The Wielder and the Source

Chapter 17

"Ready?" Kemah appeared in the antechamber's doorway, regaled in the finest of his enchanted gear and grinning from ear to ear. This day had been his doing. He'd done all the planning, invited all the guests, made sure everything was in order.

"I am," Kitaya said. "Aldeheid?"

He exhaled a long breath. "As ready as I can be." He stood and offered her a hand up. As they walked, arm-in-arm to the door, she could feel the rigidity in his muscles, a clear sign of his apprehension. It was because of the trial.

They would have to perform it in front of the guests before the bonding. They'd done it successfully before, but Aldeheid was a defeatist at heart, she knew. He was probably thinking of all the ways this could go wrong.

Kitaya gave him a reassuring pat on the arm as they stepped into the hall. The guests were smiling and sending nods of encouragement as they made their way across the polished marble floor. The capes were dressed in Kitaya's favourite colour, yellow, while the magicians wore Aldeheid's favourite, black – as was customary.

Drapery and flowers were wrapped around the pillars that lined either side of the room and a group of musicians were playing softly in a corner. At the hall's center a circular dias sat, and atop it was the pedestal and cauldrons used for the trial.

Eriani stood at its left, hands clasped in front of her and her crown capturing the light. While her face was impassive, Kitaya could still see the disapproval in her stare. Kitaya didn't know what Aldeheid done to earn her altori's ire, but the very sight of him seemed to send the Konian Queen into conniptions.

Kitaya stepped up onto the dias alongside Aldeheid, and they took their positions on either side of the pedestal. She met his eyes, saw the fear in them, and gave him a smile.

Eriani stepped in front of the dias with Kemah at her side, and raised a hand to quiet the room."Allow me to welcome you all to the Nation of Lions, and thank you to those who traveled so far to witness this bonding ceremony." He voice carried clear over the room, its authority reverberating off the walls. As per tradition, we will begin with the trial, so that all witnesses present will know that these two can be as one." She turned away from the crowd to face the dias. "Kitaya, Aldeheid, whenever you're ready."

Kitaya placed her hands on the pedestal and nodded for Aldeheid to do the same. The sweat on his palms rubbed off on the back of her hands as he placed his hands atop hers. His roamed the cauldrons surrounding them, before meeting hers.

Sweat beaded his forehead and his adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed. "Kitaya I... I don't think I can do this." His skin was clammy, and he looked as though he was going to lose his breakfast.

She turned her hands over to clasp his and gave them a gentle squeeze. "We can. We did it once; we can do it twice."

"Is there a problem, Kitaya?" Eriani asked, her annoyance clear in the angled set of her brows.

Kitaya resisted the urge to scowl at the Queen and kept her attention on Aldeheid. "We'll stop if anything goes awry, alright?"

Aldeheid gave a slow jerky nod, his mouth pressing into a thin line as he turned his attention to the cauldrons. The words of the spell tumbled from his lips, slow and stilted, as though he were forcing himself to speak. A cooling sensation rippled over Kitaya's arms as her magic flowed from her, a stark contrast the warmth of the pedestal.

The air came alive with a buzz of anticipation as the guests looked on.

Tendrils of magic twirled around the dais, taking on the reds, oranges and yellows of fire. Kitaya followed their snaking paths with her eyes as they descended into the cauldrons.