“Strong start, wasn’t it?” Manon stared up at the building too. “It hasn’t changed at all since I was young.”
Manon led the way up the steps. The double doors at the top of the staircase were painted a deep blue and stood open, but there was no one in sight.
They walked into the main chamber, which was illuminated by ensconced torches lining the walls. The stone floor was pristine, and the white walls looked freshly plastered. A marble statue of a woman peering into a pewter cauldron dominated the room.
“Who is that?” asked Beni, pointing toward the statue.
“Cerridwen, the Goddess of Rebirth,” said Manon. “When someone from Clair de Lune thanks the Goddess, this is typically who they’re thanking.”
In Soleil, “thank the Goddess” was more of a colloquial expression than a saying with religious undertones. At least, that was the case with the people Scarlett knew personally.
“Why is she in front of a cauldron?” asked Scarlett. Witch imagery was exactly the kind of thing people from Soleil found strange about Clair de Lune. Cerridwen could be making a potion to steal children’s souls or something equally awful.
“That’s her mirror of the soul,” said Manon.
A mirror of the soul sounded slightly less sinister than what she’d imagined, but the cauldron was definitely a bit weird to Scarlett. Pushing her trepidation aside, she decided to trust her grandmother, but she couldn’t help but ask, “What’s a mirror of the soul?”
“It’s where the soul lights come from. There’s a longer myth about her and her children, but I forget the details of it.”
As Manon spoke, a woman in a green dress emerged from one of the doorways, her brown hair swaying behind her back as she walked toward them. Manon pivoted toward her.
“Hello. I don’t think we’ve met before. I’m Manon Bedivere.”
The woman smiled. “My name is Gwen. Lovely to meet you.”
Manon took the priestess’s outstretched hand and then gestured to Scarlett and Beni. “These are my grandchildren, visiting from Soleil. As you can see, these two haven’t yet met their soul lights, and we’re hoping to remedy that today.”
Scarlett shook Gwen’s hand next. “I’m Scarlett Heroux. This is my brother, Beaufort. We call him Beni.”
“Please don’t call me Beaufort,” grumbled Beni, and the woman laughed.
“Welcome to the Forest Temple,” said Gwen. “I’d be delighted to help you meet your soul lights.”
Manon’s eyes lit with excitement as she rested a hand on Gwen’s arm. “If it’s not too much, Scarlett would like to manifest her valor today as well.”
Gwen patted Manon’s hand. “Of course. What an exciting day for you, Scarlett.”
“Why is the valor only for Scarlett?” asked Beni.
Gwen gave him an apologetic smile. “Young people are too changeable for valor magic, so you have to be eighteen to receive your valor.”
“Oh.” Beni’s brow furrowed.
“Manon, unless you have any questions, you can leave us to it for now and come back in a couple of hours.”
“I’ll go back to the castle in the meantime,” Manon said to Gwen. “Good luck, you two.” With a wave, she was gone.
Gwen’s eyes were luminous. She had the air of an excited teacher about to chaperone a school trip, but her enthusiasm put Scarlett on edge. “Ready?”
They both nodded.
“Wonderful.”
She led them down a long hallway, speaking to them as they walked. “We typically do a soul-light ceremony once a month for all the children in Clair de Lune and Evory who’ve recently turned ten, kind of like a birthday party. The young ones enjoy coming together.”
“Sounds fun,” said Beni.
“I feel better knowing most people are ten when they do this,” said Scarlett.
