Chapter 21
Iswung my head to the side turning to look at who’d spoken. And froze.
Stars.
We were all in colossal rot.
The wingtower was a mess. Sofas had been torn. Gilded pillars had been dented. Tables had been broken. Glass shards had shattered throughout the great room. There was evidence of fire, water, earth, wind, and even metallic damage. Shredded wing feathers covered the floor. Worst of all.
There was golden blood everywhere. And several bodies lay sprawled in contorted fashions that confirmed they were no longer alive.
Among the dead were angels I didn’t recognize from Seventh Choir—but their robes had the Incense Order insignia—and Xadari Legionnaires who had the Fallenspawn mark, but weren’t from the Talons unit.
I bit my lip at the carnage. Stars. This was my doing. I’d started the fight that ended in this.
I looked up and found Farasee Esau, Davithius, and Kaelthos glaring between all of us. All the Seraphim had remained in their fyused forms. Most had arms raised with weapons drawn.
All the Talons were in offensive stances, glares on their faces, with their own ethèr drawn. We looked like we’d been stalled in the middle of a war zone. In all this, Ellabeth was still nowhere to be found. And the Farasees noticed.
“Where is Ellabeth Riventhelle?” Kaelthos asked, eyes searching diligently for her.
“She is resting in the mending chamber.”
We all turned to find Raephim Zara floating—head held high in her pristine blue robes—perched by her doors.
“Ellabeth came back from the trial…wounded. So I have been tending to her.” She leveled a look at Dakairi.
Hot rage filled my chest. The Farasees turned around themselves, glaring around, mainly at the Xadari Talons.
Farasee Davithius spoke up after assessing just how much damage we had done to the tower and to each other.
“How do you expect to win against the Fallen, when you are so busy destroying each other?”
“I’ll rot in the Hèls before I work with Fallen,” an angel spat. Their smoke insignia was in the shape of a six. They were from First Dominion, Sixth Choir.
“This isn’t even your wingtower, Ascendant,” Davithius barked. “All of you who aren’t in Seventh Choir. Out. Now.”
Several angels got up and obeyed, immediately, flying out of our wingtower.
“As for the rest of you, wings down.”
No one moved.
I kept an eye on Quazar, while trying to keep the other on Farasee Kaelthos, who oddly, was staring at me.
I kept my expression neutral, refusing to give away anything.
My gut had been right. That boar of an angel had hurt Ellabeth.
Or at the very least, endangered her to where she was wounded enough to be laid up with our Raephim.
I fumed for my best friend. Finding where Dakairi was floating, he and I made eye contact.
I promised vengeance for Ellabeth. Dakairi simply winked at me.
This wasn’t over.
“Wings down.”
Davithius barked the order this time. I fyused back into my Seraphim skin, eyes still dancing between Quazar and Kaelthos. I hovered in the air, refusing to stand in the blood bathing the floors.
“This is disappointing and unacceptable,” Davithius began.
“Presbitari, they started it,” Daelun said easily, dropping to one of the broken couches.
“We just chose to finish it,” Omarion said, crossing his arms.
“Mess with one in our Choir,” Isandra said, raising her chin.
Amayah’s small voice filled the space after her. “And you mess with us all.”
Not an angel from Seventh Choir had avoided getting bloody.
“What say you, Anathelle?” Kaelthos asked.
All eyes turned to me. I had a feeling the Farasee was purposefully trying to get a rise out of me.
“Like Daelun said, they started it. Ellabeth is my best friend. As younglings we were known for setting mangogo—and kakonut trees from our neighbors villas—on fire when their younglings tried bullying either of us.” I squared my shoulders.
“I don’t care what the consequences are.
I never expected anyone to…” I looked at the lifeless bodies.
“Die. That notwithstanding, Ellie is my sister. I’d die defending her honor. ”
Something unreadable flashed in Davithius’s eyes. Esau scowled like he’d been given rotten fruit to eat. Kaelthos glared, his fiery eyes churning mercilessly.
“All of you must go through Purification after such senseless death,” Davithius said into the quiet, finally.
“What was senseless was that ridiculous trial in the woods,” Isandra hissed.
“Without instructions, might we add,” Amayah whispered.
The…woods?
I blinked, perplexed. Everyone had been sent to the woods while I had been sent to the Seal Gate? I looked around and found Kaelthos watching me with a keen eye. I looked away, refusing to give away anything. My mind was reeling.
Just what exactly was going on here? Why had Quazar and I been sent to the Seal Gate? And while it was abandoned, no less.
Fire exploded from the floor, shooting up into the room, drying out all breathable air. We began coughing, Talons included, as Farasee Esau slammed all of his wing pairs together seven separate times. When he was done, my ears were ringing.
“Let this be the last time you question the Farasee Order. If you can’t handle a simple trial,” he looked around. “Forfeit.”
I placed a hand over my chest as I tried breathing through the racing beats of my hearts.
“As I said,” Davithius jumped back in. “All of you.” He looked at the Fallenspawn, nodding at them.
“You Talons included, must go through Purification. We will be having our first Titombwe service. It has been called by the Empràr, encouraged by Profèt Samael and High Farasee Manazzra, to welcome and celebrate all of our newest Disciples.”
Stars!
That’s right.
We all completed our first trial. We were no longer Ascendants. We were Disciples now. I frowned. We became Disciples at great cost.
Davithius’s eyes fell to the dead angels. “Those who survived anyway.” He looked back up. “Attenting Titombwe without being purified from the death you’ve just caused is forbidden.”
Davithius floated to the center of the great room, taking all of us in individually. His eyes flashed when they landed on me. The senseless deaths were a weight I’d have to carry. But my rage for what Dakairi had put Ellabeth through still superseded any regret I had.
“You will all clean this mess together.” Davithius was still looking at me, but I had the feeling he also had an eye on Quazar.
“And you will get it done before Titombwe begins at twinight. If any of you are late to Titombwe, or miss it altogether, all of you will be tasked with cleaning the Scourgers chambers for a month.”
My jaw dropped.
No burning way.
There was a shadowy explosion in my mind. I winced. It felt like shadows were trickling into my thoughts and screaming. I railed against the outburst of emotion, knowing it was Quazar losing his mental temper.
I fought to push the shadows back to his side of the veil. When my starry light shoved his shadowy darkness back to his side, I used starfire to mentally thicken and widen the veil, sealing the Fallenspawn out of my mind. I threw a glare at Quazar, whose face was contorted in a snarl in return.
I considered fyusing again.
But I was spent.
Davithius cleared his throat. I turned my attention to find him looking between me and Quazar. His steely blue eyes revealed nothing, but the vein in his hardened jawline was tight.
“Clean up this mess, together, now.” A look around the room.
“Then make your way to the Purification Hall. Time is not on your side. Waste it and you’ll find yourself cleaning the Scourgers chambers.
Take it from me, the Scourgers always like to practice new tricks on anyone who dares to be present. ”
With that, Davithius and Esau wrapped their wings around themselves, and winked out. Farasee Kaelthos remained.
“Are you all deaf?” he barked. “This blood isn’t going to clean itself!”