Long shadows crept across the valley, chasing a rare golden sunset. The decorated scene in front of the sacral tent was like something out of the old stories, where two people in love performed a ritual of handfasting. But the reality was something very different.
Dev held her hand as they passed through the flowered archway. The tent was a relic of the past, with a carved beam at the center holding up dozens of thick fabric panels in deep jewel tones. Candles burned on tall candelabras set away from the walls on posts buried in the ground. Their waxy scent mixed with incense, a familiar aroma that grated on Liss' nerves.
Most of the clan was present, dressed in ceremonial clothing like Dev. The seven members of the Council—four men and three women—observed her entrance from their seats atop a low dais. They wore matching pale robes and gold-embroidered stoles across their shoulders, the golden threads winking in the candlelight.
Liss fought to keep her expression neutral and her hand firmly in Dev's as murmurs about her choice to wear her grays reached them.
She supposed Mell was here somewhere, but decided against looking around.
Elder Fex—the oldest and highest ranking councilman—stood as Liss approached. Dev gave her hand a final squeeze before stepping back into the shadows.
"Liss of the Year of the Moon," the old elf announced without preamble. His knobby fingers punctuated his words. "We are here tonight to celebrate the anniversary of your birth. Do you acknowledge you were born on this day sixteen years ago?"
Liss bowed her head in agreement. There was no point in challenging him. Fex had been the clan's leader for decades, like his predecessors before him, all of them using the same name. The Council kept the birth records, and besides, every child born sixteen years ago was of the Year of the Moon. Liss had known that to be her designation from the time she could speak, just as it was Dev's and Rana's.
"Please step forward to be granted Hona's blessing."
Liss counted her breaths and concentrated on the feeling of her toes wrapped safely inside her boots. This was certainly no blessing.
"Liss of the Year of the Moon, upon completion of this rite, you will become a woman in the eyes of the clan, and as such, additional responsibilities and allowances will be bestowed unto you. The greatest of these responsibilities shall be adherence to the truth at every juncture, the Darkbane's most noble virtue.
"We know that centuries ago our people ravaged the land and angered the Goddess Hona, whose spirit presides over and protects us. As punishment for our sins, Hona cast her judgment and forbade us from intentionally deceiving one another." Fex sipped from a fluted glass on the altar and cleared his throat, his voice slightly less of a growl as he continued. "Hona, in her infinite wisdom, decreed that only children under the age of majority were exempt from this rule.
"Hence, from this night forward, if you fail to uphold this tenet of our people, you would court death and devastation for us all. And most notably, for yourself. Do you understand?"
Liss nodded. "Yes, Elder Fex." He reached forward with both hands, the gaping sleeves of his robe hanging toward the ground. His palms were dry and warm on either side of her head.
"Tonight, Hona blesses you as a truthteller sworn to enrich Cradelow, the last living land. From this night until you expire, it will be so."
Liss raised her trembling chin as Fex's fingers slipped off her face. Her own hands were balled in sweaty fists at her sides, her fingernails digging half-moon welts into her skin. At least it was over. The Council hadn't commented on her wardrobe or asked her to give a speech, and she was more or less unchanged. All in all, it hadn't gone as poorly as she'd expected. She stepped away from the dais as the clan cast her polite smiles of encouragement, finding the empty space beside Dev.
"You did it," he whispered, bumping her shoulder.
Glancing up at him, she expected to find amusement dancing in his fire-lit eyes, not shadows. "What is it?"
He shook his head, gesturing at the Council. Liss' stomach sank. Rana's rumor. The announcement.
"Truthtellers, as you may have heard, we have more to address this evening—a timely decree, as it pertains to those who have risen to their Sixteenth. And since we have just inducted our last clanswoman of the year into that group, we thought it best to make the announcement in tandem with her ceremony."
Clanswoman. That would take getting used to.
"Councilwoman Bett, would you do the honors?" Fex returned to his chair, ushering forward his second.
Bett's long, rose-blond hair was swept behind golden cuffs shaped like leaves curling around her ears, elegant and deceptively delicate. Dimples stood out on her cheeks as she smiled beatifically down at them. "Good evening, friends. I daresay, no one could have asked for a more lovely day for a Sixteenth. I like to think it's no coincidence that we're also using the occasion to announce an impactful and necessary change to one of our time-honored traditions: the age at which women may perform their sacred duty as a Bearer."
Stifled gasps and deep rumblings of surprise roiled through the tent. A cold sweat pricked the back of Liss' neck. When she glanced at Dev, his expression was unchanged.
Fire burned in her belly. He knew. When had Dev found out Rana's rumor was true, and why hadn't he said anything?
"As most of you are aware," Bett said gently, "we have experienced certain... difficulties... in recent years maintaining a target threshold for live births." She held up her palms, fingers splayed. "This is no fault of anyone's, it is simply as the goddess has seen fit. However, after much deliberation, we've decided to lower the age at which a woman might first become Bearer, from twenty to seventeen. This means that we will recommend our clanswomen over the age of majority to begin their Engagements by the middle of their sixteenth year."
The moisture beading on the back of Liss's neck shot down her spine in an icy deluge. Sixteen and a half. Why would they—? How could they expect—?
"We understand this may come as a shock to the young women who were not anticipating such a change. Therefore, we are also amending the law to state that any woman between sixteen and twenty years old may choose her Seed. Should more than one woman request the same clansman, he must accept at least one application, and insofar as the Council allows, he may be granted permission to accept multiple requests."
"This is unjust," a deep voice from the shadows cried out. "You cannot force men into Engagements like this!"
"Aye, we can." Bett's voice was a silken purr. "Men will have to accept certain requests from our youngest and most eligible women. Is it really so bad? We women have been subject to choiceless Engagements for centuries."
The man started to argue but someone cuffed him, cutting short his reply. Several long moments passed, and no one else spoke up. Bett served the crowd a renewed smile before returning to her seat. Despite Liss' disgust, she had to admit a valid point had been made. Men had always chosen their partners, while it was a new rule to allow women the same right. But Liss couldn't find it in herself to be grateful. She was too young! They were all too young.
"Why?" She turned to Dev. The fire in her belly rose into her throat, searing her words. "You knew, and you let me go through with the ceremony."
"What choice did I have? I didn't want you running away and getting into trouble."
"I would have," she said darkly.
"I know." He sighed, dropping his gaze to the floor. "And I didn't want you to lose your choice."
"My choice?" She studied his sharp features limned in the flickering candlelight. Then it hit her. "Oh... Well, I'm not making one. Obviously."
"Excuse me, councilwoman?" The familiar, squealing voice disrupted their discussion. Rana and her silver curls sprang out of a cluster of juniors on the other side of the tent.
"If we're close to the half-year mark of our sixteenth year, may we submit our request for Engagement immediately?"
Bett nodded. "Any woman over the age of sixteen may submit an application. The Council will review the request, and permitted pairs may then proceed with their Engagement."
"So the half-year mark is the deadline for when an application must be submitted?"
"Correct." Bett beamed like a teacher admiring their prized pupil. Liss thought she might vomit. "If there are no further questions, then we can close the floor and proceed to the feast at the Great Hall."
"One moment, Bett. I would like to speak on behalf of the healers."
Mell. Liss couldn't see the old woman through the throng of elves, but her presence was palpable.
"As the clan's foremost healer, I have discussed this matter in private with the Council for some time. I believe the clan has a right to know that the Healers coterie did not vote to adopt lowering the age of female Engagement. In fact, we raised concerns. Girls are not fully mature at sixteen, or even eighteen. It was our recommendation to keep the threshold set at twenty years, and certainly no younger than nineteen."
Murmurs rumbled through the tent. Liss fingered the leather binding of her notepad and the calming potion hidden in her pocket. So Mell had known this was coming, too. Maybe she'd known Liss wouldn't take the potion prior to the ceremony. Maybe she'd known just when it would be needed.
Elder Fex rose stiffly from his chair, a hand wrapped around Bett's elbow for support. "Mell, old friend, your sage advice is ever-appreciated. We do not presume to know better than our Healers. However, as we discussed in our private meetings, our clan is in crisis. Please understand the Council's decision was not made lightly. We do not intend to put anyone's health at risk. We will work in concert with your Healers to make sure our women are in peak condition throughout their pregnancies, so Bearer and child both remain safe and hale."
Mell cleared her throat, approaching the dais. Liss felt a vague sense of pride seeing that her great-grandmother hadn't changed out of her Healer greens. "I propose a counter-request. There are currently ten girls aged sixteen to twenty years. Of these ten, some may be eager to begin an Engagement while others, especially the younger few, may like to wait. Shouldn't our girls be given the option?"
Fex looked ready to bark a terse refusal, the evening's first real hint of his reputation as the clan's frigid authority. But Bett laid her hand atop his and whispered something in his ear. Then she was speaking again. "Thank you for sharing your concern, Mell. You have brought up a valid concern, one that has not gone unconsidered by the Council. I believe that if we have at least five young women willing to accept the new terms, exceptions may be made for their less confident peers." Her serene gaze traveled the front row, settling on Liss. "Of course, we will need to review and accept all five applications in order to move forward with the motion. As of tonight, the case must remain open."
Mell bowed her head. "Thank you, Bett. That's all."
Liss bit her lip to keep her turbulent emotions from spilling over. Mell's tenacity was admirable, but would it really change anything? The Council was notoriously stubborn. Even if they agreed to Mell's request, they might change their mind again. Elder Fex and his underlings claimed to care for the clan, but it seemed like they cared more about records and numbers.
"Liss," Dev whispered, guiding her by the hand through thick shadows behind a candelabra. "Please don't be angry. Will you meet me at the stream after the feast, like we talked about last night?"
She looked up into desperate eyes. Her friend had the look of a caged beast about him. "Fine. But I'm still mad at you. Never, and I mean never, keep something like this from me again."
"You know why I did it."
"That's no excuse. I told you, I don't need you to protect me, so stop—" she poked his arm, frowning as her finger jammed painfully against hard muscle "—trying to step in all the time! I can handle myself."
"Fine," he echoed through gritted teeth.
Liss didn't expect him to listen, but in that instant all she could do was hold on to the threads of her dignity and walk away. Besides, she couldn't be too mad at him. By Dev's own admission, he just wanted to keep her safe. Under his wing. Forever.
When would he realize that wasn't what she needed?