Page 161 of Sunsplitter

“And we will.” She smoothed his collar. “We fought an aedari together. We dida lot of thingslast night together. Today is for you, Antal.” Quieter. “I can let you go out on your own, when you need to. I’ll be here when you get back.”

“But—”

“Trust me.”

When she laid her fingers so softly on his cheeks, he couldn’t do anything else.

Avroz was the first to depart. Syvr lingered, waiting on Yme as she finished with her flowers—two garlands woven of dahlia blooms. She’d inherited the fields when she’d bonded withAvroz, had the emblems etched on her antlers. A better tender than he’d ever be.

Antal’s mother laid one garland over his neck. The second, over Ixli’s.

“You’ll do marvelously,” she told them. Then she and Syvr disappeared.

Ixli lifted a large silver box, ready to go.

Antal looked, one final time, to Fionamara.

“Make me proud,” she said.

The halls of the Daey Celva were even busier than Antal’s last visit. This time, they gathered because of him.

By Veshri’s high and sharpened antlers, he prayed this would be over swiftly.

He and Ixli arrived on the main balcony. The cliff face loomed ahead, carved with its imposing archways, stone antlers mounted like sentinels. Antal’s family legacy. Daeyari were ageless creatures. Their society was one of the oldest in the Shattered Planes. They would thrive for longer still, because of the Daey Celva. Because of this legacy.

Antal nearly bit his tongue off in surprise, when Syvr tackled him from behind. One arm over his shoulder, one over Ixli’s, Syvr hugged them together like a beaming parent.

“Antal, Ixli, my dearest friends,” they said, magnanimous and loud. Then, quieter, “Stop looking so Void-damned morbid, you pair of frozen sticks. Just follow along. Nod when you’re supposed to.”

They slipped something into Antal’s hand, too subtle for Avroz to spot. A folded scrap of paper. Discreetly, Antal flicked it open, read the message.

Syvr was already gone, greeting another group of daeyari heading for the gallery. Antal slipped the note to Ixli.

They shared a grin, both a little less grim.

The halls beyond the balcony were dark, quiet. Even more so, when they left the path to the gallery, down a staircase spiraling into stone. They reached a staging room on the bottom level, where council members and guests could gather before proceeding onto the main floor.

It was a comfortable space, sitting areas deeply cushioned, a station set up for coffee. Antal had rarely enjoyed the amenities, despite spending hours in this cloistered chamber, readying notes and visitors at his father’s behest.

Most of the council members were out on the floor already. Antal and Ixli settled on the floor pillows as the sounds of the meeting being called to order drifted down the hall. Waiting to be summoned.

Ixli’s tail twitched, her posture rigid in that way that signified either something was about to be speared, or she was viscerally uncomfortable. Neither of them had ever enjoyed the pomp and circumstance.

She set the metal box between them. They both stared at it.

“You should carry it,” Antal said.

She looked at him, eyes glowing coral. “You’re sure?”

“This matters to you, Ixli.”

“It matters to you, too. You did this to get onto the Daey Celva. To protect your territory… to protect Fi.”

A silence passed between them. Comforting, to sense Ixli was equally perturbed at Fionamara’s absence, the warrior who’d helped them claim this victory.

“I’ll get what I want,” Antal said. “So long as Avroz holds up his end. This?” He nudged the box toward her. “Isyourmoment.”

Ixli accepted with a soft smile.