novelraw Chapter 255: Consecrated
Chapter 255: Consecrated
The fifth lesson started with a new spell.
"Divine Spark," Selene said, holding her palm up. A small point of white light appeared between her fingers, bright and sharp, hovering like a firefly. "Offensive application. It’s small, but it’s particularly effective against corrupted individuals. Think of it as a needle made of light."
She flicked her wrist and the spark shot across the room, hitting the far wall with a tiny flash before fading. A faint scorch mark remained on the stone.
"The key is precision, not power," Selene continued. "Anyone can throw a blast of light. The Spark requires you to compress divine energy into a single point and maintain its shape during transit. If your focus slips, it disperses before it reaches the target."
Aegis held her hand up and concentrated.
She pulled the light inward, squeezing it down from a glow to a point, a tiny white bead sitting in the crook of her fingers. It flickered once, stabilized, and held.
"Good. Now launch it. Aim for the wall."
Aegis flicked her wrist, mimicking Selene’s motion. The spark shot forward, crossed the room in a straight line, and hit the wall about a foot from Selene’s scorch mark. The flash was smaller, but it was clean.
"Again," Selene said.
Aegis did it again. And again.
By the fifth attempt, she was hitting within a handspan of her target every time, and by the sixth, Selene had stopped giving corrections entirely.
Aegis lowered her hand and shook the tingling out of her fingers.
"So, how am I doing? Scale of one to ’the church should be concerned.’"
Selene ignored the joke, which meant she was thinking, which meant Aegis had done well enough to make her think. That was its own kind of compliment.
"You’re compressing the energy too tightly on release," Selene said after a moment. "It’s making the spark faster but less stable at distance. Here."
She stepped behind Aegis and put her hands on Aegis’s shoulders, adjusting her posture.
"Square your stance. You’re leaning forward too much, which is putting tension in your arm. The energy needs to flow from your core, through your shoulder, down the arm. If the shoulder is tight, the whole chain breaks."
Selene’s hands pressed down gently, rotating Aegis’s shoulders back. Her thumbs dug into the muscle on either side of Aegis’s spine, and Aegis felt the tension release.
[Oh. Oh damn.]
"Better," Selene murmured. "Now, raise your hand again."
Aegis raised her hand. Selene’s fingers slid from her shoulders down to her upper arms, guiding the angle, and her breath was warm against the back of Aegis’s neck.
"Feel the alignment," Selene said, her voice quieter now. "From your center, through the shoulder, to the fingertips. One unbroken line."
[... She’s very close right now.]
Aegis could feel Selene’s chest against her back. Selene’s hands were still on her arms, her fingers curled lightly around Aegis’s biceps, and she hadn’t stepped away.
Aegis turned her head.
Selene was right there, her face inches away, her blue eyes wide and her lips slightly parted. This close, Aegis could count her eyelashes. Could see the way her pupils had dilated, the faint blush creeping up from beneath her collar.
Neither of them moved for a second.
Then Aegis closed the gap.
She kissed Selene, and Selene kissed her back.
It wasn’t gentle. Selene’s mouth opened against hers immediately, her fingers tightening on Aegis’s arms hard enough to leave marks, and Aegis turned fully into her, one hand going to Selene’s waist and the other to the back of her neck. Selene made a sound against Aegis’s mouth, a small, sharp inhale through her nose, and then her back hit the wall.
Aegis pressed into her, pinning her there, and Selene’s hands went from Aegis’s arms to her collar, pulling her closer. Their tongues met and Selene’s hips shifted forward, grinding against Aegis’s thigh. Aegis bit Selene’s lower lip and tugged, and Selene gasped, her head tipping back against the stone wall, her eyes half-shut.
[Holy shit, the church girl can kiss.]
Aegis kissed down her jaw to her neck, her mouth hot against Selene’s skin, and Selene’s fingers tangled in Aegis’s hair. Selene’s thigh pressed between Aegis’s legs and Aegis groaned against her throat, biting down softly on the curve of her neck. Selene’s grip tightened in her hair, pulling, and Aegis took that as encouragement.
She came back up and kissed her mouth again, deeper this time, her tongue sliding against Selene’s while her hand found the gap between Selene’s chestplate and her hip, fingers pressing into the warm fabric underneath. Selene arched into the touch, her hips rolling forward, and the sound she made against Aegis’s mouth was quiet and desperate and completely at odds with every composed, professional word she’d ever said in that prayer room.
It lasted maybe a minute. Maybe two.
Then Selene’s hands went flat against Aegis’s chest and she pushed away gently.
Aegis stepped back.
Selene stood against the wall, breathing hard, her cheeks flushed red, her hair sticking up on one side, her blue eyes wide and unfocused. Her lips were wet. Her armor was crooked.
She stared at Aegis for a long moment. Then, she straightened up, squared her shoulders, adjusted her chestplate, smoothed her hair down with both hands, and cleared her throat.
"Lesson’s over for today," Selene said.
She didn’t look at Aegis as she said it. She walked to the table, closed her satchel, and picked it up.
"Same time next week?" Aegis asked, keeping her voice light.
Selene paused at the door. Her back was to Aegis, her hand on the frame.
"... Same time next week."
She left.
Aegis stood alone in the prayer room. She touched her own lips, still warm, and grinned.
Her hair was a mess. Her collar was wrinkled where Selene had grabbed it. There was probably a mark on her neck from where Selene’s armored fingers had dug in a little too hard. She didn’t care about any of it.
[Favorability: ❤️❤️❤️❤️🤍]
[Four hearts. One more to go. And she kissed me back. She kissed me back hard. The church is going to have a very interesting report to read this quarter.]
The grin was still on Aegis’s face when she stepped outside into the afternoon sun. She probably looked ridiculous, smiling like an idiot on the chapel steps, but she didn’t particularly care.
[I just made out with a church inquisitor. Damn.]
---
The courtyard was busy with students moving between afternoon classes and free periods. Aegis scanned the crowd out of habit, tracking faces, and spotted Sylceris almost immediately.
She was near the library entrance, talking to a group of three commoner students Aegis recognized from the lower years.
Two girls and a boy, scholarship kids, the kind of students who kept their heads down and tried not to draw attention. Sylceris was leaning against the wall next to them, arms crossed, listening more than talking.
Aegis watched for a moment. Sylceris glanced up, saw her across the courtyard, and their eyes met. Sylceris gave her a short nod, then turned back to her conversation.
[She’s getting bolder. Two weeks ago, she wouldn’t have talked to anyone in public. Now she’s holding court in broad daylight. I need to move faster.]