Then there were my fellow Angels. All the angels sat mainly with their own ranks. The only ranks that weren’t present were the two higher than Seraphim: the Calvaethim and Iris.
Thank the living stars.
Calvaethim lived in a separate realm where the Infinite himself physically called home. The realm of the Ellelights. Their presence here would mean certain judgment and cataclysmic punishment.
I frowned. I knew there were Iris angels here because eight of them were in the Purification Hall. But none of them found this Titombwe mass important enough to be present.
“Strange,” I muttered. “Not only are there no Calvaethim and Iris angels, but I don’t see the Giants or the Merriens, either.”
Uriah snorted, running a hand through his braided, ivory hair.
“The Giants are definitely not coming. They’re protesting.”
Ezekiel laughed. “As if the Empràr will actually give a rot.”
“And the Merriens?” I asked.
“At war,” Hosea chimed in. “They don’t have time to come and sit around.”
Evanae sighed dreamily. I glanced at her and traced her gaze. The corners of my lips began curling into a sinister smile.
“Not you having the hots for the Faerèth?”
“The fae are just…whew.”
Her eyes were glued to a Faerèth male with deep brown skin, pointed ears, light green eyes, and dark hair down his back clasped by gemstones. He was dressed like a royal, and had the posture of one.
“Angels don’t mate fae, Vava,” I nudged her.
She snapped her head toward me. “And why the stars not?”
“Are you nuts up here?” I tapped her temple. “We rarely even mate outside of our own rank. You think it’s simple to mate outside of our race?” I pointed at the male. “You’re an angel, Vava. A Seraphim no less. He’dneverbe able to handle you.”
“She’s right,” Uriah said, piercing eyes on the Fae male. “He’d also die quicker. You forget one cycle for us is onethousandfor them. We age much slower than the Faerèth. Thenallof the other races. Wanting a male that isn’t an angel is literally begging for heartbreak.”
“Granmanmi’s up,” Hosea butt in.
I squeezed Evanae’s hand in support as she sighed sadly, finally turning away from the fae male. We sat back into our cloudchairs, our wings hanging over the back. Granmanmi Asarah floated out of a chamber. It took me a moment to realize it was the imperial box of the Empràr.
“Wings high, Elledelliens of Ouanaviel!”
“Wings high,” we all chorused. Every angel leaned forward, slapping their wings together twice, before leaning back.
Immediate silence fell over Titombwe. Granmanmi was in her pristine, ivory Farasee robes, her hair adorned beautifully as her purple eyes gleamed in the starlight.
I noticed she was scanning the mass of Titombwe, looking for something. When she spotted us, her grand-younglings, she beamed. Alongside my siblings, I bowed my head, acknowledging her with reverence. Satisfied, Granmanmi kept speaking.
“On behalf of Empràr Zadkias Claudevin and the entire imperial family, the Farasee Order, and Ouanaviel at large, I want to welcome all of you to our first Timtobwe…” A pause. “With our newly Ascended Disciples.”
A raucous shout exploded across the colossal amphitheater as Angels, Shifters, Faerèth, and Gods all cheered.
“Would every Disciple from Temple Efysis please stand.”
Hearts swelling with pride, I pushed out of my seat and floated into the air. Each of us Disciples, spread out across the amphitheater, received an ovation. Even from where I sat, I could tell who belonged to which Order. I kept my chin high as Granmanmi watched me, a proud smile on her face as her eyes danced.
“Each of these Disciples you see have all flown and survived the first Starfellien Ascent in over one thousand cycles.”
Wait. What? What did Granmanmi mean the first one in a millennia? That couldn’t be true. Farasee Esau and Davithius said?—
