Shoving away her thoughts, Kiva rose onto her knees beside Tipp, waiting to see the reason for Jaren’s declaration.
Mere seconds later, a small boat appeared in the center of the lights, the multicolored streaks shifting to form a perfect circle around the vessel. A single figure stood on the stern of the boat, dressed in white with their hood pulled over their face, a glint of a gold mask peeking out from beneath it.
The music rose into a crescendo, and with it, the figure’s arms stretched high into the air, the lights moving again, more erratically this time. The river began to swirl and gurgle, a whirlpool forming around the boat, which remained perfectly still at the center of it. And then —
“No w-way!” Tipp exclaimed as a swan burst out of the whirlpool, three times the size of the boat — and made entirely of water. Rainbow lights streaked from the bridge to highlight the bird as it rose into the air, water-wings flapping and dripping straight back into the Serin below.
“L-Look!” Tipp cried, drawing Kiva’s stunned gaze back to the figure on the boat, who was twirling their hands to the music and pointing at the water again.
This time, it was a pod of dolphins that emerged, all similarly magnified in size. Numerous spotlights touched on them as they skipped over the surface of the river, diving deep and reappearing to leap high in a series of aerial acrobatics.
When the figure on the boat pointed their finger again, an entire section of the Serin began to bubble, with long, straight lines shooting up into the air, the tops budding into perfect sunflowers emphasized by bright yellow lights from the bridge. Then, as Kiva watched, the sunflowers parted as a herd of horses galloped through them, tossing their wind-whipped manes and trailing water in their wake.
“What is all this?” Kiva breathed.
“The River Festival celebrates life,” Jaren answered as a massive oak tree formed out of the whirlpool, rising high into the sky. Iridescent birds appeared and launched off the branches, joining the swan still circling above the river, all dripping water back to the surface. “Centuries ago, it offered a reminder that our lives are seasonal, and that those who survived the winter could relax and enjoy the pleasures of spring. But these days, it’s essentially just an excuse for a party.” The orchestra increased in volume, so Jaren raised his voice to continue, “We have four of these festivals throughout the year: the River Festival in spring, the Carnival of Flowers in summer, the Ember Rite in the fall, and the Crystal Gales in winter. Each focuses on a different elemental power — water for spring, earth for summer, fire for fall, and wind for winter — and acts as a reminder to our people of the magic we have and the protection we afford them.”
Kiva squinted at the figure on the boat. “That’s the queen down there, isn’t it?”
It had to be, since the king had married into the Vallentis family and therefore had no magic, Princess Mirryn was a wind elemental with a slight affinity for fire, and young Prince Oriel was most adept at earth magic. Jaren alone was capable of wielding all four elements — the reason he’d been named heir, despite Mirryn being the elder sibling — but to the world, he was considered to be only a powerful fire elemental, with some control over wind. His people believed the succession had fallen to him because of the strength of his magic, with very few knowing what he was truly capable of — Kiva being one of them.
“Yes, that’s my mother,” Jaren confirmed. Nothing in his voice revealed how he felt toward the woman who had abused him repeatedly over the years, her addiction to angeldust unknown to the general public.
“She has a lot of power,” Kiva observed carefully.
Before Jaren could respond, a colossal serpent formed out of the Serin and swallowed the oak tree in one bite before slithering toward the field of sunflowers and ingesting them, too. It then struck upward like an asp, and the birds vanished within its watery maw, followed by the acrobatic dolphins and prancing horses. Soon only the serpent remained, circling the boat in place of the whirlpool, which had dissolved back into stillness.
“Believe it or not, these kinds of tricks don’t take much effort,” Jaren said. “She’ll feel a little tired afterward, but that’s about it.” He indicated the water. “She’s nearly done now — you’ll like this part.”
It was difficult not to ask more questions, but Kiva refocused on the serpent rising high above the river, like a wingless dragon flying through the air. As the orchestra reached its climax, Queen Ariana clapped her hands together and the serpent exploded, turning into millions of water droplets suspended like glittering diamonds.