Ella
Amanda shifts her weight beside me as we stare up into the ceiling of the remains of the observatory.
After I destroyed Ravenna’s crystal castle in Old Moonrise to save my friends’ lives, I offered to have this palace rebuilt.
The mystics refused–flat out.
They said it was a gift and a message from the Goddess that the orrery survived the devastation. It sits in the remains of the palace, warded by Ryatt’s powers against the elements, and has a view of the night sky as I wait for the mystics to arrive. Metal arms twirl in a circle, holding up the planets of our solar system–the moon and the stars around it.
This room has been the meeting place of the mystic’s for millennia, since long before the veil ever came down around Eastonia.
And one thing I’ve learned about the mystics during my time in Eastonia is that they cannot handle change.
A woman in a pale silver robe appears, her face obstructed by a glittering mask of pure moonstone.
Amanda jumps, startled, but I’ve grown accustomed to their strange ways. I have a theory about them, and that’s that they simply regenerate. I’ve never met a baby mystic. I’ve never met a family who had a daughter go into the trade. They just… appear, wearing the same robes and the same masks.
I never know their true names, either. Sister this, sister that. That’s all they are.
Another trio of mystics appear, and I briefly wonder if Amanda is going to have a heart attack, but she steadies herself with a tight grip on my forearm. Amanda steers clear of the mystics if she can. Her work as the wife of the Beta generally has to do with the public, especially when it comes to entertaining and appeasing the high ranking families of the packs under our rule.
I need her at my side for this meeting, however.
If anyone had told me that the two of us would one day be running an entire kingdom together, I would have laughed in their face. We’re doing a good job, I think. We can be serious when we need to.
Right now, I’m deadly serious.
Because we have a date for the Rite.
“When?” I ask, and my voice sounds unfamiliar in the echo of the towering columns of pure crystal all around us.
The orrery keeps spinning, and the click clack of the gears puts me on edge as I wait for the mystics response.
In unison, they say, “The third Saturday of the month. Two weeks from now. A Blood Moon Eclipse.”
I find it hard to swallow. Has it really been twenty-one years since the last eclipse?
Beside me, Amanda looks from mystic to mystic.
One of them steps forward, her robes brushing against the mosaic tiles. “Everything is in place. We will hold the ceremony and celebration in tandem.”
“That sounds like a plan.” I sigh, unable to hold back my nerves any longer. “Have you seen… anything else?”
Amanda tenses. I know we're both waiting for them to tell us our children are dead, or captured by the enemy, or something equally as bad.
The past two days have been torture, to say the least. Evander and Kenna never made it on the ferry. They never arrived in Maatua.
The only clue we have is that Ryatt felt something in the protective wards he put in place the same morning Kenna was supposed to board the ferry with Misty. Someone broke through the veil in the furthest reaches of the Roguelands—from Crescent Falls.
I know Kenna is alive.
And I know Evander is risking his life to bring her home.
He will. He will bring her home.
“No, Your Grace.”
Great. Just great.
I glance at Amanda, who says into my mind, ‘Can they really not tell us where they are?’
I sigh again and give her a little shrug. I’m barely holding myself together as it is. Ryatt is off in the Roguelands tearing the place apart looking for them with only a hunch to go on, and I’m here, being the queen, pretending like my heart hasn’t been ripped clean out of my chest.
“Do we know who will be performing the ritual?” I ask.
The mystics confer in their strange, silent way before one speaks up and says, “A young witch by the name of Vivienne has been chosen. She’s been notified of her fate and has accepted.”
Amanda and I glance at each other. “And the man?”
“Evander of Moonrise.”
Amanda’s grip on my arm tightens. I choke down an alarmed, “What?” before the word can escape.
“Very well,” I manage to say and give the mystics a slight bob of my head.
Without another word, Amanda and I hustle out of the orrery and into the village of Old Moonrise. I could spirit us across the lake, back into the city, but I know by our silence that we both need to walk and process what we just found out.
Amanda lets go of my arm and walks steadily through the village toward the lake shore, her shoulder squared, and her body absolutely rigid.
I follow her, passing the trail leading to Ryatt’s old house nestled in the trees, until we reach the docks lining the lake.
It’s practically empty here. A single fisherman sits in a canoe just off the shore, eating a sandwich while waiting for a fish to take his bait.
Amanda plops down on the edge of the dock.
I sit next to her, and we stare out over the lake for a long time, watching the sun go down over the mountains in the distance, and the lights of the new city I forced from this lake twinkle alight.
“He’ll do it,” Amanda says in a small, sad voice. “Evander will perform the Rite.”
“He has a choice,” I tell her, but she shakes her head.
“He’s so–so stubborn. He gets that from me.” She huffs a breath. “But he’s so… he’s so much like Granger. He loves order and performing his duties. He’s every commander's dream.”
“He doesn’t have to do this,” I repeat.
“It’s not up to me,” she whispers, shaking her head. “He’s an adult. He’ll see this like everyone else does–a blessing on his family, something to be proud of. It’s why I did it. I knew my parents would be proud that I was the chosen one… not that it mattered.”
Amanda’s entire family perished when King Kane’s forces attacked her pack and village shortly after she and Granger performed the Rite.
It took them both several years to tell Ryatt and I some of the details of what took place during that night when they were chosen by the mystics to bring back the moon after the eclipse.
Amanda's fate was read to her. She was told she’d have many children–all healthy, all strong and capable. She was told she’d find her fated mate, and together they’d usher in a new era of peace and prosperity for Eastonia.
But like the women before her, she had no idea who would be entering that cave with her, and then Granger was at her side.
“I was told he’d be special,” Amanda says as she watches the last streams of sunlight dust over the lake. “That Evander would have many gifts and a divine purpose. He’s a child of the Rite. He now has the ability to shift into both a wolf and fox and flew through his Ghost training. I just–he’s shy, Ella. He’s always had a hard time making friends, and I doubt he’s even ever had a girlfriend.”
I chuckle, giving her a look. “You really think he hasn’t gotten into his fair share of trouble across the river in Tarsian during training? If he’s as much like Granger as you say, I’m sure he’s been with plenty of women.” Ryatt and Granger had quite a reputation during their days as young warriors. I’ve heard plenty of stories from that time, whether I like it or not.
“He’s more tender-hearted than he’d ever admit, and I worry he’d accept this and–and it would eat at him.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, generally confused.
Amanda runs her fingers through her long, copper-blonde hair. “He just always does what other people tell him to do. He always does what he thinks is right for the greater good. I don't think Evander has ever done anything for himself, and it breaks my heart.”
“And you think he’d do this because it’s expected of him?”
“Yes, I do. He won’t refuse.”
“And what if he finds his mate within the next two weeks, and it’s not this Vivienne girl?” I ask, giving her shoulder a little nudge. “Do you think he’d still do the Rite?”
“I don’t know, Ella. Maybe I’m thinking about this too deeply.” She fidgets with the seam of her blue silk skirt. But then she cracks a smile and chuckles to herself.
“What’s so funny?”
“I was just thinking about how we used to wonder if Evander and Kenna were mates. They were so close as kids.”
I smile, but it’s wistful. “I remember that. I remember how they used to play mates and set up little houses in the woods together with her dolls and all of his play weapons so he could hunt for her.”
“Times have really changed them,” she sighs. “I’m worried about them right now.”
“So am I,” I readily admit. “I’m sure they’re fine. I know they’re together, at least.”
“Evander would never let anyone hurt Kenna,” she says. “She’s the one person he’s ever really cared about.”
Her words do something to my heart as the stars come into view above us. I take Amanda’s hand in mine.
“What do you think they’re doing right now, besides fighting?”
She smirks. “Hopefully making up for lost time.”
* * *
Our room in the castle is massive but feels cold and empty without Ryatt. I sit on the edge of the bed, freshly showered and wearing sweatpants and a tank top. It’s late at night. Probably past midnight, at this point. I’ve already used the mirror to contact my brother, and there’s been no news about any sightings of rebels, or of my daughter, in Crescent Falls.
At least my niece is safely tucked away in Maatua.
I lie back on the bed and knit my fingers over my stomach, gazing up at the domed ceiling and the mural painted across it thousands of years ago.
When the city first appeared, Ryatt and I brought in as many skilled artisans as we could find to bring the castle and surrounding city back to life.
It took years–five years, exactly–to return the castle to its former glory.
It’s been home since then, but I miss the castle in Veiled Valley. I miss it especially on lonely nights like this, when there’s no one but me and the staff.
At least in Veiled Valley I had the magic that lived in the house to keep me company.
But a tickle in my chest breaks me from my musings.
‘I have news about their whereabouts,’ Ryatt says through the mind-link, also sending a little tug down the silver thread of our bond.
I sit up, sighing with relief. ‘Where are they?’
‘Commander Artyom is sending a Ghost into the mountains. There’s been rebel activity there, and a scout from some rural packs said a witch helped deliver a baby high in the mountains yesterday.’
‘We don’t have any witches stationed as healers that high in the mountains. That’s outside of Rogueland territory–’
‘I know. It’s her, isn’t it?’
‘It has to be her. Who else could it be?’
I think of my beautiful, talented daughter and her midwifery skills.
‘I’ll find her and bring her home.’
‘I know you will.’ I debate telling him what Amanda and I just learned about Evander but decide it isn’t my news to share.
Granger is with him. Amanda likely already told him what was happening.
‘Goodnight, Princess,’ Ryatt says, and my chest warms with newfound hope, love, and relief.