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The one who stood out was surrounded by a black oily substance that immediately made Etain recoil. It was a black of malice, death, anger, and despair. This being, whatever it was, had something rotting from within and wore a shroud of grief. Etain wanted to feel pity for the being, but she was certain the creature meant to do serious harm. She saw the black oily mass around the being reach out and take someone. Then the beings who had suddenly appeared left the room all at once.
Etain knew somehow it was someone important to her that had been taken. She could not see who; she could only feel the pain their absence created in her. The being left behind flared with rage. As Etain watched, they let out a great explosion of despair, as half of it seemed to vanish, no longer whole without the one who was taken.
Etain felt tears dampen her face, and she knew her physical body was crying. She felt the being’s pain so acutely she wondered if she was seeing a vision of herself and that could only mean Ciaran had been taken from her. Panic engulfed her as the white fog thickened. She tried to brush it away to see the face of the half being, but it made no difference. The fog became the solid white again and she began to fall back into her physical body.
Ciaran had already begun making his way towards Etain before she cried out for him. He’d felt something was not quite right, so he rushed towards her the moment she screamed for him. He watched as her beautiful brown eyes turned completely white and her hair began to float around her. She then lifted off the ground like she often did when her emotions were heightened. Suddenly, her head was thrown back and her chest thrusted out as if there was some great force pushing her from behind.
He heard the room gasp a split second before he sawthem. Her wings had exploded out from her back in the form of a black smokey substance, which immediately began to take the shape of wings. They weren’t solid, yet they fluttered and propelled her even higher. Ciaran flew with her in case her power should leave her as quickly as it had come. He began to call Etain’s name to try to wake her from whatever trance she was in.
“Prince Ciaran.”
He looked down to see the head witch standing right below them in the aisle.
“She is having a vision. Her gift as a seer and her wings are connected to the same color of power. It seems when one flares, the other does as well.”
Ciaran nodded to the witch, finding it hard to care for any explanation given. His mate had been terrified, and now she was here, yet not. He kept his hands around her waist ready to catch her should she need it.
Long moments went by, and then he saw the tears begin to run down her face, dragging the dark kohl with them. He tried to call to her. He was on the verge of shaking her to see if that would wake her from whatever nightmare she was seeing, when he heard the witch urge him not to force her from the vision. To pull her from one too soon could cause her to not fully come back from the plane she was on. She would live in a constant state of confusion and would never know if what she saw was a vision or real. It would be detrimental to her life and their life together. As much as it went against everything he felt he must do, he heeded the witch’s words and waited impatiently for Etain to come back to him. Finally, he saw the center of her eyes begin with a pinprick of color, which slowly expanded before returning to the warm brown eyes he adored.
She blinked several times before seeming to register Ciaran was in front of her. “Ciaran. S-something…Something horrible is going to happen,” Etain said shakily.
“What’s going to happen, little witch?” he asked as he pulled her in closer. He tried to give her comfort and privacy in a room filled with night fae and witches.
“Someone will be taken, and it will rip another in half when it happens. I could not see faces, or even discern any other physical attributes, but I felt the pain sharply as if it were my own. What if it is you who will be taken, and I was the one torn apart without you?” Her eyes were filled with fear and lingering pain from her vision.
“As soon as we ascend our thrones, we will be too powerful for it to be one of us, my love. Could you see where or when this would happen?”
“No, all I could see were several beings I knew were of this court without actually seeing their face. Then several beings appeared suddenly, and I knew them not to belong. There was one creature who stood out from the rest. There was something wrong with it. There was a black inky substance surrounding it, which made me fear going near it. It was that black inky presence that seemed to swallow the being who was taken.”
“Perhaps, once we finish our mating ceremony and become the true king and queen of The Night Court, we can find the head witch. She might be able to help you figure out what it all means?”
Etain nodded, then looked around. “Why are we flying?” Her brows creased in confusion.
“Well, little witch, it seems your wings decided to make an appearance as well. You put on quite the display of power. I have never heard my court so quiet.” He tried to bring her smile back to make the situation a little less horrifying for her.
Her eyes opened wide. She turned her head from side to side to catch a glimpse of her wings. “I really do have wings,” she said quietly as the smile Ciaran had been hoping for began to creep back out. “I wish I could see them fully.”
Ciaran ported them from the ceremony and into a room filled with mirrors. He guided them far enough down to allow for a full view of every inch of herself. She let out a little laugh as she moved her wings one at a time.
“It’s a wonder they actually carry me. I would never think something like smoke could ever bear the weight of anything solid,” Etain said in awe of her own wings.
“Magic and power don’t follow the same rules as the physical world. It often does not make sense, and I would imagine it would make even less sense to one raised in the Human Realm.”
“It would appear I am continually learning something new every day.” She made a sound of dismay when she noticed the black that ran down her cheeks from her tears. He found the effect to be beautiful and told her as much. She gave him a look that said she clearly did not believe him, though she left the streaks and told him she was ready to return. He ported them back to the altar, so they could finally solidify their mate bond.
Fifty
Whentheyreturnedtothe woodsy room, many of the beings were out of their seats unsure of what they should be doing. Kes had been standing in front of everyone attempting to keep the room from breaking out into chaos. The second everyone saw them reappear and take their places at the altar, it took only one harsh look from Ciaran to send everyone scrambling back to their seats.
Etain knew the mating ceremony was similar to the blood oath Anin and Kes made because there would be a blood component, but everything else was completely different. The creature presiding over it looked like bleached tree branches artfully twined together to create a tall willowy being.
Ciaran had told her they were called “Chroniclers,” and they belonged to neither court. They presided over every mating ceremony, coronation, birth, death, and major historical events. Ciaran said he didn’t know what they did with the information, though one always arrived when needed without being called.
Etain was staring. She knew she was, and she knew it was rude, but she had never seen anything this otherworldly, and she had seen a lot of different types of creatures by now. She thought it might be the way it felt completely indifferent, neither warm nor cold. Etain thought perhaps they had seen far too much to ever become emotionally attached to any other creature. She also wondered if perhaps these beings went between the other realms Hecate had mentioned.
The Chronicler spoke directly into their minds with a voice which was neither male nor female. Everyone appeared prepared for this, everyone except Etain who startled a bit at the intrusion. The being must have sensed her wariness when it seemed to speak only to her.
“Fear not, daughter of Hecate. I can not read what is in your mind, nor can I place thoughts upon it. This is the way my kind communicates.”
