She hesitated but then nodded. "I have one more trick up my sleeve that Saphir doesn't know about. That's how I was able to tell you all of this even though he used compulsion to make me keep a lot of it a secret." She paused. "He used it on you as well, right?"
I nodded, which was the most I could do.
"I can break through it quite easily, probably because of my shamanic abilities. It affects me for a moment and then slides off like a net that can't find purchase." She bit her lip. "Is thatdishonest? Letting him think he has power over me that he doesn't actually have?"
"It's strategic, an advantage that you should keep hidden as long as possible." I shook my head in wonder. "You are truly extraordinary in every imaginable way. How did I get so lucky?"
She lifted her hand to my cheek and cupped it. "I keep asking myself the same question. How did I get a prince to fall in love with me?"
"We are lucky." I took her hand and kissed her fingertip. "Is there anything more I should know?"
"Well, other than the fact that Elu wasn't a real deity? Not really."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Saphir claims that Elu was immortal and powerful but not divine in any way. He was flesh and blood like you and me. It would seem that the word god is not a synonym for a divine entity."
I had always thought about our original Two-Faced God and his two halves that had later split as a construct of human imagination. To me, the creator of the universe was an abstract, a thought, a source of power, but never a person.
"Where did Elu come from?" I asked. "If he's not divine, he has to have a mother and a father and a place of origin."
"Saphir didn't say." She sighed. "How am I supposed to one day become a spiritual leader for our people when I don't even have the benefit of believing in our god? I'm not the kind of person people follow, but if I believed, maybe I could have whipped myself into a religious frenzy."
"You are the Hero of Elucia, and people have actual proof of your Shamanic powers. You don't need to rely on showmanship to lead because you are the real deal, and they know it."
She tilted her head up and kissed me, soft and sweet. "I love you," she whispered. "You are my rock."
"I love you too, and this is the best compliment that you could have given me."
"What? That you are my rock or that I love you?"
"Both." I pulled back the quilt and got us under it. "Being your rock is my job, and you just said that I was good at it." I tightened my arms around her. "I'm also good at several other manly jobs." I slid my hand down to cup her bottom. "Do you want me to demonstrate some of those skills?"
She chuckled breathily. "I do, but the walls of this house are thin, and my room is sandwiched between Gran's and Dylon's."
"That's disappointing. Are you saying that we need to wait until we go back to the academy?"
She gave me a pouty nod.
"Oh well." I pulled her against my body. "You need the rest."
8
SHOVIA
"Knowledge lies hidden in forgotten corners, stirred to life by daring seekers."
—From 'The Archivist's Creed'
By Master Librarian Thales Oren
I'd woken up before the dawn alarm, surprised to be up so early, and then realized there would be no alarm because classes had been cancelled and hadn't resumed yet.
I could sleep a little longer, but I made the mistake of turning on my side and looking out the window. The Citadel had unparalleled views that were spectacular even for someone who had seen them all her life, and closing my eyes again was not an option, given the spectacle outside.
The auroras were really showing off this morning.
Ribbons of green and gold twisted across the pre-dawn sky, with veins of deep purple shooting through them. The mountains caught and reflected the lights, their snow-covered peaks glowing with borrowed radiance.
