“Okay,” I started. “But to preface this entire conversation, I’m not really sure where I’m going with it, and I only just discovered most of this tonight . . . so just, like . . . bear with me on everything, okay?”
My friends nodded as we sat around the couches, and Emberly piped up. “Is this like we will need a few drinks to process everything or?—”
I huffed a laugh. A “more than likely” falling from my lips as I began sharing what I’d learned in the past twenty-four hours.
“Wait,” Emberly cut in at one point. “So, you’re saying they actually took the female to the temples?”
“No,” I replied. “Not thetemples—thetemplethat Luc has in the SolisCourt?—”
“There isn’t a temple in Solis Court,” Sage interrupted. “I would know if there was one.”
“Well, I was standing in one.”
“That’s not—” she started.
“Evidently, there’s lots that we thought impossible, that is actually happening,” Kira said. “The temple in Solis Court, angels collapsing and being taken, the males that entered my testing room.”
“Well, that one at least is answered,” I added.
“Not sure if that’s entirely encouraging or not,” Finn chimed in. “And your arm—the markings?”
I glanced down at the currently onyx-colored mark for a water affinity. The triangular shape with a water-droplet line in it stood out against my bronzed skin. “I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I think that maybe Callum could be on to something. That something is going on with my markings, and possibly others, too. It would also explain why Kira saw three different angels in her Marking Day room.”
“Hmm.” The noise fell from Emberly. “There’s obviously something going on with the markings, with the angels dropping. But that doesn’t explain why you would have issues. And it certainly doesn’t give any true explanation of who the Remnant are.”
“I still don’t understand what those two RSG members get from helping you tonight. Why would they give any indication that something was off with your markings?” Finn stated.
“It’s almost like they werewarningyou . . .” Kira said.
“But why?” I mused aloud. “They don’t get anything out of it.”
“Well, something’s got to be off,” Finn added.
“Oh.” A thought popped into my mind. “When the one guard, Axel, caught me with the two enforcers, and we were heading away from them, Blackwood said something. He said ‘for thelove ofAeternus.’ I only remembered because I thought it was strange that he used that term.”
“Are you sure that’s what he said?” Emberly questioned.
“Yes.” I nodded. “I specifically remember him saying that because I had never heard it said like that before. And the only mentions we ever hear about Aeternus are?—”
“They’re from the crazies on the streets!” Kira cut in excitedly. “The ones always warning to turn from the darkness.”
Everyone fell silent for a moment at that.
“What if they know about the Remnant?” I asked, my brain struggling to process all the information we’d been given.
“Are you even sure that’s what we should be focusing on to begin with?” Finn asked finally, as he stood, refilling his drink for the second time.
“No,” I admitted, as I stroked Loxl’s sandy-hued coat, smiling at the content purrs that rumbled from his small body, currently curled up beside me. “But at the same time, I don’t feel like we can negate anything currently.”
“We obviously need to do more research,” Kira chimed in, looking up as she continued picking at her nail polish.
“That’s easier said than done,” Sage stated, a subtle hesitation to her tone as she nervously glanced between the four of us.
“And why is that?” Finn asked as he held her gaze.
It was Sage’s turn to nervously tug at the pillow beside her, not wanting to meet anyone’s eyes as she finally said. “There’s been more of an RSG presence at the temples lately. Most of our records are now restricted in the Astra Tech System, making it harder to access information than before. Not to mention, there has also been an increase in surveillance drones surrounding the temples lately.”
There was another round of silence as we all sat with that knowledge.
