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“I’m freaking out alittle,” I corrected, smoothing my palms over the front of his shirt. “I don’t even know why. I’ve obviously faced scarier things than this.”
“True,” Wild agreed, running his hands over my hips, messing up the tuck of my navy shirt in my dark pants because I’d wanted to wear something as un-agathos as possible. “I felt weird walking into my old neighborhood when we were in London. There will always be a part of you that feels like the kid you once were in these situations. Just remember that you’re not, that we’re right here with you, and that none of their opinions of you matter—good, bad, or indifferent.”
I nodded, squaring my shoulders and taking a deep, steadying breath. Their opinions didn’t matter, and even if they did, I had more than enough good opinions of me in my life to balance out whatever they thought.
We all made our way to the auditorium in central Auburn opposite the town hall, Felix leading the way. The last time I’d been here was for his bonded’s funeral, not long after I met Riot. It felt like a million years ago now.
The outside of the building had sustained some damage—the white stone facade wasn’t quite as pristine as it once had been—mostly from attacks by daimons before the darkness had fallen. But the inside was exactly as bright and gleaming as I remembered it, and just as clinical. The coffered ceilings, carpet, walls and rows of pews were all the same spotless shade of white, and only the gold chandeliers and pale gold curtains added any semblance of warmth.
I wondered if any of the gods had visited this place before immediately dismissing the thought. This was not the kind of place that gods liked to spend time in.
“This place gives me the creeps,” Bullet muttered, his fingers tangling with mine. “Let’s not stay long.”
“Definitely not,” I murmured. Felix shot me a wry smile over his shoulder, and I guessed I wasn’t as quiet as I thought I’d been.
At his insistence, we were led past the packed pews of agathos to the stage at the front of the room, Dare hanging off to the side with Quinn. It was a strange feeling, recognizing so many of the faces and yet feeling so incredibly separate from them. I had relatives in this room—aunts and uncles, grandparents, even—but they’d given up on me long before I’d moved away to Milton, and I wasn’t much interested in hearing what they had to say to menow.
Felix cleared his throat. “We are fortunate to have one of our own here today. Grace Bellamy, Grace the Prophêtis. Her presence here is an honor we don’t deserve. Grace, will you share your story with us today?”
I’d planned on giving them a pretty speech about the nature of power, a lecture disguised as unspecific philosophical rhetoric, in the hopes that they’d learn something valuable from it. I wasgoingto muse over the question of whether power corrupts or whether it merely reveals what was there all along, hoping it would provoke some soul searching and self-reflection.
But I didn’t do any of those things.
Instead, I stood at the front of the stage and did exactly as Felix asked. I told them my story—the raw, unvarnished version that didn’t shy away from all the ways that living here had chipped away at my happiness and self-worth. Nor did I shy away from my achievements since, because leaving Auburn had been the best thing I’d ever done, and I wanted them to know that.
It was a little more petty than I’d intended it to be, but as I finished speaking and the entire room sat staring at me in slightly uncomfortable silence, I found that I actually feltmuchbetter. I’d been carrying around this resentment that I’d harbored for these people and this community foryears.
And now I could let it go.
“Thank you so much, Grace,” Felix said, beaming at me. He’d already told us that nothing brought him more joy than antagonizing the agathos who’d clung so desperately on to the old ways, to the detriment of everyone and everything else. “That was inspiring indeed. Shall we move to the foyer for food and refreshments?”
Riot groaned. “Do we have to?”
“It would make them very uncomfortable, having to make small talk after their flaws have been so thoroughly dissected in a way that no one can dispute,” Felix pointed out cheerfully.
Riot pursed his lips. “I mean, I could eat.”
A quiet laugh escaped me before I could stop it, drawing some discomfited looks from the agathos in the front row of pews, waiting for their turn to exit the auditorium.
We made our way into the foyer, bypassing the small groups of agathos huddling together to help ourselves to some cheese and bread. No sooner had I started eating than someone was rushing toward me, a startling break in the stilted near-silence of the room.
“Grace!” Verity Mae rushed across the room, tears spilling over before she’d even gotten to me, a little dark-haired girl slightly younger than Quinn balanced on her hip. “Oh my goodness, it’s so good to see you.”
“Is it?” I asked before I could help myself, but she was already pulling me into a tight, one-armed hug and I don’t think she heard me.
“You’re so amazing, Grace! You’re the Prophêtis! You’ve been, like, saving the world.” She pulled back, one arm still wrapped around my neck, eyes shining with tears. “I’m so honored to know you. And I’m so, sosorry.”
“You don’t need to—”
“No, I do. I do. When I found out that Pax was one of the agathos who went after you and your soul bond, that he was rampaging through Milton with a baseball bat, going through your apartment…” She looked ill. “We had a huge fight. I actually went into labor right after.”
“Verity Mae, I’m so sorry…”
She swallowed thickly, shaking her head. “After the bonds broke, I told him I didn’t want to be with him anymore. I think he lives in Charleston these days, I’m not sure. It doesn’t matter. He wasn’t interested in keeping in touch with us.”
Verity Mae bumped her hip, managing a wavering smile at the toddler happily munching on a piece of bread and getting soggy crumbs all over her mom’s top. “This is Felicity Grace, by the way. I wanted to add your name because you’re the bravest agathos I know.”
“All good?”Riot mouthed, appearing over her shoulder, probably concerned at the level of emotion I was feeling, especially when they were all on edge being here.
