Page 9 of Fog of War
"You got this," she told him with sincerity. None of her brattish attitude. They murmured to each other, heads pressed together in a private moment. I had to choose whether to move to the next or wait awkwardly, so I did the former with a nod to Augora.
The next trio were red. Ignarians, for sure. Their coloring was more uniform than any other clan, all the same shade of bloody brawler. Two saw me approaching and bowed their heads, but the last was slow to turn. When they did, their eyes landed on me, and a surprised curse left their lips.
"Shit! No!Idiot,"they whisper yelled at themselves. "I mean, the Muru grace us."
Well, choosing my favorite Ignarian was easy.
The other two nudged elbows and said in impossibly deep, highly amused twin voices. Unlike Leopha and Leonide, they were identical. "The Muru grace us."
I smirked and gave a little wave of my glowing pink hand. "Hi."
"Faeste means well,anima vira."One of the twin juggernauts said.
"I apologize. I didn't expect you to be, ah..." They trailed off, clearing their throat. When they looked over my shoulder back at the Satoris clan, I chanced a look too. Gavenidus turned away, accepting the powder of another clanmate and I immediately understood.
So I was a Muru, huh?
"Gavenidus is really kind," I said.
Faeste perked up. "Oh?"
"Have you met before?"
They clicked their mandibles, then thought I might not understand and shook their head like a human for good measure. It was obvious that they'd never seen one in person before, but had maybe studied us in school.
I motioned them down. "Do you like him? Don't be shy."
Faeste swallowed hard enough for me to hear, and when they spoke, their voice was a dry rasp. "Yes."
I painted some powder on my mouth again and left a kiss on Faeste's cheek. They stared at me in awe.
"What was that?"
"Humans sometimes give soldiers a kiss mark for good luck going off to war," I told them with a nod towards Gavenidus's cheek. I couldn't see it in the dark, but venandi had better eyesight than me. "Now you both match."
While Faeste stared slack-jawed at Gavenidus, their clanmates grinned and bowed their heads. I waved goodbye, feeling mischievous and maybe a little powerful, like a spooky rave Cupid. Perhaps I needed to makethatmy back-up costume for future Halloweens. With a smile and a chuckle lodged in my throat, I made my way to the last clan.
05
Paladus
I stood in the Ferulisae Valley, the site of the largest war campaign in venandi history, where my ancestors' souls rested knowing that their deaths were in the service of victory, and tried my damnedest to feel proud to represent my clan at the Festival of Souls. Clanmates and good-natured rivals passed by, gracing myself, Aescia, and Tertana with whispers of luck and colorful swipes of lumi powder. And I simmered, frustrated, detached, petulant.
In the three satbits since our magistrata had chosen us, my sister, cousin, and I had trained hard together, and I wished them both the best in their challenges. Not every champion left the Festival of Souls with a mate. Some only carried hatchet scars and regret.
Their stories weighed heavily on me now. Would I feel regret if I was defeated here? Of all places?
My souls-damned pride screamed yes. But my brain knew that victory wouldn't make me happy for a lifetime. This was a political game, and as the Ferulis heir apparent, I was expected to bring a prize-worthyvirahome. One with a strong resume of accomplishments, from an upstanding clan that could benefitmine in some way. I’d spent my youth climbing the ranks with ferocity, and now that I was reaching my middle age, the clan wanted assurances that I would give them everything.
Augora Satoris and I glanced at each other. She nodded. I nodded back. We were expected by both our magistrati to try.
She was not a terrible choice, and we had gotten along at academy. But Augora had an exacting personality that lacked embarrassment and boasted as much logic and reason as a fucking hjarna. No heart, no...
Sigh.
She did have a soul. I closed my eyes and scolded myself internally for insulting her like that. I was simply struggling with the expectation that we would live our lives together. She would make an excellent partner, and it was clear that she was willing to step up to her duty, even if neither of us was excited by the prospect.
If only I’d converged earlier in life, we wouldn’t be in this souls-forsaken mess.
