Page 16 of Unlikely Omega

“Oh, Ari…” She shakes her head, her smile finally fading. “Of course it is. You have to tell the High Priest Elegos about it. It’s absolutely normal.”

“Then why are you scared?” I blurt out. “If it’s so normal?”

“Awakening as a woman is normal. A few drops of blood are normal. You’re bleeding a lot, though. When I awakened, I got three drops of blood, tops. They say…”

I wait but she doesn’t continue. “What do they say, Ismere, and who’s “they” anyway?”

“Oh, you know, wagging tongues in the Temple, they say that when you bleed like that for your awakening, you may not be human.”

“Not human? Then what? What else could I be? I don’t have scent glands. I’m not different from you!”

I’m not Fae-blood.

“Just… tell the high priest.” She looks uncomfortable and after a moment, she gets off my bed, smoothing her red robes down. “I’m sure it’s nothing. We’re all different, right? Maybe you were… hurt inside, or whatever, I don’t know. Maybe you aren’t as pure as you want us to think.”

“Hurt inside?” I gape at her, even as her words compound my own fears. “What do you mean? Isme?”

But she shakes her head again and walks away, leaving me alone.

Her words hurt like a wound. I don’t like what she’s implying. I’ve never been with a man.

I’m confused and sad and chilled. I need her by my side. She’s my friend and now she’s acting as if I peed on a divine statue or something. Sure, bleeding like that was frightening to me, and I didn’t even tell her about the pain that has now mercifully all but faded, but it’s just an awakening. Most probably it was so intense because I was so late in getting it.

And High Priest Elegos doesn’t have to know about it at all. I don’t care if it’s protocol, if he’s supposed to know every time I cut my nails or wash my hair, every time I stab my toe by mistake or get a pimple on my chin.

Especially not with Ismere reacting like that.

“When you bleed like that for your awakening, you may not be human.”

Then what else could I be?

You know what you could be.

I don’t even want to think about it. I’ll just ignore this until it goes away. And it is going away. By tonight, I’ll be good as new, same as before. Awakening doesn’t matter when you serve a Maiden Goddess and don’t have any men around you who might claim you. Priests don’t have sex. Priests don’t mate.

So I’m good.

Everything will go back to the way it was before—and if it’s still confusing, if I still have doubts and don’t know how to find my path in the Temple, well, it’s high time I found it and planted my feet on it.

Because leaking blood like a sacred fountain and hearing the voice of the unnamed god in my head is not the path to staying alive, that much is for sure.

And I was right. By the time evening comes around, I’m feeling better. I’m certainly drier down below, and not in pain, which is a huge plus.

Of course I missed today’s chores and prayers and I’m probably in trouble, so I bow my head and get started, hoping that nobody has noticed my absence.

No time to prepare for my ritual dance because I need to clean the Prelate’s apartments, though. No cleaning staff is allowed in the convent, and it’s just my luck that today I’m the one in charge of cleaning the highest priest’s space—and I’m late.

I don’t even think about purifying the buildings—no time.

And I’m savagely glad I don’t have time to even cross the Divine Circle. I don’t want to see the unnamed god’s statue ever again, so help me Artume, for fear I will imagine hearing his voice again.

“So he hasn’t spoken to you. Hasn’t told you anything.”

“Si-dde-dra-kai.”

The back of my neck itches. The inside of my wrists crawls. I’m uncomfortable. I don’t know what is wrong with me.

Putting on my veil, I haul my broom into the convent and hurry toward the prelate’s apartments. Crap. I shouldn’t approach that statue ever again. Priest Finnen was right. It’s a bad idea, and combined with my bleeding and what Councilor Kaidan said, I need to keep my head down, not draw any more attention to myself.

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