Page 137 of The Cerulean Sister
My training in the courtyard with my priestess sisters starts with an elder giving a brief history lesson we are all familiar with on the priestesses of old and how they used their gifts against First Son in the war. She goes through a list of expectations and how we are to use our gifts with poise.
I stop listening soon after that. I am willing to pretend my gifts need refinement to keep up this ruse, as if I have not forged their strength myself and cannot feel the vibrations in my fingertips to ignite my light and rip into this place even now.
The elder shows us examples of light orbs and shields our group should be able to conjure, the majority of the High Priestess around me with a similar gift to mine. We have paired up and are expected to run through each movement with her, and when she is satisfied with each pairing’s progress, she dismisses us for the day.
I linger, watching the firepit in the middle of the stone courtyard, now not nearly bright enough without the elder’s gift adding to its illumination.
My head throbs from holding back, only letting a small portion of my light filter through with each exercise the elder sprung on us. My fingertips burn with tingly heat to release therest of what has built up inside me. Most of the high priestesses in our training group struggled. I lied to Crixa, stating my gifts were unrefined, but theirs truly are.
"Ferren." Leema's voice behind me sends a chill down my spine.
I must appear ghostly white when I turn to face her. "Blessed afternoon."
She smiles lightly. "A high priestess said you would be in this courtyard . . . training." She holds her belly and looks around at the few remaining temple members.
I want to explain but am more concerned about the expression on her face. "Were you looking for me?" I glance at two guards from her temple standing idle near the edge of the courtyard.
"Yes, I told them I needed to walk to stretch my legs, that the baby is sitting differently," she explains as if they could have denied her request to leave the temple for a simple walk.
"Would you walk back to my temple with me?" she asks with her hand resting on her belly.
"Oh . . . of course."
She glides past me, taking that as enough answer to begin without another word. I let her lead, feeling like I should say more, but I've lost the ability to form words with the shock of her seeking me out after our last conversation.
We have attended countless ceremonies together since I arrived, and yet I have mostly just observed her from afar, giving her the space she clearly needs.
She has no idea what I have done to get back here, to ensure her safety, what danger she was truly in before we submitted the ledgers. I don’t know when or if I will tell her the truth about this place, the horrors that still surprise me.
A few temple members smile and bless our morning as we walk through the temple wing. They seem not only happy tosee a pregnant Leema, but they also speak to me as they did when I first returned the stones, calling me blessed priestess and parting the way as I walk.
"I heard what happened," Leema says, noticing the shift in my acceptance among my peers. "I had no idea you could do such things. They said you almost killed the intruder."
I glance at her. "I held her in place until guards came."
"Her intent was to destroy the stones?"
"Yes."
She shakes her head like she is having a hard time processing.
"Are you alright?" I ask when she does not say anything and gesture at her belly, wondering if she got bad news. "Is everything ok with?—"
"Yes, she is fine."
"She?"
"A high priestess came and placed her hands on my belly, deemed her a daughter."
"That is wonderful news." I try to sound calm even though I am terrified.
She hums and keeps the pace of our slow stroll through the Estate to her temple. She is unnaturally silent, and I catch her glancing over her shoulder to check on how close her guards are. Her teeth worry her lip, scraping and biting on the dry skin like she wants to say something but can't.
We slowly make our way across the Estate, over open-air balconies letting in the breeze and the strange light from the conjunction eclipse. We pass Viathans and Estate guards posted at every turn until we are in front of her temple, and the doors open to the courtyard connecting it to the Estate.
I can see into the entrance. Airy fabric is draped on the walls, and chaise lounges are arranged in small sitting sections all around. It looks more like an indoor courtyard than it does atemple. The women live here in the rooms above and give birth in the birthing suites below.
"Would you like to come in for a time?" Leema pauses, leaning in front of me.
