She sighed. “Nevermind. You just look pretty, okay?”
“I can do that.”
She took a deep breath and put the “crown” in a small pouch at her side.
“Let’s go. And don’t put that cloak on. This is a thing for friends, not creepy assassin guys.”
I chuckled. “Fine. I’ll be a friend today.”
She hopped to her feet, her wings fluttering and making the movement much more graceful. Then, she opened the door and walked towards the center of the village where someone had tied Enivyn to a chair and blindfolded him.
“What are you doing, Andryn? You were supposed to blindfold him, not tie him up like a prisoner!”
“He kept taking off the blindfold and sneaking glances. This was the only way to keep the secret.”
“Rose! You’re here! Save me please? Andryn won’t let me get up. I’m hungry. No one let me eat any snacks today!”
“It’s okay, Enivyn. I’m going to untie you, but you have to promise me that you won’t take off your blindfold. We’ll get you some food in just a few minutes, and it’s going to be the best snack ever.”
“Great! I love snacks! I won’t peek. I promise.”
Sinivyn walked into the village center carrying a candle, wearing a strange, braided vine on his head.
Then Cara followed him carrying a tray with a huge cake on it. It was a frosted, three-tiered cake with chocolate icing all over it. My stomach rumbled thinking about it. It had been years since I’d had a good cake. There hadn’t been all that many good reasons to celebrate in the past fourteen years.
Rose finished untying Enivyn, and he sat still at the community table.
Kasia began handing out the strange braided crowns to everyone in the village, and she even put one on her and her foals. Only the shifter pups didn’t wear them. Everyone put on the crowns and I saw smiles from many of the villagers. They all seemed to know what was happening. Even Cara cracked a smile.
Was I really the only one who didn’t know what a birthday party was?
Rose put her fingers to the candle wick, and it burst into flames. “Okay, Enivyn. Take off your blindfold!”
As soon as he could see, he squealed in excitement. “Oh man. Oh man. Oh man. A birthday party? For me? John told you, didn’t he?”
Rose raised her hand and the entire village began to sing. “Happy Birthday, dear Enivyn.”
I stared in complete bewilderment as everyone sang the words to the song as though they’d sung it a thousand times.
When it was done, people brought small gifts to him. One of the foals brought him a pretty rock. One of the villagers gave him a new bag. On and on it went. Enivyn’s smile seemed to grow with each gift.
Finally, Rose stepped up to Enivyn and said, “I don’t have very much to give, Enivyn, but there is one thing that I can give.” She pulled the crown from the pouch and put it on his head, adjusting it so that it wouldn’t fall off.
“I’m a Queen so I get to do this. Today, I pronounce you Prince of Smiles as there’s no one in the village who can smile as big as you.”
The entire village seemed to laugh and cheer at the same time. Rose walked away as Andryn began to cut the cake. She seemed to have just as big of a smile on her face as Enivyn did.
“I think I understand what’s happening,” I whispered to her as she stood next to me watching the entire village laughing and talking.
“It’s a human thing. We’re born, we live some years, and then we die. So we count them and congratulate ourselves for living another year. More than anything, it’s a good reason to be happy to just be alive.”
“It’s not a bad tradition for humans,” I said.
“It’s not a bad tradition for anyone to be happy to be alive, Sebastian.” I looked at her and saw her watching the villagers.
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s good to just enjoy the moment every now and then.”
“I heard that chocolate’s your favorite.”
“You heard right.”
“Then you’d better go get in line for some. I’m positive that those gnomes will gobble up every extra piece they can get their hands on.”
I laughed and grabbed her hand. “Fine. I’ll stop worrying for a minute and just enjoy a bit of cake.”
Chapter 29
Rose
I stood panting in the training circle that had been marked off. The villagers knew not to come near here as Sebastian, Cara, and I had slowly but steadily become more brutal in my training.
Mists crawled from the ground around my feet as I faced Cara. Using the Gift of Sacrifice, I followed Sebastian’s movements as he stood behind me. I knew that he was working the mists. The black shield that coated my skin held the mists back, and Cara shined her light at me which the shield blocked.
I felt Sebastian leap towards me, his daggers being called from the mist. I twisted at the last moment, shoving him towards Cara. He screamed as I pulled the hood back and he stared into her blinding light.
Leaping over him, my wings fluttering to lighten me and carry me over his body, I stood in front of Cara and felt my dagger coalesce from shadows in my hand. Her eyes went wide as the dagger pressed against her throat at the same time that I raised my other hand and encased Sebastian’s legs in stone.
“Dead,” I whispered to Cara. Sebastian pushed the stone away from him with his powers at the same time that I threw the dagger at him, hitting him in the shoulder as hundreds of tendrils of light burst from my hand and sought him out, wrapping around his arms and legs.
He began to scream as the tendrils of light burned him as they immobilized him. I took a step towards him, pulling the dagger out of his
