Hall of Shadows [The Celestial Chronicles #2]

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Identity

"And so she is, she is trembling with and power."

- Douglas Steward, "Lady Feeding the Cats"

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Soundtrack of the chapter: For the Win by Two Steps From Hell

Media: Cady's Celestial ring (ignore the jewel, just imagine it as a ring with the frills)

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Chapter Twenty-Eight: Identity

Eli cogitated about in the library. He had sent a Feorh to deliver a message to Cady to meet him. Guilt and disgust at himself gnawed its way from his stomach to his heart. She must have waited until she exhausted herself and went to bed. When he went outside a few hours later, she was nowhere to be seen.

It wasn't your fault, his inner self reasoned. Grandfather and Amueh kept you.

Yeah, he snapped back. But that doesn't beat the fact she was outside for hours.

His consciousness shrank back, having ran out of resolutions. Eli slammed a fist against a bookrack with so much force the vases perching on the top almost keeled over. A raccoon Feorh arranging books by the side scuttled off, dropping his entire stack of books at Eli's feet.

A soft pattering of feet caught his attention. Trained Oracle intuition turned this gaze toward the library entrance. Cady emerged, her hair smoothed back into a messy bun and dressed in a simple white robe. Her cheeks were flushed, as though she had just ran a marathon. She bustled into the library, greeting him with a breathless 'hi'.

He stared at her when his consciousness screamed at him not to. It made him look weird, and weird is bad for communicating with others, especially with the opposite gender. He wished he still had his staff with him. It was the source of his comfort, something he could lean on to whenever he was anxious. But now his leg was almost healed, he needed it no more.

Eli drew in a sharp breath. "Cady, about the Beltane Ball, I—I wish to apologize. Raphine and Amueh were talking about things concerning me and the Hall, I couldn't leave."

Cady grabbed his arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Hey, don't worry about it. What were you guys talking about?"

His mind flickered back to their conversation. Raphine had requested him to keep it a secret, but this was Cady. He trusted her.

"He's going to make me the High Priest in the fall."

She squealed so loud that Gourda turned and gave her one of his signature frowns where his thick eyebrows merged into one straight bushy line.

"Oh my God, this is amazing! I knew you'll—" Eli cut her off by clamping a hand over her mouth, making a gesture of silence with his other hand. "Shh...I'm not supposed to tell you that. She nodded, giving him a thumbs up. He retracted his hand.

"What did you do outside when I was away?" Cady didn't seem the slightest bit mad, and it puzzled him, especially when he left her outside for hours.

Her eyes widened, and she chewed her lip, a bad habit of Cady's whenever she was thinking. "I—went back to sleep," she said brightly. "I was getting tired, and it was chilly outside."

"You're not mad?" he asked, prodding her. She seemed to be hiding something. When a person was trying to hold back a thought, it would reflect though their body language. For Cady, it was the incessant tap of her right foot against the floor.