Chapter Sixteen #2
“Next week will begin ritual preparations. Expect to see those tasks in your rotation. This means readying the temple to welcome the whole of Ollora as all will be welcome to witness our great goddess.”
“Her light illuminate our heart,” voices call out amidst the cheers.
“Her shadow reveal our path,” others answer.
“What does all this mean?” I whisper, leaning close to Eve.
She shakes her head. “It’s hard to say. There are a number of rituals that can take place during an eclipse… but I don’t know of any that would require the council to meet over them.”
“You being Celesta’s chosen makes sense,” Opal adds. “Of course she would want to honor her daughter.”
“The point of staying here was to remain hidden,” I argue with a heavy sigh. “This is not staying hidden.”
Mind racing with thoughts, I begin to plunge into the darkness, panic and fear wrapping crooked fingers around my heart, my lungs. Inviting the whole of Ollora to celebrate during this eclipse presents a whole new set of problems.
The Sovereign King could be in attendance or some other demon-bound mortal. Perhaps even a vampire, or necromancer, or bloodmancer will stand among them—all of which are loyal to the god of death.
This ritual will essentially offer me on a silver platter to Netharis.
Pushing myself from the table, I storm toward the doors, ignoring the concerned calls of Eve and Cora. The swinging door gives way with ease, and I breeze into the empty hallway.
The rustle of robes rushes behind me. “I’m fine, Eve. I just need air,” I call and glancing over my shoulder, I stop.
“We do not have long before Artemise follows,” Lilith says, her face as serious as her tone. Sweeping in beside me, she links her arm through mine and continues walking, forcing me to move with her.
“I told you to stay away from me,” I snarl, attempting to pull my arm from hers, but her grip is iron-clad.
“And I have,” she counters firmly. “But this changes things.”
“What?” My voice is scathing.
She peers over her shoulder, between us, picking up her pace.
“Celesta’s decisions are relayed through Artemise. It is Celesta who has decided your Fate. But you have options. You have allies, Vestaris. You need to meet with the Sovereign King.”
Irritation strikes through me like lightning. “No. I’m done being used by those in power. I’m not going to present myself to a mortal who wants nothing more than to use me for some stupid faerie throne.”
Lilith’s eyes widen as her jaw drops. She blinks a few times before huffing a laugh. “Use you?” she begins, “If he’d intended on using you, he would have ordered your capture upon your arrival. Instead, he’s given you the freedom you want. Does that not earn some of your trust?”
Ripping my arm from hers, I stop and she whirls on her heels to face me. As my innate roars, shadows begin to billow underfoot.
“No. It doesn’t,” I snarl, my fists clenching.
“You’re going to force him to intervene,” Lilith says, shaking her head in a rueful manner as she steps back. “He’s waited too long for this, and he’s not going to let the gods stand in the way again.”
“Approach me again and I will kill you,” I level the words with an icy tone worthy of a daughter of death.
Heaving a sigh, Lilith nods. “Fine,” she relents, stepping back. “But, at the very least, do yourself a favor and find a way out of the temple. Away from Celesta. Before the eclipse.”
She turns, beginning down the hall before vanishing in a puff of dark purple smoke. My eyes narrow. What kind of obscure innate does she possess?
“Vestaris,” Artemise’s voice rings behind me and I whirl.
She approaches swiftly, her face set in a pleasant smile. The contrast between Lilith’s greeting and Artemise’s is not lost on me.
Her smile transforms to concern. “Are you alright?” she asks as she reaches me, her eyes searching my face.
“Of course,” I lie with a cool indifference. “The news of being Celesta’s chosen has me so excited I needed air.”
The smile returns, deep creases forming at the corners of her eyes. “It will be a joyous celebration indeed. But let us return to dinner. The Priestesses wait for you.”
Shaking my head, I lie again. “I believe I’ve eaten too much. I’d like to return to my quarters.”
Artemise laughs, and it sounds genuine. “You have to learn how to better control your indulgences, Vestaris,” she chides in a motherly tone.
I paint a smile on my face in return.
Yes. Because I’m so gods damn indulgent.
?????????????
The room I’d been given upon my arrival was a guest room meant for council members when they stay for ceremonies, rituals, and the like. Following my induction, I was assigned a room in the dormitories—on the second floor of the north wing.
A much smaller room with the bare necessities of furniture. A bed, a wardrobe, a desk and chair, and a standing mirror. Everything is white. The floors, the ceilings, the curtains, the bedding, even the furniture. And for the last week, I’ve hated how bright this room is throughout the day.
Eve’s room lies on the other side, joined by a bathing room we share.
Having been given the last room in the row on the floor, she’s the only ‘neighbor’ I have.
There are others on the floor, but I rarely see them as many of them are acolytes.
Attending prayer before sunrise and asleep before sunset most days.
“I’m not going to lie, Ves. This is getting messy,” Eve says not twenty minutes later as she pulls the chair from my desk to sit near the fireplace. “I don’t like it.”
I scoff. “That makes two of us.”
Throwing myself onto my bed, I fall back and stare at the white ceiling with a sigh. “I don’t know if I’m going to survive all of this. You mortals are going to drive me to kill myself before Netharis can find me.”
Eve laughs, and I’m glad she can appreciate my often dark humor. “If you do that, who else will I babysit? You’ll force me to return to my typical Priestess duties. With all selfishness intended, don’t do that. Think of me, Ves.”
Laughing, I rub my face with my hands. “Okay, fine. But it’s not you I’m staying for. It’s Button.”
“The fucking hen?” She roars with laughter.
“The hen,” I affirm, smiling so wide my cheeks begin to hurt.
“Well, at least Button won’t force you to marry.”
“Or keep me chained to the hells,” I add, laughing.
“Or involve you in mysterious rituals,” Eve adds, her laughter subsiding with a sigh.
“Lilith insists I should meet with the Sovereign King,” I say, taking a deep breath. “I’m not convinced I need to do any such thing.”
“If she’s telling the truth and the king knows you’re here, but hasn’t demanded Artemise turn you over…
” she trails off, dragging her toe through some of the ashes of the unlit fireplace, drawing a near perfect circle.
“It’s not enough to convince me either. He could be remaining quiet for any number of reasons.
The biggest coming to mind is that he’s betrothed to Tanila, the daughter of the Sovereign King of Vis. ”
Watching her as she processes her thoughts, I roll onto my side, tucking my hands under the pillow.
“What do you know of him?” I ask, my eyes narrowing. “The Sovereign King of Erus,” I clarify.
She lifts her gaze from the fireplace, meeting my stare. “He’s the reason I’m here,” she says and I give her a confused stare. “Well, here in service to Celesta and not in prison.”
My eyes widen. “Prison? Come now, don’t jest. I can’t see you doing anything to earn that kind of punishment.”
Eve laughs, a bitter, weak sound. “Maybe not now,” she says, “but a decade ago, I lived a different life.”
“What happened?” I ask the question before I’m able to stop myself.
“I don’t want to regale you with stories about who I used to be,” Eve says with a small smile. “All that matters is I’m not that person anymore, and I don’t want to be that person ever again.”
Fair enough.
“If I hadn’t been given the option to serve my sentence in Celesta’s service, I wouldn’t have met Cora,” Eve says with a grim smile on her face. “And because of that, I’ll always be indebted to the Witherhorn family.”
Bolting upright, my heart begins to pound. “The Witherhorn family?” I breathe, my hands flying to the center of my chest.
Eve looks at me as if I’ve sprouted horns from my brow. “Yes, the royal family of Erus are the Witherhorns. Has been for a millennia.”
With shallow breaths, I ask, “Lilith is the widow of the last Sovereign King, right?” Eve nods. “When did the king die?”
“During the Dividing War, about three centuries ago.”
Her words land against my stomach like sharp blows, and I struggle to breathe. In my chest, my heart hammers hard enough for me to feel it in my fingertips. Shadows begin to billow from under me, pouring over the side of the bed and creating a low hanging fog over the floor.
Springing onto the chair in a nimble leap above the fog, Eve clings to the mantle of the fireplace. “Hey, hey, hey. What’s going on?” Her ice blue eyes search mine. “Control your innate, Ves. I’ve no desire to visit the hells,” she says, trying to mask the panic in her voice.
Swallowing against the tightness in my throat, I take a deep, deep breath, willing my heart to slow. As the minute stretches on and I grab hold of my innate with a white-knuckled grip, the shadows vanish.
Another minute passes before Eve lowers herself to the floor.
“Thalion Witherhorn,” I say, staring at the circle she’s drawn in ash, “held a contract with Netharis. I was the Death Bringer sent to collect his soul.”
Eve’s face pinches further with confusion. “And you remember that? From three centuries ago?”
“The night haunts me still. No other mortal has been able to see me through the veil.”
“The Sovereign King could see you?”
I shake my head, my silver hair swirling with the ferocity of the movement, before meeting her stare. “No. Another. I don’t know his name.”
“Someone saw you take the late king’s soul?” Her eyes grow wide.
I nod. “I dream of him still, and I don’t know why. But the events of that night are burned into my memory. Thalion included.”
“Do you think Lilith knows you’re the one…?” Eve’s voice trails off. She doesn’t want to finish the question.
“Does she know I’m the demon who dragged her husband’s soul to the hells?” I finish the question. “For my own safety, I have to assume she does.”