But today was not one of those days. It was a day of light and cheer in Garver’s shop, and Eliana stared and stared at Simon as he laughed—laughed because of a thing that she had done! Her chest hurt a little, watching him. It was a sweet, quiet hurt, and she didn’t mind it. The feeling reminded her of being home in her safe, warm bedroom, watching her father’s face as he told a story about her mother.
The silver bell rang at the door, and Eliana whirled to see that Zahra had come to bring her home—but she was not alone. Her father had come with her, all the way down from the castle! Even though he had told Eliana he would most likely have to sit in boring meetings for the entire afternoon, there he was with his broad smile and his dark eyes like hers, holding out his arms to catch her.
Eliana nearly tumbled off the stool in her haste to run to him. She shrieked his name in greeting as she jumped at his chest, and he caught her and swung her high and kissed her hair. And there was his voice, so dear and warm, asking her if she would like to eat lunch with him at Odo’s today, and maybe sit on Odo’s terrace with the ferns and the flowers, and Odo himself would join them, which meant stories. Strange, wild stories brought to him by all the people who worked for him, the wraiths who spied for him, the merchants who sold to him.
Eliana felt dizzy. An entire afternoon sitting at her father’s feet while Odo spun stories for them!
She kissed his cheek, which was scratchy from his old burns and because he really needed to shave. She wrinkled her nose and told him so, and he laughed, and tall, wonderful Zahra swooped down to touch her forehead—a cold brush of air like the beginning of winter, when the air smelled of snow.
Eliana turned in her father’s arms. “Are we finished, Garver? Can I go?”
Garver’s mouth twitched. “No, child, I forbid you to go with your father, the king. Instead, you must stay here for the rest of the day and sweep the dust from my floors.”
She gaped at him, a feeling of absolute horror crawling up her arms, and then Garver, chuckling, returned to his work.
“Good day to you, my king, and thank you,” he said with a little bow and a wave. “As always, your daughter was very helpful today.”
Eliana blew out a sharp breath. She looked at her father, indignant. “You mean he was joking?” She looked back at Garver, even more indignant. “You were joking?”
They left the shop, Garver’s laughter in their ears and Simon at their heels. He was quiet at her father’s side and held open the garden gate for them.
“You’ll bring her back next week, won’t you?” Simon said hopefully as they started walking up the road. “It’s less boring to cut leaves and things when she’s here.” He paused, his face carefully blank. “You know. Because I have to watch her constantly. Make sure she doesn’t cut off her fingers. Teach her how to use her learning knives.”
Eliana stuck out her tongue at him, but she knew he wasn’t really angry, because he was already smiling, and her father was laughing his big warm beautiful laugh that she so loved. Atheria was flying in great lazy circles through the bright spring sky. Zahra drifted alongside them, telling Eliana about the wildcats she had seen in the mountains that morning, and above them, far up the road, Baingarde stood in the hills and pines, waiting for their return. Their home.
As they walked up the road, Eliana snuggled against her father’s shoulder, watching Simon grow smaller and smaller. He always waited at the garden gate until they reached the top of the road. It was only polite, he said, a show of respect for the king. And the princess, Eliana often reminded him, to which he usually responded with a merry-eyed shrug.
As they neared the road’s end, Eliana held her breath, listening to her heart pound. What if he didn’t wait? What if he returned to the shop before he was supposed to? Her eyes watered as she stared, and she refused to breathe, even though she was starting to feel a little dizzy.
Zahra sent her a fond, slightly exasperated thought: Little one, if you don’t breathe soon, I will force you to.
And then—there. Simon raised his hand at last, as he always did, just as he had promised. Eliana’s heart filled with light to see it, and she giggled against her father’s ear, so happy that she couldn’t answer him when he asked her what was funny. Instead, she smiled and waved back at Simon until they turned the corner and the little shop she so loved, and its garden, and the boy standing patiently at its gate, fell quietly out of sight.
Elements in the Empirium Trilogy
In Celdaria, Rielle’s kingdom, the Church is the official religious body. Citizens worship in seven elemental temples that stand in each Celdarian city. Temples range from simple altars in a single, small room to the elaborate, lavish temples of the capital city, Âme de la Terre. Similar religious institutions exist in nations around the world of Avitas. In Eliana’s time, most elemental temples have been destroyed by the Undying Empire, and few people still believe in the Old World stories about magic, the saints, and the Gate.