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“But I can marry,” I reminded her. “In thirty years.”
I saw her face turn to shock. Then her lips twitched. “Yes, that is true,” she admitted. “Is that your plan?”
When an acolyte took vows to the Three, they were also promising celibacy. In most cases, for a span of at least thirty years. In some cases, acolytes willingly pledged a lifetime.
I knew Galahad was prepared to make that vow. Oh, he had fooled around with boys before. But his heart belonged to the temple and always would. He was different from Lancelet or even me.
Sometimes I wished I was like him. It would have made things easier.
“I honestly have no idea,” I said with a shrug. “Was this all you wished to show me today?”
I felt like a negligent pupil, eager to run away from my teacher. I knew there was far more Merlin could teach me, far more I had to learn. And I knew, too, that most acolytes at the temple would give their right arm to have the high priestess as their mentor.
But all I felt was trapped.
One more year and then this became my life. My life for the next thirty years.
Until then, I would spend my own freedom.
“No,” Merlin answered, surprising me, and rising to her feet, her white gown swishing around her leather sandaled feet. “There is one more thing I wished to show you, but I nearly forgot. Come. Follow me.”
She led the way back into the domed temple, through the purification room, into the room where she had poured the libation offering, and then towards a door on the far side that I had not noticed before.
I hesitated as she began to push it open, and she laughed.
“Never fear. We are not going into the inner sanctum. Not today. This is merely a passageway.”
I nodded and followed her into the corridor.
“I think you will appreciate this,” she murmured.
As we entered, I let out a gasp.
The ceiling arched above us. Though no natural light came in from anywhere, the space seemed to glow and shimmer with a light all its own.
Every inch of the walls and ceiling were lined with glowing mosaics made of precious jewels and rare stones that depicted scenes from the ancient past.
A time when the fae thrived and lived alongside mortals.
I studied the mosaics, my eyes wide. The images were like nothing I had seen before.
In one scene, a fae queen sat on a majestic throne, surrounded by courtiers. She wore a gossamer gown made of flowers and sat in a verdant landscape beside a babbling brook. Her hair was a bright shade of blue, her skin a pale, almost translucent azure. Her coloring reminded me of the fae-blooded boy. I could almost hear the sound of the wind rustling through the trees as I looked at the mosaic.
There were humans in some of the images. Far less richly dressed and smaller in scale. They could be seen bringing gifts to the queen, as if trying to curry favor with her.
In another carving, a group of beautiful fae men and women danced on a hilltop. Their long hair flowed in the wind and their bodies shimmered in the sunlight as they spun and swayed, their faces full of melodic laughter.
But not all of the scenes were so idyllic. I turned my head to the wall along my right and gasped.
A very different side of the fae was depicted here. The mosaics were crafted from darker tiles that showed the fae as still beautiful, yes, but monstrous, too. Some with horns, others with claws. Still others with features more shocking and grotesque. I glimpsed feathers, fur, and scales. Here the fae’s faces were savage and bloodthirsty, twisted in vicious snarls, their gleaming eyes full of a fierce hunger.
In contrast to the opposite wall, the landscape on the right was ravaged and desolate, all sharp rocks and stunted vegetation. I looked along the wall at carvings which showed humans being led in chains by fae soldiers holding whips in their clawed hands. The humans were downtrodden and defeated, while the fae looked on with cruel expressions.
I tried to imagine Arthur’s reaction to seeing something like this, here in this place.
“Are you shocked?” Merlin asked, inspecting my face. “Few have stood in this space.”
“I’m surprised,” I managed to say. “This is... It’s...”
