Page 16 of The Storm of the Empire

“Luka?” Hazel snapped me out of my flashback, and I realized I was still pressing her into the mat. I looked down at her puzzled face.

“I have to go,”I said, scrambling to my feet.

I left her there on the floor.

SIX

LUKA

Ikicked myself for leaving without explanation.

All the way to the temple, I fought with myself over going back, but I couldn’t stop with the memory so fresh. It had overpowered everything else, and I had to figure out if it was just another dead end or if it could actually put me on the right path. If I stopped now I could miss it. I knew that much about my gut. When it told me to do something, I trusted it.

The time I spent in the underground was dark and dangerous. Sometimes, I got lost in false memories that were actually nightmares, and I didn’t know what was reality and what my mind had created. But the sun brands were real, and now that I’d made the connection, I felt like I really had something to look for.

I just needed to ground myself in reality, which meant going to the temple to see if I was right. Then I could go back and apologize to Hazel. Beg forgiveness even. I would make it up to her.

I sucked cool air into my burning lungs, focusing on the hint of blood I could still taste because it was the only thing keeping the symbol clear in my mind.

The biggest temple in the city seemed the most logical place to start. I bowed and made the sign of the Goddess before I entered, keeping my eyes lowered. I didn’t have a plan, but that’d never stopped me before. My instincts always served me well.

My gut told me to stop in front of the statue of Kalilah’s mercy as Mother of the World. I took a copper piece, dropped it in the collection bowl, and picked up a candle, using it to light one under the altar. I replaced the candle and then struck my chest with my fist three times, the custom of atonement for her sacrifice.

Deciding to act as any visitor from outside the city might, I started a slow walk around the temple, taking in the effigies and art, taking moments to offer silent prayer and respect to the various symbols of our people. It was an opportunity to take in my surroundings and inspect everywhere for some sign that the symbol of the sun was a part of the priesthood here.

With each corner I passed, I turned up nothing, and I was beginning to feel conspicuous in my inspection. I needed to sit and appear to be praying to blend in. As the largest temple in the city, it was usually active with visitors, but if I was poking around, I would stand out.

I picked up a book of prayer and took a seat on a bench right in the center. For a minute, I watched the other fae deep in their prayers, then I placed the prayer book down to lift my eyes and hands in prayer as was the way to thank Kalilah for our blessings.

As my eyes settled on the ceiling of the grand temple, a smile quirked my lips.

By the fucking Goddess!

And may she pardon my fucking blasphemy!

Right there, covering the entire ceiling in rich gold and yellow and orange, was a mosaic of what else but the Goddess blessed fucking sun. A giant beacon in plain sight.

Was this it? Could I be that lucky, or had I just been that dense?

Did all temples have such a mark, and I’d never noticed?

I stared in awe for long minutes. I hadn’t really studied the brands on the arms of the fae involved in the Dragon’s Bane trade. They were the ones calling the shots, and in all honesty, I did my best to avoid them and never looked at them directly more than I needed to. But their brands were definitely the same as this sun. It was quite distinctive, and I would recognize it anywhere now that I was seeing it in all its glory.

It wasn’t just any sun. It had twelve points of twisted flames radiating out from it’s center, and even simplified down into the markings worn as brands, it was recognizable.

I followed the flow of the flames to their points, each one ending in a golden point. The mosaic then trailed off in a single line of gold to the edge of the ceiling and down the walls to the floor. I scanned the vast space and rose again to weave in and out of the vast columns so I could follow each line to its conclusion.

All lines met the floor of the temple save for one: the line that ran down the center of the temple disappeared behind the altar. Watching from a distance, I could not tell if there was anything other than the altar itself at that end of the temple. But as I was deciding how best I could investigate without looking suspicious, a priest walked behind the altar and disappeared out of sight.

So there was a door or an entrance of some kind back there.

Before I could think twice, I headed that way. I walked as swiftly as possible, knowing I couldn’t run without drawing unwanted attention to myself, but I wasn’t fast enough to catch up with the priest because I didn’t want to have to explain why I was somewhere I shouldn’t be.

Behind the altar was a door, very plain and innocuous but well-worn from use. It was clearly an entry to the priests’ quarters, and although sense should have me staying away from places that were out of bounds to normal fae, something told me to keep going. That if I could just catch him, I’d get my answers or at least a little piece of what I needed. I chased my past and my purpose in those tunnels, always seemingly behind.

I wasn’t fast enough. The priest twisted around a corner, and I only caught the glimpse of a heel. When I came around. I found a dead end.

He couldn’t have vanished.

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