Of Storm and Starlight

Four

At seventeen, she had become something of a wildcard amongst the residents of the Citadel.

Rai, or as she had become known, Rai Corentin, was one of two younglings renowned for their incredible power. The other being Ileana Maninden, a wind faerie whose uncontrollable bouts of anger often created tornados that wrought chaos.

With Rai's ability to summon deadly storms and Ileana's penchant for creating gale force winds, they made quite the pair.

Together, they were capable of pure destruction.

It was on the cusp of the winter solstice when King Thiavor summoned the two to the throne room. He requested to be left alone with no one but himself, his son and heir Prince Lucan, his Oracle Nephele, and the two nervous younglings. When they emerged, their faces were wrought with worry, their hearts heavy with fear.

"Sister Nephele is a crazy old bat," Ileana said. But she knew it wasn't true. She just wanted to convince herself it wasn't real. "She predicted that Mount Evor would erupt last year. It didn't."

Rai appreciated Ileana's words, but even she, who had been a faerie for a meagre four years, knew that what they had just experienced wasn't a fanciful prediction deciphered from vague messages written amongst the stars.

"You heard what she said," Rai said, defeated. "Six elder priestesses had the exact same premonition. We can't deny that."

Ileana sighed. "I know. It's just... Why us? We haven't even graduated yet."

That was true. Rai and Ileana were seventeen year old students in the High Tower. For responsibilities of such magnitude, anyone with sense would entrust it to a great warrior in their prime, not younglings.

And yet it was Rai Corentin and Ileana Maninden who were given a royal order by the king himself to accompany the crown prince up Mount Evor to the Starlight pools.

Every heir to the throne had bathed in Starlight on their eighteenth day of birth. It was a sacred rite of passage, and one of the greatest events of an era.

Prince Lucan Raelon turned eighteen in a week. There had been much speculation on who would have the honour of accompanying him up the mountain, but no one had expected the king to assign younglings. It was an honour reserved for none but the best High Fae of the era. Not an 'educational experience' as King Thiavor called it.

But Sister Nephele, the Royal Oracle, had insisted that this was the only cause of action. Six priestesses had experienced visions of Rai and Ileana and Prince Lucan in Starlight. And so it was decided.

It wasto be Rai and Ileana, or they would risk the wrath of Fate.