novelraw Chapter 253: Blessed
Chapter 253: Blessed
Two weeks in, and the prayer room didn’t feel like an interrogation chamber anymore.
Selene still wore the armor. Still carried herself with that straight-backed church discipline. Still smiled that polite, measured smile. But the edges had softened. She didn’t watch Aegis’s hands like she was looking for signs of corruption anymore. She watched them like a teacher checking a student’s form.
Progress.
Today’s exercise was shaping. Not that it was "shaping up well", no, literally shaping.
Aegis held divine light in her palms and molded it into basic forms. A sphere, a flat disc, a small point of concentrated brightness. The kind of control work that required focus and a steady hand, both of which Aegis had gotten noticeably better at over the past few sessions. She still wasn’t being taught actual spells, which was annoying, but the main point of all this was to get Selene on her side, not to learn Divine Magic anyway (though she obviously wouldn’t mind that).
"Hold the sphere for ten seconds," Selene said. "Don’t let it wobble."
Aegis held it. The light sat steady in her palm, round and clean. Five seconds. Eight. Ten.
"Good." Selene stepped closer to inspect. "Your stability has improved considerably since our first session. Most students take months to achieve this level of control."
"What can I say? I’m an overachiever."
"You’re a menace is what you are."
Aegis blinked. Selene blinked.
The words had come out before Selene could stop them, casual and teasing, and the look on Selene’s face said she hadn’t planned on saying that out loud. Her lips pressed together and she straightened up, clearing her throat.
Aegis grinned.
"Did you just make a joke?"
"I made an observation."
"You made a joke. The church inquisitor made a joke. I’m marking this day on my calendar."
"I’m not an inquisitor."
"Observer, right. My mistake."
Selene turned away to retrieve a training manual from her satchel, and Aegis caught the faintest pink on her cheeks before she faced the wall.
[Oh? Oh. Interesting.]
For the next exercise, Selene had Aegis channel light through her fingertips instead of her palms. It required a different kind of focus, more precision, less volume. Aegis held her hand out and concentrated, and the light came, thin and bright, glowing at the tips of her fingers like tiny candle flames.
"Your wrist is too tense," Selene said. She stepped behind Aegis and reached around to adjust her arm. Her fingers wrapped around Aegis’s forearm, guiding it into the correct position. "Here. Relax the joint. Let the energy flow downward, not outward."
Aegis relaxed her wrist. The light at her fingertips brightened.
"Better," Selene said.
Her hand was still on Aegis’s arm.
Aegis could feel the warmth of Selene’s fingers through her sleeve, the gentle pressure of her grip. They were close enough that Aegis could smell whatever Selene used in her hair, something light and clean, like soap and fresh linen.
Neither of them moved.
One second passed.
Two.
Three.
Selene pulled her hand back. She stepped away, clasped her hands behind her back, and didn’t look at Aegis.
Aegis didn’t mention it. She just adjusted her stance and kept practicing.
[Four seconds. She held on for four seconds longer than she needed to. That’s not nothing.]
They ran through a few more exercises.
Aegis performed well, hitting every benchmark Selene set, and by the end of the session, Selene was looking at her with an expression that had shifted well past "suspicious church official" and into something closer to genuine respect.
"I have to admit," Selene said as they wrapped up, "your talent for this is remarkable. Divine magic typically resists anyone with even trace amounts of shadow corruption, and yet you channel it with more ease each session."
"I’m a hard worker."
"Or perhaps you’re blessed." Selene said it lightly, but her blue eyes lingered on Aegis for a moment. "Truly blessed, I mean. The Divine Light doesn’t come to just anyone. It chooses."
[If only she knew how accurate that statement is. The Fertility Goddess’s blessing might not be divine magic, but "blessed" is technically correct.]
"I appreciate that, Selene. Coming from you, that means a lot."
Selene held her gaze for a beat, then nodded and turned to pack up her satchel.
[+20 affection]
[Favorability: ❤️❤️❤️🤍🤍]
[Three hearts. And she touched my arm for four seconds too long. The church is going to be very disappointed in their observer.]
---
Mei’Lin was waiting for Aegis outside the chapel annex, leaning against the wall with her arms folded under her chest. She fell into step beside Aegis without a word and they walked together until they reached a quiet stretch of corridor near the east wing.
"Second one," Mei’Lin said, keeping her voice low. "Brynn Kessler. First-year, noble house, minor family from the western provinces. She follows the same pattern as Fenn, disappears after last class, irregular meeting times with Sylceris, avoids common areas in the evening."
"A noble?" Aegis raised an eyebrow. "That’s new. I figured the Umbral Blade recruited from commoners."
"Apparently not. Brynn’s family lost most of their holdings three years ago in a land dispute with House Cindergrave. They’re noble in name only at this point."
[So, another person with a grudge against the system. The Umbral Blade isn’t just recruiting the oppressed, they’re recruiting anyone who feels like Valdria screwed them over.]
"Good work, Mei. That’s two confirmed plus Sylceris. Three total."
"Kai’Lin thinks there might be a fourth, but she needs another week to confirm."
"Tell her to take it. No rushing. I’d rather have solid intel than guesses."
Mei’Lin nodded. She brushed her white hair back and gave Aegis a look. "Be careful, Aegis. The more of them we find, the more dangerous this gets."
"I know."
"Do you? Because Kai’Lin says you’ve been sparring with Sylceris every morning and eating breakfast with her after. That’s not just surveillance anymore."
"It’s not. It’s relationship building. There’s a difference."
"Mhm." Mei’Lin didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t push it. "Just watch yourself."
She peeled off down a side corridor and vanished.
[Mental list update. Sylceris Wynne, confirmed member. Fenn Arlo, confirmed member. Brynn Kessler, confirmed member. Possible fourth, pending. And somewhere in there, more I haven’t found yet.]
Aegis sighed.
[Two fronts. Selene on one side, Sylceris on the other. Both warming up to me. Both getting closer. Just have to keep both plates spinning without dropping either one.]
Aegis was walking toward the dining hall when footsteps matched her pace from behind. She glanced sideways.
Sylceris. Hands in her pockets, expression neutral, falling into step beside Aegis like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Walk with me," Sylceris said.
[Well... Okay then.]