Hawksheart moved closer. "But this is not the real reason you came to me tonight, alone. This question you could have asked in the presence of others."

She stepped back, retreating from his approach. His gaze held hers captive, the relentless power of his Elvish eyes piercing her barriers and delving deep into the secrets she held within. "Your truemate's madness begins. The incompleteness of your bond begins to unravel his mind, and you wish to know how much time he has before the madness consumes him.”

Her body trembled, but his power dragged the answer from her lips. "Yes." She told herself she had not broken her vow to Rain by confirming the question. Hawksheart had already Seen in her mind.

"Too much Shadow lies upon him," Hawksheart replied. "Though he offers you hope, he already knows the end will come quickly."

Her mouth went dry. She met Hawksheart's piercing gaze and this time asked directly, all pretense gone, "How quickly?" When he hesitated, her brows drew together. "You already owe a debt to my family so great you will never be able to repay it—you can give me this much, at least."

Lord Galad's jaw clenched at her accusation, but after a moment, he nodded. "Very well. For the love I bear your mother, I will answer." The Elf king closed his eyes and held a hand over the mirror pool. A spout of shining blue water arose to bathe his palm. His fingers tapped against the water, "A month. No more than that. The war will accelerate your shei'tan's decline."

She bit back a muted cry as a rush of desperate denial filled her. So little time.

"Can I not heal his soul to give him more time?" Even though Rain had already given her an answer, she thought perhaps Hawksheart might know something her shei'tan did not.

Hawksheart shook his head. "There is only one way for you to heal what ails him now. You must complete your bond, or Rain will die before the last day of Seledos. No matter what else happens, that much is certain."

She drew a breath. The muted cry of denial grew louder. "Yet still you will not tell me how to do it?"

"The key already exists within you, Ellysetta. When the time comes, you will either do what you must or you will let your mate die. The choice will be yours."

She gave a humorless laugh. "Choice? Since when have I had that?" It seemed to Ellie that most of her life, she'd been swept along by the powerful currents of forces greater than she.

A knowing light shone from Lord Galad's green eyes. "You think because you face situations not of your making that you exercise no choice? That you are helpless? To the contrary, child. Your whole life has been full of choices. Hiding from a hard truth is a choice. Surrender—even to the inevitable—is a choice. Even in death there is choice. You may have no control over the time or manner of your death, but you can choose how you face it."

"Is death how my Song ends?"

He smiled, and his eyes were filled with a mix of sadness, understanding, and unexpected affection. "All living things die, Ellysetta. Even Elves and Fey . .. though we usually take longer to do it than most. But the Light that exists within us"—he laid his hand over her heart—"that spark of divine power we call our souls—the only way for that to truly perish is for us to surrender our Light to the Dark. So even if this body you now inhabit does not survive your Song, so long as you hold fast to the Light, the soul that is Ellysetta Erimea will live on. Let that bring you what comfort it may."

"But if I die, then Rain dies...." Her own death she could accept, but not Rain's. Never Rain's. "Please, you've got to tell me—“

"Anio." Hawksheart held up a hand for silence. "I have already said more than I should. I vowed to hold my silence ...but you are so very like her." His lips compressed and he turned away. "Go now, cousin. Sleep without dreams, I will speak with you on the morrow.”

She took a half step towards him; but he clapped his hands, and her vision dissolved in a shower of gold and green sparks. Consciousness faded, and she knew no more.

The Faering Mists

Lillis and Eiliss had reached the valley floor. The trail led through a dense copse of towering evergreens and into a clearing where a small village nestled amidst the trees. Shining Fey, tall, slender, and beautiful, turned with serene calm to watch Eiliss and Lillis emerge from the woods,

"Lillis!" One figure, much smaller than the rest, came peeking out of a nearby building and raced across the clearing. "Lillis! You're here!"

"Lorelle!" With a shout of delight, Lillis raced to meet her twin. The girls met in the center of the clearing and twirled in each other's arms, hugging and laughing.

"I’m so glad you're safe," Lillis exclaimed. "I was afraid something terrible had happened to you."

"And me you," Lorelle agreed. "Lady Eiliss found me and Papa and brought us here."

"Papa?" Lillis grabbed Lorelle's hands tightly. "Where is he?”

Lorelle pointed to the building she'd come from. "In there. Wait! Lillis, there's something else you should—"

But Lillis was already racing across the ground into the building Lorelle had indicated "Papa! Papa! I'm here!" She smelled the familiar, beloved scent of pipe smoke long before she saw her father and followed the aroma through the airy rooms towards a private courtyard at the center of the house. "It's Lillis, Papa! I'm here! I'm all right! Lady Eiliss found me just like she found you and Lorelle!"