I threw myself again. I ran into the wall between the archways once more. I couldn’t go further. I was trapped in this infernal bedchamber.
I floated back, landing on the rug. There were no windows or doors between rooms, so I couldn’t go to Ellabeth to see what all was happening on her side. I thought about the rest of Seventh Choir and how they were faring.
Panic. This was meant to throw me in a panic.
I smelled the food, but I blocked it out. This was a battle of mental will and I wouldwin. I wasn’t about to throw an entire millennia worth of work down the drain because of food.
I paced across the room, thinking of what to do. It was still high dawn, so going to sleep was out of the question. Especially since whatever Zara gave me had me fully awake. I was starving so I couldn’t keep using up energy I didn’t really have.
“Special kind of Hèls indeed, Ellie,” I whispered to myself.
I shook away the distracting thought. This was Temple Efysis for Infinite’s sake. If I couldn’t face this, I wasn’t worthy of joining Granmanmi and my Matriarchs. Stars.
Granmanmi.
How I wish I could ask her what the point of all of this was. I kept bouncing on my feet, going back and forth, until finally settling for digging into the scrollmap.
Grabbing my belongings from Sanctuary, I planted myself at the gilded desk facing the outside. An outside I was trapped from flying to. Relaxing my wings, I crossed my legs beneath my thighs, opened the map, and let the scenery unfold.
I loved playing around with scrollmaps. Once they were opened, they vividly portrayed what you wanted to see. The fun of it was goinginto the scrollmap and flying around it as if you were in the location in real time. I drug the scenery around with a finger, moving away from Temple Efysis. I shrunk the view to see what all was around geographically.
From this view, I saw the entire Efysis islet. There was the Temple, at the very center. To the west was the Citadel—an enormous city on the islet built for the Farasees and their families to have enjoyment and a sense of living without having to return to the main islands. To the east there seemed to be nothing but a collection of pools, and further beyond were waterfalls. The islet itself was held up by a large, strong mountain base with caves within all around.
Intrigued, I began digging around, trying to see what I could find. I leaned over the scrollmap and decided to physically go inside of it and explore.
Tucking my wings into my spine, I zoomed in on the Citadel. I flew from my cloudchair and magically entered into the scrollmap. I flew all throughout the islet. There was no telling how much time I spent moving around in the scrollmap.
A resoundingclicksounded from inside my bedchamber. Without waiting, I flew out of the scrollmap and returned to my room, finding the door wide open. I blinked at it, unsure if it was another trick.
“The temple is messing with us,” I mumbled to myself.
I flew out of my room, waving my sandals over, slipping them on. Quazar’s shadow barrier was gone. The Talons unit stood wide-legged, arms crossed, glaring at Seventh Choir.
When I flew out of my chamber, they all turned to glower at me. Quazar’s eyes snagged on my freshly washed hair. Then onto my body-clinging gown. The feral look in his eyes made me pause. Then his eyes hardened as he erected a wall over his features. I scowled, turning to Seventh Choir.
“How many times did you keep trying?” I asked Daelun.
“I stopped counting after eighty-seven.”
Ellabeth and I laughed.
“I quit after the third time. I got slammed into the floor.” I laughed.
Omarion’s shoulders shook as he laughed along. “I can see it.”
“I’mstarved,” Isandra drawled.
“Same.” I shook my head. “Burning, same.”
“Can’t believe Ascendants died for food,” Amayah whispered.
I frowned. She was right. I thought of how they died, decayed, and just disintegrated. A horrifying way to go.
And without their spirits being filed, I knew they wouldn’t enter the Ellelights. Just like the ones Tharic killed on our way up the Starfellien Ascent.
I looked around, quickly passing over Quazar, who was still watching me in a way that unnerved me. This time he wore loose fighting robes and leather boots like the rest of Xadari Legion, instead of that ridiculous suit he had on. Like the rest of his Legionnaires, he was dressed for war. I almost laughed. Where did they all think we were going?
Then I spotted the star gates.
