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Monks and nuns were gathered in an adjacent room, where they sat on pillows and chanted a mantra in a language I hadn’t heard before. The High Priest was at the front, sitting in lotus position on a large pillow raised on a dais, and he was the one giving the tone.
“Servants of the temple,” Professor Maat whispered. “By choice, of course. They are allowed to marry and have children. In the Carnelian City, no one sees how something as natural as having a family could get in the way of serving at the Great Temple. Let’s sit and listen for a minute.”
We found pillows and sat down at the back of the room, silent and reverent. Even though I didn’t understand a word of what they were chanting, soon the vibration alone seeped into my bones, making me vibrate from the inside. I closed my eyes and let the strange notes envelop me. A minute turned into ten, and then twenty. No one wanted to get up and leave the temple. I stole a glance at Mrs. Maat, and she seemed entranced, looking ahead, at an indefinite point above the High Priest’s colorful ceremonial hat. Even GC and Pazuzu seemed to have fallen in a calm, meditative state. I was seated between Sariel and Francis, and at some point, I felt Sariel’s hand seek mine.
“Only the choirs of Heaven sound as beautiful as this mantra,” he whispered.
I don’t know what happened then, what made me say what I said next. The foreign words spoken in that simple, monotone cadence had melted my heart and cleared my mind of clutter.
“I’m sorry about Mabon.” I squeezed his hand back. Sariel nodded. I leaned toward Francis. “It was inappropriate. And I shouldn’t have run.”
“You needed space,” he whispered back. “It’s okay, we understand.”
I studied his profile. His straight nose, slightly upturned at the tip, his high cheekbones, and soft lips. It might have been the monks and nuns raising their voices as they reached the end of their mass, or it might just have been him. Francis Saint-Germain.
“I love you, you know…”
He turned to me then, and his green eyes were filled with peace and kindness.
“And I love you.”
“Hey,” Sariel pulled at my little finger to get my attention. “What about me?”
“Shut up,” I chuckled.
Mrs. Maat shot as un annoyed glance, raised her finger to her lips, and shushed us. I mouthed “sorry” and closed my eyes again. Now, both Sariel and Francis were holding my hands. GC and Paz had noticed the exchange, but it was fine. They knew when it was my other two boyfriends’ turn to be showered in my affection.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
On our way back from the Carnelian City, I promised them I’d do better. Three days had passed, and I wasn’t doing better. On the contrary. Lorna and I had skipped the first period to teleport to Bulgaria. The time difference complicated things. We could have gone on the weekend, but my boyfriends were all over me, and it was practically impossible to sneak out of the Academy without them knowing. If they were stuck in class, all they could do was wonder where I was. I had every intention to be back before lunch and tell them I’d been feeling under the weather, although it was a hard lie to sell now that I was a revenant. I rarely got sick anymore, and even the classic excuse was out of the question – menstrual cramps.
“So, why can’t you lie that you’re on your period?” Lorna asked me as we were sitting on a bench in front of the orphanage, trying to come up with the best plan of action.
“I don’t get my period anymore.” There, I’d said it. It was the first time I was talking to someone about it, and I’d dreaded the moment, but now that it had come, I felt calm about it.
“What do you mean? Oh my God, you’re pregnant!”
I rolled my eyes. “No, stupid. Since I died and came back to life, I don’t get my period anymore.”
“Oh. You should ask someone…”
“I don’t know any other revenant women. Anyway, I was dead and buried for three days. Enough for all my eggs to die, for sure.”
“But, Mila, that means…”
“I can’t have children. It’s fine. I’m not sure I wanted children, anyway.” That was a lie.
“But then… how was Francis born?”
“Francis’s mother is human. Revenant men can leave human women pregnant.”
“That’s so unfair!”
“Just like vampire men can leave human women pregnant, but vampire women can’t have children. That’s why Professor Ivanov is still human. She wants a baby first, and then she’ll let her husband turn her.”
Lorna nodded. We fell silent. People passed by, some walking their dogs, others carrying bags full of groceries. Couples walked hand in hand, talking in Bulgarian.
“Should we go in?” I asked.
