Lillis and Lorelle clutched Ellysetta's hands, not at all frightened by her changed appearance but seemingly comforted by it instead.

"Does it hurt her, Ellie?" Lillis asked in a small voice as the flames engulfed her mother's body.

Fresh tears spilled from Ellysetta's eyes. She knelt quickly and caught her sister up in a fierce hug. "Oh, kitling, no. Not at all. She's with the Bright Lord now.”

"In the Haven of Light?" Lorelle asked.

"Yes, Lorelle, in the Haven of Light, singing glorias with the Lightmaidens." She caught Lorelle in her arms as well, holding both girls tight and sending up a heartfelt prayer for the gods to grant them both peace and help them past the loss of their mother. The twins sighed and snuggled closer, their small arms twining tightly about her neck.

Lauriana's pyre burned quickly through sunset and the ensuing twilight, extinguishing itself just as night fell over the city. When the last flame subsided, Fey Fire-masters dispersed the remaining heat and gathered the ashes. Ellysetta and her sisters returned to the palace while Rain took Sol aloft to throw the ashes to the winds so they might settle in the soil of the land Lauriana Baristani had loved.

Afterward, in King Dorian's private chapel, with the Fey, Ellysetta's family, Lords Barrial and Teleos, and the king and queen in attendance, Rain Tairen Soul wed Ellysetta Baristani in a quiet ceremony officiated by Father Celinor. The grand pomp of the royal wedding Lauriana had envisioned gave way to simple elegance, consisting of a few exquisite flowers and a priest, which was all Ellysetta had ever really wanted to begin with.

She wore the gown Maestra Binchi had created and the wreath of the Gentle Dawn roses her mother had selected, but there the Celierian bride ended and the Fey shei'dalin began. Around her neck and waist, dripping in loops of golden links, gleamed the sorreisu kiyr of all the Fey who'd died on her behalf. Bel and Gaelen's bloodsworn daggers hung in jeweled sheaths at her hips, and Rajahl vel'En Daris's crystal glittered at her wrist.

Marissya stood as Ellysetta's Beacon, and with impeccable, unflinching grace, Master Fellows served as her Honoria-because no matter how scandalous it might be to have a man stand as Honoria, he said it simply wouldn't do for a queen to wed without one. When Father Celinor invoked the final blessing and pronounced them man and wife, a sense of peace and rightness settled over Ellysetta, almost as if Mama were standing there beside her, watching with love and approval while Ellysetta joined her life with the man the gods had chosen for her.

Following a brief bridal supper, Rain escorted Ellysetta to their suite for a few bells of privacy while the Fey prepared for departure. Once there, however, Rain found himself at a loss.

He was freed at last from the restrictive Celierian customs and oaths of honor that had bound him since the day of their betrothal, and need for his mate beat at him.

The call of her soul was so strong, the echoing desire in his body just as powerful, and the tairen clamored for its mate, but she had just lost her mother. He could feel her grief, her sorrow, battering at her, and through her, him. To pounce on her now, demanding mating, seemed the vilest sort of selfishness. She needed time to grieve.

Determined to do the honorable thing, he escorted her to his bedchamber, spun a swift Earth weave that changed her wedding gown into a fine linen nightrail, and kissed her once, gently, on the lips before turning to leave.

"Rain?" she called when he reached the door. "You're leaving me?”

"Nei, of course not," he vowed. "I'll be right next door. You get some rest. We leave in the small bells, before the city wakes, and our journey will be long.”

Ellysetta frowned at him, perplexed by the way he was clinging to the bedchamber door. He looked ready to bolt. "But this is our wedding night.”

His gaze dropped. The knuckles on the door frame clenched harder. "Aiyah, and I know it is not the happy day you wanted. You are grieving. My needs can wait.”

Relief filled her. His hesitation wasn't because of her Marks or the forbidden magic she wielded. "But my need cannot," she told him softly. "Yes, I'm grieving, but there's been too much sorrow, too many tears. I would end this day in hope-with joy between us. Is that so strange a request?”

He peeled his fingers away from the door frame. He crossed the room and approached the bed. "Nei, not so strange. There is nothing I want more." Slowly, giving her ample time to change her mind, he took her in his arms. Her long hair spilled over the crook of his arm, silken soft and so fragrant every breath was a scented bliss. He bent as if to kiss her, then paused again just before his mouth met hers. “Be sure, shei’tani, that this is what you want. If you have the slightest doubt, say so now, and I will go.”

"I don't want you to go." She reached up to touch his face and pull him down to her. "I want this, Rain. I want you.”

He took her mouth in a long, slow kiss, his lips parting hers gently to share the moist heat of a breath as the kiss deepened. «You are so beautiful, shei’tani.» His voice whispered in her mind, husky, low, intimate.«You always were, but now, with your brightness unveiled, even more so.»

«You make me feel beautiful.» He always had. Even when she'd still been plain, mortal Ellysetta Baristani, he'd made her feel like the loveliest woman in the world.

He kissed her slowly, leisurely, taking his time. Nibbling her lower lip, teasing the upper one, feathering kisses across her face until she shifted and nipped at his mouth in impatience. His brows rose. "Impatient, shei’tani? What would you prefer? This?”