Ellysetta drank in the vibrant notes of his song as she climbed the last few steps to join him. He had changed out of his leathers and steel, trading them for flowing robes of dusky blue velvet over a tunic of heavy lavender silk shot through with silver thread. An intricately woven circlet of beaten silver rested on his brow, and he'd transformed the golden chain and pendant holding his sorreisu kiyr, his Soul Quest crystal, from gold to gleaming silver.

He turned to her, still singing, and held out a hand. She took it, and he pulled her close, his arms wrapping with casual possessiveness around her waist. The folds of his robe swirled about her, warm and rich with the scent of Rain. The tension that had been coiled within him for days was finally beginning to ease. Despite the unkind welcome the Faering Mists had offered them, at last they were here, safe in the Fading Lands, only two days' run from Fey'Bahren, the nesting lair of the tairen.

"Good news?" she asked when the last notes of his song drifted away on the wind.

"Cahlah fed again today," he said. "Sybharukai says her strength is returning. The kits show signs of improvement as well."

"That is good news." Ellysetta tilted her head back, a faint smile lifting the corners of her mouth. "Perhaps the Fey don't need me so much as you first thought."

His arms tightened. "Do not be so quick to discount your importance. Cahlah may be recovering, but her kits aren't safe until they break from the egg."

"So we head for Fey'Bahren tonight?"

"Nei." He smiled and brushed back her curls. "Tonight, we rest and let the warriors downstairs celebrate the arrival of their Feyreisa. It's been too long since they've had cause for joy."

Together, they made their way downstairs to Chatok's massive main hall. There, a great fire burned in the center of the room, and all the warriors of the eastern army had gathered for a feast to welcome their new queen.

When she and Rain stepped onto the landing that led down into the main hall, a hush fell over the assembled Fey and all eyes turned towards her. For one brief moment, a shaft of familiar terror froze her in place—the memory of her first, ill-fated introduction to the heads of Celieria's noble houses—but then hundreds of Fey voices rose in a now-familiar cry: "Miora felah ti'Feyreisa!"

Bel and Gaelen, looking taller and more handsome than she'd ever seen them, approached the foot of the stairs, smiling up at her as she and Rain descended. Like the rest of the Fey, they'd exchanged their leathers and steel for flowing robes. Gaelen wore subtle shades that called to mind images of ancient, misty forests, while Bel wore a drape of cobalt blue over a tunic of lustrous silver and pewter gray. Both men regarded her with warm eyes.

"You are lovely, kem'falla," Bel said with a smile.

"Beylah vo, Bel." While Rain had donned robes the color of dusk, he'd clad her in starlight. Her gown was sumptuous white silk beaded with thousands of tiny diamonds that shimmered as she moved. A wide, boat-shaped neckline and snug bodice gave way to full, flowing skirts that trailed behind her. A girdle of platinum links shaped like twining vines circled her waist and dripped graceful loops of sorreisu kiyr, the Soul Quest crystals of the Fey who'd died on her behalf in Celieria. Bel's and Gaelen's bloodsworn daggers hung sheathed at her hips. Her hair flowed unbound, curling in soft, thick spirals of flame down to her waist, and on her brow she wore a crown of stars—diamonds and Tairen's Eye crystals sparkling from the delicate platinum whorls and arches of the circlet nestled in her hair.

With Gaelen and Bel close behind, Rain escorted her to the head table, where Marissya and Dax were already waiting.

Ellysetta stopped at the sight of the five unfamiliar Fey women sitting with them. "Who are they?"

"Shei'dalins from Dharsa," Rain answered. "They arrived earlier this evening while we were getting dressed, along with the warriors I promised King Dorian I'd send to help secure the Eld border."

"Shei'dalins?" Ellysetta stiffened.

"Las, shei'tani," Rain soothed. She'd told him about the shei'dalins in the Mists who'd Truthspoken her. "I promised Great Lord Darramon the Fey would heal his dying wife if he brought her to Teleon. These five shei'dalins came to honor my oath. Come, meet them," he said, inviting her to follow him.

Ellysetta followed him reluctantly to greet the shei'dalins and murmur what she hoped were appropriate greetings. She tried not to let her distrust of them show, but she did not sit near them either.

The feast that followed was nothing like the studied artifice of Celieria's royal state dinners, but rather a true celebration. Safe behind the Faering Mists, stoic Fey expressions softened with smiles and laughter, transforming the fierce, deadly warriors into approachable men of uncommon beauty and warmth. Laughter rang out from every corner of the room. The tables overflowed with roasted meat and a variety of tempting delicacies: cool salads, steaming vegetable dishes, fresh and honey-glazed fruits, all accompanied by pale sweet wine and crisp, cool water that made her eyes widen in surprise when she sipped it.

"This is good." The water tasted like fresh-fallen snow and sunlight, cold, sweet, and pure, with an unexpected energy that radiated through her as she drank.

"I'm glad it pleases you." Rain drank from his own cup, then set it aside. "We call it faerilas. It is the water of the Source, the great fountain at the center of each of our largest cities." He smiled as he sliced a nearby round of cheese into thin layers and handed one to her. She took a tentative bite. The cheese was firm, with a creamy, nutty flavor that melted on her tongue. "You may have heard of the Source. Some mortals, who misunderstood the reason for Fey longevity, used to call it the Fount of Eternas."