Page 15 of Above (Darkness Reigns #1)

Nova

“The Ether Cathedral was stunning. I swear it’s the closest thing to being in the skies themselves. Too bad Mama and Dad will never see it. Hopefully one day the cores will let eadi come after their twenty-fifth birthday.”

B eing in the Ether Cathedral again felt odd. Almost…foreboding.

While I was more than welcome to live in the Star District, I only ever came for training.

As for the cathedral, I had stepped foot through those doors a single time and never come back.

While I was just as devout as any other—just as desperate to prove myself to the stars and serve them—I was far less eager to be among my so-called peers.

They, unlike the stars themselves, didn’t feel I deserved magic.

Coming to the cathedral was an unnecessary risk I was unwilling to take.

Plus, I couldn’t bring Mama, Dad, or Celeste.

But today was more than necessary, it was pivotal.

So I walked along the pale marble floors, taking in the constellations upon the walls and the crystal towers above that gave us the perfect view of the morning sky.

About two hundred of us had shown up, most of them already here when our smaller group shadow walked in.

All but the six core family children seemed to revel in the sight of it all, eyes wide and cheeks flushed.

Maybe that was because most of us felt honored to be chosen by the stars.

Like we were blessed. Whereas the core families felt it was owed to them.

Their legacy they earned simply by being born with the right last name.

It didn’t help that the stars consistently proved them right by always giving them magic.

As we all passed through the arched doorway that led to the sacred well of essence, a hush took over the crowd. This was it. The moment when everything changed.

“Welcome!” A deep and guttural voice boomed from ahead as we formed a line along the south edge of the water.

Across from us stood three people. On the left was a woman with broad shoulders and jet black hair that framed her strong jaw.

Her russet skin seemed to glow as the light of the early morning sun reflected off the well of essence.

She wore training leathers much like we all did, though she also had a thick, black cloak that marked her as other—elite.

The man on the right was dressed identically, though he sported mousy brown hair secured in a long braid and pale skin that showed his age. He had to be at least nine centuries old. Nearing the end of his life, probably.

In the middle was the man who must have spoken.

His hair was the same silvery-blonde as Azazel Altair’s, the short cut allowing his ethereal features to shine as they contrasted with his black clothing and cloak.

He was practically his son’s twin, though there was an air of authority and superiority to him that no one else I had ever met possessed.

“I am so very glad to see such a turnout for the shadow ritual,” General Altair continued.

While his words were enthusiastic, the tone of his voice was far more morose.

As if letting down a child gently. “Your bravery to seek more for our people does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. You should each be proud of your choice to come here today. What an honor to know so many of our youth still care about serving Dajahim.”

The two people at his sides nodded, their movements stiff and unconvincing. Meanwhile, Iblis Altair stretched his arms out as if inviting an embrace.

“However, I must warn you, once you begin this ritual, your only path is forward. You will either be awarded shadow magic and enter Elite Academy, or you will die today.”

A collective gasp rang through our group at the general’s words, but I remained staring ahead, unmoved by what the general was saying.

I had a basic idea of what this would entail, and I was always aware it was either become an elite or die trying.

Glancing to my left, I saw all six core family members looking just as unphased.

How nice it would be to see the first core family member die trying to get shadows.

“Remember, there is no shame in choosing to walk away. Each of you have been awarded such a vital gift from the stars. Magic pulses in your bodies. You are of the superior race—gods in comparison to the domesticated animals we call eadi.” Stars above, I could vomit just listening to him spew such garbage.

“Anyone who has changed their mind may leave now knowing that, even without the shadows, you still continue to participate in our most sacred goal: making Dajahim pure again.”

Cheers erupted, as if what he said was some profound, life-altering thing.

Sometimes I swore I was the crazy one. That I somehow had it wrong thinking that my family was not less and believing I was not some sick joke.

My gaze darted from a beaming Iblis Altair to the six cores on my left.

What had once been collected calm was now eager smiles on five of them.

But Talon Zade wasn’t smirking or cheering like everyone else.

He was staring at me, his mouth down-turned and his brows pinched.

Little time was offered to figure out what that look meant, because soon there were people leaving, their eyes sad but backs straight.

One. Ten. Thirty. Fifty, maybe? Enough that their absence was felt as the footsteps faded.

When the movement had stilled and the air became stale with the smell of sitting water and sweating bodies, General Altair nodded and continued.

“Now that we have that business out of the way, we shall go on to the important task at hand. Each of you has decided to risk your lives in order to further serve our world. While this alone is noble, it isn’t enough for the stars.

They wish to be amused. Impressed. From here, I must warn you, what you are about to face is like no other challenge you have ever encountered.

Today, you will not cut open your flesh and offer the blood that pulses within.

Today, you will offer up your flesh itself—your mind. ”

More gasps and whispers, another example of just how hard it was to get information about what the shadow ritual entailed if you didn’t know someone who experienced it.

Luckily, I had not one, but two books thanks to Celeste.

Still, I was waiting for whatever surprise hadn’t been included in the texts.

They were brief accounts, after all. And leave it to an Altair to punish everyone during the first shadow ritual after he lost the stars.

“You each will enter the well of essence. Once you submerge, the stars will make you face something more terrifying than life could produce, because you yourselves have crafted them in your heads. Your greatest fears await each of you in the essence. Five minutes is all you will have to face those fears and prove your worth to the stars. Presently, the record sits at two minutes and fifty-seven seconds. A record set by myself two hundred and nine years ago. I encourage each of you to try to do better.” At that, General Altair looked directly into his son’s eyes, the two of them seeming not to be in cahoots, but rather in competition.

“Now, who will be our first volunteer?”

As expected, Azazel Altair stepped forward first. But, to my astonishment, his father shook his head minutely and mouthed the word, “Last.”

Interesting.

Whether it was the fact that this moment was clearly a test—which I prided myself in never failing—or because I felt eager to get the ritual over with, I didn’t know. Either way, it was my own feet that moved next, just as it was my mouth that formed the word, “Me.”

The general’s eyes widened just a hair, his body twisting to face me where I stood near the right half of the group.

“Well, hello there. You are quite brave to go first, lovely. What is your name?” His tone was condescending, a backhanded compliment if I had ever heard one. It made my spine straighten and my jaw tighten. I was not a child. I was not weak.

“Nova,” I answered, purposefully leaving out my last name. I didn’t need more of a reason for them to pity me. Or worse, despise me. Prejudiced assholes.

“Nova…” General Altair repeated, letting my name fade as if into question. Well, there was no saying he’d simply know I was of eadi. There were probably tons of last names he didn’t know.

“Tershetta.”

His brows furrowed and his lips thinned. Thinking. Considering. “Ah, a name I’m unfamiliar with.”

“That’s because she’s of eadi.” My head whipped to the left, eyes landing on the girl who had stepped forward. Not the Otarn one who had clearly despised me earlier, but the one with Talon. The Zade girl. Another group-wide gasp. Like some ridiculous school yard.

“Well, well. A rare one indeed. Are you aware, Miss Tershetta, that only three of eadi have survived the ritual you are about to enter?”

A waste of his breath, seeing as I was now no longer able to leave. Just another way to make me feel small and scared. A tactic that surely worked on many of eadi before me. One that probably led to their death.

“Yes, I am.”

“And you know only two lived through Elite Academy?”

“The odds are not lost on me, General.”

“Understood,” he clipped. “You may undress and enter the well.” The general waved his hand at me, as if gesturing to my clothing being swept away.

I froze, only for a moment, as the first surprise hit me. Was he playing with me? Attempting to further degrade and embarrass the of eadi? This wasn’t written down, but it also seemed like something they would leave out. A pointless detail to many.

No way of knowing and nothing I could truly do about it.

So I began unzipping, leisurely pulling off my leathers as I tried my best to contain the embarrassment.

This was not like getting naked in front of a single man or woman.

So different than when I was wearing another face and ensuring my family had haya.