9. Raelyna
RAELYNA
I knew it was late afternoon. The suns had risen to their peaks across the desert sky, glinting off the glass panels of towering skyscrapers, as I made my way to the café.
The Sand District was known for its harsher winds cutting through the streets during the summer months, and I found myself wishing I’d had the forethought to pack a jacket before leaving my apartment this morning.
My current outfit did little to protect against the sandy winds as I made my way through the beige-hued streets.
A light changed in the distance, and I quickly hurried my steps, darting forward to cross the next street.
I tugged my battered beige dunewrap higher over my nose, grimacing as I felt tiny prickles of sand hitting my exposed skin in the summer air.
I needed to get a new dunewrap before the pelting sands became unbearable, but I couldn’t bring myself to spend the money to get a new one . . . Not yet, at least.
A motorbike whipped by me, far closer to the sidewalk than they should have been riding, and I nearly yelled after them. Nearly. It just wasn’t worth it. Not today. Not when Kira was waiting for me at the café, and I needed to see her with my own eyes and confirm her Marking Day had gone smoothly.
“It’s not too late! Turn back to the one who created the City of Gold!” a voice shouted from across the street, and my eyes darted toward the sound as another voice echoed the sentiment.
“Turn to the Eternal! Seek the light before it’s too late!” the female’s voice chimed, even as passersby mocked their words.
I came to a halt on the overcrowded downtown streets, my feet stumbling in their path as I noticed the two angels falter, then crumple to the ground across the street parallel to me.
“Watch out!” a voice snarled from behind me, and I startled, jumping back as I took in the scene before me. Both angels collapsed entirely mid-sentence—two angels who were speaking on a god of childhood lore.
Their eyes were closed, chests barely moving as they lay on the concrete. Unsurprisingly, two Solis Guards appeared less than a minute after their collapse, wielding their affinities with ease as they collected the two angels and carried them off the streets.
My eyes darted cautiously, assessing the scene as I took in those on the downtown street around me.
No one.
And I mean no other angel in Solis Quarter had paused when the two angels collapsed. They had just continued on their way.
Watching the two RSG as they began to disappear, I made a last-minute decision to follow them, praying to Astara that they were just being brought to the infirmary.
Why did they drop? It was the only thought running through my head.
The marked angels dropped in the middle of speaking against the gods of Solis .
. . Against the king himself, essentially.
Was their collapse intentional? Was it because of what they were attempting to speak on?
I spun around, intending to tail behind the two soldiers, when I nearly collided with a towering male.
“Watch where you’re going, lower,” he spat as he stepped out of my path, a sneer of disgust on his face. My lips mimicked his in a mocking action he couldn’t see from behind my dunewrap as I cleared out of his way.
Another blessing of the dunewraps, if you ask me. In the century I’d been alive, my mother had made more than enough comments about how my sassy facial expressions would be the death of me. And perhaps she was right, but that hadn’t stopped me from doing them.
Scanning the street, I counted the heads bobbing along the Sand District before cursing the gods. I’d lost the two Solis Guards I’d been intent on tailing.
My phone vibrated, and I sighed, glancing down in frustration before catching the name across the screen.
Kira: Are you even on your way yet?
Setting my unease aside, I quickly replied to my sister before continuing on my way to the café. I will figure out why angels keep dropping—whether there’s any correlation between the drops and whether they are tied to Lucanus. And I will figure it out before anything happens to me or those I love.
The winds weren’t too harsh, but I opted against flying, once again not wishing to have to shed sand from between my wings for the foreseeable future. Hurrying through the following three blocks, I picked up the pace until the pale blue door of our usual hangout popped into place ahead of me.
Thank Astara.
Sliding into the booth beside my sister, I gave her a big hug, thanking the stars that she had made it through her Marking Day, before I caught Finn’s eye, shooting him a grateful look for being there for Kira.
“So . . .” I drew out slowly as I studied my youngest sister. “How did it go? What affinity did you mark for?”
“Tell us everything,” Finn added.
She grinned from ear to ear. “I marked for a water affinity, like you!” she exclaimed proudly as she displayed her onyx mark.
“And the Marking Day ceremony went just like you and Orela said it would. Well, except for one part that I found odd,” she began.
“I don’t think they knew I was awake. But after I woke up, I overheard two males talking by the screens in my room.
They were arguing over the results displayed and going through files.
I don’t think they were supposed to be there. ”
“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice demanding an answer as I stared at my sister.
“I’d like to think my statement was pretty clear, Rae,” Kira responded, eyes lighting with amusement as she looked at me from behind her coffee cup.
My fingers pressed to my temples, reining in my concern as I looked at my youngest sister, trying to understand what she had said. “You’re telling me that two males tampered with your Marking Day results? That’s not even possible. The gods wouldn’t allow it.”
“I don’t know, Rae,” she replied. “What do you want me to say right now? I’m pretty positive I wasn’t supposed to know they were there. Them, or the other male who came in before that. But I think the pain suppressant they gave us wore off too quickly.”
“Other male?” I questioned at the same time that Finn asked, “There was a third person who came into your room?”
Kira nodded, her face becoming more solemn as she glanced between us.
“That’s not even—” I was interrupted before finishing.
“So help me, Raelyna, if you say that’s not even possible one more stars-damned time . . .” Finn stated as he fixed his gaze on me.
“Well,” I mumbled under my breath. “It’s not.”
“Possible or not—realistic or not—it happened,” Kira stated while three apple fritters and chocolate croissants floated over on a sudden gust of water.
Kira and I chuckled as Finn snatched all three apple fritters mid-air and stacked them in front of his coffee before I could even grab one of the café’s specialty pastries.
“Did you order every last apple fritter in this café?” Kira teased Finn as his eyes narrowed.
“It’s not a crime, okay?”
“I didn’t want one anyway,” I replied. “No need to worry.”
“Good,” he responded, having already devoured the first apple fritter in the span of the short conversation we’d had. “I didn’t get any for you either way.”
“You’re truly such a good friend, Finn. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you.” My eyes caught on my sister’s elemental affinity mark, and the grin slipped from my lips as I refocused on the prior conversation we’d been having.
I thanked the stars that she had marked as an elemental affinity.
Water was good. Honestly, fire or earth would have been just as welcome.
If I were wishing, I would have loved for her to have two affinities—giving her the ability to place higher in society.
But at the same time, one affinity was perfectly acceptable and would keep her under the radar—not someone Luc would focus his attention on. Which was just the way I liked it.
They both seemed to have noticed my somber silence as I felt two pairs of eyes settle on me, not that I had any answers for what had happened during my sister’s marking.
“You don’t think . . .” Kira started before trailing off with a soft shake over her head. “What if . . .” She tried again. “What if I get in trouble with the Solis Guard? What if it comes to light that my marking results were tampered with? What if—”
“It won’t,” I replied with absolute certainty. Okay, maybe not absolute certainty, but at least I sound confident, right?
“Not to state the obvious, but it could still come to light,” Finn interrupted, and I shot him a withering glare from across the table we were nestled around.
“And what exactly would come to light?” I replied.
“How exactly would it even be possible for a mark to be tampered with? Our affinities come from the gods, Finn. Or did you fall on your head a while back and forget that? We are given our affinities. They are gifts from the gods. It’s not something that can be altered or changed.
We are born with an affinity—gifted by the gods—that comes to light during our Marking Day. ”
“So I don’t need to be concerned about the random males looking over my results?” Kira asked with hesitancy.
Finn and I glanced at each other, unsure of the answer. The silence that fell across our table felt too long, too loud, as the café’s music played in the background.
“For now,” I replied, after what was most definitely far too long to wait if I wanted to sound reassuring. “Let’s just focus on the positives. You made it through Marking Day and are a water affinity, just like me.”
Kira smiled more excitedly at that. “I can’t wait to start training next week!” She lifted her hand, and a droplet of water started to form as Finn and I lurched forward, yelling, “No!” simultaneously.
“What?” Kira asked, confusion swarming through her eyes at our reactions.
“Don’t you remember anything our mother told us?” I scolded as my hand tightened over hers, preventing her from calling her affinity to the surface.
“I assumed she was joking.” Kira looked between us with wary eyes.