Crown of Visions

by R. A. Rock

  The solitary sound rang out and then faded away. The entire forest grew silent. Waiting. Another drumbeat hit, electrifying Tessa’s entire body. Yet another drumbeat hit. Only once. The quiet in between built the need for the sound until you ached for the next beat.

  Then the beats came more often and Tessa began thumping her fist on her heart as everyone else was doing. The sound of the Fae thumping their chests was almost as loud as the drum. The beat grew faster and faster until the huge, resounding drumbeat echoed through the Courtyard and mimicked the pounding of each person’s heart.

  Then the music changed. The heavy beat from the central drum went on, but more drums were added, creating complex rhythms that you could not ignore, that you could not listen to and stand still.

  Everyone began stomping their feet slowly to the drums, beginning to circle the fire. No one spoke. A Revel was not for talking. It was for being.

  Your body and your dancing spoke everything you needed to say. The point of a Revel was to get closer to Starlight. To become Starlight. And for that, no words were needed.

  They circled the fire clockwise, moving slowly to the rhythm of the drums. The music lit a fire in Tess’s body and she had her eyes half closed, focusing on the drum and the beat.

  This continued for a few minutes or a few hours. Tess couldn’t tell because time was fluid at a Revel. It stretched and compressed and nobody ever knew how much time had actually passed when morning came.

  Without warning, the drums stopped and a high-pitched, eerie song without words began. The women Fae joined in, its repeating notes creating a trance-like state that was supposed to bring the person into a state of ecstasy.

  The men fell away from the circle and the women continued to dance slowly, singing the keening song. After a time, the pounding of the drum began again and everyone moved around the fire to the beat once more.

  When the drums stopped again, a deep, gruff, low-pitched song began that was for the men. Tess moved away from the fire, still stomping her feet as she watched the men circling the fire, their song creating a heat inside her that made her feel like she might burst.

  The men finished and the drum came back in, faster and more furious. The dance around the circle picked up and they stomped their bare feet, jumping and dancing in a trance.

  Tess felt the rapture fill her.

  “The King and Queen will now drink the ceremonial first cup of Elixir of the night,” a Herald’s voice rang out. It was amplified magically and everyone in the entire courtyard could hear it. Tess couldn’t see the monarchs but she knew when they had finished their cups of Elixir because at that moment, the Elixir began to rain.

  There were no clouds, no source of the liquid, but it poured down on them all the same. Elixir soaked her hair and clothes and wet her skin. She could feel it seeping into her body, ramping up the ecstasy even higher. She hadn’t felt this much pleasure in a long, long time.

  She held her arms out and turned her face up to the stars, opening her mouth and letting it fill with Elixir. The magic rain would continue for hours, never ending and never stopping until the stroke of midnight.

  Elixir would rain everywhere in the Courtyard until the King and Queen would drink the ceremonial last cup of Elixir of the night, thus ending the spell.

  The music went wild when the Elixir appeared, drums, fiddles, guitars, singing. Everyone danced with abandon. No one was thinking. Tess was her body. No mind. Only movement. And music. And the rhythm moving her body for her. Every stamp of her foot was a splash. Every movement made Elixir fly everywhere.

  The fire filled her vision and the music filled her sense of sound. The Elixir overwhelmed her sense of touch and taste and smell.

  She was the music.

  She was the Elixir.

  She was the night.

  She was the Stars.

  There was only one thing that could make it more perfect.

  Finn.

  Chapter 18

  Tess searched across Izzie’s bonfire to find Finn. She had no idea what time it was and, during a revel, there was honestly no way of telling. But then, no one needed to know the time. It was night. The Stars were out. And that was all anyone needed to know.

  When she spotted Finn, she danced until she was next to him. Tess felt her longing increase. She took his hand and he let her, lost in his own bliss. When she pulled him away from the fire, he went with her willingly. They continued to move to the rhythm as they headed into the trees of the Courtyard.

  “Tessa,” he said, staring into her eyes. “What are we doing?”

  “I want a Joining vow,” she said, holding his gaze. “I want to Join with you.”

  “That’s the Elixir and the Revel talking,” Finn said, showing some signs of his usual self, as if he were pulling himself back from somewhere far away.

  “No, it’s not. The Revel is letting me tell you something that I’m not brave enough to usually. I love you, Finn. I meant what I said in the tunnel when we were about to die and when we were drunk. And I mean it now. It was stupid of me to say that we shouldn't lie together. What if we're captured and we never get the chance?"

  "I want to lie with you so badly, Tess."

  "Good," she said. "Me too. But more importantly, I want you to Join with me? I want us to make a Joining vow." She bit her lip, suddenly nervous. "Do you want to?”

  She looked into his handsome face and felt a stab of worry through her bliss. Maybe he didn’t want to? Maybe she had misunderstood?

  “I do, Tessa Callahan,” he said, a strong emotion in his eyes. “I really do.”

  A Joining vow united a couple like a marriage but deeper. It lasted for as long as they want to stay together. When they decided to separate, all they had to do to release the vow was to say three times that they wished to unjoin.

  “Then come with me,” she whispered, dragging him along to a spot where they could see the stars through the trees.

  When they stopped, they stared at each other for a long moment, the drums thrumming inside Tessa until her blood was pounding with desire.

  Finn took her face in his hands, kissing her passionately. All the softness from the other times they had kissed was gone, replaced by a powerful strength that she felt dominating her.

  Usually, she liked to be in control.

  But not tonight.

  Tonight, she wanted Finn to be the one calling the shots. Tonight, she wanted him to possess her completely.

  He kissed her like he was dying and she was the last bottle of Elixir in all of Ahlenerra. Like he needed her. Like he wanted her. Like she was as essential as breathing.

  Tess put her hands on his hips and pulled him against her, feeling his body so hard against her softness. The opposition seemed perfect. Tess molded herself to Finn’s body and she seemed to fit perfectly there. She was a flame burning wildly.

  Without warning, he let her go, scooping her up in the next moment and laying her on the soft grass. The music twined in the air around them, almost a living thing, and Tess didn’t know quite how it happened but she felt a cool breeze on her hot skin—and nothing else.

  “I want to Unite,” Finn whispered, his voice mingling with the music and the stars. Uniting wasn’t a necessary part of the Joining vow but couples sometimes did it as a way to show their commitment to each other.

  She still had enough mind to whisper back, “It’s dangerous.”

  “We’ve done it before. I’ll stop before we go too far.”

  Tess trusted him—more than she had ever trusted anyone. She gave one nod and he kissed her again, skin to skin, their legs entwining. His hands were everywhere and she felt the pleasure increasing until she thought she couldn’t take it anymore. It felt so good.

  But it wasn’t enough.

  “I need you Finn,” Tess breathed in his ear.

  In a heartbeat, he was there and they were connected as closely as two bodies could be. Finn interlaced his fingers with hers tightly over her head so the magic points in their
palms were touching.

  She willed her Starlight to unite with his and felt their magic begin to merge as their bodies fused, until she didn’t know where she ended and Finn began.

  They were one.

  Tess hadn’t thought that she could feel any more pleasure. Uniting with Finn, though, took it to a level she had never experienced before.

  But the tension was also growing. She needed… she needed…

  “More,” she begged, and as he moved over her, they gazed into each other’s eyes—one more point of connection. “Please, Finn. Please.”

  The tempo of the music increased, or so it seemed to Tess, as did the rapid beating of her heart. They rocked together, the rhythm driving them onward. Up and up. Tess felt the tension coil tighter and tighter until she couldn’t hold it anymore and she shattered into a thousand pieces.

  Finn pressed against her, gasping her name. Then he stilled, his weight keeping her grounded as her spirit flew. She came back to herself to find Finn’s Starlight pulling away from hers and Finn pressing tiny kisses all over her face.

  “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you,” he whispered with each kiss.

  Finn had kept his promise about not Uniting too long and their magic untangled itself. Tess felt its loss but she was feeling too good to worry about it much. Their hands were still interlaced.

  “Tessa Callahan,” Finn said, his voice deep and rough. “I vow to Join with you and be your partner. To love you and support you and help you as much as I am able until one or the other of us decides we should unjoin.”

  “Finn Noble,” she said, her voice scratchy but strong. Tess held his gaze, never looking away. “I vow to Join with you and be your partner. To love you and support you and help you as much as I am able until one or the other of us decides we should unjoin.”

  She lifted her head and pressed a kiss to his lips. He smiled, his eyes filled with an emotion she hadn’t seen in a man’s eyes—love—for her.

  Finn pulled his hands away from Tessa’s and rolled to the side, dragging her body to him so that her back was against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, making her feel safe and loved. It was like nothing Tess had ever experienced before. She turned her head and stared up at the stars, thinking that they had never looked so lovely.

  “Finn, see the stars? It’s the Wanderer constellation.”

  “Is it?”

  "It is?"

  "Yes, and you know what they say about the Wanderer?"

  "What's that?"

  "That he leads all wayward travellers home."

  Finn pulled her closer and whispered in her ear.

  "I think I already am home."

  Chapter 19

  Tess woke up the morning after the Grand Revel feeling groggy. She was lying on the grass, back to back with someone. When she rolled over, she saw it was Finn and the whole night came back to her. Yes, it was blurred at the edges, but she was pretty sure she had all her memories intact.

  She grinned.

  They were pretty good ones.

  She glanced around and saw Fae passed out all over the place. There was a black circle where the bonfire had been and Elixir goblets littered the table.

  Her skin and the ground were free of Elixir because of the nature of the Revel spell. The Elixir poured unceasingly for hours but then every drop disappeared at midnight, though the party went on for long after that. She couldn’t explain where it went. It was magic. That was all. So she was dry and so was the grass.

  It was light but the sun wasn’t up yet, so it must be very early. Possibly four or five in the morning. She didn’t feel like she’d slept for more than an hour or so. It was quiet and peaceful.

  Finn stirred, opening his eyes. He gave Tess a warm look when he saw her.

  “Good morning,” he said quietly, sitting up and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, which gave her a jolt of delight.

  “Morning,” Tess said, feeling a tiny bit shy.

  “How are you?” he said, yawning. “Want to unjoin yet?”

  “What? No,” Tess said quickly. Then she realized he was joking, as usual.

  “Good,” he said, getting to his feet as if his entire body ached. If he felt anything like she did, every muscle was sore. “I think we have a date with a wyrm.”

  “Oh, Chasm,” Tess said. “I sort of forgot about that Shadow-cursed wyrm.”

  “There’s nothing we can do about it, Tess. No way to protect ourselves. We just have to go in, get the crown, and get out.” He did not look happy about the prospect but he did seem determined.

  She went and got her bag and pulled out the map.

  "It's here, Finn," she said, excited. "The map has appeared."

  "We have to go. Now."

  “Yes. We'll get Nat and go right away. We’ll leave a note for Izzie.” She glanced around and saw Nat curled into a ball under a bush. Izzie was lying on his back just outside his tent, as if he had tried to get inside but simply couldn’t take one more step before he fell asleep. She went behind a bush and pulled on some regular clothes. When she came out she saw that Finn was ready and he was waking Nat. She pushed the elf's bag into her arms.

  "Get changed, Nat. It's time."

  Finn felt dwarfed by the enormous size of the Courtyard.

  To be honest, the name was a bit of a misnomer. The only thing the Courtyard had in common with a regular courtyard was that it was open to the sky and was surrounded by castle. But that was where the similarities ended.

  For one thing, the Courtyard was enormous. For another, trees had been planted all around the perimeter so that you couldn’t see the castle at all, now that they had grown so huge. And lastly, there were trees planted here and there throughout the courtyard and other foliage had grown up, making it feel like you were in an actual forest.

  Which had been the intent, of course.

  The Fae were known for their late-night Revels. And Finn had been to more than his fair share. They got pretty crazy, but that was also the point.

  He’d heard that things got especially weird on the Earthly realm. There was something about drinking Elixir there that made it several times more powerful. And there was a Time Enchantment that was part of the Revel spell and it majorly messed with the humans—the Fae called them the Starless Ones—particularly their perception of time.

  There were stories of how some poor humans had stumbled upon a Faerie Revel and drank the Elixir. This usually resulted in them spending what they thought were hours dancing around the fire. But upon their return, they would realize that years had passed. It was kind of sad since they had such short little mortal lives in the first place.

  Finn shook his head. It was a sad thing but he certainly couldn’t do anything about it. He had bigger problems. The week was drawing to a close and they were no closer to translating the Scroll and ending the Severance.

  But now they knew that the crown was the key to it all.

  They just had to find it before the others did.

  Then they could use the Crown of Visions to translate the Scroll and follow the instructions to end the Severance. Finn and Tess would bring peace and unity back to their people. There was still time. Once they had the crown and could understand the Scroll, it was simply a matter of activating the spell. Then this whole adventure would all be over and everything would be back to the way the Stars had intended it to be.

  “What are you thinking about?” Tess said, catching his pensive expression.

  “Just that maybe soon, all of this will be over.”

  “Yes, that’s true. No more Hundred Years Ball.”

  “No, Tess, I mean everything.”

  She nodded, understanding. “I can hardly imagine what Ahlenerra will be like with no Chasm dividing the people and the land in half.”

  “We can have a different ball, celebrating the unification of the Fae land once more.”

  “I like that,” Tess said, taking his hand as they walked. “A new festiv
al to celebrate the day the Severance was ended.”

  “Exactly. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We have to get that crown first.”

  "You two are so cute," Nat said, giving them a knowing look.

  Tess had braided her hair into two pigtails that made her look young and innocent, though he knew she was anything but. Still, he liked the happy expression on her face that had replaced the guarded one.

  “Are you ready, Nataliana?”

  “I am,” Nat said, bouncing on her toes. “I can’t wait to see it!”

  And Finn was happy that the elf would be getting this chance. Nat nodded vigorously.

  “Can I see the directions that Izzie gave you?” Tess said, holding out her hand and Finn passed her the scrap of paper.

  “Sure, I memorized them anyway,” Finn said, heading to the southernmost part of the Courtyard. “The first thing is the Vitan tree.”

  Vitan trees were special to elves. The elves were connected to the trees. They gave them power somehow. Or something like that. Finn wasn’t sure exactly. He only knew that Nat hadn’t seen one in a long time and that was why she was so very excited about finding it for them.

  That’s what’s called a win-win situation, people.

  They wandered through the trees and Finn honestly felt like he was in the woods. The Courtyard had been designed that way because Revels were always held in the woods when there was a new moon so there wouldn’t be any light from the moon to interfere with the starlight. Of course, the Grand Revel was held in the Courtyard. It was the only place to have it without making a huge mess. Plus there were the bonfires that needed to be outside. But now they were heading away from where all the Fae were sleeping and into the deeper woods that Finn hadn't really known existed.

  “Is this the place?” Tess said, studying the area.

  “I think so. See the three boulders?” They could only just see the large stones, which were inside the ring of thicker brush that hid the castle from the Courtyard. “It’s past that.”