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Aether dust sprinkles over me. I’m so astonished I don’t look to see who it comes from. “I... I thought no one wanted to spend my birthday with me.”
Behind me, Arluin clears his throat but says nothing as Eliya rushes over to me. Her hug is so forceful it irritates my injured shoulder.
“You have no idea how horrible I felt lying to you before! The look of disappointment on your face was so unbearable I almost told you everything.”
“And it’s a good job you didn’t,” my mother says with a sigh. “Or else weeks’ worth of plans would have been ruined.”
Eliya gives my mother a meek look as she releases me.
I turn to my father. He stands a head and shoulder above everyone else, and in his magnificent robes he looks as fearsome as Grandmage Delmont Blackwood’s statue outside the Arcanium. He has also brought his crystalline staff with him. Only my father would bring Nolderan’s most deadly weapon to a birthday party.
“What are you doing here, Father?” I ask, my brows knitting together in confusion. “What happened to all the important meetings you have until late tonight?”
The corners of his auburn beard tug up as he smiles. “Since my daughter’s birthday is far more important, I canceled them all.”
I laugh at that, though I doubt my father would have actually canceled his meetings. Most likely, he’s managed to book a rare night off his duties. But if something dire does arise, he’ll have no choice but to leave and see to it.
Dozens of tables and chairs are normally scattered through The Violet Tree, but tonight they’re replaced by an enormous table which spans the entire length of the room. It’s made from polished sandalwood, but you can only tell that by the double twisted legs since the rest of the table is covered with silver plates and crystalline goblets.
It takes me at least ten minutes to make it to the table, thanks to my aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, and relatives I’m not even sure are related to me. My father’s side of the family is rather small, since he’s an only child like me, but my mother more than makes up for it with her expansive family.
When we’re all seated, servers bring over countless dishes of more foods than I can imagine—and these are just our appetizers. My parents have hired out The Violet Tree to throw a mighty banquet, most likely through my mother’s charms and my father’s reputation. And of course, our family’s riches.
It seems the inn is still serving other guests this evening, however. A few patrons trickle in through the door, and the servers take them through to the back rooms. All look over at our banquet as they pass, and many stop to speak with my father. My father knows nearly everyone in the Upper City. How he can remember so many names and faces, I’ll never know. His acquaintances all come over and wish me a happy birthday. While I suppose it’s nice of them, it’s also rather annoying since it stops me from eating my food and drinking my moon-blossom wine—an extravagant import from the elven lands which is infused with aether. We only drink it on special occasions.
Eliya sits to my right, and Arluin to my left. He talks about boring things with my father, like the research he’s currently involved in. My father is as strange as Arluin in that he enjoys discussing such matters, and the two of them engage in one of the longest and dullest conversations I’ve ever heard. He doesn’t blame Arluin for his father’s mistakes, though he personally banished Heston Harstall from Nolderan. But I know he remains wary of Arluin, a part of him wondering whether one day he too will fall down the same path. It’s by the slight reservation in his eyes that I can tell, but he’s never said anything out loud to me nor has he objected to my relationship with Arluin. I don’t doubt that he has many such conversations with my mother, though. It’s probably because of her that he holds his tongue.
In between dishes, I chatter with Eliya about our Medeicus and Fire Magic tutors. Apparently several other adepts have spotted them looking incredibly familiar when out and about through the city over the past few weeks. It’s a far more riveting topic of conversation than research.
By the time we finish eating, I am certain I’ve nearly finished an entire bottle of moon-blossom wine all by myself. I’m presented with a mountain of gifts, but unwrapping the colorful paper is an almost impossible task. I end up dropping the present from my mother and father. It falls onto the wooden floor with a thud. In my defense, it is a small box.
My entire family laughs.
“You’re already really drunk!” Eliya exclaims beside me, unable to control her giggling.
“No, I’m not,” I protest, leaning down to find the box beneath my feet. But it seems she’s right since I fall off my chair. More laughter erupts across the table.
I tilt back my head and stare up at the arched ceiling. The walls spin around me in an awful bout of vertigo.
Arluin’s face appears above me. Actually, I can see three of him, all his faces blending together where they meet.
“Do you need some help down there?” he asks, raising a brow at me.
His voice echoes in my ears, and it takes me a moment to understand his words.
I lower my gaze. “Maybe...”
Arluin kneels beside me and searches the floor for where the box landed. When he finds it, he scoops it up and helps me back onto my chair.
He hands it over, but I slide it back across the table to him.
“Can you open it?” I ask quietly. “I think I will drop it again if I try.”
Eliya finds that question hilarious.
Arluin obliges and tears the red paper off the small square box. He opens it and presents me with a pair of diamond earrings. They are shaped like chandeliers, and I’m certain they would reach my shoulders if I put them into my ears.
“They’re beautiful,” I gasp, my fingers running across one of the diamond swirls.
