My face heated with embarrassment as the chuckling turned to laughter, and I was sure this meant that Duir would try to take me into her court.
But then, there was a whisper of something which stilled the laughter. The whisper rose in volume until a loud note in the same key that I had sung resonated so loudly that the windows shook.
Each one of use in my court gasped, our backs arching as my roots became visible to all, then glowed.
They converged together, creating a column of light above the stone. My hands tightened on Luis and Dominic's hands, as branches formed on the column of roots and grew lace-like leaves. Finally, pink blooms like those of a lotus formed, along with pomegranates, and other fruits. After a minute, the tree dissipated in a shower of sparkles.
From Aisa's shocked look and the crowd's silence, what just happened was unusual.
The reactions from my new husbands varied. Ciaran laughed like he'd just been given Christmas as his personal holiday. Luke looked reverent, and Erick kept staring at the stone, shocked.
Luis looked... absolutely incensed.
He tugged at my hand to pull me away from the others, but Dominic wouldn't let go of my other hand. Dominic stroked his thumb across the back of my hand as he looked at me as if I'd just made him the happiest man on Aleria.
Seeing that I wouldn't willingly follow him, Luis released my hand and stalked off. I pursed my lips as I watched him go, knowing I should talk to him.
This was a lot. I got it.
Adrian alternated from looking at his hands to looking at me. Then he stared after Luis too.
"You can't fix that, Matt. He's gotta decide for himself. "
I knew that. Watching him disappear was something I was used to anyway. It didn't mean that it wasn't ripping my heart out.
Luke had fallen to his knees and seemed as if he was praying and tears dripped down his face. Ciaran was grinning in triumph up at Aisa, who was staring at me as if I'd set a bomb off in the place. It almost seemed like I had. She hadn't said anything about the tree, but she glanced at the Ash with a look of concern.
I walked off the stage and sat down. What was I feeling?? I was feeling the weight of what had happened crashing down on me. I had six Mr. Thomases in my life and I wasn't even ready for one.
After the rest of the ceremonies finished, I received a swarm of cards from various guests who wished to belong to my court. The guests kept gushing over the majesty of my ceremony, and many women invited me to teas and parties. As I sat at a table staring at the various invitations and cards, Luke sat next to me. He had papers he needed me to sign.
"These are the official documents that the seven of us are now wed, and the three ladies are official banmuinen. Please sign it."
I signed my name, then gave him back the pen. "That's it?"
He knew what I meant. After all those theatrics, I just signed papers?
" Yes. We'll learn of our first trial tomorrow, but Valenia will say a few words about it tonight." His hand enclosed over mine and his expression became adoring. "I knew you would be different, and I regret how things have gone so far."
I squirmed at his sincerity and pulled my hand away. It was hard to stay mad when he was looking at me like that. "I guess that ceremony wasn't normal."
With a sharp exhale of breath, he said, "No."
Dominic sat down with a piece of cake and handed it to me.
"Thanks, Dom, but believe it or not, I'm not hungry." All the expectations ruined my appetite.
He set it down on the table and scooted his chair until we were shoulder to shoulder. "How about you look at all this differently? Let's just think of us all as a band of brothers."
I snorted. "I doubt I could. What about the girls?"
"They're the maidens we're sworn to protect."
"Yeah, the marks are just our gang colors," Adrian added as he sat down at the table as well. "And your mark is unique because you're the leader."
I laughed, imagining us all on menacing rainbow motorcycles. Klick and Klack were on my shoulders, wearing eyepatches. I caressed the pocket where Klack lay still. We'd be the weirdest biker gang on the planet.
Ciaran chuckled. "A rabble of miscreants that do good for others, like Robin Hood. I like it."
Luke gave us all a weary look. It seemed like we'd ruined his moment, and I felt an urge to smooth away the frown line between his eyes.
I clenched my handsâwhat a ridiculous thought.
Luis had returned while we were talking and sat down. As I looked at him, it seemed as though he'd gotten through whatever it was he was struggling with.
For now.
"I agree. For now, we treat each other as brothers. No one gets intimate with Matt."
"Hmmm..." Ciaran winked at me. "I can go along for now, but we do all have to give her a stone, and we won't be able to by being 'bros' " He gave Luis a patronizing look. "I'm afraid, Puppy, that you'll have to be disappointed at some point. The bonds and the Becoming will ensure it. "
I swallowed and knew that things had already started changing. I side-eyed Dominic.
He shoved a piece of the cake into his mouth and smiled.
"We'll figure that out later." Luis clenched his jaw stubbornly.
Ciaran chuckled. "Oh, poor, jealous Puppy. When the time comes, there's not a blessed thing that can be done about it. The bonds will demand the stones and will make the moments happen. You can only stand aside and allow it."
"I refuse," Luis said as he gave Ciaran a murderous glare. "And we'll see about that."
I folded my arms and stared at Luis. Things had veered way off the course once the roots formed.
I shook my head slightly in a message to calm down and he scoffed. With a scrape of his chair, he walked away from us. Again.
Valenia stood on the dais before us to announce the first trial.
"Tomorrow, you will all come to the temple in Lars, our capital city, and receive passage to ride a vaadin. Your trial will be to ride the vaadin to a special place and retrieve the object required of you. Then, you will return the object to the temple. Whoever is last is defeated and out of the running for Principi. Your special objects are all different, and your races are not on the same course."
"What's a vaadin?" I asked Luke.
"It looks a bit like a giant deer that's been put together by a five-year-old. They are made of sticks, straw, and various metallic parts," he said.
"What have other courses been like?"
"Normally, you must show your endurance. A mountain or something else has to be climbed. You may have to swim or run from dangerous animals. We'll be given a day to prepare. "
"Do you think we'll have time to find my other link?"
"I am not sure. For now, you are free to return to your room and rest. I will see the guests out."
"Thanks, Luke."
I got up and headed towards the door, hoping that there wouldn't be any more assassination attempts or acts of vengeance for the evening. I glanced over at Regina, who was standing among her court, looking as though she as well had been turned to stone, along with her mother.
I knew it was illogical to want to help Regina and Aunt Athalia, but Athalia looked so much like Mother. Also, even though Regina was a shrew, I knew what it felt like to lose a mother. I hated that Regina was now my enemy.
We'd almost had a friendship going on.
At least a pleasant acquaintanceship.
Okay, yes, I was being delusional.
Ciaran was following behind me, so I turned to ask him. "Is there a way to fix my aunt?"
His brows raised. "She chose her fate. The fae learns at a young age about golden apples. She knew what might happen. It's a risk to eat the fruit, that's why we never do. We treat the apples like fruitcake. Always gift, never eat."
"Okay, I know, but can we fix her?"
"We might be able to. If you get a wish coin, that could work."
A wish coin, huh?
"Where do I get something like that? And what is it?"
"Oh, you'd have to go to the underworld." Ciaran shook his head. "I wouldn't recommend going there. It's not all bad, but most of it is hardly a fun afternoon." Then he paused as he mused over how to describe one. "Wish coins are the last of the oldest bits of the garden. They've not coins per se, more like flat pieces of rock. And they're very rare."
"Yeah, of course, something I need would be somewhere bad." I wanted to kick a rock. Maybe I'd get lucky and it would be a wish stone.
Ciaran shrugged. "I'll think about it; perhaps something else will be available for us to use as a solution. But why would you ever want to, Princess?"
"She looks too much like Mother, and I don't want her to spend the rest of her life in a garden somewhere getting bird poop on her head," I said with a rueful smile.
"Plus, I know how Regina feels right now."
"That she wants to murder you in your sleep?" Ciaran was looking incredulously at me.
"No, that she lost a mother."
"Ah..." He stroked my face in sympathy.
I headed up the stairs and entered my room. My banmuinen entered after me and quietly helped me to undo my hair and brush it. When it was all untangled, they sat down and seemed to want to speak.
I turned in my chair. "What's up?"
Elsie said, "We are concerned about your chances at the trial. You do not have any of the training."
I thought of my bike riding up and down the hills of San Francisco, and I smiled. "I have some endurance. Don't worry; I think I can handle it."
Jeanne shook her head. "No, you have no idea. We simply must ask Luke to take us to the training grounds at the temple soon."
That didn't sound like a great plan to me, but I smiled, hoping it wouldn't be as awful as it sounded.