Page 138 of Fae Reckoning

But Finn clearly wasn’t—not all the way, anyhow. He had to have given the land permission to take him over as the land never took what wasn’t freely given.

The fae healer who’d attended Elowyn’s father before he’d agreed to leave for the Sorumbra with her atmy request strode along a path that had parted open for him. He didn’t say a word that I could hear, but our suddenly worshipful audience seemed to sense him regardless—or rather, not him per se, but the immeasurable, ancient power that animated his body.

In tacit agreement, our friends stepped back, leaving El and me to stand in the middle of the clearing on our own when Finn reached us. His tunic and breeches were in tatters, stained with what appeared to be black, dried, umbrac poison. His skin, however, glowed, and his eyes were a brilliant caramel color that shone like a faceted gemstone catching the light.

He didn’t speak when the faint luminescence of Elowyn’s body surged to a strong glow, and her eyes glittered like matching violet crystals.

Over the faint luminescence of my own skin, my tattoos surged with light like that of the moon. The vines spread quickly, visible across the backs of my hands. Where they were often barbed in blood-drawing thorns, plump, crisp blossoms bloomed instead, like spring coming to life after a long, harsh winter.

Elowyn’s hand was already in mine, and still in silence, Finn grasped our free hands, clutching them together.

I startled as a voice that wasn’t Finn’s filled my mind. Elowyn didn’t—after all, she spoke to dragons like this all the time now.

The voice was neither masculine nor feminine, neither rough nor smooth. It was somehow … everything in nature all at once. Every element woven together, every bird’s song and every waterfall’s melody, every roar, bark, and yip. It was the sound of the wind and the rain all at once, with the warmth of the sun balanced by the coolness of the moon, and the earth that absorbed both.

My skin erupted in bumps beneath my tattoos. I’d never imaginedmagiccould have a voice, a sound, even. Yet here I was, hearing it.

The immensity of the moment blurred my vision. Awe sank into my bones. A sense of eternity fluttered through my breaths.

Elowyn’s voice said into my mind.

Shaking off my shock, I hastened to add my own affirmative.

Elowyn and I replied in unison.

Elowyn added.

With eyes that might have contained all of existence, Finnian studied us for several moments, during which none of us blinked.

Finally, Elowyn said, She began to turn to signal that they should be delivered.

Finnian said.

Elowyn signaled to Pru to hand the crowns to Finnian. When she did, he indicated she should lower them to the ground, which swallowed them up in seconds.

Our spectators were a great many, whom no one had called to attention or silence in any official capacity. Regardless, not a single sound interrupted the sanctity of the coronation as Finnian released our hands and extended his toward the ground.

It shuddered and rocked—and still, our audience didn’t mutter a peep to interrupt—until matching crowns of polished ore burst through the dirt.

When El tipped her head toward Finn, so did I. First he placed a crown on her head, then mine. Itsettled into place with a weight too light for the burden I’d long fretted over carrying.

Elowyn said.

I added.

Finnian didn’t even nod in recognition, and did nothing to signal the ceremony was at an end. As he turned to leave, El flared out her skirts, so when she dropped to her knees, it was her skin that touched the earth.

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