The Blessed and the Pure┃🖋

Chapter Ρ

Finding out Hero to be a Blessing was eye-opening, but that? That opened another can of worms. Or existential crisis. Yeah, that worked.

One couldn't just do that. Fire didn't erupt on your skin and bow to one's will. The Sómata's ability didn't work like that. Nothing did.

No, that's a lie. When Synoliká - or Elláda - still believed in them, the gods conjured fire without breaking a sweat. But Hero wasn't a god. She was a mortal. Right?

Hallie peered at her hands, eyebrows scrunched together as she tried to solve her world's greatest mystery.

Miscenus floated in a parallel state of mind, staring at his arms, waiting for them to catch on fire, finally giving him an opportunity to scream. He sat the closest to the fire; he saw it reach and flare and burn. It was small, the fire, but it encompassed everything.

Perialla walked ahead of the group and kept her ashen face down. Not literally ashen, but Hallie got the point. Even she stayed silent after the fire faded and Hero looked to them for approval.

Nikas trailed behind Hallie like an uncertain dog. Every so often he would prod her toward Perialla whenever she got off course. He did a similar thing with Miscenus, dragging him by the arm when his pace slowed to a snail's.

Normally, Hallie would tease him for taking on the role of their personal tour guide, but he was handling the situation better than any of them. Plus, she was too busy solving the greatest mystery ever.

Hallie brought her left hand up to the sky, watching the bright rays of sunlight and dust drift through her fingers.

Could her hand burst into flame? She kind of wanted to. It sounded painful, but the possibilities and risks were too much to ignore.

Her hand warmed in the sun. Hallie chanced a glance back at Nikas. He wasn't paying attention to her, just dragging Miscenus along while he attended a vexatious meeting in his mind.

She held her breath and stared at her hand with such intensity she surprised herself, willing a spark into existence to crackle and pop.

Nothing happened.

Hallie sighed. What did she expect, anyway? Maybe Hero was a god. Or a demigod. Come to think of it, she never talked about her parents, despite still living with them. Odd...

Nikas nudged her, breaking Hallie from her conspiratorial trance. She looked around, spotted Perialla, and righted her path.

She was overthinking this. All of them were. When the Sómata got discovered, everyone panicked and blamed it on a curse or disease. Some still insisted.

What if Hero wasn't a Sóma? What if she was the beginning of a neoteric ability group? It seemed the most likely theory.

Hallie hummed and bounced on the balls of her feet. She skipped after Perialla, forcing Nikas and Miscenus to catch up. It was too much work to care about their now overworked cardiovascular systems, that fact clear by her blossoming grin.

She must appear crazy. It didn't bother her, though.

She just solved the world's greatest mystery.

---

Kirphis and Semele didn't look that different from their Sóma counterparts when they trudged through the door. Taryn, however, was chipper. Well, not chipper, per se, chipper compared to the overall mood of the room. Stoical or calm would be better, unbiased descriptions.

"Boy, do we have a story for you!" Taryn said, collapsing onto her chair. And therefore Perialla.

"Mmm..." Perialla reached out to pet her girlfriend's hair. Taryn preened under the recognition.