Consumed by the Stormbrought: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Guardians of Re'Utu Book 1) by Maddie Syn

Author:Maddie Syn [Syn, Maddie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-09-20T16:00:00+00:00

20

Kiango

"Okay, tell me about this fire ritual. Are you really going to pour fire down my throat?"

Ember was sitting cross-legged on the floor of our training room. The basin of water harvested from the slimy walls was nearly full in preparation for our first session.

I cocked my head sideways and shook my head. "Who told you that? Tatyanna?" I couldn't help the disapproval that came out with my words.

"No," she scoffed defensively. "It was in that stupid book you were reading last night. I saw the pictures."

I couldn't help but laugh at the triumphant look on her face, as if she'd caught me in some kind of scheme. "Ah, yes. You were spying on me in my sleep again. Good to know."

She blushed furiously. "I was not," she insisted.

"Well, if you don't want me to think that, you should stop doing it." I could see her rearing up to argue some more, but I waved it off. "We need to focus. The fire ritual is no joke. I will not, in fact, be pouring actual fire down your throat. However, you will accept burning herbs into your mouth, and then you will exhale them with Re'Utu's breath."

"Okay, so I was half right. But what happens after that? There has to be a catch."

"When you exhale, you will catch the flames in your hands and carry them to the altar. You will use Re'Utu's breath to light the ceremonial candles while you pray. You must not let the flames burn out before all nine candles are lit. Re'Utu gives us but one breath to light the world with. We must use it wisely."

She rolled her eyes at me. "There you go again with all that crazy talk. Listen, I don't care what it symbolizes, I just need to know how to do it well enough to pass the test. After that, you can tell me all the lore you want."

"Fine. If you want me to show you, then let's do this. On your knees. Kneel with your hands clasped behind your back. Lift your chin."

I rose and went to a small table at the side of the room where I had prepared a mix of herbs already. I grabbed the stone mortar where I had mashed the herbs together, and took up a candle in my other hand. The flame wavered as I turned to rejoin her, but it came back to life when I stopped in front of her.

Despite her misrepresentation of the image in the book, she actually did do a fair impression of the woman's pose. Even her eyes were opened wide with fear as she saw me bring the flame over the herbs and set them to burning.

"Open your mouth and hold very still," I instructed, bending only slightly so that I could pour the fire. But before I could do it, she clamped her jaw shut and nearly fell backward in her attempt to get away from me.

"No. No way. I'm not doing it."

I straightened, peering down at her with disappointment.

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