Page 19 of Above
“However, I must warn you, once you begin this ritual, your only path is forward. You will either be awarded shadow magic and enter Elite Academy, or you will die today.”
A collective gasp rang through our group at the general’s words, but I remained staring ahead, unmoved by what the general was saying. I had a basic idea of what this would entail, and I was always aware it was either become an elite or die trying. Glancing to my left, I saw all six core family members looking just as unphased. How nice it would be to see the first core family member die trying to get shadows.
“Remember, there is no shame in choosing to walk away. Each of you have been awarded such a vital gift from the stars. Magic pulses in your bodies. You are of the superior race—gods in comparison to the domesticated animals we call eadi.”Stars above, I could vomit just listening to him spew such garbage.“Anyone who has changed their mind may leave now knowing that, even without the shadows, you still continue to participate in our most sacred goal: making Dajahim pure again.”
Cheers erupted, as if what he said was some profound, life-altering thing. Sometimes I swore I was the crazy one. That I somehow had it wrong thinking that my family was not less and believing I was not some sick joke. My gaze darted from a beaming Iblis Altair to the six cores on my left. What had once been collected calm was now eager smiles on five of them. But Talon Zade wasn’t smirking or cheering like everyone else. He was staring at me, his mouth down-turned and his brows pinched.
Little time was offered to figure out what that look meant, because soon there were people leaving, their eyes sad but backs straight. One. Ten. Thirty. Fifty, maybe? Enough that their absence was felt as the footsteps faded. When the movement had stilled and the air became stale with the smell of sitting water and sweating bodies, General Altair nodded and continued.
“Now that we have that business out of the way, we shall go on to the important task at hand. Each of you has decided to risk your lives in order to further serve our world. While this alone is noble, it isn’t enough for the stars. They wish to be amused. Impressed. From here, I must warn you, what you are about to face is like no other challenge you have ever encountered. Today, you will not cut open your flesh and offer the blood that pulses within. Today, you will offer up your flesh itself—your mind.”
More gasps and whispers, another example of just how hard it was to get information about what the shadow ritual entailed if you didn’t know someone who experienced it. Luckily, I had not one, buttwobooks thanks to Celeste. Still, I was waiting for whatever surprise hadn’t been included in the texts. They were brief accounts, after all. And leave it to an Altair to punish everyone during the first shadow ritual after he lost the stars.
“You each will enter the well of essence. Once you submerge, the stars will make you face something more terrifying than life could produce, because you yourselves have crafted them in your heads. Your greatest fears await each of you in the essence. Five minutes is all you will have to face those fears and prove your worth to the stars. Presently, the record sits at two minutes and fifty-seven seconds. A record set by myself two hundred and nine years ago. I encourage each of you to try to do better.” At that, General Altair looked directly into his son’s eyes, the two of them seeming not to be in cahoots, but rather in competition.
“Now, who will be our first volunteer?”
As expected, Azazel Altair stepped forward first. But, to my astonishment, his father shook his head minutely and mouthed the word, “Last.”
Interesting.
Whether it was the fact that this moment was clearly a test—which I prided myself in never failing—or because I felt eager to get the ritual over with, I didn’t know. Either way, it was my own feet that moved next, just as it was my mouth that formed the word, “Me.”
The general’s eyes widened just a hair, his body twisting to face me where I stood near the right half of the group.
“Well, hello there. You are quite brave to go first, lovely. What is your name?” His tone was condescending, a backhanded compliment if I had ever heard one. It made my spine straighten and my jaw tighten. I was not a child. I was not weak.
“Nova,” I answered, purposefully leaving out my last name. I didn’t need more of a reason for them to pity me. Or worse, despise me. Prejudiced assholes.
“Nova…” General Altair repeated, letting my name fade as if into question. Well, there was no saying he’d simply know I was of eadi. There were probably tons of last names he didn’t know.
“Tershetta.”
His brows furrowed and his lips thinned. Thinking. Considering. “Ah, a name I’m unfamiliar with.”
“That’s because she’s of eadi.” My head whipped to the left, eyes landing on the girl who had stepped forward. Not the Otarn one who had clearly despised me earlier, but the one with Talon. The Zade girl. Another group-wide gasp. Like some ridiculous school yard.
“Well, well. A rare one indeed. Are you aware, Miss Tershetta, that only three of eadi have survived the ritual you are about to enter?”
A waste of his breath, seeing as I was now no longer able to leave. Just another way to make me feel small and scared. A tactic that surely worked on many of eadi before me. One that probably led to their death.
“Yes, I am.”
“And you know only two lived through Elite Academy?”
“The odds are not lost on me, General.”
“Understood,” he clipped. “You may undress and enter the well.” The general waved his hand at me, as if gesturing to my clothing being swept away.
I froze, only for a moment, as the first surprise hit me. Was he playing with me? Attempting to further degrade and embarrass the of eadi? This wasn’t written down, but it also seemed like something they would leave out. A pointless detail to many.
No way of knowing and nothing I could truly do about it. So I began unzipping, leisurely pulling off my leathers as I tried my best to contain the embarrassment. This was not like getting naked in front of a single man or woman. So different than when I was wearing another face and ensuring my family had haya.
Despite my best efforts, my fingers froze when I got to my undergarments. The general’s lips twitched, a ghost of a smirk—like father, like son. With a nod, he encouraged me on. I slid out of my panties first, my breasts always far more of an insecurity. When I straightened and reached for the clasp between my shoulder blades, another set of fingers were there first.
“Allow me,” he whispered into my ear, his breath hot and smelling of whiskey. I stilled, a swirl of panic turning my stomach. With a quick flick of his fingers, I was bare. “Enjoy the well. I know I’ll enjoy watching your filthy body float to the top.”
Azazel Altair didn’t deserve my tears. I knew that. Yet I couldn’t stop my eyes from watering as I put distance betweenus and walked towards the stars’ essence, my toes touching the thick, syrupy liquid.
