AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“With this, we welcome the Crown Prince and acknowledge him, pledging our loyalty to his future as the leader of this kingdom.” Nylah turned to Ellie and Rainier. “This is a blessing, and he will do great things.”
Ellie’s eyes filled with tears, and even Rainier looked emotional. Erol sniffed next to me, and I took his hand and squeezed it. Love flowed freely through our bond, and I felt a sense of yearning from him. He wanted this, too.
It wouldn’t be long now for me to be with child. I sensed it, I felt it in my very bones.
After Nylah handed Deron to Ellie, and the baby kicked his chubby legs and blew spit bubbles, she looked at the audience again.
“We didn’t plan any of what will follow,” she said, and her face changed, glowing softly. Her eyes became like a fiery pit, glowing with intensity. “Terra has asked me to make another statement, to call another being home.”
We all frowned and glanced at each other.
“Do you know what she means?” I whispered to Erol.
He only shook his head.
“Vanya, if you’ll come to me,” Nylah said.
Mom hesitated before she stood. Ellie and Rainier looked as confused as the rest of us.
When Mom joined Nylah, Nylah took her hand.
“It is customary for every kingdom to have a high priestess who will guide the king and queen in their journey as leaders, who will communicate with Terra, who will draw from her wisdom, who will translate visions and dreams and look into the future for answers. It’s an honor only bestowed upon a select few by Terra herself. It usually goes from mother to daughter, but on rare occasions, Terra selects someone who is worthy to offer their lives in eternal service to the Goddess of Light.”
Nylah smiled at my mom. “Palgia has had a rocky road, with a priestess who led the kingdom astray and carried out the will of Dark Goddess. In the absence of darkness, and in the presence of pure light, the King and Queen have reigned without a link to the goddess. Terra would like to rectify that and would like to ask you, Vanya, if you’d be willing to offer your life to servitude.”
Everyone gasped. Mom blinked, surprised.
“Me?”
Nylah nodded. “You have shown great power since we started working together, and you are ready to take up the mantle, if you want it. Terra will never force anyone to do something they don’t want themselves, and ultimately, it’s for you to decide. But—”
“I’ll do it,” Mom said before Nylah could finish.
“I had a feeling you would.” Nylah touched her fingers to my mom’s forehead, and light filled my mom so that she glowed, her features becoming ethereal. “It’s not an easy task, but it’s a position of the highest honor. Who better to lead the King and Queen than the Queen’s mother?”
Another flash of light filled the room, and we all gasped. Terra was here, and she was pleased. We could all sense it. When the light faded again, tears streamed down my mom’s cheeks. I was crying, too.
After all my mom had lost, after years of wandering, of living without anything, of having nothing but scraps for food…she’d been given the highest honor that could be bestowed on a Fae.
“Thank you,” Mom finally whispered.
“Don’t thank me, I didn’t plan this any more than the rest of them did. Welcome to priesthood. It’s wonderful to have a sister.” Nylah hugged her, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
When the ceremony wrapped up, we moved to the next room, where a feast had been laid out on long tables with white tablecloths. More white flowers and white carpets adorned the room, continuing the symbol of purity. The message was twofold—no one had expected that in addition to gaining a crown prince, Palgia had gained a high priestess of their own.
Nylah came to us where Ellie, Rainier, my mom, Zita, Dex, Erol, and I stood together. Ellie bounced baby Deron on her hip.
“That was unexpected,” she said.
“And after what we’ve all been through, that’s saying something,” Dex said.
We all laughed.
“I didn’t plan any of it, but Terra has divine timing, and she’s never wrong,” Nylah said. “She—” Her words cut off as her face changed, her eyes glowing. She looked into the distance, not seeing anything in this realm. I’d come to learn that it meant she was having a vision.
“Today is full of divine purpose,” Mom whispered.
Nylah’s face remained ethereal, and then it was as if she snapped out of it. She looked sharply at Dex.
