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She motioned to the thick folds of her dress. “Yes. You provided a temporary resting place?”
“Everything is set up,” I said. “Will you join us, then?”
She stepped forward to walk with us back toward the field. When we reached the first ring of lights, she paused, her dark eyes widening with reflected sparkles. I shifted my weight uneasily at her stare, taking in the huge gathering of my people in revelry, but the expression that crossed her face after a moment looked only like awe.
Did the fae even have celebrations, or at least any that came close to this? There was still a lot I didn’t know about our nearest neighbors. As the tension in my chest ebbed, I made a note to myself to rectify those gaps.
The more we knew, the more we wrote down for future generations to learn from, the less chance there was that we’d end up at each other’s throats all over again.
Some of the dancers nearby glanced over, and their eyes widened in turn. They eased to the side to part a way for us through the crowd. As the path opened up and we walked along it, I spotted Serenity swaying with Nate by the center of the field.
The attendants I’d given advance warning to must have gotten word. The music turned off. My mate lifted her head in confusion and went still when she saw me and our guest approaching.
“Monarch,” Serenity said, easing away from Nate. She bowed, only a little, as one head of their kind to another. Her gaze slid to me, and I gave her a reassuring smile.
“Dragon shifter,” the fae woman said with equal respect. “I hope I can contribute to your celebration here. Your alpha made a suggestion that struck me as wise, given the strides our two peoples have made toward a long-term alliance.”
She reached into the folds of her dress and drew out a crystal so large and clear it was my turn to stare in awe. The carved stone, which filled her entire hand, caught the lights overhead and bounced them back in every color of the rainbow.
I kept enough wherewithal to motion toward the low column set in the middle of the field. The slight indent on its top held the crystal perfectly when the monarch set it down. Serenity looked from it to me and back to the fae woman.
“Your presence is welcome,” she said, not forgetting her role even in her confusion. “I’m pleased to take part in any activity that would strengthen the bond between our peoples.”
The monarch gave her a thin smile that held about as much warmth as I ever saw any fae offer.
“It’s to replace the one you smashed in the mountains,” I said quietly. “Just in case, if there’s ever a need in the future…”
Understanding dawned on the dragon shifter’s face. When she spoke to the monarch again, her voice trembled, but her eyes had lit up. “We can do that? Recreate the magic that was in the other crystal, that will give another dragon shifter the flames of truth?”
“We can,” the fae monarch said. “I believe the first crystal was put there for good reason—I believe you’ve proven that our ancestors were right to provide that option for times of need. If you would join with me in creating the power it will contain?”
“Of course. You’ll just need to tell me what to do.” Serenity’s mouth formed a crooked grin. “I’ve never imbued anything with magic before.”
The fae monarch motioned for Serenity to join her on the opposite side of the podium. All around us, my kin had fallen silent. Several breaths drew in around me with a quiver of anticipation. My heart was thumping fast, but it was all enthusiasm now. Yes, I’d made a good choice, arranging this ritual for tonight.
“The magic will come from me,” the monarch said to Serenity. “You will contribute your flames. Let your usual dragon fire flow into the crystal, and I will shape it into the power to be claimed.”
Serenity nodded. The crowd had stepped back enough to leave her room to shift. She shed her coat. I caught the eye of one of my attendants and signaled her to collect another change of clothes for our dragon shifter.
The sight of my mate taking on her animal form still filled my chest with wonder. The lovely woman rose and lengthened with a gleam of bright red scales and a fierce glint in her draconic eyes. She held her narrow head at a regal angle and looked toward the monarch. The fae woman stretched her hands toward the crystal as if to say,Be my guest.
There were shifters in the crowd who’d never seen Serenity let loose her flames. She hadn’t had much reason to use her dragon fire since we’d fended off the vampire threat the summer before last. When she bared her curved teeth and sent forth the first burst of flame, a collective gasp ran through our audience. Everyone stayed completely still, transfixed.
Her regular dragon fire, streaked red and orange and yellow, coursed down over the crystal with a crackle and a wash of heat I could feel from where I was standing several feet away.
The fae monarch made a scooping gesture with her hands as if to encircle the crystal and Serenity’s fire at the same time. A fizzing glow lit up around the top of the podium. A sudden wind gusted up, tossing the fae woman’s long silver-blond waves. A thrum of energy washed over me that tickled my skin and made my ears pop.
The glow contracted around the crystal and seemed to pull Serenity’s fire with it. She raised her head, letting the flow of flames ebb. The ones she’d brought forth danced within the sphere of magic as it closed in around the crystal and then seeped into its polished surface.
A sharper light beamed from inside the stone. It flickered and danced like a miniature flame contained within the gem. Which I supposed it was. A flame giving the power to uncover the truth and burn away to the heart of the matter, like the gift Serenity had earned for herself all those months ago.
The fae monarch smiled, looking pleased, and lifted the crystal. Serenity dropped back into her human form, and I hurried forward with the dress my attendant had handed me. My mate tugged it over her head with a swift practiced motion. Her gaze stayed on the fae monarch as she accepted her coat.
“Will you bring it up into the mountain?” she asked. “Or should we find a different place?”
“I think the place of the two peaks still serves well for this purpose,” the fae monarch said. “None go there for any other reason. It will not be discovered unless another like you comes searching, seeking it out. That will be your legacy, to decide what guidance you leave behind. I will see this token conveyed there now.”
“Thank you,” Serenity said before the monarch could go. “This—it means a lot. I hope no dragon shifter ever needs to use it, especially for the reasons I had to, but I’m glad we can support each other enough now to ensure that power will be there if any reason arises again.”
