Tonight, Lillis and Mama cuddled together on the suspended wooden swing Papa had installed on the back of their house, rocking gently as they watched the fairy flies dance across the garden, trailing glittering fairy-fly dust in their wake. As they rocked, Lillis heard herself confess that she and Lorelle had revealed their magic to Papa and to the Fey.

The chime the words were out, she clapped a hand over her mouth and wished them back, but instead of delivering the sharp chide Lillis expected, Mama only smiled and stroked Lillis’s hair.

“It’s all right, kitling,” she said. “I should have told the truth myself long ago, but I was afraid.”

That made Lillis’s eyes go wide. Mama? Afraid? But she never feared anything. Lillis was the scaredy-cat of the family. “What were you afraid of, Mama?”

“Oh, many things.” Mama sighed. “Mostly I was afraid to face the truth about myself. And afraid that what happened to my sister might somehow happen to you or Lorelle or Ellie.”

Lillis leaned back to look up at her mother in surprise. “I never knew you had a sister.”

“She died long ago.” Mama’s eyes were dark and sad. “Her name was Bessinita… my sweet little Bess… and I loved her more than anything in the world.” Then Mama had told her how Bess had been a Fire weaver, too, like Lorelle and Mama, only when Bess was two, she accidentally burned a neighbor’s house down. The villagers had insisted on winding Bess—taking the baby out into the dark Verlaine Forest and abandoning her there to die.

“What did you do?”

“There wasn’t anything I could do. I wasn’t even as old as you are now.” She rested her chin on the top of Lillis’s head. “I prayed and prayed that someone would find her before the lyrant did, or if nothing else, that the Bright Lord would send his Lightmaidens to carry Bess away to the Haven of Light.”

Tears turned Lillis’s vision hazy. “Poor little baby. Poor little Bess.”

“That was why I was always so afraid of magic, kitling. Not because I thought you or Lorelle was horrible for having magic, but because I’d been taught that magic was evil, that it could make the people who had it evil, too. I was so afraid of what people would do if they knew.”

“But you’re not afraid anymore?”

Mama smiled gently. “No, kitling. When I let love be my guide, fear lost its power over me.”

“So you’re not mad at us for telling?” Lillis asked.

“Of course not.” Mama pressed a kiss in Lillis’s curls. “I’m very proud of you and Lorelle both, and I’m proud of Ellie, too. I love you all more than I can say.”

“I love you too, Mama.” Lillis snuggled closer and closed her eyes in bliss. Her arms squeezed tight around Mama’s neck, holding her close, and she breathed deep of the special scent that was Mama’s own, the scent of home and love and security, where bad people never came, and monsters never howled. “I never want to lose you again.”

Mama caressed Lillis’s hair in slow, rhythmic strokes, and the beat of her heart thumped reassuringly beneath Lillis’s ear. “I’ll always be with you, Lillipet. No matter what. If ever you’re feeling alone or afraid, just remember that. And remember this, too: We are all the gods’ children. All our gifts come from them. It’s what we do with those gifts that determines whether we walk in Light or Shadow. The choice is ours. When you see Ellie again, will you tell her that for me? And tell her I said to let love, not fear, be her guide.”

“You can tell her yourself. Once Kieran and Kiel get here, we can all go find Ellie together.”

Mama smiled. “I think she’ll understand it better if it comes from you. Will you promise me, kitling?”

Lillis frowned a little but agreed with an obedient, “Yes, Mama.”

“And you won’t forget? No matter what?” “No, Mama.”

Her reward was a kiss and another hug. “That’s my sweet Lillipet.”

Lillis burrowed into her mother’s arms, closing her eyes in bliss as Mama’s love and warmth enveloped her.

CHAPTER TWO

Celieria ~ Kreppes

25th day of Verados

As the watchtower of Kreppes rang six golden bells, the guards fresh from the dining hall and a good night’s sleep climbed the steps to replace the night watch. Soft light from the rising Great Sun lit Celierian fields untouched by war and the perfectly aligned rows of creamy canvas tents fanned out to the west and south of the castle walls. Across the Heras River to the north, the dark fir-and spruce-filled forests of Eld remained empty of all signs of an approaching army.

“Are you so sure they are coming?” Dorian asked Rain, as the two kings toured the ramparts. “You claimed the attack would come last night, yet it did not.”

“Hawksheart said the attack would come last night,” Rain corrected. “I don’t know why he misread what he Saw.”

“What if you’re wrong about where the attack is coming, too? What if Celieria City is the real target? I’ve effectively emptied the city of defenders. I marched half my armies here and sent the other half to King’s Point with my son on your word that an attack was imminent. I left only a few garrisons to protect the city itself. Please, tell me I have not made the most colossal mistake of my lifetime.”

“Celieria City was neither the target specified by the Mage we captured nor the target Hawksheart warned us to protect,” Rain said.