Page 18 of Somnium

CHAPTER SIX

CADI

Cadi hissed through her teeth, swallowing the yelp of pain that tried to claw its way out of her throat when her pinkie toe was smashed between the stone floor and the bottom someone’s foot. She’d lost track of how many times she had been stepped on in the last few minutes. Her decision to reach the sacristy by cutting through the main hall had clearly been a mistake.

She pressed through the crowd, muttering so many half apologies that the words began to lose all meaning. Panic surged at the sight of a particularly large centaur striding toward her, and she jumped to the side, willingly enduring the colorful curses hurled at her as a small price to pay for keeping both feet fully functional.

By the time she reached the dimly lit corridor on the other side of the hall, Cadi was one unexpected sound away from combusting. The constant shove of bodies mixed with the echo of rebounding voices had pushed her right to the edge, so she leaned a shoulder against the threshold and squeezed her eyes shut, focusing her breaths.

In-two-three-four

Hold-two-three-four

Out-two-three-four

Hold-two-three-four

Her shoulders dipped, and she felt her arms relax at her sides as her pulse began to resume its normal, steady cadence. When she opened her eyes, the shifting crowd had thinned significantly, clearing the main hall and leaving only a small cluster of attendees gathered around the four open doors that led into the narthex.

A familiar set of delicate braids caught her attention, their golden accents glistening in the temple light as Sera joined the throng. Cadi watched her leave, thinking about how easy it would be to just slip away and join her, leaving Damon to handle the workload on his own. She laughed to herself. As tempting as that was, she knew that wasn’t an option if she wanted to prove that she belonged.

The small sacristy was nearly bursting at the seams by the time Cadi got there, with acolytes and attendants milling about, chatting loudly and slipping out of their robes. Cadi grumbled at the lackadaisical way the garments were discarded, most of them ending up in the general vicinity of the wicker laundry baskets, but very few actually making it inside.

Slipping around the perimeter of the cramped room, she tugged open the door to the closet where her attendant robe was kept. She slipped it over her arms, cringing at the way the stiff brown fabric scraped against her skin, instantly making her itch.

The din of conversation slowly faded as the room emptied, leaving her alone for a moment in the blissful stillness—until a flicker of movement beside her made her jump, sending her heart galloping. A strong arm extended above her into the wardrobe, heat pressing against her back as its owner leaned forward. Cadi twisted to find Damon standing behind her, his usual confident smirk plastered across his full lips.

“Hey, Newbie,” he purred, “thanks for covering for Zo tonight.”

Her pulse spiked in her veins, and she felt her body instinctively leaning away from his. His eyes never left hers, glinting with a hint of something she couldn’t quite name but that she was fairly certain she didn’t like. Clearing her throat, she smiled weakly through the storm of nerves, managing only a small sound of acknowledgement before slipping past him to begin collecting the discarded vestments.

She shook out her hands, tightening them once—twice—against the obnoxious buzz spreading through her limbs from being caught off guard. After dropping the same robe for the third time, Cadi exhaled sharply and steadied herself against the woven basket.

This was ridiculous. Damon was a man, not a skinwalker. She just had to get through their list and then she could go home. Taking a few measured breaths, she glanced back over her shoulder to where Damon stood at the counter, pulling candles from a cabinet to restock the ones that had been depleted that evening.

He turned without warning, his blue eyes locking with hers as the smirk returned to his face. Cadi’s stomach dipped, and she quickly whipped back around, pretending to sort through the robes in front of her until she heard his footsteps receding in the direction of the main hall. Once she was comfortably certain that she was alone, she let out a slow breath, releasing a tightness in her chest that had been growing since he arrived.

“Get a grip,” she muttered to herself, heaving the now-full basket onto her hip and carrying it out of the sacristy.

Thirty minutes later, Cadi lugged the basket filled with still-damp robes through the corridor, bouncing the much heavier load against the front of her thigh to propel them both forward. As the door of the sacristy came into view, she blew a stray curl from her face, making a mental note to tell Zoe exactly how she felt about the increased physical demands of this particular shift that she had conveniently failed to mention, even if the list of tasks was shorter.

“Need a hand?”

Cadi let out a startled squeak, nearly dropping the basket at the sudden voice behind her. Damon appeared at her side, chuckling at her surprise.

“You keep reacting like that every time I show up and it might start to hurt my feelings.”

She breathed a laugh, gripping the handles tightly to hide the way her hands had resumed their shaking. “You just startled me. I didn’t hear you.”

Damon flashed a smooth grin, his perfect teeth making Cadi seriously consider buying stock in whitening strips, before his eyes flicked to the basket balanced against her leg.

“Let me get that,” he said, taking a step forward. Cadi mirrored him on instinct, stepping back to twist out of his reach. She was fine managing on her own, and even if she hadn’t been, she felt a strong compulsion to refuse his offer.

“It’s okay, I’ve got it.”

Something flashed across his chiseled features, gone as quickly as it had come, but not fast enough to stop the wave of goosebumps that erupted over Cadi’s arms. Before she could react, he darted forward, tugged the basket from her grip, and continued down the hall.

“Hey!” she yelled at his back, heat flaring in her chest. “Damon, I said I had it.”