“The ceremony was beautiful. Elvish is interesting. It’s very close to Malovian,” Kallie said. “I couldn’t interpret everything, but I could understand most of what was said.”
“Makes sense, since the fae and Elves were neighboring nations in Edinmyre.” I waved to Opal, who rushed up to me.
“Ava, that was amazing!” she gushed. “I can’t wait to see it again!”
“What happened when I was in my vision?” I asked.
“Once you fell into the trance, your body writhed on the altar,” Kallie explained. “Oberi passed out and fell from the tree onto your chest, then you began toglow.”
“Yes. Your skin sparkled and turned golden. You shone like the sun! Then your body and Oberi’s levitated off the altar,” Opal said in excitement. “You appeared so beautiful, like a celestial being. It really was something to see.”
“I was going to get up and wake you, but my grandfather grabbed my arm and told me to wait,” Charlie noted. “It didn’t seem like you were in pain, so I did.”
His grandpa had to have some major pull on Charlie. He never hesitated when I was potentially in danger. But I wasn’t the one in trouble— the gods were.
“Are you okay, Ava? You’re really pale,” Opal said with worry.
“Well, declaring that the spiritual realm is in chaos made me really hungry,” I said. Though the vision had only lasted minutes, I felt so tired, and the preparation had taken all morning.
“Some food will help,” Opal said. She escorted me to the back of the temple and washed the golden paint from my skin before removing the golden robe and helping me back into my dress.
Charlie pushed me across the palace to the outside dining area. The servants had already set out plates of lobster linguine with lemon orzo salad. I sipped at tea and tried to keep my churning stomach steady in-between bites of seafood.
Beside me, Kallie scowled. She’d been scanning the dining area for Marcus all hour, and now that the meal was basically over, it was obvious he wasn’t going to show. “Okay, so he skips your ceremony, and now he’s not showing up for lunch?”
“Marcus hasn’t been around a lot, anyway,” I reminded her.
“That’s the point! Something’s up,” Kallie spat. “I bethe’sthe spy.”
The idea was so silly I laughed out loud. “That’s stupid, Kallie.”
“No it’s not! Who knew about our plan?” Kallie asked.
“Sure, but Marcus?” I raised a skeptical eyebrow. “He’s been through a lot to get us here, just like we all have.”
“He’schanging, Ava. He isn’t the same, not since we broke out of the Institute. I’m not officially mated to him yet, and maybe there’s a reason why, because if I was, I’d be able to get into his head. What if there’s a reason he doesn’twantme in there? What if he’s been hiding something from us all along?”
“Kallie, you’re being paranoid. I understand if you can’t trustallour friends, because someone has to be betraying us. But us four? We need to trust each other completely; otherwise, this isn’t going to work,” I insisted. “We can’t turn our backs on each other like this. We’re family.”
“We’re not family. If we were, he’d let me in, and he isn’t,” Kallie stated bluntly. “He’s hiding something, and I’m going to find out what.”
She was hurt because of how Marcus was acting, so I wasn’t going to convince her otherwise. She skulked off with her food half-eaten, and Charlie said, “She’s just being dramatic because Marcus didn’t show up.”
“We don’t need any more drama around here,” I grumbled. At this point, these two were being obnoxious.
Abigail approached me. “Your day is free, on account of your ascension to the status of Holy Mother this morning. I suggest that you spend it resting. The spiritual process to access the goddesses is exhausting.”
She didn’t need to explain that, because I was dead tired. I barely stayed awake through lunch, and Charlie noticed I was nodding off. He ducked his head to whisper lowly to me. "You okay, pidge?"
"I don't feel good." It was a crappy day as far as my body was concerned. The spiritual ceremony had drained me. I’d pushed myself too hard, but I didn’t regret it. We needed that message if we were going to take action.
That was all I had the energy to say, and he knew it. Charlie lifted me out of the chair and onto his lap. I curled up against him and laid my head on his shoulder. We were in the middle of the dining area and surrounded by people, but Charlie's countenance dared anyone to come up and say something.
Eddie fetched a blanket, and Charlie laid it over me before he wrapped me up in his arms. It felt nice to be held like this, and I felt myself slipping off.
Here. This will help.Oberi landed on the back of Charlie’s chair, and her beak began to preen my hair. Her healing magic washed over me, and I found, try as I might, I couldn’t stay awake any longer.
I wokeup a few hours later, still sore. Oberi was perched on the bedpost, cocking her head as I sat up.
