Page 75 of An Honored Vow

I nodded in agreement.

Vrail’s bottom lip protruded. “Yes, it’s the phrase that’s used the most in the texts.” She lifted her left fist and followed it closely with the right. “There is only one true sun. The second that we see is not real but a projection that Faelin created with her magic. It lengthened each day so thewaateyshirakcould never feast to their full strength. It follows the real one like a shadow, forevermore tethered to it.”

I bit my lip. “But why would Faelin expend most of her power to create it?”

“I can’t be sure.” Vrail brushed her finger along the edge of the book. “Theshirakwere numerous and every cycle grew more deadly. When Faelin arrived, her gifts offered protection, but she was just a single Fae. Perhaps she thought the shadow sun would protect the Elverin best.” Vrail shrugged. “Aemon destroyed so much of the knowledge they left for us we may never be certain.” She sighed, closing the book. “All I know is that whatever purpose Faelin had, it drained her substantially. It is said that her gifts continued to fade until she died only a few centuries after she created the shadow sun.”

“A few centuries,” Gwyn balked.

“An unimaginable amount of time for ones as young as us,” Vrail agreed with a stoic nod. “But several millennia before her time.”

“Leaders do not often live long,” I said to no one in particular.

Gwyn’s nose wrinkled, and she grabbed my hand. She knew my days would come to an end soon too.

CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE

EVERY HALFLING IN THEFAELINTHcircled the Myram tree. The crowd covered the entire grove and the neighboring ones. Some climbed up the trunks to listen from the lower burls and branches.

Their whispers fell silent as I walked through the crowd with Feron and the other council members directly behind me.

“I will be brief but do not mistake that for apathy.” I took a moment to scan the entire crowd. “What I am about to say must be considered with the utmost care.” The orb of water hanging from my mouth propelled my voice through a larger orb suspended in the center of the grove. Beside it was another, projecting the image of Nikolai as he interpreted everything I said with his crutches tucked underneath his arms.

“You have heard rumblings of Halflings who have been made into Fae. I am here to set those rumors to rest.”

A disappointed murmur moved through the crowd.

“It is true.”

The murmur changed to an excited buzz. I raised my hand and the Halflings fell silent once more.

“Elverath has given me the ability to transform anyone with amber blood into Fae.” The crowd broke into a chorus of surprised gasps. “Not one of the Light Fae you have heard about or one of the Dark you have met, but something new.”

Orrin broke through the front of the crowd. “Will we have fire magic like you?”

Everyone laughed as the little girl tugged on her braids, but my stomach hardened. “I cannot say, young one.” I turned back to the crowd. “I cannot promise you what magic you will or will not be able to wield. Icansay that it will not be easy. If you choose to join us in the fight for Elverath, you will have to train relentlessly to control your powers. Day and night, every waking hour until the battles come. You will not rest. And if you volunteer for this, you must know that you may live in pain every day of your life.”

I paused, evaluating the response of the crowd. There were much more excited faces than solemn ones. A wave of nausea flooded through me, and I gripped the root holding up my notes.

“In battle, you will be marked as a threat above the rest.” I looked down at my boots, refusing to imagine which wide eyes would be forever changed. “If you choose to fight, you may very well die.”

“But aren’t we better protected with magic?” someone shouted from the back, his voice young and full of wanting.

My hands turned to fists. I knew how easy it was in youth to misjudge the severity of a decision, to be unable to comprehend the weight of it. I took a deep breath and hoped the council would see it unwise to choose someone as young and eager as that.

“Magic is not the solution to all your problems. In many ways it will cause more hardship in your life than it will alleviate. Your magic can hurt you—use too much too quickly and you will suffer the most painful death.” The crowd’s whispers turned dark. “But that is not the worst of it,” I continued. “Lose control and you can maim, even kill, someone you love.”

The crowd fell silent.

“Any Halfling, who is of age, may volunteer their name.” I lifted a long sheath of parchment on the pedestal Feron had formed beside me. “Mark your name, and you shall be considered. But the decision of who and how many of you shall be chosen lies with the council.” I waved my hand at the Elders standing behind me. Each of them scanned the crowd with observant, knowing eyes.

I turned to the young, eager Halfling who already had his hand raised. “Their word is final.”

He dropped his hand.

I set the list down. No one parted from the crowd, too many unsure if they wanted to be the first. But then an auburn-haired Halfling I recognized from the Order stepped forward. She wrote her name in quick, assured strokes at the very top of the page. She put the glass pen back in its holder and bowed her head to me.

“It would be an honor to protect this land and save the Halflings who remain lost to us.” She lifted a palm to her face and then her chest. I returned the gesture. When I dropped my hand, a line stood behind her.

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