his.

‘She’s read lots and lots about you,’ Lorelle informed him. ‘And she knows the poem Rainier’s Song by heart. All of it.’ Which, apparently, was an amazing feat.

‘Does she?’ Rain’s brows arched. Though lamplight made it difficult to be certain, he thought his shei’tani was blushing. He opened his Fey senses and became certain. She was blushing, furiously. Curious. ‘I am not familiar with this poem.”

Relief at his ignorance warred with shock on Ellysetta’s face. It was as if he’d admitted to some terrible crime not to know the poem. ‘It’s one of the most famous poetic works in Celierian history,’ she exclaimed. ‘Required reading in all Celierian schools.”

‘Ah.’ There was a poem, about him he assumed, that was required reading in all Celierian schools. Incredible.

«They have put the poem to music, theater, opera, and ballet as well.» Bel’s amused voice sounded in his mind.

Rain shot his friend a dark look before turning his attention back to Ellysetta. ‘Then, of course, I must hear this poem. Would you recite a little?”

Ellie shook her head, avoiding his gaze. ‘I don’t have the voice to do it justice.”

‘Yes, you do!’ Lillis exclaimed.

‘She performed it at the All Souls’ Eve pageant at our school just last fall,’ Lorelle added.

‘So what is this magic your father showed you, My Lord Feyreisen?’ Ellie asked quickly.

‘Rainier, please. Or Rain. Or shei’tan, if you prefer.’ In a rare show of tairen-mischief, his lips curved up at the corners. ‘Else I’ll insist you recite this poem.”

Ellie’s breath caught in her throat. The tiny smile softened the coldness of his face; the sparkle of mischief warmed his eyes. His legendary Fey beauty stunned her senses, but it was the unexpected flash of gentle, laughing humanity that stole a place in her heart.

‘Rain,’ she whispered.

His eyes flared bright. She gasped and pressed a hand to her pounding heart. In an instant, the world ceased to exist except for him. He wasn’t touching her, and yet she knew he was clutching her to him with every Fey sense he possessed.

Then, abruptly, she was free, her knees so weak she thought she might collapse.

‘Sieks’ta. I’m sorry,’ he muttered, dragging a hand through his hair. ‘Your father was right to complain about my lack of control’ He grimaced, then forced a pleasant expression on his face and took the twins’ hands again. ‘Come. I will show you this magic. I think you will like it.’ He escorted them to a riverside bench partially secluded by the long, leafy branches of a burlwood tree, and stood beside the bench as Ellie and the twins sat. Bel and the rest of his quintet formed a protective semicircle behind them.

‘Watch the river,’ Rain instructed. He raised his hands and summoned Water and Fire, easily blending the weaves until spouts of crystalline water fountained up in the center of the river, each fountain lit from within by various colors of Fire.

At his command, Fire and Water danced together in the shimmering patterns of Cha Baruk, the Dance of Knives. A circle of five fountains splashed in perfect symmetry. They sprayed up in a bright flare of light, whirled, and began to move in a perfect circular clockwise motion. A tiny bright blue spurt of water jumped from across the circle, looking exactly like a glowing dagger tossed across a small distance. Another blue blade of water was returned. The number of water blades increased, cartwheeling across the center of the circle until Fire and Water formed a glowing dome of flashing blue lights performing a stunning aerial display.

Water-blades still flying, the five fountains split into five new circles, each with its own dome of flashing Fire-lit Water-knives in a different color, while the blue blades, increasing exponentially in number, continued to dance from circle to circle. The twenty-five fountains became a hundred twenty-five, and now there were thousands of Fire-lit Water- blades flashing an endless rainbow of colors.

Crowds had gathered on both sides of the river and on the bridges to watch the Tairen Soul work his magic. Ellie and the twins gaped at the incredible display in awestruck silence.

Rain shifted the weave from the fierce exuberance of the Cha Baruk to the gently flowing Felah Baruk, the Dance of Joy. The Cha Baruk fountains subsided, and ten new fountains arose to dance in an interweaving loop. Five tall, fierce jets of water circled five gently arcing fountains that twirled slowly within the weave. Watching, Ellie could almost see Fey women bending and swaying seductively as their fierce suitors paid court.

Each twirling fountain, orbited by its fierce protector, danced in an ever tightening ring until they all merged into a single huge plume of water from which rose a blaze of Fire in the shape of a tairen rampant. Burning white, then red, then purple, the Fire tairen roared at the onlookers and lit up the night sky with an exploding blossom of flame before sinking back into the shrinking fountain and disappearing beneath the surface of the river. The light of Fire slowly faded, and the water grew still once more.

After a moment of utter silence, thunderous applause exploded from all sides of the river. Lillis and Lorelle jumped up and down, clapping their hands and clamoring for more. Ellysetta sat in stunned silence, feeling her heart clench into a tight knot.

‘You must be very powerful.”

Ellie didn’t realize she had spoken aloud until Rain replied, ‘All men of the Fey are powerful, but I am the Tairen Soul, Defender of the Fey. A Tairen Soul is a master of all Fey magics.’ He looked out over the night-darkened river, glimmering now only with the golden lights of the lamps that lined the streets and bridges. ‘And I am a very powerful Tairen Soul.”

He stood so straight, so tall. So alone. A bulwark of strength standing between his people and the world. Though he had not said as much in words, his skills set him apart, made him different from everyone around him. She knew what it meant to be different. Even when she was among those who loved her most, there was always a part of her that felt lonely, outside the close bond of sameness that everyone else seemed to share.

She reached out and took his hand. She felt him tense as her fingers closed around his; then he gave a little shudder and pulled her to her feet so he could wrap his arms around her. Need and violent passion raged in him, but she felt him battle it back, control it, cage it. That took strength, too, she realized. Immense strength, which he exerted with such fierce will because he did not want to frighten her. She feared both his magic and the savageness that lived in his soul, could not imagine ever having access to such seemingly limitless power, but she also understood what it was to be alone and to long for acceptance and the warmth of a loving embrace.

Her prayer went up, silent but heartfelt, Dear gods, grant him peace.

His body went stiff, then trembled faintly. When she would have pulled back in concern, his arms clutched her tight. ‘Nei, shei’tani, do not leave me just yet. Let me hold you a while longer.’ She felt his lips press against her hair, felt his need for her down to her soul, and for this moment in time she did not feel alone.

They stood there by the Velpin for many long, silent chimes, the woodcarver’s daughter and the man who had once almost destroyed the world, the man whose face was now drawn in lines of mingled joy and anguish.