“Forgive him,” the attendant says, motioning for us to take a seat in front of the desk. The room reminds me of a principal’s office. There’s not much to it, an oak desk and two chairs facing the desk. There are no windows and no pnts, but on the floor is a rug that has some kind of symbol on it. Roharu doesn’t seem nervous about the rug, so I guess the symbol isn’t one that is harmful. On the side is another door. Not sure where it leads to, but since it is closer to the desk, I assume it is for a quick getaway.

  I could also just be paranoid, but this world has flesh eating rocks, so this attendant needing an escape route isn’t that far-fetched.

  “He is new and not used to the customs of the capital. We welcome the change of interspecies retions.” He picks up a gold cup that is cracked at the top in a deliberate fashion and lifts it to his thin lips. While the attendant is not wearing an oversized hat like the man who led us into the temple, there is an extravagance about him that doesn’t feel right.

  His chain, a cross with a sword going across and a ruby in the middle, is rge and hits the top of the desk every time he goes to scoot forward. He has about four piercings in both of his ears. But more so, it’s the way he keeps his head tilted upward as if to look down on us. His eyes are a hard shade of blue and his hair is a mossy green. His skin is as white as his robes. There is something about him that is not natural.

  “No worries,” I say easily, trying to smooth over the tension. Katsuro and Chloe asked if they could pray to the god of this temple instead of speaking with the attendant. I just hope they don’t do anything rash like trying to break through the guards blocking the stairs. “He was a little abrupt, but not disrespectful.”

  The attendant stares at us for a moment before setting his cup down with a clink. He lifts a bell, a golden one, and rings it. Not sure how anyone is to hear the bell ringing, but it must have some sort of trick to it because a moment ter, someone enters through the side door. They keep their head down with their long straight silver hair hiding their side profile. They are dressed in white robes with a gold trim.

  “Our guests would like tea. Fetch it.” He waves a hand in the air to dismiss the person.

  “Oh, we do not pn to stay long enough for tea,” Roharu cuts in. “We only wish to ask for the saintess’s blessing. My mate is having difficulty sleeping.”

  “Fetch the tea,” the attendant repeats and then smiles. It’s an awful smile. Full of teeth and cking any warmth. The kind of smile where someone looks dead inside. “No one visits the saintess except for the royals and those deemed by Oeus’s decree.” His eyes flint over to me.

  I grit my teeth and smile. Roharu’s hand overps mine. Does he think I’m going to get up and sock the guy? Okay, I thought about it. Just one hit upside the head would do the trick, but there’s more of them than us, and I don’t want anyone to get caught up in something we can’t get out of.

  “There’s something odd about you, though. You aren’t like the others.”

  “It is the dreams she is having,” Roharu says. “I believe she is being targeted. Something has tched on to her and refuses to let go. We simply wish for the saintess to pray for whatever is targeting her to be dealt with.”

  We do?

  I nod my head. The only thing different about me is Roharu’s energy is simmering just under the surface. It’s weird, feeling him in this way. His energy is overpowering, dark, and it feels as though I’ve been wrapped in a cocoon of sorts, except I don’t want to break free. The darkness—this darkness is a welcome one.

  “What is it you dream of?” The attendant does not acknowledge the person. He only grunts when the tea isn’t being poured fast enough, or maybe there is something wrong with the way the person pours the tea? A few droplets spill and nd on the desk. The attendant clenches his fists before smoothing them out. His jaw clenches and while he tries to disguise his disdain, the amount of anger inside of him is too great.

  Roharu makes no move to drink the tea, so I ignore the cup in front of me, though I feel guilty for not drinking it. More so because of the way, the other person trembles and refuses to show their face. I wonder if they were to look up if I would see a bruise on their cheek. The attendant gives off the vibe of being the type to throw things in anger and to sh out when things aren’t going his way.

  How did someone like this guy become the attendant to the saintess?

  “I dream of a winter where the snow falls so greatly there are no footsteps to be tracked. A pce where the bugs are as rge as a kelpie and—” I pause. My head throbs from an unknown pressure as though someone is taking a bat to my head and demanding answers. “Something or someone in a hood but no face pulls me under. I usually wake trembling.” I exaggerate some details and minimize others. Every time I go to mention the mirror, my tongue grows heavy in my mouth and the words never come to fruition. “The saintess will need to y hands on me, I fear, in order to break this hold.” The pounding in my head subsides and I breathe a little easier. What the hell was that? Was it the attendant trying to see if I was lying?

  “No one sees the saintess,” he says sharply. “How many times must I tell you this?”

  “Ask your god and he will decree it.” Roharu’s gaze is hot, but I can’t back down now. I don’t know why I said it, but I can’t take the words back. “He will decree it.” At least I hope this god will decree it, but maybe he is a false god, and the attendant only makes up what he wants to hear. It’s worth a shot to try. Maybe it’s because of Roharu’s words, but I think the saintess needs our help.

  The attendant stands and walks past us and to the door. “Such insolence. You will be humiliated for this. The Lord, Oeus, does not decree such meetings for those such as you, even if your ck of energy is concerning.”

  Lack of energy? Shouldn’t he be able to feel Roharu’s energy, at the very least? Roharu didn’t know I was a saintess until I helped him with that spider, but shouldn’t someone dedicated to the temple and dedicated to assisting the saintess know what the energy feels like? I take Roharu’s offered hand and bite back a frown.

  There’s so much I still don’t understand about this world. Can the saintess or the saint only be discovered if they use their power in front of someone? Or is Roharu’s energy so much more visceral than mine that it is scrambling the attendant’s senses?

  “We will pay more coin if Oeus does not answer, but I believe in my mate and if Oeus told her he will decree it, then we are to see the saintess at once. Every moment of dey will only increase his ire.”

  “You may follow me. Do not dally.” The attendant pushes the doors open and leaves a trail of cloth trailing on the floor behind him. His robes are white, but they resemble those of the ones I saw in my dream. The only thing missing is the hood. He leads us past the first sculpture and down the hall to the sanctuary. “We will ask for His word here, but I doubt He will answer one such as you.”

  In other words, this god of theirs isn’t talking to them either. I wave at Chloe when the attendant turns his back to us and heads to the podium. Chloe motions with her finger and slides it across her neck. Katsuro’s eyes narrow and he looks around the room as if to assess how many he can take out before reinforcements storm in. So far, there are only two guards in here. Luckily, they are paying attention to the attendant and not at Chloe and Katsuro.

  I shake my head no and rub my forehead. Okay, maybe I should ask this god on how to help Chloe because she hasn’t been right ever since that dungeon and instead of telling Chloe to chill, Katsuro only encourages this bloodlust or whatever is going on with her.

  “We cannot take them all on,” Roharu whispers. “They are more armed than I thought they would be.”

  It’s not as though I wanted a bloodbath in a temple to begin with. I squeeze his hand as we go up the steps. From what I can see, this sanctuary must have held some kind of service for the citizens here. There are rows and rows of seats. On the walls, there are three projector screens with some kind of orb in front.

  “The price for lying will be severe,” the attendant warns. He waits for a moment and when I do not back down, he scoffs and turns to the sculpture of Oeus. His hair is short, but curly, with one curl in front of his brow. His eyebrows are thick, but his eyes are small. His jaw is broad, much like his shoulders. He wears a robe, much like that of the attendant and the other temple workers. But what stands out the most is the ck of ears.

  A god that cannot hear? Or did someone tamper with it?

  “Lord Oeus, this foolish woman decres that You have decreed it so for her to have an audience with the saintess. Bring ruin upon her name for invoking You in such a foolish request. But if she spoke of the truth, then this humble servant will do as You ask and bring the saintess to meet her.” He holds out a hand to the sculpture.

  It would be a shame if this god struck the attendant down for bossing him around.

  My head throbs again, but not as bad as it did in the attendant’s office. This feels more like a knock, a question. I swallow as I imagine opening the door just a little. My body floods with warmth and while there is no voice in my head, it feels simir to when Apollo chooses to speak with me.

  “It is done.”

  I gnce around to see if anyone else heard that, but Roharu just stares at me with worry. His brows pinch together, and he looks as though he wants to throw me over his shoulder and to say to hell with this. The guards approach from both sides with their swords drawn. A light is cast on the attendant, and he looks up with his hands csped together. He sinks to his knees, as if he is begging for something.

  The lightning strikes, and the sound of thunder follows. Roharu grabs me and holds me close to his side. The room goes blue and when the light dims, the attendant’s body is gone. The only thing left is that of his robes with bck marks on the hardwood floor. The guards drop their swords and talk hurriedly amongst themselves as though they cannot believe it.

  I peer at the sculpture and then where the attendant once was. That voice, was it the god? I only thought about the lightning because he was ticking me off. Did I do this? No, I didn’t pray for his downfall. That’s how it works, right? I have to pray. It’s not as easy as just thinking it should be and then it’s done. And there was that weird voice. It sounded distant and yet close.

  “Oeus has spoken,” Roharu calls out. “The saintess’s attendant was reluctant to allow us to see the saintess and, by his own words, he took whatever punishment Oeus deemed appropriate for his behavior.” He gnces over his shoulder at Katsuro and Chloe. “We will all meet with the saintess.”

  The guards pick up their swords and then come to some agreement with one another.

  “I will lead you to the saintess and expin what has come to pass on this day.” The guard, a person with a face that looks like a mouse, gnces back at the burn marks and shudders. “A joyous day, Lord Oeus has not abandoned us.” He motions to the other guard to clean up the mess.

  So, their god abandoned them? I can’t help but wonder if it was intentional for their god to have no ears or if the god cwed his own ears off because he was tired of hearing them. I look back over my shoulder at the statue.

  His eyes weren’t glowing red before.

  AutumnBanks

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