Salvation: A Realm of Flame and Shadow Novel by Phillips Christina

Author:Phillips, Christina
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-648-75688-0
Publisher: Phoenix 18 Publishing
Published: 2020-12-08T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

She entered the atrium with five minutes to spare, but already a couple of dozen of the Elite were seated. Shit. She hadn’t wanted to keep them waiting. Many of them were centuries old, and despite how long she’d been a member, there were several she hadn’t even spoken to yet. Unlike Zane and a few others, they liked to distance themselves from the general members.

The four magnificent columns, that punctuated each corner of the raised platform in the center of the atrium, soared into the sky, their fluted marble surfaces glowing violet and indigo.

Nijah, the eldest of them all and leader of the Elite, was standing on the platform. Rumors had always swirled around Nijah, that she had been born during the height of the Ottoman Empire and been instrumental in the untimely death of the previous leader of the Watchers more than two hundred years ago. She never attempted to suppress or address them which made Bella think they were true. Nijah indicated that Bella should stand before her, so everyone could see.

“We understand you have been concealing the true extent of your abilities from us.” Her tone was neutral, but it was an accusation, nevertheless.

“Not with malice. When I joined the Watchers, I wasn’t ready to enter the hallowed ranks of the Elite.” Her voice was strong, and she kept her gaze locked with Nijah’s. It wasn’t a complete lie. She’d been a mess when she’d first been welcomed into the fold. She hadn’t been mentally equipped to become an Elite.

But if not for her promise to Eblis, she would have been more than prepared to ascend within a few years of discovering her immortal bloodline.

“And now you are ready to be tested?”

“I am.”

Many of the Elite, although not all, could teleport. Several of them were telepathic and/or telekinetic. A handful were natural polyglots. To her knowledge, only Nijah and Zane, besides herself, possessed the coveted trinity.

She’d psyched herself up for the ordeal to come, but it was even more brutal than she’d imagined.

Every one of the Elite tested her.

Not just demanding to view her teleportation prowess, which included lightning fast visits to Antarctica and Tokyo and a score more places besides, which was no problem, but several psychic invasions.

Which were.

If not for the years of Eblis’ training she’d had at developing her mental shields, they would have clawed every secret from her mind. By the time the last one finished raking through the superficial memories Bella had allowed them to access, her brain throbbed, and body ached, as though she’d been plugged into an electrical storm.

But the fact she could leave the atrium proved she had passed their criteria. Now she was one of the privileged few, permitted to attend Elite-only gatherings and access classified information.

She’d been right to hold back the full extent of her abilities, though. Envy from those who hadn’t inherited that power, and simmering anger from others at how she’d concealed it for so long, tainted the air.

It was a chilling warning that she’d need to watch her back.

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