Page 25 of Petals for Vicious Secrets

“Don’t talk to your mother like that,” father told her.

“Or what? At least she is not keeping important information regarding our own damned lives from us. Who do you think you are?” Lenna knew she had gone too far, and she didn't care. The rage in her veins wanted to explode.

Her father stood up and paced towards her, the fingers of his hands meeting at the tips. “I am your father, and I am your Ruler. I rule over the citizens of the North, and as far as I am aware, you are a citizen of the North. Thus, I rule over your life.” His voice was cold and calculated. “It would be good if you could stop acting like an annoying teenager for once, respect your parents, and while you're at it, shut your foul mouth at least on the day of your Fifth Ceremony, for Cardinals' sake.” He had stopped two steps away from her.

Lenna's jaw clenched as she tried to get her shit together to avoid saying something stupid to the person in front of her. The person who she was supposed to respect.

What had he ever done to earn the respect? Other than wait on his ass for his father to die and then expect everyone in the North to obey him? Because he had been the son of a Ruler. The successor of the House. Was this what would happen to her when he died? When she became the North House Ruler? Because she sure as fuck didn't want this.

Ayla pointed to something in front of the waholt. “Is that the Organ House?” her voice was way smoother than usual. A drop of relief filled Lenna when her father stopped staring at her and walked towards the window Ayla was looking through.

Even from their distance, the House's splendor was jaw-dropping. The walls of the multiple towers had tons of precious stones incrusted and the bright sun above them made the Organ House look alive. The House somehow reminded Lenna of the dresses she and Ayla were wearing. It was like a castle made of jewels, with a soft line reflecting the colors of the rainbow across it. Above the small towers and turrets, a massive glass dome crowned the Cardinals Temple.

The ante chamber assigned to the North House that lead to the crystal dome of the Cardinals Temple had been decorated to feel like home. Lenna thought it was a shame that the Fifth Ceremony was about to start and she couldn't try any of the northern treats that carefully filled the tables. Exactly as their chefs would have prepared them. She wasn't sure her stomach would be up to keeping anything in. Not when she felt the nerves were so solid she could grab them.

Considering neither her sister, mother or father had gone anywhere near the food or various jugs of beverages, and the incessant pacing around the room Ayla was doing, Lenna knew she was not the only one that didn't know what to do with herself.

“All panoms, please be welcomed to the Fifth Ceremony,” a friendly, neutral voice said across the air.

The translucid glass door leading to the dome opened wide, an invitation to enter the brightly illuminated chamber beneath. Her father, as the House Ruler, led the way, not even looking behind once. Her mother shortly followed, after giving a kind shoulder squeeze to Lenna and Ayla. Lenna appreciated the silent gesture. The door closed in front of the twins. They were not panoms. Not yet.

“This is it,” said Ayla, shaking her hands as if she was trying to get rid of the tension in her body. The knot in Lenna's throat didn't let her say anything.

Maybe it was the birth connection that united twin souls what made them stand side by side in front of the double glass door. Maybe it was that silent bond that made them hold their hands together in the most important moment of their lives. They were waiting for whatever was about to happen and they were not alone. They had never been alone.

“Lenna Brachyan and Ayla Brachyan of the North House,” the same voice started as the crystal door in front of them opened, “welcome to your Fifth Ceremony.”

The sisters walked inside the massive chamber illuminated by sunlight casting through the thin white clouds and the dome at the top. Right underneath the dome, the floor was covered in dozens of interlaced translucid lines, some of them forming a circle of the same size as the dome above. The panoms of the Houses of Thyria stood around the outer part of the circle. She didn’t stop to pay attention to their faces. The lines on the floor filled with some blueish liquid in front of Lenna and Ayla, inviting them to follow its trail to the center of the temple.

As soon as Lenna and Ayla arrived at the middle, the panoms readjusted their positions, so the circle they formed had no gaps around them. Unsure of what to do next, they faced each other.

Their vibrant red hairs were beautifully arranged and loose on top of the multi-pearl dresses that embraced their bodies. Lenna wondered if her own golden eyes would look as bright as Ayla's green eyes.

Post meridiem came, and the clouds vanished with it, leaving the sun casting all its full powerful light in a straight vertical line across the dome, right to where they were standing. Lenna held her breath as she felt the light penetrate every single pearl against her skin. Like a warm, friendly hug. She saw Ayla looking down at her in surprise, as if she was feeling the same warmth across her body. It was not only something on their inside, though. As every single bead covering them was illuminated by the sunshine, they seemed to absorb the rays of light and the pearls started emanating from it.

Their father was the first to move. He, as the North House Ruler, lifted his hands in front of him, with both palms facing his daughters in the middle of the circle. He was also the first to talk. “May the light enfold your strength,” he said. Lenna felt a powerful vibration flowing from his hands to their bodies, as if he was transferring a bit of him into them. She didn’t take her eyes from Ayla’s.

On the opposite side of the circle, Gabrielle Heliba placed her hands in front of her. “May the darkness accept your weakness,” the South House Ruler’s soft voice was heard across the chamber. Lenna felt another shot of power through her. The beads of her dress irradiated even more, as if they were also absorbing the powerful waves.

Ciaran’s father, Cobrian Castel from the West House, spoke next. “May the world cherish your minds,” the Ruler said, his hands sending invisible vibrations to the twins.

The East House Ruler put her hands up in position. “May the Cardinals guide your souls,” Freya Baccate said. Lenna felt her whole body trembling with the power that she was receiving from each Ruler. Strong, high doses of power that arrived to her from the North, South, West and East Rulers representing their Houses.

The Organ Mandor, Rhei Coralt, lifted his hands in front of him, both palms facing the sisters in front of all the panoms. Time seemed to slow down as he said, “May the Fifth unleash your magic.” His voice was firm, full of all the authoritative power only a true ruler of a nation would have.

Lenna felt her own skin radiating with warm golden light. The same color her golden sparks had always been. The same color Theon said the ink of her messages on his skin had been. The same color her amber eyes sometimes were. She was glowing with sunshine.

And she saw Ayla in front of her, shining with silver light. She was like the stars on a dark night. She was a silver lullaby. She was glowing moonlight.

The five Rulers moved their hands in unison, all their palms now facing the dome above them. The sun above the dome. Their voices merged as they spoke at the same time.

“May the light enfold your strengths. May the darkness accept your weaknesses. May the world cherish your minds. May the Cardinals guide your souls.”

The Rulers looked up at once as a beautiful red bird flew across the crystal of the dome towards the sisters. Not any bird. It was a cardinal. If Lenna hadn’t been so focused on what was happening, she might have had a heart attack.

“May the Fifth unleash your magic,” they all said as the cardinal reached the sisters and flew in quick, tight circles around them, lifting them in the air as it did so.

Lenna knew it had happened. She could feel the fresh surge of power going through her veins, through her heart, through her soul. It felt like a giant fireball, as if the other panoms had been merging their powers together, blending them into one to release Ayla’s and hers. Welcoming them into the world with the help of a cardinal.

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