"I, Xertormei, King of Alleria, Son of Nechlor, bless Alec, Son of The Master, Fremore Taryenne Valdorien, as the Captain of the King's Guard." He rests his blade edge on Alec's shoulder. Alec keeps his eyes low, glued to the ground it seems, his knees firmly secured on the marble. Uncle looks to the excited crowd and flashes a proud smile. "May he serve Alleria well and protect our kin folk from the creatures of the dark, the shadows unseen. We bless you now, Alec, Son of The Master. May you rise anew, your soul replenished and your hunger for service satisfied at last. Strip away your old vices, your life before and stand before us now anew!"
The crowd applauds in a triumphant cheer, the Tree glowing extra bright—just for him.
You did it. I'm so proud of you, Alec.
He smiles, "Don't act like this still wasn't on your list of I-object-one thousand-fold things," he chuckles quietly to himself. "And they can see you, you know. They may not hear you, but they know you're speaking..."
I don't care. Let them see it. I am not ashamed.
"Neither am I."
He makes his way through the crowd as hands brush over the velvet cape he wears over his armour. He acknowledges them with a smile, warm and proud. He meets me in the middle and lets his arms slink around me and pull me in close.
Mae cardarch e lai e-ho.
He presses his forehead against mine, sapphire light burning against his cheeks. "Mae cardarch e lai e-ho." He whispers back to me. It's good to let go of this moment, of the love that I never thought I'd have for my own. I look to Duhamas and Faeore, who stand under the grand arch; at Wayland and Jasmine, who stand together, their child wrapped in the finest silk that slithers through the air with the slightest curve of the wind. Everything is beautiful. But my mind quickly remembers that when there is beauty, there is horror and monstrosity that lingers when the shadows creep in and the light departs.
One day, all of this will be gone—like Duhamas said, or sort of said: the dust will carry our names when lips no longer know the words, the titles, the sounds. The dust will carry our memory from this life into the next, wherever that is. Our faces will gleam in the eyes of our children, their children's children. The cycle repeats again. And the Light will forever shine.
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Kingdom's Vice Series: A Voyage of Vengeance ( #2 2015)
FantasySkaya Dunedine made it to Alleria and got more than she bargained for when she arrived. Now married to a boy from the Sardille Mines with the kingdom on the brink of an invasion, she must make her choices carefully. Death is not an option. It is a f...
