Page 29 of House of Gilded Nightmares

“I think I may need you to hold onto me,” I say softly.

“I can do that.” His voice is a deep rumble in his chest, his eyes burning into me. “I am here to protect you, after all.”

Tamhain calls back to us from ahead, breaking the fragile moment hanging between us. Clearing his throat, Zyren pivots so he’s next to me, arm linked beneath mine to steady me as we walk. We hug the shore of the lake and then cut up into the trees a short distance later, following Tamhain and Jai to the bonfire.

The celebration is in full swing already. People dance around the fire, and several musicians play a variety of instruments to a merry tune. The deer we’d seen over the back of Tamhain’s horse earlier is cooking over the fire, hoisted up by several large spikes of wood. Smaller fires dot the tree line around the bonfire, with clusters of people seated around each. Jugs of wine are passed back and forth freely.

A great cheer rises when we enter the circle of light thrown by the flames, and around the small clearing, people call toasts to us and raise their glasses. It seems they’re quite happy to have visitors and an excuse to celebrate, though something tells me the Veyeni find a reason to celebrate frequently. Someone thrusts another cup of wine into my hand, this one small and wooden. I’ve barely had time to drink when Jai takes my hand and pulls me into a circle of dancers.

I have never danced before, but it doesn’t seem overly complicated. Jai holds one of my hands and we move in a circle with a dozen other women. We spin and we skip and we take sips of our wine. Then we rotate around the fire to the other side, where the men are doing the same, and we create a circle around them. I look for Zyren, but he’s still standing among the trees, a grin on his face as he watches.

It seems no time has passed when someone announces that the deer is done. The dancing takes a pause and we return to one of the smaller fires in the trees, where we join some of the hunters we’d met earlier in the day, who Zyren now seems fast friends with. My wine cup is empty, whether from drinking or spilling, I’m not sure. Jai remedies that quickly by opening a new bottle.

We sit and wait our turn for the roasted meat. Tamhain and Zyren get up to collect it and I start to rise, too, but Jai pulls me back down beside her. “It is Veyeni tradition for the men to serve food to the women.”

I think back on how the High Priest in the Amethyst Palace had all the women working for him. How very different my life has been compared to this place I now find myself.

When Zyren returns with a large leaf holding several cuts of meat, he sits beside me in the grass. He offers me first choice, and I take one of the pieces, careful not to burn my fingers on the hot flesh. His eyes meet mine as I take the first bite, and only then does he select his own piece. Our hips brush together slightly where we sit, and the heat of him washes into me, even with the fire blazing just a couple feet away.

The moon rises above us as the night passes in laughter and dancing and more food as sweet dessert bread is passed around. Music spirals through the trees, and fireflies spark among the darkness. When the musicians begin to play a new song, a slow ballad, Jai and Tamhain gesture for us to get up.

“This is the song for lovers,” Jai says. “It is tradition.”

I’ve had so much wine that my cheeks don’t even blush as Zyren takes my hand and leads me toward the larger fire. We join the other couples dancing hand-in-hand around it, a slow sway, unlike the boisterous jigs of earlier. I listen to the words of the singer. It’s a tale of two ill-fated lovers who are torn apart by a war between their people, who can’t be together in life, but find each other only in the stars after they die.

Zyren’s pewter eyes are locked on mine as we move slowly back and forth, hands intertwined, chests barely touching. His free hand wraps gently around the small of my back, and even though the fabric of my dress separates our skin, his touch tingles. I wonder if we have everyone fooled, if they truly think we’re married. And I tell myself that the way Zyren looks at me is all part of the ruse, and the way I step closer into his embrace is just an act.

After the music of the song fades, with a final verse about the stars that each lover becomes with the heat of their longing, we all return to the fire. Across from us, Jai sits in Tamhain’s lap and he plays with her hair.

“It is a sad song, we know,” Tamhain says with a smile. “But in the end, the lovers find each other. We here around this fire are lucky. There is nothing holding us apart.”

I force a smile onto my face, as does Zyren, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. When the wine is passed around for a final round, I am happy for its warmth. It must be after midnight by now, but the dancing and merriment continue.

I don’t realize I’ve fallen asleep until Zyren picks me up. A soft murmur escapes my lips and I wrap my arms around his neck as he walks back toward the lake. It seems only a moment later that he lays me down in the soft grass a short distance from Jai and Tamhain’s fire. He drapes my cloak over me and sits down beside me.

I roll onto my back. The stars overhead are so bright they hurt my eyes. It seems they’re mocking me and my fate. “Zyren?”

“Yes?” His voice is soft, and his eyes find mine.

“I don’t want to be a star,” I say.

And as I roll back onto my side, curling up beneath the cloak, I feel his hand rest lightly on my shoulder. It’s the last thing I feel before sleep claims me again.

Chapter Twelve

When I wake the next morning, it feels as if I’ve swallowed a jar full of coarse sand. My eyes are gritty, and my head is pounding like a troupe of drummers has taken up residence inside.

“Oh,” I moan.

“Drink this.” Zyren’s voice sounds overly loud, and I tell him so. He lets out a low laugh. “You had a bit to drink last night.”

He helps me sit up and holds a large cup of cold water to my lips. I drink it down, and then another. My throat feels reasonably normal again, and the fuzziness clears somewhat.

“Better? Some food will help, too.”

I clutch my head and stare off across the lake, watching dragonflies skim over the surface as Zyren walks over to the fire and fetches a piece of meat and a large chunk of bread. When I’ve finished eating it, I feel like I might be able to get through the day.

Jai walks over as I’m finishing. “This will cure you of your ailment,” she says with a wink. She hands me a small cup of dark liquid. When I eye it warily, she laughs. “Just herbal tonic. Drink it quickly.”

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