Five years ago…
“That’s her.”
The whisper slid through the chamber softly enough that most wouldn’t have noticed it. I did. I kept walking anyway, letting the ceremonial robes drag behind me in shimmering folds of pale gold. The fabric was threaded with sacred luminescence, or so the priests liked to claim. Personally, I thought it felt more like being strangled by expensive curtains.
Ahead, the Ascension Chamber blazed with light. Golden glyphs drifted through the air above the crystalline floor while priests moved in slow circular patterns around the central dais. Their voices rose in low rhythmic chants that vibrated against the walls like a second heartbeat.
Beautiful.
Cold.
Wrong.
Two younger initiates froze as I approached them near one of the carved pillars. Their pale robes marked them as unchosen, still waiting for the Order to determine whether their bloodlines were valuable enough to continue.
One of them swallowed hard.
“She’s a Prime Luminae,” she whispered to the other.
Like I couldn’t hear her. I stopped directly in front of them. “Say it again.”
Both girls went rigid instantly.
“We didn’t mean disrespect,” the darker-haired one rushed out quickly.
“Didn’t you?”
Neither answered. Of course they didn’t. No one ever knew how to speak to me properly. The Temple had spent years teaching them that Prime Luminae were sacred. Rare. Blessed. Valuable.
That last part mattered most.
I looked past them toward the glowing Ascension dais.
“How long until your selection cycle?” I asked casually.
The girls exchanged nervous glances.
“Three moons,” one admitted quietly.
“And are you excited?”
“Yes,” they answered immediately. Too immediately. I hummed softly. “Interesting.”
The taller girl frowned slightly. “Why?”
I tilted my head.
“Because if someone told me my entire purpose in life was producing genetically desirable offspring for a species obsessed with bloodline purity, I don’t thinkexcitedwould be my first emotional response.”
Both girls went pale.
“You shouldn’t say things like that,” the smaller one whispered urgently, glancing toward the priests.
“Why not?”
“They’ll hear you.”
I almost laughed. “They always hear us.”
