Page 113 of Dreams and Dragon Wings
In this part of the castle, some furnishings remain, rather than mere bare walls and floors. Threadbare carpets cling to the cold stones underfoot, ripped by the passage of many clawed feet. Some tapestries drape on the walls as well. There is even a large portrait we pass, though Rowan doesn’t allow me to linger over it.
After a small eternity spent in silence, with only the clack of Rowan’s claws and the metallic clink of my chains for company, I finally ask, “What are the rites?” just as we arrive at a set of ornate wooden doors. Where the other designs within the castle seem to have long since faded, this one remains pristine.
Blues, reds, greens, purples, silvers, and golds all swirl across the wood, depicting a great lake with ribbons of magic spewing forth. My stomach sinks as I realize where we are even beforeRowan pushes open the door, disturbing the layer of dust coating the floor within.
The chapel. My one ally left has brought me to the chapel.
Chapter 36
Aurelia
Icough, waving aside the motes of dust floating in front of my face as my goblin friend croaks, “The rites are a series of prayers all brides and grooms are expected to observe separately before a wedding.”
I stare down at him, my emotions flickering between dismay and disbelief. “… Did you truly bring me to pray, Rowan?” I look beyond the open doors to the room beyond, hoping there might be a secret ally waiting for me inside.
But it lies empty, clearly not having been disturbed in ages. Funnily enough, it resembles a human church. An aisle cuts through the pews, leading toward a dais at the front of the room that holds the altar. Save for in Briarhold where a depiction ofthe Three-Faced God would rest behind the altar, here there seems to be a pool. Behind that, a stained glass window mirrors the design on the doors, bathing the water beneath in prismatic hues.
Rowan grunts and stands aside, averting his gaze. “I told you I could take you to someone who could help.”
Disbelief finally wins out over dismay. “So you brought me to the Great Weaver?”
“I brought you to observe the rites,” he reminds me, shooing me inside while glancing up and down the hall. “Don’t take too long.”
As if in a daze, I slowly wander into the abandoned chapel, my chains rasping behind me. The moment I am inside, Rowan swings the doors shut again. The sound echoes hollowly in this vast space.
“Don’t worry,” the goblin mumbles through the door. “You won’t be disturbed. No one ever comes here anymore.”
Well, that certainly explains the dust.
I sigh, shuffling down the aisle. I suppose I might as well inspect the pool while I am here. Not that I needed to be brought to a chapel to pray. One can pray anywhere, can they not?
… And yet I cannot remember the last time Ididpray.
I suppose it’s just odd to pray to the Great Weaver sometimes. He is Bene’s god, after all, not mine.
« Why not? »
It has been so long since the Aether last spoke to me that I flinch when it speaks now.
Frowning, I chew on the inside of my cheek while mounting the small flight of stairs leading up to the dais. Each step is now a trial. My chains weigh heavy. But still I climb, driven onward by some strange need to look into the pool.
I don’t know, I answer truthfully.
I truly don’t.
Of course, I was raised in the church of the Three-Faced God. Despite Bene’s best efforts to convert me when we were children, I continued to pray to the god of my adopted parents until the year I turned eighteen.
Once I saw the magic as Bene could, it was difficult to deny the existence of the Great Weaver any longer. After that, I stopped praying to the Three-Faced God altogether. I had to keep attending church, of course, to keep the peace with Mama, but…
“I don’t know,” I utter aloud, finally reaching the edge of the pool.
The light-wreathed woman who gazes back smiles at me, though my mouth doesn’t move at all.
I flinch back, swallowing my scream of surprise.
« Come. »
Cautiously, I creep forward again and peek over the edge of the stones circling the pool. Again, the woman within smiles at me. I fight hard not to shy away this time.
