"We will speak to the Archbishop, and if he is amenable, the wedding will take place in three weeks, at which time Rainier will accept full responsibility for Ellysetta's wellbeing, in accordance with your customs. Though the shei'tanitsa bond will not be fulfilled by this ceremony, in the eyes of Celieria, Rain and Ellie will be man and wife. When the Fey depart Celieria, she will accompany us to her new home in the Fading Lands. Your family, Master Baristani, may travel with us to the Fading Lands and remain there until the Fey matebond ceremony is held. Or we can send escort for you when the time comes.”

Sol set his copy of the marriage contract on the small table beside him and pulled a pipe and tobacco pouch from his pocket. He hesitated and glanced at his Fey guests. "Do you mind?" When the Fey shook their heads, he filled the pipe's bowl with dark, moist tobacco, tamped it down, then lit a match against the sole of his shoe and cupped the flame over the pipe bowl. The room was silent except for Sol's quiet puffs as he lit the pipe. Fragrant smoke filled the air, a deep, rich aroma that smelled of flowers and spice. He puffed the pipe for a few moments more, then picked the contract back up. "Why would you not hold the Fey ceremony at the same time as the wedding?”

"Ellie must accept the bond before the ceremony can take place.”

"Didn't she already do that this morning in Council?" Marissya shook her head. "Ellysetta only recognized the bond today. She has not yet accepted it within herself."

"I don't understand" He frowned.

"It is confusing, I know" The shei'dalin smiled gently. "Acceptance of a truemate bond is not a conscious act. Ellysetta cannot just say `I accept' and complete the bond. When she opens her soul to Rain and allows him in without reservation, when she willingly enters into his, then she will have accepted the bond. No one, not even she, can say when that moment will come. The path is different for every truemated couple, and it is never a simple one. Both Rain and Ellysetta will be tested, as will the strength of their bond, and they must prove their worthiness before the bond can be complete. She and Rain will know when it happens, and so will all the Fey. Until then, he must court her, as all Fey warriors court their mates.”

Marissya turned her head and captured both Rain and Ellie with her gaze. The shei'dalin's voice lowered and grew so gentle it was almost hypnotic. "He must prove himself strong enough to protect her, gentle enough to win her heart, and worthy of the great gift of her love and her unconditional trust. She must find the courage to embrace the darkest shadows of his soul, and the even greater courage to bare the shadows of her own soul to him. When all barriers are sundered, all secrets revealed and accepted, she can complete the bond; and they will no longer be two separate people, but rather one person, one soul, complete for eternity, stronger together than either could ever be apart.”

A fierce longing rose up in Rain, closing his throat and clasping a tight, aching fist around his heart. Ellysetta turned her head, and her eyes locked with his. Of its own volition, his hand reached out to touch her cheek, even as her hand reached out to touch his.

Your soul calls out. Mine answers, beloved.» The sending was a tender caress. Her lashes fluttered down, half veiling her eyes. «One day, Ellysetta, you will say those words, and this Fey will at last know joy.»

"What happens if Ellie cannot accept this Fey bond?" Lauriana asked with obvious agitation. "We've raised her in the Church of Light, and she believes as we do that all souls belong to the Bright Lord. Ellie pledged her soul to him at her first Concordia ten years ago.”

"Madame Baristani, the Fey worship the same gods as Celierians, including the Lord of Light," Marissya reassured her. "Shei'tanitsa does not violate the bond between believers and the gods. Indeed, truemates exist only because the gods decreed they should.”

But Lauriana wouldn't be soothed. She cast a frightened glance at her husband. "I don't like the sound of this at all. Sol, you know why I insisted she complete her Concordia. And haven't I been right?" Lauriana turned back to Ellysetta, and to Rain's surprise, there were tears in the older woman's eyes. "I know you hated me for pressing Den's suit, Ellie, but at least with him, I knew your soul would be safe from the perils of magic.”

"Mama!" Ellysetta pulled away from Rain and crossed the room to kneel at her mother's feet. "I could never hate you." She grasped her mother's hands and pressed them to her face. "You're my mother, and I love you. Even with Den, I knew you had only my best interests at heart. But you heard Lady Marissya: the Fey aren't evil. They walk the Bright Path, just as you've raised me to do." Ellysetta's voice dropped lower. "I promise you, I will not forget the vows of my Concordia. And I do not believe the Bright Lord would abandon a soul in his service. So, please, be happy for me. I want this. It's what I've always dreamed of.”

A nearly imperceptible wave of power whispered in the room.

Rain exchanged a look with the shei'dalin and her mate. «Marissya. Dax.”

«We feel it too, Rain.”

All three of them turned their attention to Ellysetta. Surprising, amazing Ellysetta was weaving Spirit. The weaves were delicate, incredibly subtle, invisible even to Fey eyes but faintly perceptible to their heightened senses. Had they not been in such a small, confined room, sitting close to her, with the weaves around the Baristani house buffering them from the random surges of power that came naturally from all living creatures, Rain doubted they would even have sensed her magic at all. Ellysetta was weaving a shei'dalin's calming power with an untutored expertise so natural, and yet so powerfully and flawlessly done that even Marissya could not hide her astonishment. Compared to Ellysetta's weave, the delicate probing touch that Marissya had tried to use on Ellysetta's mind was as subtle as a hammer strike. It was obvious that Lauriana had no idea she was being influenced. It was equally as obvious that Ellysetta had no idea she was doing anything more than offering comfort, and that made her skill all the more incredible.