“Now, be on your best behavior and don’t embarrass your mothers.” Rowena held the door open for her.
“Thank you, Ro-Ro.” Brea leaned down and kissed her rosy cheek.
“Oh, be on with you.” Rowena shooed her down the hall to meet her mothers.
“Brea, darling you look lovely.” Tierney crossed the courtyard to greet her. “Happy birthday, dear.” She folded Brea into her arms, and she had to admit, Tierney gave the best hugs.
“We are so sorry to hear about your friend, Myles.” Faolan linked her arm through Brea’s. Both queens wore simple silk ballgowns adorned with exotic flowers in the queen’s colors. Queen Regan wouldn’t have deigned to wear something so simple, but both of Brea’s moms looked lovely. “We will do everything we can to bring him and Alona back to us. I give you my word, he is every bit as important as Alona.”
“Thank you … Mom.” Brea decided in that moment the name didn’t feel awkward at all. “He is the most important person in my life. I can’t sit back and do nothing to save him.”
“We will figure this out, darling.” Tierney linked her arm around Brea’s free arm and together they headed to the carriage awaiting them. “But please, try to enjoy your party tonight. It was supposed to be a surprise, but we decided you probably wouldn’t like that.”
“Good plan.” Brea laughed. It warmed something inside her that her mothers really were learning who she was and what she liked.
“Your eighteenth birthday is an important milestone, Brea,” Faolan explained as their carriage rolled along the cobblestone streets. “In the next few days, your magic will begin to change, and you’ll have more control over it. We’ve arranged for you to have a tutor to help you. You’ll have lessons each afternoon once you return from your apprenticeship at the stables.”
“Thank you both. I hadn’t even realized it was my birthday. I’ve lost all sense of time since I arrived in the fae world.”
“We hope you will one day think of Eldur as your home, but for tonight, we just want you to have fun and know that we are working to bring Myles home.”
It was a relief to hear they realized how important he was. Not that Brea would ever stop worrying about him until she laid eyes on her best friend again.
“Lady Brea.” Lochlan reached to help Brea down from the carriage.
“Loch, how are you feeling? Should you be here?”
“I wouldn’t miss your birthday.” His lips twitched. “With your lack of control, you’re liable to set the whole place on fire. Wouldn’t want to miss that.”
“Very funny.” She took his hand, noting how pale he was. Despite the facade of his fine clothing, he was in no shape to attend a ball. She’d only ever seen him in his black leathers or soldier’s gear. Even in Fargelsi, he always wore simple black clothing.
But tonight, he was in full Eldur fashion, and Brea approved. His long fitted jacket matched the dark blue of his eyes. Trimmed in silver brocade with slitted sleeves, it fit him like a second skin. His sliver undershirt buttoned high, with a stiff collar, and his fitted trousers were of the same dark hue as his jacket. A pale blue and silver sash tied at his waist, accentuating his broad shoulders and narrow hips.
Following the queens, Brea walked silently beside him through the tiered garden, up to the highest level, her arm tucked tightly around Lochlan’s. They passed commoners and merchants, each bowing as the queens strolled past. Cool breezes swept through the crowds as if called here by magic, which was probably the case. Fires in a rainbow of colors danced in the braziers as the sun met the horizon.
“Isn’t it odd to have a ball so early in the evening?”
“Not in Eldur,” Lochlan said with a frown. “Surely someone has taught you that much about Eldurian magic?”
“I still know nothing.” Brea shrugged.
“I thought Griff taught you how Eldurians draw their magic from the sun.”
“And in Iskalt, you draw your magic from the moon. And in Fargelsi, from nature.” Brea remembered that much, though she didn’t know what it meant.
“So, if your people harness magic from the sun, and mine from the moon, what would be the logical conclusion?” Lochlan pushed her to find the answer for herself.
“Oh!” She gazed around the gardens at all the obvious displays of magic, and it clicked. “They can only use their magic during the day?”
“And I can only use mine at night. But, at dawn and again at dusk, we are both powerful.”
“What does that mean for Fargelsi?”
“They can use their magic anytime, which grants them a certain advantage, but they are not nearly as powerful as Iskalt and Eldur.”
“I see.”
“Now that you are of age, it is important that you learn to harness your magic.”
“The queens have arranged for a tutor.” Brea and Lochlan followed the queens to their thrones for the evening. They took up their place behind the queens on the dais. It was all so familiar. Brea fought the urge to yawn, pasting on her fake smile instead.
Nobles and commoners alike came to wish the Lady Brea a happy birthday, offering her little trinkets and baubles from the finest gold to the most common beads and stones. Brea found she preferred the simple gifts from the common folk. They were more heartfelt. A young woman shyly offered her a fuzzy white baby pigmy goat Brea refused to let out of her sight.
“You’re supposed to eat that, you know.” Lochlan stared at the baby goat in her lap. “It’s delicious roasted with rosemary and onion.”
“Shut your face, Lochlan O’Shea.” Brea held her hands over the baby goat’s ears. “Her name is Rosie, and she’s my pet.” Brea scratched the goat’s head eliciting a lazy bleat.
“If you’re going to keep that thing in your rooms, you need to get it a friend. There’s nothing more destructive than a bored goat.”
Brea leaned forward to ask her mothers if she could explore the gardens.
“Don’t go far, dear,” Tierney said. “We have an announcement to make soon, but take Lochlan with you.”
Brea left the dais with Rosie in her arms, not overly concerned if Lochlan followed her or not. She made her way through the crowd, offering smiles and nods to those who looked like they wanted to talk, but she kept moving until she saw a familiar face near the buffet.
“Breee-anne of Tarth,” Finn slurred, sipping from a flask. “How’s the birthday girl?”
“I’m fine, thanks, but you’re clearly drunk.” She took his flask away, taking a sip of the contents for herself. “Yuck, that tastes like burnt leaves. Try the champagne.
It’s delicious.” Brea snagged two glasses from a passing waiter.
“Don’t mind if I do.” Finn poured a healthy splash of his flask into the champagne flute.
“Leave him be, Brea.” Lochlan took her glass of champagne from her and drained its contents in one gulp.
“Hey, that was mine.”
“I’ve seen what happens to you after you’ve had too much fae wine. I don’t relish taking another swim in the fountains tonight.”
“It happened one time.” Brea turned toward Finn, ignoring Lochlan.