Page 85 of Somnium

Polly beamed at her. “For Oneirios, of course.”

Cadi froze, her robe hanging limply in her hand as Polly disappeared back into the hall, completely unaware of her reaction. Elias was going to be livid when he found out that she had agreed to help with the one rite that Oneirios himself oversaw. This definitely qualified as something being off, but there was no way she could back out now.

Ten minutes later, Cadi jogged back down the hall after her second trip to the bathroom thanks to her nerves sending her bladder into overdrive. In her absence, at least twenty acolytes had gathered in front of the sacristy, their robes looking quite pristine if she did say so herself. As she approached, she noted the distinct lack of any other robe color, realizing that she was the only attendant among them. Suddenly, Polly’s frantic plea made a lot more sense.

“Cadi, there you are!” Polly called, slipping through the crowd to greet her. She took Cadi’s hands and stepped back to give her a quick once-over before pulling her into the mass of white. They emerged on the other side near the mouth of the corridor where it opened into the main sanctuary, and Polly steered Cadi back against the left side wall.

“Alright, dear, now this is important so I need you to pay close attention,” she instructed as she straightened the collar of Cadi’s robe. “Your position will be here by the hallway so you can have easy access to the sacristy. Keep a close eye on the priests throughout the rite, they may signal to you that they need something. If they do, you can slip out and grab it, but when you’re done, it’s vital that you go right back into place. Nowhere else. Otherwise the energy may be disrupted.”

Cadi suppressed a shiver at the reminder of the way her presence would be used again to alter the course of someone’s life. At least this time they were willing participants.

“Oh, and not that you would, but don’t try to come back in through the main doors. They can only be opened from the inside after the rite begins, to decrease interruptions. Everything should be stocked, so I don’t imagine you will have to leave much, if at all, but just something to keep in mind,” she continued, “now you must be back into position before the dedicants offer their blood⁠—”

“Blood?” Cadi asked, her throat constricting. No one had told her this evening would contain biohazards.

Polly smiled and gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “Yes, dear. That’s how they seal their dedication. What did you think the daggers were for?”

Cadi tilted her head. She hadn’t really given much thought to the collection of gleaming daggers arranged on the stone table in the narthex when she’d arrived, assuming they were more of a keepsake than a functional part of the rite. Her unease must have shown on her face, because Polly’s hand shifted from her arm to give her cheek an encouraging pat.

“You’ll do fine. Just try to enjoy the beauty. It really is quite wonderful to see so many people dedicating their lives to what they believe in.”

Cadi gave a small cough to cover the disrespectful snort she’d almost let loose as Polly scurried back to the other end of the line that had formed behind her. It was safe to say that plenty of the people in the dedicant pool were there because they wanted Oneirios to fix their lives, not because of some dream-based spiritual awakening.

Her judgmental thoughts were cut short when she noticed the silence that had settled, with every head turned to the end of the hall. Something, or someone, moved past the line of acolytes, but the row of bodies blocked her view. It would draw far too much attention to step out of line and gawk at whatever was happening, so instead, she pushed onto her toes, trying her best to see.

From her position at the end, she could only catch glimpses between hoods of black resin cloaked in gold. It was then that she realized what had everyone’s attention.

The priests had arrived.

They filled in the opposite side of the passageway, and Cadi’s breath caught when a midnight blue robe slipped into view. The high priest stepped to the wall before turning to face her, the hollow eyes of his mask staring straight ahead. A tingle raced across her skin, and she could have sworn he was staring right at her.

A low murmur reached her ears, pulling her attention back to the end of the corridor. This time, she couldn’t resist the urge to lean forward, drawing a breath when she saw the figure gliding toward them.

Soft golden waves framed his striking features, and high cheekbones delicately accented the perfect curve of his bow-shaped lips. His sapphire eyes held the look of someone with immense power, and the cruelty to wield it in whatever way he saw fit.

Oneirios.

The god moved with unearthly grace, his black robe flowing across the floor like ink over stone as he assessed his disciples. Delicate fingers twisted a silver ring that rested against his knuckle, the gleaming ruby set into the metal seeming to swirl and shift in the flickering light.

Cadi’s lungs threatened to seize with each step he took that brought him closer, and she stepped back into line, pressing her body against the stone to stare straight ahead. Straight into the eyes of the high priest. She didn’t know what it was, maybe the knowledge that he was the one person on her side in a building filled by those faithful to the Order, but something about the depths of that mask helped to stop the floor from sinking beneath her.

Her spine stiffened when Oneirios stepped between them, blocking her view. He tilted his head, a single blond wave slipping free as his eyes traveled the length of her body before they lifted again to meet hers. She swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry when she saw the slightest twitch at the corner of his perfect lips.

She didn’t dare breathe until Oneirios had once again disappeared down the stone passage, leaving them to finish their preparations for the rite. Tilting her head back against the stone wall, she blew a controlled breath through her lips, trying to steady her thundering pulse. Elias was definitely going to lose his mind.

Just as she began to feel like she was back in control of her body, a low tone sounded in the distance.

The Rite of Dedication was about to begin.

26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CADI

Cadi took her position just inside the main hall. She watched as the acolytes filed past her to take up their spots around the perimeter of the room, encircling the attendees still milling about. None of the congregants even acknowledged her presence as she stood there; they were all completely focused on their own conversations, which she was more than okay with.

From where she stood, she scanned the crowd of attendees, searching for Sera. She knew there wasn’t much, if anything, her friend could do to help her if anything went south, but just knowing she would be there in the crowd was enough to ease a piece of her stress.