Being marked by the Goddess had changed everything. She now had a purpose that was separate from her brother’s war or her father’s oppressive rule.Shewas chosen,shewas set apart by Althea herself to help Avery and Morgan in their journey through Aeritis. Together, they’d figure out what the Divine Fivewere, and locate them to better serve the Premier Goddess in whatever way she desired.
As she walked down the quiet, empty halls of the Tower of the Moon, she thought about the experience of seeing the Goddess in person. Althea’s aura had been so overpowering, Kyla had been filled with a mix of awe and terror. She didn’t know if she could be strong enough to encounter Althea again, and hoped that it would be a once in a lifetime occurrence. Perhaps if she fulfilled this task of finding the Divine Five, she would be blessed from afar.
Kyla knocked quickly on Avery’s door. She hadn’t had time to share the story with Avery yet, and wanted to begin searching soon. Avery opened the door, wearing a casual Latian outfit. Of course Savine hadn’t left her without clothing. It was probably Raikin’s doing, procuring an entire wardrobe for the women.
“Kyla! Come in!” Avery said in a cheerful voice. Kyla entered the small bedroom and noticed Morgan sitting at the table. Her feet were tangled in a dark shifting shadow, and her pain was palpable.
Kyla approached Morgan gently. Morgan looked up at her with an empty expression. “Morgan, would you like me to try and heal those wounds?”
Morgan shook her head. “I’m going to run out of painkillers. The skin around my scars hurt, but I’m trying to wean myself off the medication.”
“There is no need for you to feel pain. I don’t believe I have the capabilities to remove the scars, but I can help with pain. I can also give you a salve to treat the tightness around your scars,” Kyla said, careful not to touch her, even though her fingers itched with the need to relieve Morgan’s pain.
Avery joined them at the table. “I offered to try and heal her, but she said no. Maybe together we could make it better for you, Morgan.”
Morgan shook her head. “Kyla, I’d appreciate the salve and if you could remove the pain. But the scars stay. I want to remember what I faced.”
“Very well,” Kyla said as she placed a hand on Morgan’s shoulder. A rush of agony washed through her. The girl shouldn’t even be sitting up with this much anguish coursing through her body. Kyla took it, wiping it clean from Morgan and replacing the emotion with peace and relaxation.
The tension in Morgan’s body dissipated, and she sighed with relief. “Thank you. I think I’m going to have to keep you,” Morgan said.
“Did you come to check in on us?” Avery asked.
Kyla shifted the headpiece she’d been wearing to cover the Goddess mark. “I came to show you this,” Kyla said.
“You’ve been marked by the Goddess too! What does that even mean?” Avery asked.
“Welcome to the club,” Morgan said, tracing the obvious line of stars and vines across her own forehead. Avery was the only one who had hers hidden beneath a glamour, and Kyla needed to figure out how to keep her own mark hidden from Rylo and the other Nepheli fae.
“Yes, I was marked. I appeared before Althea and saw her in her radiance. She touched me and left the mark, but not before ordering me to help you two find something called the Divine Five.”
Both women looked at Kyla with confusion. Morgan glanced at Avery before she asked her sister, “Did you know their deity could appear in person? Like she’s a real walking, breathing Goddess?”
Avery bit her lip. “Kind of… I asked Savine once and he said she was real, but I thought it was more in the sense that anyone religious says their god or goddess is real.”
“Of course she is real,” Kyla responded. “Althea formed Aeritis with her sister, Gaia. Althea’s daughters are the minor goddesses we serve in temples around Aeritis. You can meet one here in Nephel if you’re inclined, or in Orofine for that matter!”
Morgan pursed her lips. “Ave, you weren’t more concerned that you were marked by an actual Goddess? What does she want from us, other than to fulfill that foreboding prophecy?”
Kyla responded, “She wants us to find something for her. I think we should go meet the minor goddess here and see what she might know about the Divine Five.”
Avery worked her lip between her teeth. “You’re right. Let’s ask Susan what it might be as well. She seems to have a better grasp of history than we do, and we’ll bring Rue as protection.”
“I also came to ask if you knew how I could hide the mark in plain sight. Rylo can see through glamours, and it would be strange if I continued to wear a headpiece all the time.”
Avery and Morgan talked between themselves in the language of their people, leaving Kyla at a loss of what they were discussing.
“Why don’t we all get bangs?” Avery asked. “If anybody asks, we’ll just say we wanted to share a human hairstyle with you. Then we’ll all have our marks covered.”
“Bangs?” Kyla asked, unsure about the strange word on her tongue.
“Yeah, we’ll just cut the front of our hair short enough to cover our foreheads. It’s not like the mark glows or anything, so as long as we just cover them up we should be fine,” Avery continued, demonstrating what she intended to do by pulling the front of her hair across her face. “I’ve got scissors in my first aid kit.”
Avery
Avery and the others were making their way through the Tower of Stars, a tower across the river from the Tower of the Moon. Of course, there was no bridge so they’d needed help flying over from the Nepheli guards. Which drew unnecessary attention from Selene, who showed up just as Avery was trying to convince the guards that they wanted to pray in the temple. The lies slid off her tongue so easily, even Selene seemed to buy Avery’s sudden bout of devotion to the Aeritis religion. Unfortunately, Selene chose to join them, keeping her distance, but close enough to hear their conversation.
Just at that moment, Kyla came in close to Avery and whispered that she would sneak away to speak to the goddess. Avery nodded as she slid back to be closer to Selene.
