Chapter Eighty-Eight

The opening ceremony for the summer festival went by far more quickly than Ellie thought it would. The royal family had gathered on a platform, King Armond gave a speech about the Sun god and His gifts, and then she and Avery were being pushed to the front for their official union ceremony announcement. It had been a blur for her, and she suspected that it had been the same for Avery as well.

Her mind kept drifting back to Melinoe and Rayanna. The girl seemed fine as she sat in her special seat beside Aurora, but the smile she had on her face didn’t quite meet her eyes. Every now and then, her eyes would become unfocused and glassy, like she was lost deep in thought. Avery had quickly explained to her what had happened on the way down when they were alone, but she was still having a hard time processing what he’d said.

Before long, the family dispersed from the stage. Rayanna was carried away by Dorian, who followed her parents into the castle. Aurora disappeared into the crowd, her eyes seemingly scanning for something – or someone. Ozul – who had lingered near the edge of the platform during the commencement ceremony – fell into step next to Avery as he guided Ellie to the edge of the crowd.

“What’s our next step, brother?” Ozul asked worriedly. “With Melinoe in a coma, Willowvayne is weakened.” Avery grimaced and shook his head as the trio stopped near a secluded tree.

“We must find the Speaker.”

“The Speaker? But that would mean –”

“Yes, Melinoe will die soon. As sad as this situation is, we must focus on what we can control. Finding the Speaker before that bastard gets his hands on her is our top priority.”

“Agreed.” Ozul exhaled and massaged his forehead. He glanced at Ellie and frowned. “What about her? I can’t imagine she’ll be safe given our current situation. There’s no telling when the Master might strike.”

“She’s going to stay with me, obviously,” Avery growled. Ozul frowned and cocked his head.

“But what about the Blessing Ceremony? Since she hasn’t undergone the union ceremony, she won’t be able to attend.” Avery froze, eyes wide.

“Ah. I forgot about that. Damn it all,” he cursed.

“What’s the Blessing Ceremony?” Ellie asked, "I thought the royal family only needed to start the celebrations."

“The Blessing Ceremony is a ceremony which requires the entirety of the royal family to pray for an hour and then greet the newest younglings in the village. Essentially, the royal family is given blessing from the gods that we are tasked to give to our subjects.”

“I don’t understand. Why don’t the gods just give their blessings directly to the people?”

“It’s a way to keep the relationship between the chosen royalty and their subjects strong. If the royal family continues receiving the blessings, then it means that they – the royals – are doing what the gods want,” Avery muttered. “If the royal family doesn’t receive the blessings, it means that they are not worthy of ruling over the people. The royals are cast out of the castle and the village for disobeying the gods.”

“Nothing like that has ever happened here,” Ozul assured her, “But it has happened in nearby villages. Oftentimes, chaos ensues and many are killed in the struggle to seize the throne.”

“I see. And I can’t be there because I’m not royalty, yet.” She chewed her bottom lip nervously for a moment before smiling suddenly. “Why don’t Xyla and I just return to our room? I’ll be safe in the castle, and I trust Xyla.”

Avery was silent as he considered their options. Finally, he nodded and glanced at Ozul.

“I’ll go fetch her. The Blessing Ceremony will begin shortly, so we need to get her inside quickly,” Ozul whispered. He stepped back and joined the crowd, disappearing almost immediately.

“I don’t like this,” Avery sighed as he slipped his arms around Ellie’s waist. “There’s so much going on… I don’t want to be away from you.” He lowered his head and placed his forehead on hers, his eyes closing as he took a deep breath in.

“I’ll be in our room with Xyla – I’ll be fine, Avery.” Ellie brought her hands to his face and stroked his cheeks tenderly. “Don’t worry so much about me. Besides, I can take care of myself, you know.” Avery gave her a small smile and kissed the tip of her nose.

“I know that. I just… I can’t help but worry about you. You’re the love of my life. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.” He placed his hands on Ellie’s and leaned into her touch.

“Stop,” she said firmly, pulling his face until he was staring into her eyes. “You have a job to do right now, so focus. I will be fine, Avery.” Avery opened his mouth to say something but snapped it shut when Ellie narrowed her eyes. “I’ll see you in a bit, alright?” Avery nodded mutely, a slight pout on his face.

“Are you ready, Miss Ellie?” Xyla asked from behind her. Ellie nodded and gave Avery a soft, gentle kiss.

“I love you,” she whispered as she pulled him to her.

“And I love you,” Avery replied, squeezing her tightly.

“Come, brother. We mustn’t be late.” Ozul gave Ellie a bright smile and bow before summoning his wings and taking off. Avery sighed heavily and finally released her, then stepped back. He willed his wings, took one long, last look at Ellie, and then followed after Ozul.

“May I?” Xyla asked, holding her hands out to Ellie. She had already willed her wings and was ready to carry Ellie off. Ellie smiled and nodded, knowing she was in good hands. Xyla returned her smile and quickly scooped Ellie into her arms, though she seemed to hold her more securely than Avery did.

The duo flew quickly, heading upward to the bedroom. Ellie glanced down and watched as the crowd celebrating below became smaller and smaller, and she was immediately reminded of her first time seeing Willowvayne from high up.

When she’d arrived, she wanted nothing more than to go home. This world had seemed too bright and sharp – too fantastic to be real. Even after everything she’d seen and done, sometimes it was hard to believe that any of this was real. But it was, and it was her home, now. It always had been, she just hadn’t known that before she was dragged here.

“Here we are, Miss Ellie,” Xyla said brightly as they landed on the balcony. Ellie slid to her feet and shook her thoughts from her head.

“Thank you, Xyla.” Xyla bowed slightly and led Ellie into the room. She went to the table where a pot of steaming tea sat and poured a cup for Ellie.

“Here you go. Perhaps this will help settle your nerves. This is a special brew that I put together myself,” Xyla said proudly. She handed Ellie the cup and smiled as Ellie took a sip. “Now, how about we change you into something more comfortable? I imagine you’ll want to wear this dress later, yes?”

“That sounds lovely. Just grab me one of Avery’s shirts, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course.” Xyla moved to the wardrobe while Ellie settled into a nearby chair.

Ellie took a deep drink of the delicious tea and leaned back, her thoughts calming as she inhaled the soothing aroma. She had just begun to relax when Xyla suddenly cried out, causing her to drop her tea. Ellie turned to see that Xyla had accidentally knocked a small wooden box onto the ground, spilling the stack of letters that it held. Xyla began grasping at them, shoving them roughly into the box. “Not to worry! I’ll take care of this!” There was a frantic note in her voice that set alarms off in Ellie.

“Xyla? What are those?” she asked suspiciously.

“Nothing, nothing! Just some old notes. Ha ha,” she laughed nervously. Ellie strode to where Xyla knelt and snatched one of the letters before Xyla could grab it. “Miss Ellie, please! You shouldn’t look at these!”

There was a tense silence in the room as Ellie scanned over the text in her hand. Her stomach dropped as her brain took the words in.

*I miss you. I still love you, but I love her more. I swear, there will be no union between us – we can still be together. I love you. Wait for me.*

Ellie’s head began to pound, the edge of her vision blurring as she slowly crumpled the letter in her hand.

“Miss Ellie?” Xyla whispered nervously from the ground.

“Is this… true?” Ellie asked softly. Her body shook with an uncontrollable rage as Xyla remained silent. “Did you know?”

“No! I only just found them! I’m as shocked as you are! I’m so sorry, miss. If I’d known about these, then I would have told you!”

Her rage rapidly decreased, replaced with an overwhelming nauseousness. Ellie’s head pounded harder and her lungs began to constrict. *This can’t be real. Avery would never…* She thought back to all the stories she’d heard about him before they’d met. Was it possible that he had a secret lover somewhere? Was it possible that he didn’t truly love her? A high-pitched ringing began to drown the world out.

*You really don’t know much about him*, a small, sinister voice whispered in her head. *You’ve told him everything about you, but what of him? What secrets has he shared with you?* Ellie shook her head in disbelief, unwilling to process the words the voice whispered. *Is it really so impossible that he’s been lying to you this whole time? What if he only wants to be with you because of your lineage? Think about it…*

“No,” Ellie mumbled. “No, he loves me.”

*Then why does he have these letters?* Ellie’s heart throbbed painfully and the world began to dim as a dizziness settled over her. The voice in her head cackled cruelly. *He’s probably off fucking one of his whores right now! They're all in on it! Everyone is covering for him! You're nothing! You're a joke -- a disgrace! No one could ever love you!*

Ellie fell to her knees, clutching her head. *No, no, no! This isn’t real. It’s not true! It’s not! Avery would never –*

“—Ellie! Miss Ellie!” Xyla cried, grabbing Ellie’s arm. Xyla looked at her with such distress on her face that the voice in Ellie’s head finally silenced. Ellie grabbed Xyla’s shoulders and swallowed hard, fighting back tears.

“I can’t be here right now,” she muttered. “Xyla, I need to leave.” Ellie’s eyes darted around the room wildly, unseeing. "Get me out of here. Please."

“Alright, alright, Miss Ellie,” Xyla said soothingly. “I’ll take you to my home away from the castle. No one knows where I live, so you’ll be safe there.” Xyla carefully scooped Ellie into her arms and hugged her, letting Ellie bury her face in her shoulder as she began to sob. “Don’t cry. I’ll take care of you.” Xyla smirked triumphantly as she stroked Ellie’s hair, then strode to the balcony. She turned and took a brief glance at the contaminated tea that was now being absorbed by the moss and her smirk grew into a dark smile. “You’re going to be *just* fine.”