The Crystal Mines

52 Taury

The day after Nik and Callion broke their tattoo promise, the King announced there would be a Banquet for The Bestowing. Ashburn celebrated differently than Salvare. Salvare called the events of the spring equinox The Giving and left the citizens to their own devices. Nik said that Ameer's kingdom preferred to use the name Bestowing as well, honoring the way a Fae would relinquish themselves in all manners to another. Throughout the week, the castle and the city below bustled with preparations for the one of their largest annual events. Salvare made the celebration look tame compared to the way Ashburn handled it.

On Ignus, the last day of the week, citizens of all statuses would flock to the Temple nearby and offer their gifts to the Goddess of Death. Emyr said that the royal family gave their gifts first, opening the weekend up for celebrations that could sometimes last a week. The Bestowing itself, was the next day. The Banquet was held at the castle, by invitation only, beginning in the afternoon and well into the next morning. Of course, magic was thickest at night and Fae all around Tarsen indulged themselves in the acts of worshiping one another, releasing their own magic back into the world, usually by all acts of intimacy.

Though fighting the Fae instinct to succumb to the magic delivered by the gods and goddesses themselves, was extremely difficult. Emyr said that it was especially difficult to fight it this far north, where the air was thinner, and the land older.

As the week pressed on, the magic weighed the air like a heavy blanket and everyone I knew grew anxious and alive with the effects. Nik had taken to working her ass off with her sword, hacking away at a pillar of ice in the courtyard. She didn't allow anyone to spar with her, save for my father. He would coach her like he did when we were children, one slow stroke of the sword at a time. She was determined to master what he taught, throwing herself into the work. But we all knew. Could all see. She was mourning the loss of the tattoo she had shared with Callion. Not even Ameer could offer her the solace she fought and failed to find each day.

Most nights, the couple joined Garren and I for dinner, teasing and taunting each other as the days drew closer to The Bestowing. Garren and I couldn't keep our hands off each other. Though we hadn't had sex since the celebration last year, the anticipation of it was getting to us as we saved ourselves for the special night, edging our bodies until the very last second. It was a wonder that Nik seemed so calm most of the time. Ameer would lean into her and whisper into her ear. She would smile and flirt back shamelessly. But I knew my cousin. She still warred internally.

Nik and Callion stole everyone's attention. The gossip of the castle. They avoided each other at all costs. I had heard her tell Faolan during lunch a couple days ago that after they broke the tattoo, Nik and her two mates released an excess amount of magic into the air. Naturally, many of us inserted ourselves into the conversation, wanting to understand. Reluctantly, she explained that the three of them were a different type of Fae, based on Erix's twisted research. If their power grew to be too much, they had to release the excess or risk releasing itself out on its own and potentially hurting anyone in the radius. The magic they sent off into the atmosphere created an aura in the sky that lingered above the mists of the mountains. That was nearly four days ago.

Now, I sat across from my cousin as she itched her naked arm, a new habit to add to fidgeting with her sleeves. We had returned to the library, trying to see which type of Bargain Magic Dath could have. Nik's mind drifted and Ameer's hand lingered on her leg comfortably. Lilta caught me noticing my cousin itch her arm for the second time in five minutes and gave me a sad smile. To reject and be rejected by a mate was unheard of. I didn't envy having two and needing to choose one. Nik didn't blink as she stared at something at the wall beyond. I leaned back, looked at my friends. They were a mix of nerves, tension, and stress. Jaixin sat on the floor brushing his long hair between his fingers as he read. Rayze was writing something in a journal she owned. Eliza ignored the book in front of her to keep sneaking glances at Rion. I grew frustrated.