The others stepped out after me, Alandris pausing at my side. “What is this?”
Felydrin cleared his throat. “Grand Arch Magus, myself and the other Mages who form our council, along with all the Mages who make their home at the Consortium, are in agreement. You will fight no war alone. Your enemies are our enemies. All whothreaten what you’ve built here will face the full force of the Mages Consortium.”
Alandris’ eyes shot wide open. “I—I cannot ask this of you all. The Consortium fought for neutrality, to never have to serve one Kingdom.”
“You are not asking anything of us. We are willfully swearing our loyalty to a Mage, not a Kingdom. Those of us Arch Magi who were here during Lyandril’s charge were not blind to his corruption. You have brought the Consortium back to what it was meant to be all along- a safe haven for those with magic to master their skills. We will not stand for those who threaten that vision. We stand with you Alandris Vi’Elissar, Grand Arch Magus of the Mages Consortium.”
The Mages before us all placed a hand over their chest, resting just below the emblem of the Consortium—the moon nestled within the sun—and bowed at the waist.
I laced my fingers with Alandris’s and squeezed, glancing up to find him looking onward with a grateful smile. Our promise to each other to free the Mages Consortium from under the grip of the Divine Council, while not fully realized, was well under way.
We would see our promise to its end.
A flame is doused…
To the bishops sat at his round table, garbed in hooded cloaks to hide their identities from those of lesser station, he was the Cardinal—a position of utmost power. And to her—most of the time—that’s who he was, too. But other times, in rare moments where he let the mask of obligation fall, he was her family. Cardinal Aureli Galavrin. Father to the spymaster he’d trained from the moment she could hold a knife straight, Luelle Galavrin.
“Our former council member in Nil’Faerith has betrayed us, as we suspected may be the case. Our spy at the Mages Consortium has confirmed that Alandris has been harboring that creature.” Aureli spit the words in disgust. “He has strayed from the Goddess, and so the Consortium has burned. We will root them out like the animals they are. There is nowhere left for them to hide.”
“What of their sympathizers?” A man at the far end of the table spoke up. “They have a connection with the Fae, the Elvesof Val’Naeris, and the lost people of the Northern Expanse. We should anticipate intervention on their behalf.”
Aureli scoffed, slamming his palm on the table. “They could amass allies all across Lustria, but they will never hold the faith of her people. When the Goddess Alessiantha walks among them, Lustria’s people will fall at her feet. They will do her bidding honorably, starting with the death of the false Goddess and her pet Mage.”
He stood from his chair, more like a throne, as opulent as it was, and circled to the front of the room. “We’ve achieved what the heathens in the North have sought for centuries. We’ve bonded the power of a Goddess,theGoddess, to a mortal vessel within the realm. We’ve successfully brought her to her full power, which will only grow with each new faithful gathered.”
Heads turned in confusion, murmured whispers of speculation leaving their lips, though none dared outwardly question the Cardinal. Not even her.
Aureli only reveled in their bewilderment, standing back-straight and proud before them. Waiting.
Luelle was waiting, too, but unlike the others, she was the only one who seemed to have a pit of dread broiling in her stomach. She’d not been privy to the experiments with creating a vessel for their Goddess, but they’d never sat right with her. She loved her father, and she loved the Goddess, but she believed in the sanctity of the separation between mortals and divine beings. It was a matter she and her father had never seen eye to eye on.
Dread turned to abject horror when Luelle watched the ‘vessel’ pull open the smooth, white double doors and walk into the room. Her vision was smeared with hot tears she had to blink back before they fell. For the vessel shared her same pale blue eyes, the same golden locks as her mother, and the same long and narrow nose as her father. For the vessel was not a vessel at all, but her little sister, Maela.
Luelle’s legs jolted her from her seat before her mind could warn her against making a scene in front of the entire council. “What have you done?”
Aureli shook off her outburst, waving a hand in front of Maela as though showing off some glittering jewel. “The Goddess Alessiantha in the flesh. My own daughter offered herself to our righteous cause. A noble sacrifice. It took many attempts, but we’ve fully removed the vessel’s consciousness.”
Luelle bit down on the tip of her tongue until blood flooded her mouth, the bitter tang of it the only thing keeping her calm. She questioned at what point Maela had become a vessel, rather than a daughter to their father. She questioned how she could have been so ignorant to overlook what little Aureli would not do for his faith. The signs had been there, but it’d been easier to dismiss them. If she ignored them, he would still be her father, not the Cardinal who viewed his daughters as his followers.
He could have used anyone else.
“How could you do this to Maela?” Luelle’s voice cracked. She no longer cared about revealing her identity to the other Council members. Most suspected the spymaster’s true identity already. “I love our Goddess, but this is too far! Was there no other way to achieve our goals?”
“You speak sacrilege, insolent girl!” Aureli shouted before what had once been Maela held a hand to his chest to stop him.
She stepped forward, an unnatural sway to her hips. Her blue eyes met Luelle’s, but they were empty somehow—soulless. “Your sister gave herself for the betterment of Lustria. We must save the godless heathens who remain in this land and unite our people under one faith. I can only achieve this by being fully present. My most devoted faithful made this possible, and I will reward you for your efforts.”
Several gasps erupted from the table at the sound of the Goddess’s voice emerging from Maela’s body. To Luelle, it wasnot amazing. It made the bile rise in her throat. It was Maela’s voice—the same tone and intonation, but it lacked all personality and life. Her face barely changed as her lips moved to form the words.
“I apologize for my outburst,” Luelle answered, bowing at the waist. She hoped her voice was unwavering. “I was startled. Of course, I am pleased my sister could provide for our great Goddess of Light, Alessiantha.”
This appeased Aureli, the tightness in his face softening to a warm, proud smile. “I have raised wonderful, obedient daughters under her light.”
Her heart’s mixed emotions went to war in her chest. Her entire life had revolved around Alessiantha and the Council’s goal to bring her light to the land of Lustria. It was all she’d ever dreamed of, to see the land she grew up in saved from their sins. She was happy, truly happy they’d succeeded. But Maela…
Why did it have to be her?
“The next phase in our plan will begin over the coming months,” Aureli explained. “You’ve been slowly strengthening your footholds in your respective territories, spreading the word of the Goddess. The time has come to usurp those in power who have resisted us, replacing them with our faithful. We will begin in the twin cities, Rajandi and Jakabri.”
