But I knew my Granmanmi.
She was an Anathelle.
Anathelles told truths with their eyes. And hers looked ready to burn half this empyrean to the ground.
I sat straight, keeping my wings ram rod tight, tucked into my spine. My starfire churned, ready to be drawn on. As if this dawn, blood would be shed and power would be the only way to survive.
Granmanmi immediately spotted me. Her lips bowed into a frown when she caught my lack of response. She tilted her head. Even with the distance between us, she did a once over of my body, searching, scanning, as if she was standing directly in front of me. So often I’d felt nothing but warmth and safety in her presence.
Now I felt violated. Trapped.
And I hated it.
She paused a long while, her eyes piercing into me. She was quiet so long, the angels began murmuring, until heads began turning my way when they noticed where she was looking.
Fire blazed a trail up my neck as ice chilled my spine. An entire arena of several million angels turned to stare at me. Because of her.
Everyone turned except for Ellabeth, Isandra, and the rest of Seventh Choir. Like me, they only had eyes for one angel. Granmanmi Asarah.
“To our dear angels of the Ouanaviel Empyrean. You’ve made the sacrifice of being present for such a needed Titombwe, where we need to make an egregious wrong, right. And as you can see, the recent events of what occurred at Temple Efysis has even sorely affected my Granfifi, Safah Anathelle. A name I know this empyrean won’t soon forget. It will be burned into the sands of every island of this empyrean as she rises to carry the torch of mending endless wrongs done by our greatest enemies, the Fallen and their Fallenspawn.”
“No rotting way,” Ellabeth hissed below her breath. “She did not just…”
“Yes. Yes, she just did,” I said.
My fury now matched the rolling storms in Granmanmi’s eyes. She spoke out over Titombwe, but this dawn, I knew. She had an audience of one. This Titombwe mass was to send a message. And it was directed to one angel.Me.
Chapter 49
“For those of you who didn’t receive the urgent scrollports shared across the empyrean, may I inform you of some unfortunate news. You’ll remember last Titombwe I made you aware, that prior to the Ascension of these Ascendants, we, the Farasee Order, decided for the future of the empyrean, it would be wise to bond our Disciples as temple-mates to the Legionnaires of Azarath Academy. This would solidify us in unity and make us stronger on the warfront against the Fallen. This cycle, a delegation from every Azarath Legion was brought to Temple Efysis for this very reason.”
“Bullrot,” I whispered. Seventh Choir snuck glances at me.
Quazar’s words blazed across my mind. How they were all sent tohuntus. To hunt a certain angel that the Farasees apparently couldn’t find themselves.
“Things were going as expected…until two twinights ago.”
I narrowed my eyes at Granmanmi.
Asarah Anathelle smiled at me. There wasn’t a drop of the Granmanmi I knew in that smile. I shuddered, holding her gaze. I would not cower down. Not when she’d made me a target tonot just the Disciples of the Temple, but the angels of the entire lambasting empyrean.
“The Order goes to great lengths to secure the safety of our Disciples as they go through their seasons of Ascension until the faithful few finally make it into the Farasee Order.”
Daelun snorted laughing, not bothering to hide himself. Multiple angels glared at him. “What exactly is your Granmanmi’s definition ofsafety, Safah?”
My lips curled into a smile. More and more I was thankful for the friends I’d made in this Infinite-forsaken temple.
Ignoring Daelun’s outburst, Granmanmi continued. She had the attention of every angel. They sat up straight, most with their eyes piercing into me, watching my reactions to her fables. I kept still, with eyes only for my Granmanmi. A line had been drawn, and we’d somehow found ourselves on opposite sides of it.
“Temple Efysis has been attacked.” Granmanmi’s eyes flashed. “What was meant to be a bond of temple-mates for the greater good of the empyrean, turned into a betrayal that we cannot allow to stand. We’ve already made Empràr Zadkias aware and every Legionnaire at the Seal Gate has been notified. Temple Efysis was invaded by Stareaters.”
Cries broke out across the angels. Titombwe descended into chaos. Shouts rang out over the massive arena as angels grappled with the thought of not only the reality of Stareaters, but their holiest temple being attacked,invaded, by them.
Granmanmi knew how to rile up a crowd. The angels were enraged. Their fury on behalf of the temple and the Farasee Order rose into a bloodcurdling cry for vengeance against the culprits. I didn’t move.
I kept my eyes on Granmanmi.
And she kept hers on me.
