Page 35 of The Cerulean Sister
"You are scaring this poor man who is trying to help us,"I whisper into 99's mind, hoping he realizes how intimidating he is being, intentional or not.
He drops his crossed arms and goes for a more casual stance, leaning against the doorframe. When I smile, I can see a tiny shake of his head, like he had no idea of his effect on the air pressure in the room.
"Thank you for accommodating me." I lean in to get Lee's attention.
His nervousness is a welcome distraction from my own and enough to make me want to focus on reassuring him, praying it works on me as well.
"Happy to! Where would you like to start? The official requests or—" He points to a black circle with little holes forming a mesh-like surface.
There were several messages before we even arrived on Viathan, likely sent hoping the Viathan government would make August turn around.
But those did not work. 99 made sure to send word immediately of what happened and requested my stay for sanctuary. Which was made official after a meeting with the emperors and council, a law so binding not even the temple could order me to return. However, it has not stopped the guilt-fueled messages from the priestess order.
"Cosima's response . . . please," I finally answer.
Lee sighs and clicks a button, then flicks another, and the last on some circular hand device he uses which is lit from within. He glances over his spectacles at me, knowing how intently I am watching him work, and smiles empathetically.
"Ah, here we are." He presses another button, as if it is the most important one on the giant panel.
A masculine voice cracks out into the room, crisp and sudden. "Emperor Matthias, he who rules over the planet Cosima and the Estate within, has received the order of sanctuary for the individual Priestess Ferren on the bases of the threat of religious prosecution, torture, and death. Regardless of these false and unfounded threats, the order stands and will be upheld by Cosima and the Temple of the Priestess Order. May First Mother have mercy on you."
The response to Viathan's submission for my sanctuary neutralized any previous threats spoken or received by Cosima. There are not many three-worlds laws, but they are respected. We may have opposing beliefs on many things, but this standard sets us apart from First Son, and none of the worlds would dare break it.
Fortunately, the crimes committed by me and the others on our departure do not matter here. They will not be forgotten on Cosima, but they were done in an act to free me, and with the sanctuary order, 99 and the others are absolved of retaliation.
"Thank you, Lee."
"Of course." He clears his throat and adjusts his perfectly circular glasses.
"Could we also listen to the temple messages?" I say suddenly.
99 comes to stand next to my side, his amber light cushioning my nerves. He can sense my anxiety but also my need to continue as the first message did not help as well as I thought it would.
Lee flicks a switch like the act is nothing, like that tiny movement doesn't summon messages that can elicit the most vast and complicated emotions imaginable. As if he isn't giving the person on the other side permission to speak into my present reality and affect me as if they were standing in this very room.
I don't realize I am gripping the table until Lee's eyes glance down at my white knuckles. I could stop him, tell him I no longer need to hear the message that I know is coming next. Lee would think nothing of it, if anything, relieved that we are leaving and he can go back to his work.
99's heavy hand on my shoulder grounds my racing thoughts. He would never tell me to stop listening or that this is causing more harm than good for me. I have caught tiny fragments of that sentiment when I have asked him to recite the messages before, but it always comes back to understanding.
Any moment, the first message sent from the temple will play and I will hear a voice that has held power over me for so long.
The room fills with my own dread, seeming to darken the lights. Maybe it’s because we are all made to wait for the person to begin or the way that even static seems to obey, going silent right before the first word.
There is a brief pause before a deeply feminine voice cuts through me in a sharp note.
"Ferren . . . I hope you reconsider." Crixa's voice strikes me in a cold slap. The highest priestess, speaking directly to me across worlds.
The way she says my name reminds me of that day we left Cosima for good. When she spoke just as my light exploded out into the room, engulfing everyone in it.
Everyone but her.
Her gifts are mysterious but unchallenged, coming to her aid to protect without any effort. The pushback of her peppery orbI felt in the very last second should have told me she was not affected like the guards were.
I suffered at the thought of hurting her before we received word that she survived, but I cannot help and wish she had succumbed to the emerald explosion like the rest of them.
Now, her words haunt me, the way she said my name, the simplicity of the sentence. I cannot escape the tone, the strangeness of it.
99 would never quote it directly, only tell me a generalization. He must have known there was a real threat in her simple words and how they can reach out and command.
