For a moment, silence settled across the temple. Briefly glancing around, I saw all the hostiles dead. Blood pooled beneath their mangled bodies. My crew had done quite a number on them. These creatures had to be suicidal to perform such kamikaze-style attacks. They must’ve known we were more powerful, and that their raw fire alone couldn’t kill us. They must’ve known, right?
Eira didn’t seem as surprised by Inalia’s fiery powers as the rest of us. The Cerixian soldier still standing was stunned. The other two were out cold. The rest of us were about to collect our jaws off the marbled floor, as Inalia slowly brought herself back up into a standing position.
“What was that?” I asked, my tone remarkably calm.
Inalia shuddered but said nothing. Eira shot her a cold, reprimanding stare. Varga noticed, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. “She knew,” he said. “She knew about Inalia.”
“Okay, now I’m even more confused,” Amelia said, brushing off some of the dust she’d gathered on her leather uniform during the fight. She’d taken a tumble or two, judging by her slightly disheveled look.
“Inalia, are you a fae? Or a fae hybrid, by any chance?” I asked, trying to wrap my head around what we’d all witnessed and hoping to find an explanation that actually made sense.
“What’s a fae?” Inalia replied.
Her cheeks caught a reddish hue. Was she ashamed of what she’d done? She seemed as surprised as the rest of us by the strength of her fire.
“Honey, no one burns a guy to a crisp like that,” Eva said. “Didn’t you know you could do that?”
“I’m half fae,” I added. “Fae are ethereal creatures with a connection to the natural elements. They’re now considered emissaries of the Hermessi. They’re able to manipulate fire, or air, or water, or earth—or all of them, sometimes. Are there any fae living on Cerix, perhaps?”
Inalia shook her head. “No. We’ve never heard of or met any… fae.”
“Then, what? Can Cerixians wield fire like that? Who are you, really? Who were these guys?” Riza asked, pointing at the dead assailants.
Eva removed one of the porcelain masks, revealing a Cerixian face with symbols carved into his skin, much like we’d seen in previous incidents on Calliope and on the fae planets. The connection was undeniable. At first, I’d been inclined to suspect that this murderous cult had followed us here—but, as Varga and Herakles took off the other masks and hoods, a new, much darker truth came to light. These were all locals. The cult was already here, had been here since before we’d set foot in Silvergate.
“Cerixians cannot manipulate fire or any of the natural elements,” Eira interjected, her brow furrowed.
“Then explain to us how Inalia can do it!” I retorted.
My patience was gone. I was done with all the half-truths and the stinking pile of secrets. None of this was normal. I needed answers, and I had to get them fast—before more innocent people were hurt.
“I’m… different,” Inalia finally replied. She was shaking like a leaf, her gaze fixed on the floor. She seemed ashamed of what she could do. “Nobody knows this about me.”
Eva chuckled, then pointed at Eira. “She knows.”
Eira and Inalia exchanged glances. It was obvious now. I had to agree. “You do,” I said to Eira. “And you’ve been keeping it a secret, haven’t you?”
“Oh, she’s keeping more than one secret, rest assured,” Varga said with a faint smirk.
“How would you know?” Eira mumbled.
“We’re all gifted in one way or another,” I said. “Varga here can read emotions on most creatures, among other things. There’s not much you can hide from him, Eira. We came here looking for answers, and, instead, we got attacked. These people are part of the same cult we’ve been trying to uncover and stop—the black silks, the porcelain masks. We’ve seen this before, and I’m telling you, if they’re local, and they’re coming to the surface now, your Cerixian Empire is in for much worse.”
“Who are they?” Inalia asked, her voice trembling.
Eira shrugged, then looked at her soldier. “We’ll search them, see if we can find anything about their identities.”
“They’re definitely Cerixian, and young,” the soldier said, his jaw clenched. He would’ve said more about Inalia at this point, but his discipline demanded that he focus on his injured colleagues.
“Inalia, were you always able to use fire like this?” I asked, unsatisfied with the answers I’d gotten so far.
She nodded slowly. “My mother raised me. She knows, and she’s urged me to keep it to myself, which I’ve done successfully over the years. I didn’t want people to think of me as some kind of freak, or, worse, fear me.”
“Again, I should remind everyone that Eira here knew, as well. How?” Eva replied.
“We grew up together, more or less,” Eira said, rolling her eyes.
“We used to be the best of friends,” Inalia added, sadness pulling the corners of her mouth down. She looked sweet, even when she frowned. Something tugged at my stomach, but I set it aside. Whoever or whatever Inalia was, she could eventually help us find the rogue Hermessi responsible for the fae explosions.
“This sad past aside, you ladies need to understand what we’ve been dealing with,” Raphael said, then proceeded to tell them all about the fire fae incidents and our quest for the truth, including our unexpected stints on Akvo and the Emerald. By the time he was done, Inalia, Eira, and the soldier were paralyzed, their eyes bulging as they tried to take it all in.
“Wow…” Inalia murmured.
“So, I’m hoping you now understand why we find all this so frustrating,” Amelia replied. She finished typing on her tablet—another brief report for Draven, surely. The girl was on schedule with all the administrative work, thanks to the magi-tech chip added to the tablet, allowing her to connect with GASP across the galaxies.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know why I was born this way.” Inalia sighed. “I never met my father, but my mother never said he was… well, different. He was a Cerixian, and he left her. I have no idea where this ability comes from.”
“Using logic,” Amelia said, “I’d dare to venture that there’s a link to the fire Hermessi here. Maybe your mother didn’t tell you the truth, Inalia. Because no one is simply born with an ability to create and wield fire from scratch, like you just did. It had to come from someone with the same power, or more.”
“I used to tell her the same thing,” Eira chimed in. “But she—”
Footsteps echoing from the doorway brought our conversation to an abrupt end. More hostiles came in—dressed in black silk and wearing porcelain masks. I groaned with frustration.
“Oh, for… Are you people not tired of getting yourselves killed?” I barked.
Eva stepped forward, her sword screeching as it left its scabbard once more. “We should keep one of them alive for information, if we can.”
“Unless he explodes like the fire fae,” Riza said. “It’s a possibility.”
