At the same time, the Sacoren dipped his finger into Raurie’s blood and made a mark with it on her forehead in the shape of an arc, like the way the Sacoren wore their diamonds. Aina suddenly remembered what it represented. It was the arc of the bow carried by Kalaan, the goddess of love and war, and the curve of the harp carried by Isar, the goddess of hope and intellect. It was the simplest, yet clearest, sign of the Mothers.
A moment later, light shone through the chalice. The diamond appeared to be glowing, lit up like a small sun. As the light hit the crystal around it, a narrow rainbow stream painted the side of Raurie’s face. She took the chalice in her hands, hesitating for the briefest second before tilting it back. She swallowed and lifted the cup away, her lips tinged with blood. She took a few deep breaths, then swallowed again and sat up straight.
The cut on her arm began to glow as well—a very thin, barely noticeable line of golden light. It shimmered for a moment, then faded away.
“There you are,” Gevann said with a kind smile. “I hope you use this gift well, to be the beacon of the Mothers’ hope in this misguided land and remind people the Mothers have never really left. You may clean up in the washroom down the hall.” He looked at the others and rattled the diamond around in the chalice. “I’ll wash this before moving on to the next person. We should finish quite soon.”
The blessing worked the same for Lill, but when it was Tannis’s turn, the diamond in the chalice remained dull. The whole room seemed to grow darker as they watched and waited, but after a full minute passed, Tannis handed the chalice back to Gevann with a grimace.
“No surprises there,” she said with a shrug. “This religion isn’t popular in the region of Kaiyan I grew up in.”
Aina gulped as he moved on to Ryuu and Teo, not sure why she suddenly felt nervous. She’d spent most of her life trying to shove the Mothers’ teachings out of her mind, knowing they’d condemn her for having taken so many lives. She’d never wanted their blessing until now, so why care? Suddenly, she imagined her parents’ faces, filled with disappointment at who she’d become.
But whether her faith simply existed was another question … she’d seen magic work. She’d seen what happened to the people who believed in it. She’d spent hours in underground worship hideouts with her parents, weak candlelight illuminating the Mothers’ words.
The blessing worked for Ryuu, but for Teo, the diamond remained dull.
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug, slight disappointment in his eyes. “It was worth a try, but my family is from Linash—I grew up hearing about a different god.”
Gevann approached Aina then, and part of her wanted to tell him it would be a waste of time to try. But then she reminded herself why she was here: to gain a new power, something Kohl didn’t have … yet another way to protect herself.
As she made the small cut on her arm, a chill spread through her. It suddenly felt like everyone in the room was watching her.
Her blood slid down the inside of the chalice, marking the diamond inside. Gevann’s prayers filled her ears and seemed to grow louder as he drew the mark on her forehead with her blood. It was cold to the touch, making her tense up until his finger lifted away again.
Then she looked back at the chalice and gasped in disbelief. Like with Raurie, Ryuu, and Lill, the diamond glowed, reflecting in rainbow patterns through the glass. She took the chalice, forcing down her revulsion at the idea of drinking her own blood, then tilted it back. The coppery taste was wretched, but she forced herself to swallow it, pulling a face as she did.
“Were the Mothers taking a nap?” Tannis joked from across the room. “Are they aware of who they just blessed?”
Nobody had an answer. Aina shrugged, having no idea why the Mothers had agreed to bless her. She glanced down at the scar on her arm, shining with a brief light before fading away.
Maybe that was what they all were. Brief lights, shining with hope and making a mark on the world before they died. If there was anything she believed in, it was their ability to change the world their parents had left for them. Maybe that was why the Mothers had blessed her.
They finished then, thanked the Sacoren, and left. Night had fallen over Lyra Avenue, and with it came more heat and the ominous bank of slate-gray clouds overhead. Lill chatted casually with Ryuu, but Aina noticed how her gaze flicked to every corner, as if expecting a Diamond Guard to spot the small cuts on their arms from a distance and run over to arrest them.
While they shopped for the supplies that Raurie and Lill had promised to bring back to the safe house, Aina spoke with Raurie under the shadowed awning of the shop. They finalized a plan to meet the next evening to learn the spells they would use, quieting their voices whenever someone walked by them.
Fear charged the air, and Aina felt the hair rise on the back of her neck whenever a Diamond Guard walked near them or the wind blew sharply, long after everyone else went home and she and Tannis walked back to the Dom. She glanced at her healing cut, and a sense of power drowned out the fear.
A few minutes later, she and Tannis turned the corner and the Dom came into view.
Across the street, all the lights in the manor were on, illuminating figures on the roof. Two people were being dangled over the side. The exhilaration she’d briefly felt flickered out. She and Tannis slowed and, not taking their eyes off the Dom, withdrew their weapons. “Go,” Aina whispered.
Tannis melted into the shadows, passing Aina a throwing star on the way.
6
Holding a scythe, Aina stepped out into the street. It was empty, the air tense and still. Everyone who lived in the area must have cleared out after they saw what was happening.
Mirran and Kushik had gone off together on a job for a client, so they weren’t there. Johana and Markus were the ones being dangled by their collars over the roof of the manor with knives at their throats. When they saw her, their eyes widened and they squirmed in the grasps of their captors.
The heels of Aina’s boots clicking across the pavement was the only sound as she approached the manor. Three other people stood on the roof; the two who held Johana and Markus, and another behind them. All bore the tattoo of a Jackal on their forearm.
Her eyes flicked to the windows then, pulse racing as she wondered if Kohl was already inside—if he’d burned her belongings, whetted a blade just for her.
A jolt of fear went through her, but she shoved it away and sharpened her anger to the point of a knife. Keep drawing blood, show no weakness, or you’ll be the one who’s bleeding.
She recognized one of the Jackals. A tall, red-haired woman who held Johana in an iron-tight grip—she’d worked with the Jackals for years, maintaining a longer life span than almost any other gang member Aina had ever met.
“Good evening,” Aina called up. “Your name is Kerys, isn’t it? I didn’t know we’d have visitors tonight or else I would have made you tea.”
“We’re not here for games,” Kerys said, tightening her grip on Johana’s collar so the girl began to choke, her face reddening as she kicked in midair. Aina gripped her knife tighter and willed Johana to hold on a little longer. “We have an offer for you, but not from Alsane Bautix. Do you think all these new people would have joined the Jackals on empty promises from someone who changes his hiding place every day? Someone who sends notes from the shadows when he’s lost his power in this country?”