Page 46 of The Cerulean Sister
"And what is it we are trying to find in this investigation?" Emperor Angara asks. "That elder priestesses are . . . being careless during birth . . . letting women die if they think they are beyond help?"
"For manipulating divine birth numbers," 99 replies.
She squints and then looks at a tall woman in a velvet robe, the only person not sitting.
"Lady Trist, can you weigh in for clarity and the sake of the council members’ understanding?” Emperor Angara wafts her hand for the woman to step forward. "Lady Trist is our head scholar, specializing in the priestess order of First Mother," she says to me as if I would find it fascinating.
I almost crawl out of my chair as she walks past me with a smug look.
Offended does not cover it. They have no idea how insulting it is to seek information from someone who simply reads books about the priestess order when I am sitting before them.
It's a betrayal.
I did not know a scholar like her even existed, studying the priestess order, and now they are looking to her to clarify things they should be asking me.
"To our knowledge, there are three ways for divinity to occur: hereditarily on the matriarchal side, spontaneous, and blessed as a gesture of condolence for a mother who did not survive childbirth." The woman moves her hands as if conducting an orchestra.
I would love to show her just how divine I truly am. Let my light swipe away that ridiculous expression.
99 gently nudges our tether, trying to calm me, to bring me down from the rage that is churning.
"And how could that possibly be manipulated?" Emperor Angara asks.
"One could intervene on a difficult birth or . . . create a difficult birth."
The council members hum and nod.
"I have a question, as we are on the subject of divinity," the second emperor, Kavan, cuts in. He is wearing the same color and material as his equal, if not more ornate in style.
Lady Trist nods. "Of course, I am happy to answer any question."
"Is it true that the priestess order thinks they see First Mother? That she bestows power to them somehow?"
"You are referring to ascension," she says.
"Am I?" His laugh is uptight and mocking.
"Yes, it's a very interesting process. The divine take vows and through prayer and hypnosis believe they see a vision of the deity. The hallucination unlocks another chamber of their divinity, in turn making them more powerful."
I cannot believe what I am hearing, a watered-down, perverse version of ascension. If I did not need their help, I would unleash the rage I feel begging to escape.
Viathan is not known for their faith, but this person speaks like they do not believe First Mother is real at all. How can they trust someone to specialize in something they speak so poorly of? As if one of the most sacred processes is foolish, a childlike farce.
"Iam happy to answer any questions regarding the priestess order," I say, so loud every person in the room snaps their head to me. I have spoken out of turn, gone against the unspokenrules of respect when in the presence of emperors, but I cannot sit here and let her tarnish our chances of receiving aid.
"Priestess Ferren." Emperor Kavan looks intrigued. "I have heard of your gifts. Have you seen First Mother yourself then?"
"Do not interrogate our guest," Emperor Angara purrs. "Do you use our temples?" She leans forward, ignoring her own advice.
"Have you seen First Motherhere?" Emperor Kavan adds.
I watch their expectant faces, eyes wild and excited. "I do not use your temples, no."
"If we could stay on task, Emperors." The booming voice of the lord general pulls their attention, and even though he speaks to them, he is looking at me.
They respect him enough to turn their attention back to the correct topic, not taking his interruption as rude.
I cannot tell his intention for relieving me of having to fumble over my answer further. He is how I pictured 99's father before I met Allister, seemingly cold but with a mysterious edge of compassion that slips through the cracks. He is dark and very handsome for his age, his salt-and-pepper hair kept short, and the darker roping scar down his face pulls at the arch of one eyebrow, showing a violent path to the top of the Viathan military.
