Page 21 of Feathers and Thorns

He retired to the Architect’s quarters, stretching out on the large, circular bed. Some days, he swore he could still smell the scent of Celandine on the linens. Though their bond had been broken, the remnants still remained. The moments they’d had together were something he still cherished and thought back to often, even as he took others to his bed. They had performed admirably, but bonding physically with a mate was not a feeling that could be replicated by another.

Adriel let out a growl of frustration as the bulge in his training leathers strained against the fabric at the thought of her astride him on the shores of the waterfall.

He stripped out of his clothes and took a cold shower. He would not give in to his bodily urges, not tonight at least. You are pathetic to allow her to still have power over you, his mind sneered.

He cut off the water stream, shaking the excess liquid from his hair, and dried off hastily. He donned a pair of white linen pants, poured himself three fingers of nectar, and sat back on the curved velvet sofa. He had yet to change out any of the furniture in the twenty-odd years he had lived in the Architect’s quarters. He couldn’t bring himself to. They were the last reminders of her.

He swallowed the golden liquid and savored the cool trail it left in its wake. It was like drinking the rays of the setting sun from a mountain creek. With every sip, he felt his grief slip away like the trickle of the stone waterfall.

He took one last look upon the grounds below before retiring to his room. He required rest, for tomorrow, he would move forward with the next phase of his plans, and the Oculus would hum for him once again.

* * *

The training grounds were lined with the citizens of Anistera. All of Adriel’s little playthings standing at attention like the good little soldiers he had trained them to be. He smiled to himself, the edges of his mouth turned up in satisfaction at their obedience. If only our father could see you now, he thought.

He ordered the majority to return to their general duties but requested that all mated couples stay behind. If he could not use the original mated bloodline to unmake Entheas, he would use the blood of all the fated mates to bring it to its knees.

Out of the thousands of Celestials in Anistera, there were approximately fifty mated couples. Some had been mated for eons, others for decades, but no matter. The power of one hundred blooded mates was sure to give Adriel what he needed.

He’d had the blooding table moved to the center of the training ring in a similar set up to the day Obsidian had been made. The Oculus was perched on a stand in the middle of the stone slab with the ceremonial dagger at its side. The Celestials formed circular rings around their leader, their hands intertwined with their mate’s.

Adriel smoothed his features before addressing them. “I have a very important task for you all.” His eyes raked across the crowd, shining with mirth against the violet sky. “If you do this, Anistera will be saved from great peril.”

The couples looked at each other then back to their leader, worry filling each of their hearts for the home they so loved.

“Lady Celandine has produced an heir in Entheas, and she plans to destroy us. Her name is Soren Nightsong, and she will be the death of us all.”

The crowd erupted.

“The end of Anistera? It cannot be,” an onlooker exclaimed.

“Surely, all will be well. We have outlasted countless ages,” an older male reassured her.

The murmurs amongst the crowd intensified.

“What are we to do?” another male asked.

“I thought Lady Celandine died during the fall,” his mate commented.

A few more beings nodded in agreement, and a stern-looking female narrowed her eyes at Adriel.

“You informed us of Lady Celandine’s demise, yet you say she is alive. Speak truth, for I will receive no lies.”

Adriel’s jaw ticked at the tone in which she spoke, but he knew better than to make an example of her here. Therefore, he reassembled his mask and spoke once more. “Calm, dear ones, calm.” He held up both hands in a placating gesture. “Do not allow panic and fear to distort your judgment. I, your Architect, will share with you all that I know so that we may move forward.”

The congregation quieted, holding their tongues so they might hear what their leader had to say.

“When I announced the loss of Lady Celandine, I spoke only truth,” he said, his eyes boring into the errant female’s, who crossed her arms, pressing her lips together in a fine line. “Until recent days, I thought her to be dead.” He sighed, as though he bore a great weight on his back. “My troubled, lost mate has indeed met her end, though not in the manner we originally suspected.”

The crowd gasped audibly, hanging on to his every word as though it were the very air they needed to sustain themselves.

Adriel folded his hands together and bowed his head, as though in mourning. “In my recent travels, I discovered that Lady Celandine survived the fall. How? I do not know. But she healed from the loss of her grace and mated with a human male.” He brushed his hand through his inky black hair. “Their joining produced an heir who is half-celestial, half-human.”

The entire assembly seemed to hold their breaths. Never before, to their knowledge, had a Celestial mated with a being from another realm. Father had expressly forbidden it. Anisterans were not meant to survive other realms, and to risk a child’s life, not knowing if it would survive the world in which it was born, would be cruel.

“I have seen this child with my own eyes and could feel my mate’s blood coursing through her veins,” he continued. “I thought I could talk sense into this young creature, but alas, she has chosen another path. She has forsaken all of Anistera and turned the people of Entheas against us. Her warriors have already ended the lives of many of our faithful soldiers. She has no remorse and will bring on the destruction of Anistera.”

The crowd fell into chaos. Screams and shouts rang off the stones of the colosseum.

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