Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
Ophelia
Jezebel had not been happy with me.
She had torn into my suite, hands braced on hips clad in cream silk and tulle. Her features were painted with rouge and liner, but beneath the beauty was a silent fury.
“You have a lot of explaining to do, sister,” she’d scolded as she forced me onto the stool before my vanity and began combing my freshly washed hair.
I’d apologized profusely for my secrets as she applied cosmetics and set my locks in waves, hoping she’d find a twinge of understanding in her stubborn heart. Explained that it wasn’t that I didn’t trust her, it was that I didn’t understand what Damien meant in his warning.
I still didn’t, still carried that fear of what would happen now that everyone knew, but since they’d found out about the Angelcurse themselves, my priority was showing everyone how much I did trust them.
When she set the liner aside and perched on my vanity, looking down at me, shadows lined her face.
“I understand.” She didn’t meet my eye. “We all keep secrets, and you felt bound to yours. There are truths to each of our souls that cannot be divulged until the time is right.”
I wanted to ask what she meant, but the noise in the palace was rising, and we were running out of time.
“Jezzie,” I began, taking her hand. “If you listen to only one thing I say tonight, let it be this: You are destined for greatness. The youngest ascended warrior in Mystique history. And I am honored to be your sister.”
She crushed me to her then, allowing for a moment of soft grace before yelling at me to get dressed. Then, she swept from the room, leaving an air of questions behind that I didn’t understand.
Thirty minutes later, I stood on my balcony, preparing the rest of the apologies I wanted to make tonight. Damenal’s beauty soothed me, sparkling as the sun started its descent.
The highest-ranked warriors entered the palace in their finest outfits and jewels, bearing the weapons they cherished most. Light gilded the terra-cotta roofs of the city atop the mountains, dancing across stacks of tapered rocks and tiers of stone buildings.
Spires poked into the air from the temples in each quarter, gold adornments accenting the smaller buildings.
Everywhere you looked, life was breathed back into Damenal.
Even from my balcony, the revelry in the streets was contagious.
I watched it all, concern gnawing at my stomach. Jezebel had forgiven my secrets rather quickly because we were cut from the same cloth. For whatever reason—maybe it was an Alabath trait—my sister and I both tended to keep truths close.
I only hoped the rest of my apologies would be as smooth.
My fight with Tol twisted my gut. I had not seen him since we’d returned. He wanted space, and I gave him that, but every second I worried what he was thinking. If I’d hurt him like I’d feared I would, and after only a couple weeks of knowing how he felt…
“Daminius in Damenal is truly a special event,” my father said, stepping onto my balcony. The vest beneath his dark jacket was nearly the same color as my champagne gown, but the fabric hugging my frame was thin and beaded. Shining.
“I’ve always hoped to experience it. A part of me thought we never would.”
“Let’s make it one to remember, then.” His arm slid around my shoulder, squeezing me to his side.
I wrapped my arms around his waist, hand grazing the large sword strapped on the opposite hip.
It was an Alabath heirloom I once thought I would wield.
Now, with Angelborn on my own back, the weapon held less promise.
“May this holiday be the first of your long, fruitful reign as Revered.”
A lump formed in my throat at his words. “And hopefully one day a peaceful one.”
I contemplated telling him about the Angelcurse, but there wasn’t time now. After the ball. I would tell him then. No more secrets.
“I believe you can handle whatever is thrown at you, sorrida. I’m very proud of the way you’ve conquered what you’ve faced so far.”
“Even the rescue?” I looked up at him, expecting frustration for once again running off, but his eyes crinkled as he smiled down at me.
“Especially that.” He placed a kiss to my head.
“You were handed a tough decision, and you followed your instincts like a true leader. You’ll find your heart and head will often be at war while you’re forced to consider so many lives beyond your own, but place trust in yourself and your path will be clear.
The Spirits bless you, may you always follow your heart and choose what you love. ”
His words were simple, boiling down my rule to intuition and choice, but they echoed through my mind as we watched the sun’s rays spread across the mountains, piercing through the wisps of white clouds lingering from the summer day.
I was grateful to have him beside me, reminding me that no matter what happened with the council or my position, with my heart, I wasn’t alone. There was another hand to guide me, to remind me why I was fit for this position when I sometimes forgot myself.
For there was a war on the horizon, and my heart and my head were caught on the brink of battle.
Tonight, I wouldn’t think of it, though. I’d forget curses and queens and heartache. I’d remind myself of the power thrumming through my blood and the promise the Mystique Warriors wanted from me.
“They’re almost ready for you,” Danya said from the door. “We’ll head to the temple shortly,” she directed at my father.
The rest of the council would make their way to the Sacra Temple to wait for me while I completed one ritual in the ballroom with Missyneth. Then, I’d meet them to honor the Angel.
“Thank you, Danya,” I said. Maybe it was the beauty of Daminius, maybe it was the swelling emotion overwhelming me from the conversation with my father, but I stepped up to the Master of Weapons and Warfare and took her hand.
“And thank you for everything you did while I was gone. I truly don’t know how we’d be faring without you. ”
Her answering smile was small, but her cheeks blushed as she looked up at me. “It is an honor to serve the Mystique Warriors. And you, Revered.” She shook her dark hair back from her chin, straightening her muscular frame. “We will see our people through any approaching threats together.”
“That we will.” I grinned, warmth blossoming around my heart. “Go,” I told her and my father, hugging him a little tighter one last time, hoping he understood every ounce of appreciation pouring from me. “I’ll meet you down there.”
Then, I turned to the window and stole one last moment to stare out over my sacred city, soaking in the golden sunlight and the joy buzzing through the crowd.
Missyneth would call for attention soon, but I had some atoning to do first.
Rushing into the ballroom, I ignored the hushed murmur of voices at my entrance and deposited Angelborn and Starfire on the rack waiting before the dance floor to hold the Revered’s weapons.
The scene was dazzling, thin golden streamers trailing from the chandeliers and dousing every surface in sparkles.
My dress fit right in, but I barely appreciated Jezebel’s fine design.
Instead, I found Santorina and Cypherion, pulling the latter away from a stunning Vale in her emerald gown. He protested, but followed when he saw the plea in my eyes.
“What’s going on?” Cyph asked as I tucked us away into a corner. I hadn’t seen Malakai or Tolek yet, but this was a start.
“I need to apologize.” They stared at me, confusion in their eyes and protests on their lips, but the hurt expressions they’d worn when the Angelcurse was revealed haunted me.
“I shouldn’t have hid what I knew from you all.
I should have found a way around Damien’s warning.
It wasn’t fair to expect your help only to keep secrets. ”
“Ophelia, we understand—”
“No.” I shook my head. “I wouldn’t be here without you both.
Without all of you. And…just let me finish.
” I took a breath. “I didn’t truly try to fight Damien on the warning because if I kept it to myself, it was easier to pretend it wasn’t a threat.
I thought telling everyone would be adding kindling to a fire we couldn’t control.
The truth is, though, I was the one who wasn’t in control, and that only got worse by letting secrets pile up. ”
With my friends—my family—by my side, everything could be controlled. Every puzzle would find an answer.
As I admitted that to myself, those pieces I was given during the Undertaking—the riddles of truth and forgiveness—clicked together. I had seen them in my past, but now I knew how to take the steps forward. To work toward instituting them in my life.
Because the Undertaking may have made me a warrior, but it didn’t ensure that I never made mistakes. I had to work for that. Every day, every word out of my mouth to these people I loved more than life itself, I would work for that.
“Santorina, you may be human, but you’re fiercer than many warriors.
You’ve always provided steadfast healing and even stronger friendship.
” I squeezed her hand, and silent understanding passed between us.
“And Cyph, you may be the most aggravating trainer I’ve ever had the displeasure of working with and the biggest self-sacrificial martyr among us—”
“Is that supposed to be an apology?” he whispered to Rina.
“She doesn’t do it often,” Rina muttered back. “Maybe she needs practice.”
“But,” I said loudly, smiling at them. “My mind would have fled to dark places long ago without you. So, thank you. I promise to do better.” Words didn’t do justice to the love I held in my heart for them.
For Jezebel and Tolek and Malakai. The five people who had gone to the ends of the earth to protect me, to fight for me—even if in ways I didn’t always understand.
One thing was certain—it was more than I deserved.
“You don’t need to thank us, Ophelia,” Cyph said.
“It doesn’t hurt.” Santorina shrugged, but her round eyes glinted. “You know we’re always here, no matter how dark things become. And we know you were afraid, but think of how you felt when things were hidden from you.”
“We know you thought Damien said not to,” Cyph elaborated. “But if the threat wasn’t explicit, there was a way around it. Next time, let us help.”
“No matter what that damn Angel says,” Santorina finished.
I swallowed that truth, my skin tingling with premonition.
“We’re honored to follow you, Revered.” Cyph’s sly smile tilted one corner of his lips at my title. “Just don’t make us do so blindly.”
The only resemblance I saw to the young boy who questioned his worth in our world was in the soft flicker of his eyes. He had grown exponentially, and I thought maybe I had an inkling of what the fates held in his future.
“Now, get back to the ball,” I said, spotting a pair of familiar green eyes across the room. “I have a few more conversations to have.”