To those without faith, it would seem madness.
The new court session has begun, with the barons returning by invitation. A mating ceremony is being arranged, and, with it, a calm has come over the palace.
It is little more than the calm before the storm.
For along with the barons come the high lords, those who reside in the other lands as a representation and open invitation to those lands to return to the palace. Of those who gather, only the barons have forewarning of the sort of woman they have to deal with.
Or the man she has chosen to mate.
One baron is, however, missing. The Southern Baron did not return, nor has he sent word of his impending arrival. With the mating ceremony on the horizon, those at court think little of it, merely noting his absence as they focus on Aren.
Av is left wandering the halls, tormented by the spirits who haunt him.
While the court asks what Aren will wear, how the ceremony will go, who will attend, they forget one crucial question.
What will happen once Aren and Av are mated, once the pair realizes the only thing standing between them and their happiness is the court?