Page 22 of Tears of Tungsten
Unpleasant Surprises
Selene
“I thought we’d been over this, High Priestess. We discussed the matter and agreed you wouldn’t bring your daughter here.”
“I changed my mind. Selene has a lot of potential and everything we’ve heard was clearly a huge misunderstanding.”
I stood in the center of the main hall of Gaia’s New Washington temple, studiously ignoring the way everyone was staring at me. My mother had told me that people didn’t like me here anymore, but it was still strange to feel the hostility. Even when I’d thought I was an Unblessed, I’d been here many times before and they’d never acted like this. The idea that they’d change their minds like this overnight, because of my sexuality, was almost too much to accept.
But I didn’t let it bring me down. My mother was the High Priestess and she’d promised to take me to a terra-forming today. I’d seen the process when I’d been younger, but at the time, I’d been basically blind to the deeper currents of magic flowing around me. I hadn’t heard the call of Gaia’s song. I could do it today, and maybe through it, I could craft a song of my own.
The other priestesses in the temple and their adepts couldn’t stop it, because in the end, my mother had the ultimate authority. “But High Priestess…” Sister Flora tried to protest.
“Enough,” my mother cut her off. “I’ve made my decision and will allow no interference. If Gaia has seen fit to give my daughter a gift, no one has the right to challenge it—not me, and definitely not you.”
It was a little surprising that she’d said that after her reaction the first time I’d revealed my skills to her. I still wasn’t sure I understood what scared her so much and why she’d reacted so badly during our first meeting. But it didn’t matter anymore. I was here now. The other priestesses couldn’t keep me from perfecting my skills. Soon, I’d become even more powerful and I’d make sure my lovers would never be hurt again.
I wondered if I could somehow help Charybdis with my newly acquired skill. I’d have to try, when I was sure I wouldn’t end up blowing up her metallic body while trying to bring back her soul.
My mother beckoned me forward and I went to her side. Several priestesses gave me a visibly disgusted look, unimpressed with my Chimera Academy uniform. Once again, I ignored them. “Will we be leaving now, Mother?”
“Yes, dear. The territory we’re looking at today is not very far, but you don’t have a lot of time at your disposal and I promised your dean to get you back to the academy in time for your next class.”
I had Chimera Flight Training with my lovers after the free period which was indeed something I hoped I wouldn’t miss. I treasured every second I spent by their side. I also needed to practice my bond with Sphinx as much as I needed to learn how to control my new, Gaia-oriented abilities.
But if push came to shove, I could always sign up for some extra hours with my chimera. It would be tough, because it would dig into my private time with my lovers, but they would understand.
Together, we made our way to the shuttle waiting for us in the temple hangars. Much to my surprise, Louise was there too. Since she was an Unblessed, she’d stopped attending terra-forming sessions. Had that changed? Why?
She was currently talking to her mother, Yolanda, but it was unusual for anyone to drop by the temple for something as trivial as a conversation with the priestess.
When we entered the hangars, both Yolanda and Louise turned toward us. Yolanda’s mouth dropped open and her eyes flashed with something angry and dark. “Tanya…” she began.
Out of every priestess in Gaia’s temple, Yolanda was the only one my mother would ever listen to. We shared an apartment, and while they’d never made their relationship obvious, I’d always suspected they occasionally shared a bed too. But this time, my mother didn’t give Yolanda the chance to express her doubts. “No. I don’t want to hear it. Get on the shuttle. We’re wasting time.”
Yolanda clenched her jaw in frustration, but didn’t immediately back down. “This isn’t right. I told you—”
“The only thing you told me is regurgitated information from people who have every reason to hate us. I won’t reject Selene based on something so trivial, especially not now when I’ve seen what she can do. Now. Get. On. The. Shuttle.”
Her latter words were all punctuated by a brief break. She was clearly losing her temper, which wouldn’t end well, for anyone. Yolanda decided to choose her battles and obeyed. She hooked her arm through Louise’s, practically dragging her inside.
So Louise would be going on this little expedition too? Interesting. On some level, I didn’t like that, since I’d enjoyed the thought that I was special and my mother had fought to grant me this privilege. But on the other hand, it was better this way. My mother couldn’t be seen as showing me too much favor. Having Louise here would cushion some of the backlash my mother would undoubtedly receive because of her decision to include me. Besides, I’d missed my friend.
As we trailed after the duo, my mother shot me a brief smile. “Don’t worry too much about them. I know this isn’t ideal, but they’ll learn, all right?”
“It’s fine, Mother,” I answered. “I’m used to this sort of thing by now. It’s much worse at Chimera Academy.”
It was the wrong thing to say. Her expression twisted into a pained grimace, and I quickly backtracked. “Not that they’re treating me poorly or anything like that. The rest of the students aren’t very nice, but the members of my unit compensate.”
“Of course they do,” another priestess mumbled from behind us. I recognized her as a younger adept named Rose.
“Sister Rose,” my mother said tightly, “if you’re in the mood for idle conversation, perhaps you should stay at the temple to pursue it.”
Rose tensed, all desire to mouth off forgotten. “No, Your Holiness. My apologies. I only wish to serve Gaia.”
I suppressed the urge to snort. If that had been the case, they wouldn’t have fought my mother so hard on this issue in the first place. Whatever. I’d told my mother the truth when I’d said I was used to this sort of thing. Nothing the priestesses threw at me could compare to what I’d found at Chimera Academy.
My mother had other standards, though, and so it came as no surprise that, when I entered the shuttle, everyone stayed silent. Yolanda had been tasked with piloting the vessel, so I left my mother’s side—with her silent permission—and took advantage of the opportunity to go talk to Louise.
