Page 9 of Muse

Adora had pushed me out onto the stage, and she was always in the front row, watching me with the most scrutinizing eyes so she could catch even the slightest mistake. Sometimes, the way she watched me so closely made me feel like shewantedto see me falter.

But that wasn’t how Sparrow’s family watched her. Wrenley sat forward with xer elbows resting on xer knees in rapt attention, and their father watched her with nothing but love and pride.

When the performance ended, Wrenley was instantly on xer feet, applauding and whistling, and their dad was only a moment behind xer. They all hugged Sparrow and congratulated her, and nobody even mentioned anything she could’ve done better.

With the performance over, I made a hasty departure and hurried home. I was allowed to visit with my friends, but my mother wasn't exactly fond of it. She believed that I should do my socializing through my work, and it was dangerous for young women to be out on their own for too long.

I jogged back home, lifting the length of my summer dress to move faster. As soon as I went inside, I checked myself in the entryway mirror, which was good because some of my hair had come free from the chignon I had it in, and Adora would be appalled if she knew I'd been in public looking so unkempt.

"Good afternoon, Miss Izzy. The Lady of the House is still in the bath," our housekeeper Heloise greeted me. She was a plump woman in her late middle age, wearing her beige tunic uniform and dark headscarf covering her graying hair. "How was your picnic?"

“It was lovely, thank you.” I had finished fixing my hair, and I finally looked over at her and noticed the excitement in her barely repressed smile. “What is it, Heloise?”

"While you were out, a message arrived for you," she said, and I glanced down to see a sizeable golden envelope in her hands. Even in the dim light of the entryway, the paper shimmered.

“Is that an invitation to the Ashoralida?” I asked, and my heart was already racing.

“I’m not sure,” Heloise said. “You’ll have to open it and see.”

She handed it to me, and it felt heavy and thick. The seal on the back was made of glimmer wax, so the colors swirled and changed before my eyes. That was the seal of an enchanter.

The parchment itself was as soft as satin, with golden filigree along the edges. The message was written in elegant calligraphy in royal stylization.

“The Grand Celebration of the

Ashoralida

By Commandment of

the King Marcel of House Velt

the Enchanter Soren Tomoleo

is Directed to Invite

Lady Isadore Lucienne Dellamousa

to Present and Conduct with the Muses at the

Royal Palace in the Kingdom of Sudamon

on the Longest Days of Summer”

Beneath all of that, at the very bottom, was a quickly scribbled note in messier handwriting:

Izzy, bring your brightest light. The Kingdom of Sudamon needs you. – Soren

Chapter 7

The Ashoralida was honored all across the continent of Wespen, but each of the six kingdoms held its own festival.

No matter where it was held, it always took place on the longest days of the year, when the sunlight shone the most on the abundant beauty of all that the gods have given us. Muses performed conductions to share our gratitude but also to plead for a bountiful harvest throughout the rest of the summer.

To celebrate, we decorated our bodies and homes in pink and orange and made altars of flowers and herbs. People danced in the streets from sunup to sundown, and we feasted at dusk.

Calida—the kingdom most renowned for entertainers and enchantments—had the largest and grandest festival. Each year, it was held at the southern gardens in Queen Kriselle's summer palace.

However, Sudamon, as the desert kingdom to the southeast,neededthe Ashoralida the most to summon the rains for their crops. The performance was more intensive for the muses, withthe movements so physical and extravagant to draw out the most magik. Despite the extra effort required, it received fewer accolades because most of the wealthy and the elite attended the one in Calida instead.

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