“You need to go to a doctor.Something, Rae.”
I scoffed, a hollow sound falling from my lips as I stared at my best friend. “You’ve got to be joking, Finn. You know as well as I do that lowers don’t get paid enough to afford luxuries such as doctors.”
His only response was a weary sigh as I continued.
“Just drop it, for now . . . I’ve got enough to worry about between Kira’s Marking”—I gestured toward the temple gates—“and Orela. And my mother, with the tavern.”
My phone vibrated at that moment, and I shifted on the ground, tilting my body to the left as I tugged my phone from my back pocket and unlocked the screen.
“It’s Lucanus.” The two words snagged on my lips as I spoke,before I answered the call. My face fell with every word mentioned, every sharp command that came through the device. But it was only on his last words that a sharp chill stabbed through me, a tug of pain stemming from my wrist, commanding me to obey. He was using the bargain mark to demand my obedience.
“I need to go to the Solis Court,” I said to Finn after I hung up.
“No,” he replied. “You’re in absolutely no condition to travel there. And it’s your sister’s Marking Day. Surely the male is not as daft as that, to force you to attend to him now of all days. Not to mention, it’s only been a day since he interrupted us while leaving the club.”
“What do you want me to say?” I bit out, my eyes cutting toward Finn as weary exhaustion crept its way through my bones, my body weakened from the episode. “A day ago or not, it’s not exactly like I can tell theKingof Solis Quarter, no.”
“You have before,” Finn pointed out, his eyes glancing toward the same doorway I’d been monitoring.
I slowly pushed up off the ground, instantly feeling the sweltering heat as I stood up, and a wave of nausea washed over me once more. I swallowed, drawing in a dry breath as I wiped against my face with the back of my arm, satisfied when there was no blood on my skin.
“You know just as well as I do that I can’t say no, Finn.” I bit the words back in a low tone. “Or did you forget what happened the last time I said ‘no’ tohis majesty?” I asked the question with more venom than intended, even as my hand unconsciously drifted to my abdomen, rubbing against the skin there.
Finn’s face blanched as he remembered what Lucanus had done. What he’d done to me the day I’d dared to deny him. “Fuck, darling.” He sighed, rubbing at the spot on the back of hisneck. A warm gust of wind rolled across our skin as he continued. “That’s not what I meant. You know that.”
I pasted a false smile across my lips, hating the way my bottom lip quivered ever so slightly—a barely noticeable tremble as I stared at Finnick. I knew he didn’t.
“Just be here for Kira, will you?” I forced the words past my lips. “And text me the moment she completes her Marking Day ceremony. Please.” I turned to head toward the Solis Court, my heart heavy as I stared into the distance.
“I will,” he promised, pulling me into a side hug. “And hey, chin up. It’s all going to be okay.”
“One day, this positivity of yours is going to dry right up,” I answered as I stepped back.
“Oh, I wouldn’t count on it, darling. Solis Quarter would have to freeze over before my positivity disappeared. It’s a safer bet that it will be infectious and rub off on you.”
“Don’t count on it,” I replied as I began walking toward the Solis Court. Towardhim.
6
CALLUM
SCOUTING DAY 2 (1 day since last contact with Guild)
“This is complete bullshit,”Axel muttered under his breath beside me as we stared at the circle of temples, taking in each of the five structures in sequence, before settling our gaze on the temple in the center of the circle. The High Temple. “They can’t possibly be stupid enough to believe that worshipping glorified gods in fancy buildings will save them.”
“And yet . . .” I forced the words out as we watched unmarked angels enter the High Temple, chattering excitedly as they passed through the onyx security gates. “It appears they believe just that.”
“I almost don’t want to know what goes on in those temples,” Axel stated as we stared at the ornate doors leading to the High Temple. “How can they call this worship?”
“I don’t think they do,” I replied. “They’ve been trapped behind that stars-damned wall for so long that I doubt the citizens of Solis Quarter can even recall the true origin of Marking Day. That it was a gift fromAeternusfor all who follow him.”
We stood in the shadows, the suns bearing down on us as they rose to their peaks, high above the desert sands.
The first of the unmarked angels exited the High Temple, chattering lowly as they admired the new markings on their arms.
Black Markings.
Not the gold markings the rest of Aurelia bore.
