Celeste
The outer gates of Specter opened onto a village in full celebration.
Banners. Garlands. Children weaving between carts with flowers in their hair. A pig turning on a spit. A row of women threading ribbon onto a pole. The air smelled of roasting meat and cut pine and something sweet that I wanted to eat by the fistful.
The villagers turned to their king as we rode through. Not the careful half-nods I had seen in the village on the road. Actual waves. Actual smiles. A boy with a missing tooth hollered "Your Majesty!" and Darien lifted a gloved hand in reply, and the boy nearly fell over his own feet in delight.
I glanced sideways. "What are they preparing for?"
"Shadow Moon Festival."
My stomach dropped. I kept my face steady.
"You've heard of the Shadow Prophecy." Darien's m
