Five hundred and fifty turns had passed since the last imperial wedding when prince Raia of Denea wed princess Kiera of Eurora. That union, unwanted by Denea, but completed none-the-less out of the need for an alliance, was a state event. Though sullen, citizens stood in the streets of Hypat to watch the royal procession. Banners hung from the windows. The representatives from Eurora could not complain about the lack of accolades for their princess. The people, the parades, and the ceremony were there, if without enthusiasm. And, though the prince and princess met as strangers that day, all saw the glint in their eyes. The promise of a spark that would set their world ablaze.

So said the history books.

Within the year, Mai was born. A blow to Denea, who ordered their prince not to conceive. A godsend to Eurora after centuries of childless alliances with Denea.

Today, the ceremony was different. The spark already flared, the child that would unite their people growing fast within Rina, sped on by the Carnelian Way.

Rina placed a hand on the rapidly expanding curve of her stomach, the golden threads woven into the burgundy silk scratching her palm. Before her, a modest but smiling crowd gathered in the orchard where she and Mai had first met. Beyond the sun-dappled forms of trees and attendees, the horizon unfurled like a pink rosebud. A trail of red petals led to the edge of the plateau. A tall figure stood there with his back to her, staring out into the sunset, the sun glinting on the oiled curls of his hair and briar crown.

The scent of rose and grass and earth twined about Rina as she walked toward him, waiting for him to turn. Then he did, his eyes wide and blue, that crooked smile unfurling. She didn't breathe for a step. Two. Three. Not until his hands reached for hers, pulling her up to the dais, that line between them roaring to life, and their child stretching within her.

Rina, he said into her mind. Her lips parted, and her face grew warm as he leaned in to kiss her cheek while one possessive hand reached out to her stomach. The child rolled, and she felt his lips stretch across her skin.

A throat cleared, and they pulled apart to see High-magister Pilo waiting from his lectern, a flicker of amusement across his weathered face. His knarled hand came to his chin and stroked down his long beard as his thick grey brows lifted.

Mai snorted. "Get on with it, will you?"

Warmth bloomed in Rina to hear Mai light-hearted. The past months had been hard. The magisters and acolytes who escaped the courthouse—no, who she let run—had been tracked down and tested, and the taint found within most. In a few, to the extent that the mubash grew. Of these, all but two forsook themselves to Mai, becoming reborn. The others joined Nab above the court gates—this time after the purging of the mubash.

For over five hundred turns, the forsaking had been a symbol of the Denese taint. Of the danger they posed to the kingdom. Now, all persons gifted with the Carnelian Way needed to forsake themselves.

For the Denese to be lifted so high was one thing, and something many magisters struggled to accept. But to have their order dragged down, to forsake themselves like the Arkis-tainted Denese, that had been another matter. Spot fires of rebellion had been stamped out by trusted leaders of the Magisterium and the magister guards. Secret meetings in private estates were raided. Some magisters had protested through the streets.

Few Euran's complained. The changes warranted rigorous re-testing and so came the discovery of latent abilities in adults who displayed no gifts in adolescence. This included some gifts thought all but lost to the Magisterium, such as persuasion.

Pilo opened his book. His gaze scanned the crowd. All the chosen had come, and for each of them, a magister or acolyte, and a noble or commoner who demonstrated their support of the union. Some attendees lined the aisle, but most clustered amongst the trees, including Olav, who looked at her from those black eyes with an expressionless face.

Rina stepped to the side, putting her back to Olav.

A sudden chill scraped down her neck. She turned to look behind her, and a look of concern crossed Olav's face. She gave him a quick shake of the head and turned back to Pilo.

"Those gathered here are chosen for their grace, humility, and dedication to our emperor, Mai the Magnificent, and for your kindness and friendship to his betrothed, her Grace, Rina of the Denese.

"Your actions may have been large." Pilo turned to one side of the crowd. "Or small." He faced the other. "But they were noticed. So while you bless this union, this union blesses you too. Our beneficent emperor would like to address you before we proceed with the ceremony."

Beside Mai, Rina turned her head to face the congregation, her cheeks beginning to sting from the stretch of muscles. Sara, Anat, and Anya smiled. Beside Anya was Mehdi with one hand in Anya's and another in that of a beautiful young noble. Was that a tear running down his face? As if he understood her question, Mehdi nodded just a fraction.

A cool hand found Rina's. Her smile deepened.

Mai's voice rang clear beside her. "Five-hundred-and-seventy-one years have gone since the Day of the Devastation.  A day when a great wrong was done. One that ironically marked the end of many centuries of wrongdoing."

He paused a moment and said, "Then again, there is much irony in the story of our peoples, as you will see.

"Despite its small size, before the Devastation, Denea was the wealthiest kingdom in the Flat Seas. They had the gift of harnessing the power of the Carnelian Way. Yet the kings and mages of the Denese empire hoarded this knowledge, preventing other nations from discovering if their people had this ability, or from learning how to wield it. Keeping other nations—including this one—on their knees.

"My father married a Euran princess for diplomatic reasons, but he knew the Denese traditions to be wrong. He loved my mother from the start and knew she longed for a child. The youngest son of three, he allowed her to conceive. And then as I grew up, he saw it was unfair to prevent me from learning my gifts—so he taught me how to wield them. He was not to know my uncles would die untimely deaths, nor that I would become next in line to the throne after him.

"When my uncle and his army were at Hypat's gates to demand my rightful inheritance, High-mage Arkis and my aunt Elia used their power to destroy Denea rather than let me rule."

The last words twisted from his lips, and a shiver slipped through Rina, coiling about the child in her stomach. She pressed her hand against it, nails digging into the fabric. No one, no one, would keep this child from what it was due.

When Mai spoke next, his voice came sad, quiet, though it still carried across the crowd and through the trees, weaving a spell around his audience. "Thousands upon thousands of lives on both sides of the conflict were lost. Wiped out in the blinks of two monsters' eyes." He breathed a jerky breath. "All who died on both sides were my people. My responsibility.

"With this heinous act, the balance of the Carnelian Way was pushed over the brink, irrevocably tainted. I was tempted to give up on Denea." His eyes grazed the crowd, resting last on Rina, a rueful flicker coming to the corner of his lips. "I couldn't, though. For what had been done had been the work of power-hungry princes and mages.

"I searched for and found refugees in the Temple of Elia in the deep desert. There, in the temple vaults, I found hidden texts. I used this knowledge to found the Magisterium. A new order without the Taint.

"I couldn't forsake the people of my homeland, though I was hard on them. Today, I wish to acknowledge the Denese survivors and their ancestors. They were not power-hungry mages or princes. In the past 571 turns, they have paid penance for the misdeeds of their predecessors. They have funnelled their gifts into Eurora, into all the threads that bind this land together in prosperity. Allowed the Magisterium to pluck the taint from their soul on my behalf, despite the exhaustion that follows. Those of you here have done it without complaint and then come far from your homes where you have proven your ability to wield the Carnelian Way.

"I fear that this is not the same of all Denese or, sadly, magisters. The Taint was taken and stored, but some magisters and acolytes wanted it for themselves. They took it from the crystals and used its darkness to fuel their power, dragging the Magisterium down with them. Now, the balance has tipped the other way.

"Balance is essential. To avoid further destruction, to move forward and, I hope, rebuild Old Denea, it is vital that balance is found. A new balance without the Taint or thorns."

He turned to Rina, taking both her hands. Those blue, blue eyes held her until they dragged away again, and it took all her will to stop from crying out, stay, stay, stay!

"The path to balance begins with a union between our people. In the ancestor of Arkis and Elia, my greatest enemies, I have found a worthy partner. His hand came to her belly. "We have created a life that will unite our people. A life that grows swiftly in its purity. Blessed by the Carnelian Way. Unblemished. With this setting of the sun, I take her as my empress, and with the new day, we will see in a new era."

Silence. A pause, still and quiet. A light wind picked up with the stretching of the sunset, and the faintest sounds reached from the bay.

That prickle returned, tickling at the nape of Rina's neck. Then a single clap sounded, distracting her. Then another. And another. They spread, as did the smiles of the crowd, the red and maroon robed magisters, the acolytes in their umber, and the Denese in their rainbow silks.

Mai turned to Pilo, who smiled, the corners of his mouth creasing. He inclined his head and began the ceremony.

It was quick, combining the rights of Eurora and Denea. They touched their palms together, creating a white flare of light—a symbol of the spark that brought new life.

An acolyte approached the edge of the dais with a gilt box. Mai opened it, and from the velvet cushion withdrew a crown of gold and silver. The tiara she made, Rina realised, but different now. The intertwined bands of gold and silver had birthed leaves and buds and blooms with small carnelian crystals at their centre and a perfect cut crystal at its heart.

The crystal in Pilo's diadem now seemed small and insignificant. What would the magisters think?

Do you like it? Mai asked down the line, the edge of doubt in his words.

She realised she must appear unhappy and smiled. I love it.

He grinned and placed it on her head. My gift to you.

Rina reached out a shaking hand and touched the crown. She felt him in the metal, in the small engraved details of the vines. He cupped her face, a slight scratch to the tips of his roughened fingers. He hadn't only used his magic to create this.

His kiss was warm and slow and deliberate. It melted her bones, and she moulded against him, feeling his incisors lengthen as the kiss deepened. All the while, trying to ignore that prickling at the back of her neck.

★☾●☽★

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