They’d see their error. For this was a game—and it was one I’d win.
Handing the rope back to Tol with a smallthank you, and picking up Kakias’s note, I stood before the Rapture.
“I’m certain you’re all aware this has been a tumultuous time for our continent. The battles are only beginning. In the coming years, months, maybe even weeks, we will all be challenged. We won’t surviveif we don’t band together. Not as six different clans, but as one warrior people, each with different rituals, values, and strengths.” I dropped the mask of Revered, allowed a bit of vulnerability to slip through. “Please, for the sake of all of our territories and the people we are responsible for, reconsider.”
My words went out over the mountains, turning over on the breeze for a stretching silence.
“If I may suggest an alternative?” Every eye in the Rapture Chamber went to Titus. “Since many of us are uncertain how much trust we place in this decision, I suggest we operate on a trial basis.”
“And that is?” I asked.
“We leave delegates here for an observation period.” He gestured around the room to where the apprentices who had come with their chancellors waited, still as the statues beside them.
“How long?” Brigiet pursed her lips, striding back to the table and settling her hands on the back of her winged chair. The Bodymelder’s green eyes lit up at the proposal.
“Until Daminius,” Titus suggested.
I calculated quickly. Daminius, the holiday dedicated to the Mystique Angel, took place in the height of summer. That gave me around two months to demonstrate my strength. It should have been plenty of time, but with Kakias’s note burning a hole in our future, I wasn’t sure.
“They can study the potential new Revered and report back to us on her progress. Then, we’ll reassess.” A smirk lifted Titus’s lips—a scheming one.Thiswas his plan all along. Why?
The reins of this meeting continued to slip through my fingers, but I pulled tighter.
“We will host any delegates who choose to stay,” I declared. “They will be treated as members of an advisory council, allowing them access to Mystique training—on one condition.”
Titus raised his thick eyebrows, interest gleaming in his starry eyes.
“More Mystiques are returning to Damenal by the day. An entire generation has been kept at bay for years, not training, not preparing ourselves for whatever comes next. Assign delegates to remain in my residence, as my guests, and we will learn from them, as well.”
“You cannot suggest we share the secrets of our ancestors among all clans,” Aird said.
“Did I say such?”
He didn’t respond.
“Rituals and customs should be kept to each clan as deemed by the Angels. But we all have knowledge to share. Mystiques won’t learn to read the stars or guide souls to their final resting place, but we can learn the unique histories of the celestial powers and the honors of death. We can learn the weapons of a Seawatcher, the healing techniques of the Bodymelders, or even the art of meditative connection among your people, Aird.”
I looked over my shoulder, finding Tol, remembering the now-healed wound hidden beneath his leathers and the scar marking his powerful thigh for eternity. My gaze traveled up his body, and when I met his eyes, he inclined his head and winked.
“You have all heard the story of my journey to the mountains. Due to the severance our former Revered instilled among us, we’d never been taught proper battle healing.” I turned back to the table, finding Brigiet. “But my friend’s mother had. Without the Bodymelder knowledge she passed on to her daughter, I would have lost someone very important to me.” My heart clenched, but I pushed my shoulders back and forced myself to continue. “It is time we come together as one people, sharing the power born and honed through the ages. For centuries, we have held each other at arm’s length, even where alliances were strong. But it is time we unite.”
I took a breath, lowering my mask to further expose the heart guiding my words. The soul of a warrior. “Teach us. Work with us. Please.”
And in that time, they would see how capable I was of my position.
If proof of my worth was what they demanded, then prove myself I would.
“My apprentice, Vale, will remain with the Mystiques until Daminius.” Titus gestured to the woman standing behind his chair. She couldn’t be more than a few years older than myself, but wild light brown waves of hair and wide olive-green eyes gave her a rattled appearance. There was a strength in her stance, though. Until she ducked her head, and it vanished.
Meridat stood next. “One of the twins will remain, as well.” She looked over her shoulder to where the two apprentices she’d brought waited. One had sleek black hair, the other a beautiful cascade of tightly coiled curls. They were otherwise identical with dark skin and catlike eyes alert for mischief. “I will allow them to decide which. The rest of my party will depart tonight.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t like to stay until the morning?” I asked.
She flashed me a perfect white grin. “We prefer to travel by night. The Spirits are the loudest then.”
I shivered at the flare in her amber eyes but said, “Thank you.”
Ezalia confirmed she would try to send someone from her council when she returned to the coast, but she could make no promises, having attended the Rapture alone. Brigiet agreed to confer with the host she brought and select the best fit.
