“All right,” I say and sit back upright. Then, all at once, I blurt out, “I’ll neither confirm nor deny these allegations.”
Silence echoes back at me, and it’s all made worse by how Dorian continues to stare. I can’t bring myself to meet his eyes. What would I even find in them? Gratitude? Surprise? Fear that I know his secret? Suspicion over the reason I’ve come here?
Sweat begins to bead at the back of my neck.
“Who is Saint Lazaro?” Briony’s voice shatters the silence, and I couldn’t be more grateful to anyone at that moment.
“Oh, yes!” Father Viktor says, as if he’s as eager as I am to speak of something else. “I hadn’t realized not all of you know of our beloved saint and his martyrdom.”
“How exactly was he martyred?” Greta asks, her tone bubbling with excitement. “I recently saw a play that acted out the most gruesome and realistic disembowelment before he was slowly burned to a crisp.”
Viktor blinks at her as if he can’t fathom her enthusiasm. Then he clears his throat. “Saint Lazaro was sentenced to death by fire after the people of his time condemned what they thought were mad ravings. In his final days, he was quite out of sorts and people thought him possessed by the devil. He was adamant that the fae were coming for us all. This was before the first war, mind you, and it was thought speaking ill of the fae would draw their wrath. So he was killed. Then, after the first war began, Saint Lazaro’s words were no longer considered ravings but prophecy.”
“So, that’s what this church is based off of?” Franny asks, speaking for the first time all night. She continues to look like she thoroughly wishes to be anywhere else. “The ravings of a madman?”
The priest chuckles. “Oh, no, of course not. Lazaro was so much more than a lunatic before his demise. Not only was he a generous philanthropist, he also was a scientist, a seeker of truth. He funded the first research into faekind and began hypothesizing scientific explanations behind the fae’s mysterious powers.”
“You mean, he experimented on them,” Briony says sweetly. “And then before he died, he claimed all his science was wrong, that fae were the progeny of demons. Don’t forget that part too.”
“He did experiments, yes,” he says, undeterred, “and he may have contradicted his work before his death, but his early findings were the basis for further research when modern science advanced.”
“Do you think it’s true that Saint Lazaro was cursed by one of the fae he tried to experiment on?” Briony asks, trying to hide her smile behind a serious expression. “And that’s why he went raving mad?”
Father Viktor waves a dismissive hand. “What matters most, my dear, is that the Church of Saint Lazaro as it stands today follows not Saint Lazaro’s past but his legacy—the three main tenets he stood for. Strength, truth, and service.”
“Which of those tenets were you standing for when you rebelled against the fae?” Franny asks, eyes boring into the priest. “Why are so many dark deeds attributed to your church?”
Vanessa gasps. “That is quite a disrespectful question, Miss Delafonte. How dare you—”
“No, my dear, it’s all right.” He waves a consoling hand at Vanessa, then addresses Franny. “I’m happy to have an honest conversation about our faith. Yes, men from our brotherhood have done terrible things. But evil is not the automatic property of one person, one group, or one organization. Evil is the property ofpeople. It can belong to anyone. It has been here, I know, and I deeply regret it ever was. As priest of this church, I seek to atone for the mistakes of those who came before me. I seek to usher Saint Lazaro into the modern world. That’s why we’ve begun hosting bridal pageants. We want to draw in new faces to our congregation. We yearn for the chance to show them we are more than our past.”
I snort a laugh. Too late, I try to disguise it as a cough.
“Did you have a comment, my dear?” Viktor asks.
Once again, I find all eyes on me. I know I should keep quiet, but my mouth has other ideas. “Your religion claims fae are the progeny of demons. A bridal pageant and modern theatrics won’t usher Saint Lazaro into current times if you’re still following such outdated notions.”
The priest is quiet for a moment. “I will never cease trying to atone for the mistakes of my church’s past, but I can’t apologize for our faith. All I can do is demonstrate our true heart. And at that heart is peace and unity. That’s why many from our brotherhood seek marriages with fae brides.”
“Oh, I thought it was for fae salvation,” Briony says, expression full of contrived innocence.
Vanessa perks up at that. “Fae salvation is the highest we can strive for.”
Billius turns to her with a wide grin. “I couldn’t agree more.”
I clench my jaw, willing myself to keep quiet. But I can’t. “Fae salvation is kelpie shit.”
Vanessa pales, flinging her hands to her lips. “How can you say that?”
Podaxis taps my leg, a silent reminder that I’m overstepping my bounds.
Dorian swivels toward me, expression hard. “You don’t think the fae are in need of salvation?”
I try to ignore him, but—bounds be damned—it’s impossible not to reply. “I don’t think our souls are any human’s business. Especially when the humans were the ones who rebelled. Before that, they were the ones who attacked our isle and sought to wipe out all life. The fae saved everyone at the end of the war. The fae—”
“The fae are guilty of just as many dark deeds as the humans are,” he says. “Vicious curses, impossible bargains, physical attacks, compulsion…your kind have harmed humans and still do to this day.”
I stammer before I find my words. “All those things are illegal—”
