Chapter 1
Eira
Eira never dreaded sunset. Or the Moon Festival. Or returning home. Or seeing the Oxarian royal family. She had always looked forward to those things. But not today. If only she could stop time.
No, not stop time, exactly. If she stopped time, Eira would never become queen.
She’d spent her life, all twenty-odd years of it, preparing to reign. She wanted to stop the wedding, something she should have been as prepared for as ruling Cresin.
Eira twirled the betrothal band around her wrist. The wedding was going to happen, regardless of what she wanted. With a deep exhale, she closed her eyes and sang, hoping to ease the storm brewing inside and instead focus on the peaceful magic bestowed on her by Luana’s priestesses.
The song ignited the crescent moon tattoo on her chest, and as it glowed, stars formed and sparkled around her head. Swirls of darkness poured out of her fingers and mingled with the betrothal band. The tune and words were meant to sooth and calm the soul, make the singer become one with Luana and be as peaceful as the night sky. Yet it did little to ease the darkness, ice, and stars warring underneath Eira’s skin.
Luana grant me peace…grant me grace…
The wedding was this week. Tonight, she and Alvis were going to perform the opening ceremony for the Moon Festival, ushering in Luana’s season, where the nights became longer than the day. This year, it would also signify the start of the wedding celebrations. As the Chosens of Luana and Ray, it was believed pieces of the souls of the god and goddess resided inside both she and Alvis, making them the closest to the deities their people would ever have. The two had been betrothed her entire life. Yet now the week arrived and she still wasn’t ready.
A knock came at the door, breaking Eira’s trance. With a wave of her arms, the stars and darkness vanished, and her tattoo faded. Taking a deep breath, she closed her robe and moved to the door, where the knocking was becoming incessant.
“Eira! Will you quit all your praying and let me in?” Rose’s voice drifted from the other side of the door.
Her younger sister almost clubbed Eira in the eye with the velvet box she held as Eira pulled the door open.
“I’d imagine after a year of visiting temples, you’d have had enough of praying by now.” Rose barreled into the room, leaning on her crutch, and dropped the box on the vanity with a thud.
“It was more necessary than usual today.” Eira shut the door behind them and exhaled, pressing her lips together before placing her hands on her hips. “And maybe if I hadn’t received dozens of letters from you and Father begging me to come home from those temples, I wouldn’t need to pray so long this morning.”
Rose waved Eira off. “It wasn’t as though you hadn’t planned on being home in time for the Moon Festival. We were simply reminding you.”
She dropped her crutch and it clattered to the ground as she flopped onto the plush, deep blue bed, pale freckled arms outstretched. Her copper hair splayed out on the quilt like fiery waves.
Eira had only been home for a few days since her yearlong pilgrimage, and had a curious new fascination with Rose. In so many ways she was the same, but in spite of sending letters all year and seeing one another for the holy days, there was still something different Eira couldn’t put her finger on. Rose had always been as fiery as her red hair and ready to speak her mind at any given chance. She never sat still for more than a moment. Yet now there was an air of unease and distance about her Eira didn’t recognize. This was one of the reasons she was glad to be home, in spite of everything. She wanted to get to know her sister again.
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