“Thank you, Serafina. I?—”
“You will not see me again, Ascendant Safah.” Her chin wobbled even though her hazel eyes remained bright. “It was a joy being able to attend to you. Please. For all our sakes Ashiris, you must Ascend.”
Then she was gone.
I stared after her. Ashiris. Did she mean like the dead star? What in all the realms was that supposed to mean? I didn’t call her name knowing it would only trigger punishment for her. I found myself downcast as I turned and entered the auditorium. Chaos was my welcome as I floated inside.
Instantly I felt it. The electric charge of flaring emotion. I couldtastethe tension in the chamber. We’d all come out of twenty-one dawns of Sifting, but it looked like most of the Ascendants were still processing the Starfellien Ascent, and the aftermath, as if it happened yesterdawn.
Ascendants were sprawled everywhere. There were endless columns of seats made of clouds floating in the air. Instead of perching in the cloudchairs, the angels were either floating, pacing restlessly, or sitting on the floors.
I wrinkled my nose. What in the stars was going on?
Not a single Ascendant made it to the Temple unscathed. We’d all managed to heal pretty well, but the evidence of old wounds was prevalent. Every angel had fading bruises and scars.
Several Ascendants looked demoralized. As if the cost of entry to the temple was more than they could afford. One male sat in the corner, huddling by the drapes, head in his hands, sobbing.
“She was killed by that…” The male couldn’t even complete his sentence. “She was behind me when he ran up. I was in the middle of turning around…but he grabbed her. Broke her wings. Tossed her off.”
I stilled, shuddering. Memories flashed across my eyelids. Memories I thought I’d dealt with the past twenty-one dawns. Of death. Loss. Violence. Terror. Just how many angelic lives had Tharic robbed?
“Tazuniels, Zamariens, Branais. They’re all the same. Violent savages, every last one of them.”
I pressed my lips together. I’d been so concerned about steering clear of Tharic, it hadn’t even crossed my mind that there were others just like him. I thought he was the worst, I was wrong.
I scanned the crowd, desperate to find Ellabeth, and a sense of security. I caught the flash of several beach-blonde heads, but none of them were her. In my search for Ellabeth, I noticed a frightening new truth. Far less females who’d been accepted into the temple actually Ascended. The auditorium was overrun with males.
I avoided eye contact with the Ascendants. Keeping my head low, I glided to the side, my back to the walls, as I navigated through the angels. The tension in the room was palpable. When I made it further across the chamber, I turned back to the entryway.
Tharic had arrived, flying over the threshold, wings spread wide as if he were a king returning home to his palace. I wanted to rip that smug smile off his face. Crush it like his cold, cruel hearts.
His golden hair was perfectly groomed. His robes were tidy, and in precise order. They fit him well, as if he was a Farasee pretending to be an Ascendant. I hated his confidence. His arrogance. His pride.Him.
A chill ran down my spine at the calculating coldness in his golden eyes. The cunning. The delight in cruelty. The insatiable hunger for blood. For death.
He wasn’t done yet. I was on his list—certainly at the top—but I wasn’t the only one. I floated by the back wall, hidden by the open wings of angels too focused on themselves to notice, watching Tharic survey the foyer.
I watched as the beast marked every female who Ascended. And every male he thought weak. I shuffled away, pushing through wings and bodies, hunting for Ellabeth in all this mess.
“There you are, little prey.”
The Ascendants fell quiet. All eyes turned to me. I froze, mid-shuffle, tossing my head back in annoyance. Stars. When would this come to an end? Before I could take a breath, a bolt of sunfire singed past my head, nearly taking it off. I snarled, whipping around, both hands already thrumming with starfire in them.
“Have you lost every good sense the Infinite gave you?” I yelled at him.
Tharic sneered, eyes blazing with sunfire, hands already raised to blast me again. Ascendants shot out of the way, not wanting to become collateral.
“How stupid are you?” I spat. “We’re in thetemple. Have some respect for holy ground!”
“Respect for holy ground will happen whenyouare wiped from it. Permanently,” Tharic snarled. “Iwillkill you, Safah Anathelle.”
“Not this dawn you will not.”
I came to an abrupt halt at that voice. Tharic snapped his head up. We both stared. When I saw who spoke, I almost started crying.
Stars.
It couldn’t be.
