My Darkening Ember

Prologue

Summers' song travelled across town from the church. It was hot that day but even then, the town had all crowded into the small building for the day's prayer. They were singing to the goddess of fire, the one who burned brightly inside our sun. She was the heavenly fire described in our books, the mightiest. She gave life and permitted all living creations to live in peace under her deadly warmth. But she wasn't without cruelty, at least not from how I interpreted the scriptures. She would smite the earth and burn fields if it suited her. In the books, they said it was because people didn't pray enough, but honestly, or at least how I felt it, it was because we became too distant. 

We easily forgot the old practices and abandoned our taught customs passed down by generations before. So the goddess of the sun, Kyriah, would remind the people to not lose their faith or stray too far from the humanity she allowed to still carry breath. If faith was lost, true cruelty could blossom, which would breed catastrophe.

So they sang their songs in a desperate attempt to appease her. I wasn't there, which was not unusual. I didn't have faith. I never did, and that landed me in trouble at one time or another. If the gods were real then that would mean I was bound to live as a mortal wife and accept the perverted beliefs of the people. 

Find a good husband to take care of you, and reward him in turn with obedience. 

To be fair I never thought that was what our gods ever preached, but in the eyes of the people, to accept the faith, was to accept their ideologies. Maybe I would start to believe when I would one day escape this rotten town.

"Elora, come now we mustn't stall. I'm already in a bad mood." Grayce scolded, waving humorously at me. I giggled at her exaggerated behaviour. "Well come now, stop standing in the middle of the road." She hissed annoyed, baring her teeth. Her cheeks were sunken, so I knew she was serious.

I shook my head toward the church before obeying her. She was the only one that I would listen to, mostly because she was the only woman who had ever been kind to me. Though even with my young mind, it wasn't difficult to figure out that it was only because my father was paying her to do so.

"We are not in a rush," I complained, stomping up the stairs toward her.

"No, but I am in no mood since you're making me miss prayer because of your rebellious act."

I turned a defiant eye toward her. "Don't blame me. You can still make it to the ending prayer if you go now."

"Oh don't tease Eleonora, you know I'm not a fan."

"I won't tell father," I said and pressed my lips together.

"So immature," Grayce murmured, rolling her eyes before lifting her dress and gliding inside the library. I giggled again.

Even if I did annoy her every time she had to stay and look after me, I knew my childish company amused her. I skipped after her, entering the library of books stacked on shelves around a square room. It was a maze in here, one that snaked around the room until the middle, where a long table stood, always covered in stacks of loose paper. Grayce folded her hands behind her back, strutting forward ever too elegantly while skimming the many shelves. I mirrored her while trying to follow her exact step, but her legs were too long and I ended up running to catch up.

"What are we learning today?" I asked, straightening my posture to imitate hers.

"The bounty of a dozen," Grayce said coldly and quickly, stopping in front of a narrow shelf with books in many dark colours. Those were the forbidden ones.