Fireborn

14 ¦ The Tree of Life

I couldn't help but furrow my brow before I acquiesced with a solemn nod. With Peter dressed in Rogue armor, I'd almost forgotten he'd earned his Cleric ribbon as well.

"Good, Miss Alta. Make sure you visit the Tree before sunrise in order to get the full benefit," she suggested. "I hope you don't think me pushy, but as a Healer, I can't help but notice."

"No, that's fine," I said, returning her smile. "Thank you, Professor."

"See you at the seventh bell, Liselle," Peter said with a wry smile.

❄️🔥❄️🔥

Two days later on the Day of Rest, I woke at the sixth bell and took a quick bath. Dressed in a fresh set of initiate Cleric robes, I wound my tricolor ribbons into my braid.

Bragda groaned and covered her head with a pillow. "Where in Hades are you going at this ungodly hour?"

"Funny you should say that," I replied. "I'm headed to the Tree of Life with Peter."

"Don't the Risa believe in sleep?" she asked in a petulant tone. "Wait, what in Hades is a Rogue doing with you at the Tree of Life?"

"My soul tells me he's more than just a callous Rogue."

She scoffed.

"I thought you liked him now that you've gotten to know him these past few weeks."

"I don't like anyone this early in the morning!" Bragda growled as she rolled over onto her stomach.

"The party was that good, huh?"

"Last night, yes. This morning, not so much."

A smile crept across my face. "Night, night, sis."

She groaned in response and buried herself beneath the quilt.

Like all Clerics, I drew the baggy, white hood over my head to obscure my face. Students cast their glances away in reverence--even the Barbarians--as I crossed the campus and entered the Sacred Garden.

A slender, dusky Risan Cleric was setting up a prayer mat and arranging his holy water for the Life Force Ceremony. My heart thudded, and I recoiled behind a large tree trunk. Disrupting the ceremonies of holy Clerics was a breach of Risan law. Since he'd arrived at the Tree first, Peter and I would have to wait.

"You don't have to hide away," the Cleric said in a deep, unfamiliar baritone.

"Forgive my intrusion, Master Cleric," I whispered under my breath with my head bowed. Even though I wasn't raised religious, I had great respect for religious leaders. "I didn't realize you'd be here."

The man clasped my arm, and I gasped in surprise. Clerics didn't usually touch members of the opposite gender. When I looked up, Peter's gray eyes peered at me from under the hood.

"It's me, Liselle," he said. "I morphed into my pure Risan form in order to perform the rituals."

The cilia from Peter's manual receptors extended and tickled my forearm. Tiny sparks danced along my skin as they did after I'd cast the avian sight spell in the library. When I gazed into his eyes, they shone with an intense emotion I couldn't quite place.

This time, I chose to ignore it.

When I followed him to the holy place and knelt beside him on the prayer mat, my heart thudded against my ribs with nerves. "It's been so long, Peter. I hope She still welcomes me."

He gave me a tender smile. "You don't need to worry. Whenever my physical form dies, the Tree welcomes me into Her gentle embrace until I heal, no matter how damaged my spirit is."