“Go back to where you came from!” another angel shouted as he brushed past the male. A chorus of laughter followed as yet another group of angels brushed past the male, disregarding his words.
“It’s bold of them.” Finn’s voice was low as he looked over at me. “To be speaking against the gods so close to the temples.”
My head nodded, but no words left my lips as I studied the male who had continued shouting warnings on the street corner. I didn’t have any reason to doubt the gods, but I also had no reason to worship them the way so many did. Not after everything that had happened between the royal family and my father.
“Faster,” Kira whined from ahead of us as she walked quicker through the Temple District of the Quarter, narrowly dodging other angels to get to her Marking Day ceremony.
“You do know that walking quickly isn’t going to make the ceremony start any faster, right?” I teased as Finn and I sped up, keeping pace with my sister as we drew closer to the temples.
“Well, at least I will be able to fly after the Marking Day ceremony.” She grinned widely. “And then, I won’t ever walk again. I will fly everywhere.”
I sighed, casting a knowing glance at Finn as we both remembered having a similar conversation when we reached our own markings.
“Flying isn’t always faster,” I replied.
“Of course it’s faster.” Kira sighed with exasperation. “Tell her she’s wrong, Finn,” she said, her sea-glass eyes turning on my best friend, who dramatically whirled toward me as we walked through the street.
“Yes, come on,Rae,” Finn teased, his green eyes aglow with amusement as we ducked under the covered awning. “Faster is always better.”
“Really?” I mocked. “Is that what you tell the females you take to?—”
Finn glowered, his eyes narrowing on me as he cut me off. “You dare to insult my?—”
“For the love of the gods,” Kira muttered as she spun on her heel to stare at us. “Would the two of you just—” Shemotioned a seal across her lips and whirled back toward the temples, quickening her footsteps as Finn chuckled.
Smiling, I stared into the distance as we drew closer to the temple circle. My eyes tracked over each of the structures. The dark blue hues of the first building, with celestial designs carved into the very structure. The temple for Astara, the Goddess of Night and Stars. Then over to the sunburnt orange tones of the temple dedicated to Vulcan, the God of Fire. Following the circle, I noted the ever-present beige structure that spun in weaved spirals toward the sky—the Temple of Cato, God of the All-Knowing. The next two temples were less vibrant in color, resembling the setting of the sun—being the temple for Solis, Goddess of the Sun—and then a light, silvery-colored structure for Brumalis, God of Seasons (not that we had many seasons, living in the middle of an infernal desert).
In the center of the circle sat the High Temple. This was also the building where the Marking Day ceremony took place each year. My eyes scanned each glass column surrounding the front doors, the spirals reaching toward the heavens, with black-and-gold designs carved into them. I stared at each element, each shape intricately embedded into the smooth surface. Yet, just like every time I passed the temples, my skin crawled—a faint prickling that itched from my neck and spread across my body. I shivered, shaking off the chill that swept across my skin as I turned toward Kira and pasted a smile on my face.
“You ready?” My voice carried over the growing chatter surrounding us as we stopped by the temple gates.
“Should I be?” Kira questioned nervously, her eyes flooding with concern as she glanced between Finn and me.
“You’re ready. There’s nothing to worry about, buttercup.” Finn grinned as he pulled her into a hug. I smiled softly as Kira nodded against Finn before pulling back, only to yank me into a hug of my own.
I wrapped my arms tight around my youngest sister,squeezing her with everything in me as she clung to me like I was her lifeline. My heart broke at her worry—the fear I wished she didn’t have at this moment. A type of fear I hadn’t experienced on my Marking Day. Her thin body trembled against mine, the slight shake of her limbs warning me of her fear, of the anxiety coursing through her.
I grasped her head, my hand running over her hair as I tugged her closer and then started to pull away.
“Look at me,” I whispered as I pulled back from my embrace with Kira, her eyes swimming with concern. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. The gods are going to bless you with your affinities, and then everything is going to go right back to normal.”
“You promise?” Kira asked, her eyes watering slightly as she nervously glanced toward the temple gates, the bells above the center temple ringing loudly in the distance.
“Absolutely,” I replied as I dropped my arms and gave my sister a nudge. “Now, off you go.”
I didn’t breathe as I watched Kira walk off, making her way toward the temples with all the other unmarked angels. Her brown curls bobbed in the distance as her figure grew further and further away. I stared after her, my eyes never leaving her form until she vanished, swallowed by the crowd as she entered the temple’s door.
“What if she’s not okay?” I asked, wringing my hands as I stared anxiously toward the temple’s doors. The intricately carved, dome-shaped buildings formed a circle, one for each of the gods of Aurelia, with the temple for the Marking Day ceremony placed directly in the center of the structure.
“She’s going to be fine.” Finn spoke low, his eyes betraying his words as he stared firmly at the door we’d watched Kira walk through only moments ago.
“If she’s not—” I paused, my throat suddenly feeling increasingly parched. “I don’t know if I can do it again. I don’t know if Ican bargain for . . .” I trailed off, my gaze dropping to the mark branded on my skin.
A bargain.
A life for a life.
My freedom for hers.
