Chapter 31
Incense hung thick and heavy in a cavernous temple of dark marble.
It smelled of calamus root, poppy, and sage.
Deep throaty hums reverberated from the acolytes of Themis, echoing off the walls as we took our seats around a vast pool of dark crimson.
A marble pillar rose out of the center of the macabre water, reaching hundreds of feet in the air and peaking at the domed shape of the rafters.
Chains hung from a marble block etched with an image of weighing scales and positioned on the outside of the cache of bloody liquid.
Two large fire pits burned on each side of the front platform.
The electric energy of the room made the hair on my arms stand on end.
The aristocracy, most of whom were at the previous evening’s ball, filled the seating around the pool, facing a marble platform.
The prince and princess sat in the front row with their governess and nanny.
Percie gave Cora a little wave as he passed by.
Thankfully, Anya and her mother sat a row behind us.
Her mother was a lovely seraph with big, bouncy curls, freckles, and warm, deep brown eyes. She couldn’t stop smiling at Cora.
“Mom,” Cora whispered, “what is this place?” I detected a soft wavering in her voice.
I whispered back to her, “The Temple of Worship of Themis, God of Justice. Stay quiet out of respect, sweet girl. This is a holy place for the seraphs.”
Gabriel sat on the other side of me, his thigh pressed against mine, and he took my hand into his, threading our fingers together and pulling our adjoined hands to rest on his lap. I gave him a sweet smile, but deep down, I cringed at his touch.
“I hope the roses were to your liking,” Gabriel said into my ear. His lips barely grazed the lobe, and I instinctively pulled away.
“Yes. They were lovely, Your Highness. Thank you.” I probably didn’t say that with enough feeling.
He smiled wolfishly and gently squeezed my hand.
I locked my focus on three robed priests walking across a platform that also seated King Torrish and Queen Mollah, dressed in blue and gold.
Both the priests and royals wore open golden eye emblems on their garments.
The eye of Themis, as I had come to learn.
All-seeing. All-knowing. A god who doled out punishment to those deserving as much. At least, that was what they believed.
An hour of preaching passed. Sermons filled with praise for King Torrish and his hard stance on blasphemy and false idol worship.
Devotional hymns on how Themis freed seraphs from lives of debauchery, war, and violence.
I tried not to make any facial expressions to give away my disgust, but I wondered why they couldn’t see how hypocritical this all was and how, to the detriment of both humans and seraphs, their refusal to acknowledge and worship all other deities was causing suffering.
My own thoughts on this would be considered blasphemous, a punishable offense that would send me to the atoner.
I just hoped I could keep myself out of trouble and play into Gabriel’s feelings for me long enough to get Cora out of here.
I had been getting too sloppy and too loud in my convictions.
Gabriel’s patience would only go so far.
The three priests finished their sermons and walked off the raised platform.
King Torrish rose from his dark marble throne.
“Today we have an atonement to bring forth in celebration and worship of Themis.” An oily smile slid across his face.
“Will the Captain of the Guard bring in the seraph who needs to be cleansed of their wrongdoing?”
The nobles murmured in excitement. My heart fluttered rapidly as Darragh led a seraph by his arm from the back of the Temple up to the marble block with chains.
As they both turned to face the crowd, I stifled a gasp.
There, being pushed prone on the marble block, was the merchant seraph who sold me the pastries in the market the day I went into the city with Darragh.
His eyes were wide and darted around the crowd of nobles, who were positively elated about watching an atonement.
Darragh kept a stony expression as he bound the seraph’s wrists in silver cuffs, blocking whatever enchants he may have.
An outward appearance of indifference, and his chestnut eyes were hard to read.
The frightened seraph’s arms were splayed out wide, his head hung off the edge of the marble block, covering the carved scales of justice.
“Russtoph Fornix!” The king’s booming, deep voice echoed in the chamber.
A velvet bag the size of a melon dangled from his clenched fist. “You have been found with a false idol of worship, hidden in your merchant cart. The false goddess, Hestia!” He opened the bag and pulled out a wooden statue of the goddess.
Several angheals gasped dramatically like he just pulled out a severed head.
I couldn’t tell if they were being performative to get into the king’s favor or were genuinely affronted by a statue.
In Edenalee, Hestia was known to be the patron goddess of nourishment, and many bakers and cooks had altars to her to make their food safe to eat.
The king continued his dramatic display, holding the statue away from him like it would bring about a plague.
“I have consorted with Themis and have been told the atonement that he desires out of Russtoph for his blatant disrespect to the one true and just God. Ten lashings with a silver-tipped whip. May the scars be a reminder that we do not tolerate the idolatry or worship of lesser divinity.”
My breathing quickened. King Torrish tossed the wooden statue of Hestia into the fire.
Flecks of glowing ash rose into the air as the wood crackled and burned.
“Oh, yes, and one more thing,” the king continued with a vicious grin.
“Today, the honor of delivering the atonement will be given to none other than our own Captain of the Guard. For his excellence in service to the crown. Word came to me that he even saved our new human noble from a thief in the city. A blessing from Themis that he was there to protect her.”
Oh, FUCK!
I tried to pull my hand from Gabriel’s, but he held it in place.
I leaned close to his ear. “Your Highness, I cannot have Cora watch such brutality. Please, let me take her outside.” I tried to keep my voice even and quiet.
Cora watched Russtoph struggle against his chains, eyes big as saucers.
I turned to Anya, who looked at me with bulging eyes, and her hand covered her mouth.
Both she and her mother looked at Cora and then at each other.
Gabriel squeezed my hand to grab my attention. “Aurora, you both must watch. It is part of this man’s atonement to witness his punishment so that he may be cleansed of his wrongdoing. It is a beautiful thing. He will walk out of here free from his sin.”
Gabriel seemed downright excited about the cruelty, but his smile went widest when Darragh was announced as the seraph to dole out the punishment. Darragh didn’t even react. Has he given lashings before?
A young acolyte approached Russtoph and snapped his fingers, making Russtoph’s tunic rip completely down the middle, exposing his trembling back. A second acolyte handed Darragh a black whip with a viciously pointed silver tip.
I pulled Cora’s face into my side, covering her ears with my arm and ribs and shielding her eyes with my hand. She didn’t fight me to watch and went slack against me, gripping my thigh with both hands. I didn’t care what Gabriel said; I would not subject Cora to watching or hearing this.
Darragh stepped up behind Russtoph with a threatening presence.
The incense swirled around him, making him look like a deity about to smite everyone in the Temple.
His chestnut eyes darkened to blackened embers, and the light from the lanterns created shadows along the planes of his chiseled features.
He looked every bit as formidable as he did the day he killed my attackers. That same rage burned in his eyes.
Darragh didn’t hesitate and cracked the whip, slicing open Russtoph’s tender, exposed flesh. Blood splattered into the pool, and Russtoph screamed. Flecks of spit flew from his mouth.
I closed my eyes as Russtoph whimpered, and my body stiffened, but Gabriel pulled my hand and whispered, “Watch, darling. You must watch.”
My eyes opened at the next CRACK. The lashing was just as brutal, and another strip of flesh was ripped off Russtoph.
Cora whimpered as he let out another guttural scream.
Crack! Crack! Crack! The blood rolled down the marble block in rivulets and into the deep crimson pool below, giving Themis the sacrifice he demanded.
Over and over, the whip hit its mark, Darragh showing no emotion other than seething.
He didn’t refuse to take part in this or try to save Russtoph from this agonizingly painful fate.
His lack of hesitation made my lip quiver in silent agony.
I dropped my head at the realization that the person I thought I knew, thought I could see so deeply, had now dissolved around me in just a mere moment.
I had only known him for a short amount of time.
I was warned that he was dangerous and could turn into a monster at any moment.
I witnessed his ferocity before and ignored it.
He turned on me last night, and I refused to see it.
My foolishness made my heart sink. Tears welled in my eyes, slipped past my lashes, and rolled down my cheeks.
My feelings for him had been deepening each day, and I hadn’t felt so connected to someone since Micah had come into my life.
That had all been ripped out of me in an agonizing instant.
I was left hollow. A reminder that my heart could only ever be a sunken chamber and nothing more.
The last crack of the whip echoed off the Temple walls.
Russtoph stilled over the marble block. Blood still poured from the deep gashes across his back.
Darragh handed the bloody whip back to the acolyte and stalked out the way he came in.
He glanced at me and then Gabriel and my conjoined hands as he passed, showing no reaction or emotion to the tears streaming down my cheeks or the quivering youngling next to me.
His indifference made my blood run cold.
“Darling, are you well?” Gabriel finally turned to me and wiped away a tear that slowly rolled down my cheek.
I needed to leave this place. The city. The castle.
This side of the barrier. I couldn’t wait any longer, and I certainly couldn’t rely on the two seraphs who spouted promises of help.
I would be able to figure out what was happening to the humans once I got back to Edenalee.
At least I could warn my own king of what was happening.
I needed to focus on finding out Psilas’ mead ingredients, and the only way I could get that was by searching Gabriel’s office for that book.
I hated that I let myself get distracted and struggled to keep up the facade with Gabriel when he made my skin crawl.
Gabriel looked to Cora and back to me. “I didn’t realize how badly you both would react. I forgot that the first time can be a bit jarring. Today was particularly brutal. The captain put a lot of power behind those lashings.”
Saliva pooled in my mouth, and my stomach lurched. “Gabriel, get us out of here. Please.”
Most of the aristocracy stood to leave, jovially chatting and laughing. I pulled my hand from Gabriel’s and wrapped my arms around Cora, turning her away from Russtoph’s limp, bloodied body being carried away by acolytes. “Cora, it’s over, sweet girl,” I said gently. “We are leaving.”
“Mom, please don’t make me come to this place again,” she whispered in a heartbreaking voice.
“Did you see or hear anything?”
She shook her head. “Sounds were muffled, but I saw the captain with the whip before you covered my eyes, and he scared me.”
I nodded. “I know, sweet girl. I know.”
“Hi, Lady Cora!” Prince Percie stepped up next to her. “Do you want to sit next to me at dinner this evening? I want you to explain to me that game you play in Edenalee with your human friends.”
I guided Cora past the prince to save her the trouble of responding. “Oh, what a lovely offer, Your Highness, but I am afraid Cora is not feeling well. I think we might take dinner in our rooms tonight. Maybe tomorrow?”
He looked at Cora and back at me. “Of course. I hope you feel better, my lady.”
Cora softly smiled, but her face was devoid of any feeling.
Our time in Tironaill was proving to be more and more unsafe.
If they could whip a man for having a statue of a deity other than Themis, then they would certainly not think twice about punishing me or Cora for something so small as well.
I would sneak into Gabriel’s office tonight and look for that book.
The longer we stayed, the more at risk we were.
I hoped I could find what I was looking for and get us out of the castle without anyone knowing. Our lives depended on it.