Chapter 20
Staying calm and collected was an art form built on practice. Not to show any response when something was bothersome or, worse, enjoyable took a lot of mental fortitude. Even harder still was not reacting after an emotionally and mentally draining event.
Darragh’s chest and abdomen pressed against my back, his body heat warming me against the cool autumn air.
I positioned myself as far forward in Astorath’s saddle as possible.
A feat that was attempted in vain. His muscular thighs pressed against mine, and his arms reached around me, grazing my sides, to hold the reins.
I was held firmly against him, and I only hoped that he couldn’t feel my pulse quickening with each shift in the saddle he made. I refused to relax against his chest.
Not calm and collected, Rory.
I tried to convince myself it was from the trauma. He rescued me, and the safety and connection I felt toward him were a result of high emotions, adrenaline, and mental fatigue. It couldn’t possibly be because of the way he looked at me the last few days, tender and attentive.
Ugh. Stop thinking about it!
We made quick work of putting the village of Relystone behind us, riding an hour to the east. The trees surrounding the village provided us with coverage from the seraphs spying our bloody forms. Within that hour was a lot of tense silence and ruminating thoughts.
I had to stop replaying the attack in my head. I needed a distraction. “Were you able to find out anything about the shipment from your contact?”
“Unfortunately, nothing more than we already know. He, too, has heard the rumors but has seen nothing himself. I’m sorry.
” My shoulders slumped. “From here on out, he is going to be diligently working to figure out if the rumors are true and contact seraphs he knows in several other villages to be on the lookout. If nothing else, attention is being brought to it, and if humans are being brought to Tironaill, it won’t be long before it’s discovered. ”
I blew out a breath. “I hope you’re right.”
“I hope so, too.”
“If you don’t want to tell me, it's fine, but I saw your enchants,” I said delicately. “It looked like shadows and…I don’t know what that was.”
“Fragorkinesis. I can make explosions of any size inside others and objects,” he stated matter-of-factly. “And yes, I can manipulate and solidify shadows and darkness. It’s called umbrakinesis.”
“Gabriel said most seraphs only have one enchant, and powerful seraphs have more. You have two. Is that why you were made Captain of the Guard?”
“I have more than two,” he rumbled near my ear, causing a shiver that I had to stifle down. His stubbled face grazed the side of my temple.
“What haven’t I seen?”
Darragh shifted again in the saddle. “I can read auras.”
I huffed out a breath. “You said that like I know what that means.”
I noted how our hips swayed in tandem as Astorath sauntered through the forest path.
Ignore it, Rory.
He chuckled. “An aura is an energy or vibration that someone gives off that surrounds them. Everyone has a different color and shape to their aura.”
“You said you read them?”
“Yes. A person’s aura tells me a lot about their character, tendencies, and sometimes their health. For seraphs, I can also tell what enchants they have based on their aura.”
“So, it is kind of like Anya’s ability to feel others’ emotions only enhanced?”
He nodded. “Similar in that they are each passive enchants, but I can’t feel emotions like she does.”
Part of me was desperate to know what he could see from my aura, and the other part was mortified that he could garner so much information about me from just seeing colors and shapes around me.
I hesitated. “Do you see them all the time?”
“Only when I tap into that enchant.”
Silence sat between us. The distant mountains pushed a cold breeze toward my face.
The loose strands of my hair blew around, while the colorful leaves fluttered in the trees.
The coolness of it was welcoming as heat built inside of me from the wall of muscle pressed against my back, and the realization that those chestnut-colored eyes might see who I was at my core.
The mask of nobility I had tried to maintain always tumbled off when I was around him. It was disarming and vulnerable.
I worked up the nerve to ask, “Have you read my aura?” I could almost feel his mouth tug into a smile.
“I wouldn’t be a good Captain of the Guard if I hadn’t.”
I decided that I didn’t want to know what he could tell about me. “And Cora’s?”
“No. I don’t read younglings. Their auras are still being molded until adulthood. I can see them, but they change too frequently and dramatically to get an accurate read.”
I raised my eyebrows. “None of these seems like they would be common enchants.”
“They’re not. I am the only known umbrakinesis in a century.”
“Impressive.”
Darragh shrugged. “Is it? I am not the only one in the castle with more than two powers. The king likes to surround himself with powerful seraphs for his own gain.”
“He must be pretty trusting to have that many powerful seraphs in his employ.”
Darragh’s mood shifted. “When you have power given by a god, it is easy to control anyone around you.”
I scoffed. “Don’t all seraphs have gifts of the Divine?”
“Not like his,” he said, seriously. “The king gets a direct line of power from Themis.”
“Is that why he is king?”
“It is why he stays king. Torrish’s connection with Themis is symbiotic. They get power from each other. Did you read the book I recommended from the library?”
I nodded. “Yes. I have read a lot of it. It’s fascinating.”
“Then you know that deities derive more power from worship and devotion. How many other statues, altars, or temples of deities other than Themis have you seen in Tironaill?” he asked gruffly.
“There aren’t any. Anya said it was forbidden.”
Darragh grunted in agreement. “It is designed that way.”
The forest on either side of our path had been calm and full of animals readying themselves for the colder months. I imagined nests and burrows were being lined and food stored. As we passed a large maple tree, a squirrel and her two babies went skittering up into the high branches.
I blinked and pulled in a breath. Babies. “The angheal’s.” I paused. “Is it possible they can’t have younglings because they aren’t honoring the goddess of life?”
“That is a theory.”
I shook my head. “They have to know that, so why don’t they go back to worshipping more than Themis?
Darragh stayed still and quiet. He sighed. “I wish I had the answer to give you.”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand why other seraphs and humans can have children but not angheals.”
“Why indeed.”
“So, King Torrish requires devotion and worship of Themis, giving the god heightened divine power, and in return, Themis gives the king more power than any other seraph?” The pieces started connecting.
“Sacrifice is also required for Torrish to keep his crown,” Darragh stated.
My eyebrows creased. “In what way?”
Silence.
My thoughts drifted back to the woman dropping her blood into the pool surrounding the pillar of Themis.
“Blood,” I whispered. “Themis requires blood and atonement. Seraphs are sent to the atoner to be punished for wrongdoing, which would be considered justice served. It feeds the power of the God of Justice.” The realization of it all made me shudder.
I could see Darragh’s jaw tick out of the corner of my eye, but he wouldn’t say more. The tension rolled off him, and he stiffened behind me.
I was left with far more questions than answers. Before I could push further, a home on the edge of the forest appeared.
“We are here.” A wistful look replaced his silent stoicism.
“Where are we?”
He released a sigh. “Home.”