My breath fogged out in front of me. The wicked wind that whipped through the mountains swirled in my hair. It was freezing here, but I was so glad to finally be back. Az was already speaking with a pale Theorn his jaw clenched tightly as Az gave him a rundown of Dran's betrayal.
A loud squeal of excitement was my only warning before I was wrapped up in a hug. Dark curly hair blocked my view of who was grabbing me, but it wasn't hard to figure out.
"Aslin!" Esmae pulled back, her lips spread in a wide smile even as her blue eyes studied me closely.
"Hi, Esmae," I smiled back, my shoulders relaxing slightly.
"You're back just in time," She said, "People are already starting to arrive and the ballroom is all set up with lots of finger foods and drinks."
"Set up for what?" I asked, my brows scrunching together.
"The first snow," Esmae replied, "We are expecting a lot of females. So many that mass is going to be held in the courtyard."
Right. The celebration.
"Already?" I looked up to the sky, taking in the dark storm clouds gathering overhead, "It feels like so much time has passed and yet none at all."
"Are you going to be alright to participate?" She asked, clasping her hands together with a frown, "Word spread about what happened... if it's too much no one will judge you."
"I'll be fine," I replied quickly, huffing out a breath, "Thank you for helping so much."
"Of course," She beamed and I followed her into the castle.
Esmae was already so much happier than she had been when I first arrived. Her male clearly was as well. Garren was standing by the door to the ballroom, his stern expression melting when he saw his mate. They kissed quickly before he opened the door, letting us into the large room.
The room was filled with females, most of them talking to each other or picking at the food that was placed on two long tables. Furs had been scattered across the floor, and some had begun to sit. Large dresses poofing up around them. There were at least thirty females in here, but I wasn't sure how many were unmated.
"You did all this?" I breathed, my gaze catching on Eva before I turned to face my friend.
"I had some help." Esmae blushed.
"I'm very helpful," Anna's husky voice cut in, "Especially when furs are requested."
"You're both amazing," I grinned, pulling Anna into a hug, "Thank you so much. Is there anything I can do?"
"Not at all," Anna replied, "Everything is taken care of. Male are going to the temple for mass and ours will be held out in the courtyard before we go to the bonfire."
"Separate?" I asked, not liking the idea of leaving my mate for too long.
"Yeah," Esmae confirmed, "It's getting late. We should start getting ready."
"I don't have anything to wear." I frowned.
"We have that covered," Anna grinned, "Didn't I just say we have everything taken care of?"
Laughter floated around the room and I followed my friends to a partition that had been set up by the back wall. Esmae went towards a rack that was filled with skimpy outfits. Anna went behind me, pushing my hair out of the way before untying the laces of my dress.
"How many of the females here are looking for mates?" It wouldn't be very useful to our population if they were already bonded.
"I'm not sure," Esmae replied.
"Only ten," Anna finished with the laces, taking a step back from me, "I counted the necklaces. So that's thirteen mated including us."
The sound of the door opening caught my attention and Esmae looked around the partition. Her face breaking out into an infectious smile.
"Looks like we have some more females here." She laughed, eyes sparkling.
"Really?" Anna looked around her mouth flopping open before she quickly snapped it shut, eyes narrowing. "That's a lot."
"Let's hurry up so we can greet people," I laughed, relaxing.
"You'll probably want to wear that cloak," Anna said.
I nodded in agreement, pushing down the sleeves of the dress. It was colder than I had thought in here and my skin immediately pebbled. Esmae handed me a small top that would barely cover my breasts and I snapped my eyes up to meet hers.
"Tell me this isn't the whole outfit." I muttered, pulling it over my breast and wincing when it only covered little more than my nipples.
"It's not," Anna gave me a wicked grin, handing me a flowy skirt made of thin white fabric that matched the top and would probably be see-through in sunlight. "Undergarments off. Trust me."
"Is everyone wearing this stuff?" I asked nervously, following her instructions and pulling off the lace I was wearing.
"You look great," Esmae said firmly, "And yes this is definitely something the others will be wearing."
Anna confirmed this by pulling out a matching outfit, but this one was a deep green that reminded me of the pines the mountain was covered in. Hazel eyes lit up with excitement even as she began tapping on her thigh nervously. I turned and began helping her with the dress like she had done for me.
"What was it like meeting his family?" Anna asked, turning over her shoulder to look at me.
Smiling, I began to tell her about the princesses and prince. They rolled their eyes when I told them about Maeve's immediate hatred of me. Laughing at the prince's antics and how goofy he had seemed. Party prince everyone called him. Their eyes teared up with mine when I told them about my last night there.
"King Rasten doesn't deserve to be a father," Esmae said softly.
"He doesn't deserve a crown." Anna growled, her fists clenching in her anger.
I hummed my agreement, admiring how beautiful they were. We were all wearing barely there tops, and flowing skirts that seemed to move on a phantom wind. Esmae was wearing dark blue, but hers had lace on the hems, the dark color standing out against pale skin.
"Ready?" Esmae asked, letting her wild curls down, "We should probably see how everyone is doing now."
I nodded my agreement, grabbing my cloak but not putting it on yet. My friends did the same, linking arms with me and providing comfort I didn't know I needed. Multiple faces turn to face us, smiles breaking out.
"Hello," I said, smiling and trying not to show how uncomfortable I was, "Thank you all for coming. This entire set up is all thanks to the females beside me. I'm excited to meet you all and spend this time with you. Please make sure to change, we will be leaving soon for mass."
Some females began coming up to us, wanting to discuss what would be happening. The mated females seemed to be older than most of us, though there were a few who seemed to be around my age with a black necklace. Thirty-six black necklaces, the rest were all unmated females who managed to get away from their families to have a chance at choosing their own mates.
I wish I had had that chance. Though it did work out well for me. I was very aware that I was one of the fortunate ones for leaving with a male I loved. The others may not have been as lucky.
Females began disappearing behind partitions, changing and reappearing either bundled up in cloaks or in outfits similar to mine. Esmae was busy talking to an older female, laughing with her. My other friend on the other hand was glaring down at her bare feet like they had just told her they had found someone else.
"You alright?" I asked softly, hazel eyes flicking up to meet mine before she straightened her spine.
"Of course," She said firmly.
"We should head out," Esmae cut in, "We need to have mass before sunset."
~~~
Voices rose up in the air as we sang the old hymn. The same one I had sung every year since I was a child. The one in an old language that none of us really understood, but the meaning was felt. If I listened hard enough I could hear the voices of the males rising up, brought to us on the winter wind.
Something white landed on the shoulder of the female in front of me. Esmae stiffened, her voice faltering. The song ended and we lifted our faces towards the sky watching the snowfall.
"It's beautiful," I breathed, the small flakes landing on my cloak before melting. "I've never seen snow before."
"You'll be seeing a lot of it pretty soon," Anna laughed.
"Daughters of the moon," The voice of the priestess echoed throughout the space, drawing our attention back to her. "Sun set is upon us. Go. Enjoy the night."
Cloaks were stripped off, placed on racks that had been thoughtfully placed around the area. Esmae had already told me that someone would be coming around to collect them and make sure they didn't get damaged by the snow. Freezing air met bare skin, my toes already aching when I kicked off my shoes, stepping barefoot on snow dusted stone.
We started out on a walk, but then the drums started. The sound of them blending with our footsteps. Instinct took over and we ran. Racing through the dark towards the forest. Following the drumming and the low howls of the males. My skin brushed up against those around me. Adrenaline and body heat were the only things keeping the goosebumps off my skin.
Next up is Az's Pov and then I will most likely end the story. Don't worry though. We will see more of them in the other character's books.