EPILOGUE
The Sun at midnight
Jahna stood at the small window in Radimar’s equally small chamber and stared at the night sky, lit so brightly by the sorcerous flames of the Firehound spectacle that the stars faded. In the bailey and on the loggias, the celebrants for the festival and the guests of Sodrin’s wedding cheered the sight and raised their goblets in a toast to the bringer of light as it tore the hem of Darkness and spilled the sun onto the world.
As with all the years before this one, Jahna was content to watch it all from a distance, only this time, she wasn’t alone. Behind her, her lover sprawled on the narrow bed in exhausted slumber. His red hair spilled across the pillows like a sunset, and she ignored the glory of the Firehound to admire the glory of Radimar’s body illuminated by the light of a single candle.
He had drawn every eye at Sodrin’s wedding this evening, more than she did, for which she would ever be grateful. Thank the gods for silk sashes and the handsome redheads who wore them. Jahna sat beside him during the ceremony, happy for her brother and his new wife, even happier for herself.
She had left Radimar just before dawn, when the palace was still quiet, its servants just rising to begin their tasks, its guests just falling into bed or passed out on their pillows after a long night of revelry. Jahna had wanted to remain, but her body was sore and sticky, and she desperately needed a bath. The temptation to stay and loll in bed with Radimar had almost been more than she could resist. If she didn’t have a wedding to prepare for and attend, she would have given in to that desire.
Sodrin had estimated far more time than it actually took for Radimar to approach him. Jahna had been straightening imaginary wrinkles out of her brother’s wedding garb when a servant announced that the swordmaster of Ilinfan wished to speak to him.
Jahna feared she’d break her own fingers, they were tangled so tightly together as the two men clasped forearms in greeting. Radimar didn’t waste a moment. He wished Sodrin all blessings in his marriage and thanked him for the sash and the honor Sodrin bequeath him in the giving of it. His face was grim and set.
“Lord Uhlfrida, I’ve asked Jahna to be my wife. She has accepted. For her sake, I ask for your blessing.” His eyes narrowed, the tone of his invoice implying that blessing or not, Jahna would be his wife.
Sodrin adopted a serious expression before turning to Jahna, eyebrows rising and falling in a teasing wiggle. He raised a single finger and mouthed to her “One day.”
She hid her laughter behind a cough.
Sodrin faced Radimar once more. “I don’t know, Radimar.” His serious tone belied the amused expression he’d shown to Jahna. “Do you think she can make you happy?”
Caught off guard by the strange question, Radimar blinked before he rolled his eyes and grinned at Sodrin who grinned back. “If it weren’t your wedding day, I’d beat you with the flat of my sword for that stunt, your lordship.”
Unrepentant, Sodrin shoved them both out the door “I promise not to give orders to hunt you down and kill you Radimar if you elope with Jahna, as long as you do so after my wedding.”
The ceremony was a grand affair, and Jahna was relieved when it was over. Radimar sneaked them both out of the post-wedding celebrations to take sanctuary in his tiny broom-closet room. He was even faster at removing their wedding clothes and demonstrating to Jahna just how much he missed her.
He slept the sleep of the sated now, and she turned back to the window, hugging the blanket she’d stolen from the bed close around her naked body. Her toes curled against the floor’s icy stone, made even colder by the snowy air that swirled through the open window.
The Firehound story, told in flame and music, was nearing its end. Soon, all the torches would be guttered and the candles snuffed as the Darkness held symbolic sway, and the world waited within the shadows of the darkest midnight.
A muscular arm wrapped around her middle and pulled her back against a wall of hard muscle. Radimar leaned down to whisper in her ear. “You’ll catch your death standing there.”
Jahna tilted her head to one side so that he could nuzzle her neck. “No I won’t. Besides, we won’t be here much longer. It’s almost the darkest midnight.”
As if the crowd heard her words, the sorcerers wielded their spells and snuffed all the light in and around the palace. Except for the glitter of stars and a pale sliver of moon, the night was black as a crow’s wing. A waiting hush reigned until a whip crack of fire arched over the palace’s highest point and was followed by the flaming shape of the colossal Firehound racing across the sky. Torches and candles flared to life once more at the command of the sorcerers’ invocations and the celebrants roared their approval.
Jahna turned in Radimar’s arms and raised her face for a kiss. “See,” she said against his lips. “The longest night is over.”
He drew back to stare at her for several moments in silence. “It is, sweet Jahna. It is indeed.” He kissed her then, and behind her closed lids, Jahna saw the sun.