Lacrimosa walked over to stand by her husband and daughters. She placed her hand against the marble. "According to legend, so long as Vir Requis live, this column will stand. Swords have tried to cut it down. The claws of sphinxes tried to scratch it." She imitated a sphinx's swipe, making Agnus Dei and Gloriae squeal. "But the stars protect it. Look." She pointed between the columns. "Those stars are appearing."

As the sun set and the sky deepened to indigo, the stars shone and Lacrimosa smiled, for they soothed her, warmed her, gave her hope. Many people were gathering in the palace now, standing between the columns.

"It's time, my husband," she whispered. "Our dance."

Prince Benedictus nodded. He walked toward a knight and his family who stood in the hall.

"Would you watch my daughters for a few moments, Lord Eleison?"

The knight ruled a noble family descended from Dorvin Eleison himself, the Great Hunter said to have slain the Queen of the Abyss thousands of years ago. The knight bowed his head. "Of course, my prince."

Lord Eleison's wife held her own child, a babe with golden hair. Benedictus smiled down at the boy.

"How is little Kyrie doing?" Benedictus asked.

"No more trouble than a turnip," said Lady Eleison and kissed her sleeping son.

Seeing the baby, Agnus Dei's eyes widened. "A little pup!"

Benedictus laughed, leaving his twins with the Eleisons, and walked back toward Lacrimosa. He took her hand in his, then led her to the center of the hall. There they danced, a prince and his wife, as the columns rose around them and the priests played their harps. Lacrimosa knew that Benedictus hated dancing, knew that he hated so many eyes upon him, but thus were the ways of the court, and Benedictus always did his duty. Still, she heard his sigh of relief as the first dance ended, as others joined the hall in dance and song.

Lacrimosa glanced over toward her children. Gloriae was standing quietly with the Eleisons, and Agnus Dei was hopping about, patting little Kyrie and planting kisses on his cheek, talking about how she'd marry him someday.

"I think they'll be all right for another moment or two," Lacrimosa said to her husband. "Will you fly with me? Under the stars of Requiem's Night?"

He nodded. She knew he preferred the sky to the busyness of the court. They walked together, her hand upon his arm, and stepped out into the forest. Here they summoned their magic. Lacrimosa rose into the sky as a silver dragon, slim and small, while Benedictus rose as a burly black beast, among the greatest dragons in Requiem, his scales darker than the space between stars but his eyes warm as hearths.