As Cannoli confronted the dark room mirrors for the second time, she drew on every shred of warmth and kindness in her memory.

  Cuddling with Matt. Sharing ice cream with Keke. Ceres’s easy laugh. Ravyn hugging the stuffed Bally I gave her.

  “Are you ready, Cannoli?” Sister Allegra asked.

  Cannoli carefully lowered to her knees. Was anyone truly ready to face their greatest fears at any moment? But deadly confrontations often happened the same way. She hadn’t been ready to watch Matt die to the venom on Shi Island. Or to have to choose between Ceres’s life and the soul of a stranger.

  No! Stop thinking about that. Think of Rozalyn holding Freckles, or Cora’s smile when she takes her first bite of nyapple pie.

  Today, she knew what kind of challenges the mirrors posed. The lies they spat. The reflections would speak to her self-doubts and play on her insecurities. While her first attempt to cast [Beseeching Chant] had failed, learning the process was invaluable. Today, she would fight back.

  Cannoli sucked in a deep breath and clasped her hands to her chest. “I’m ready.”

  Sister Allegra nodded. “Please begin casting.”

  Instead of chanting as she did the day before, Cannoli closed her eyes and began to sing. “Saoirse, call my name and I shall answer.”

  It was the hymn from their morning prayer, but the melody reminded her so closely of the pawm civet’s song that she found it easy to memorize and repeat. The words were sweet on her tongue and in her ears. It had been so long since she’d last sung.

  “You really think I want you back in my Party, Cannoli?” Matt’s voice. She could hear the bitter sneer he wore in those rare instances when he was truly angry. “For what? To keep blinding all of us in a fight?”

  “My hands are yours to wield. Your Spells I whisper with your truth.” Cannoli called back the sound of crackling logs while she sat beside the campfire, Matt’s reassuring arm around her shoulders. His kiss tasted salty from dinner.

  “It’s not like you do anything for him in bed.” Keke’s cutting words sliced through the mirror to her left. “So, really, why should he keep you around?”

  “Grant me your light,” she sang, holding her last hug with Keke tightly in her mind. She missed her sister dearly.

  “My Lord Matt has given you ample time to perform. He would not have needed to call upon me if you were strong enough, Cannoli.” Ceres. Considerate, level-headed Ceres. “And you nearly let me die.”

  For the first time, Cannoli’s voice quivered. “A-and I will share it with those in need.”

  “Fuck these bakas, Cannoli. Cast your Spell.” Whether Ravyn was in a mirror or simply in Cannoli’s heart, she couldn’t say.

  She smiled as she spoke the words, “[Beseeching Chant].”

  The powerful flow of Myana rushed from the tips of her ears to her tail, and she opened her eyes to find herself engulfed in a soft blue aura.

  “Excellent work, Cannoli! Keep going!” Sister Allegra cried behind her.

  Relief pooled into tears at the corners of Cannoli’s eyes. She clung to Ravyn’s encouragement as she began the song again. “Saoirse, call my name and I shall answer.”

  The stream of Myana continued, and Cannoli could feel its slow seep from her skin while she held the Spell in place.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  The mirrors continued their cruel attacks. The Chikara killing the girls at the oasis while Cannoli could do nothing but cling to Matt. Hundreds of fishcat corpses bumping up against Portia’s boat. Jazz’s body torn to shreds on their return march to Catania.

  “My hands are yours to wield. Your Spells I whisper with your truth.”

  “Sweet child, what you have seen pales in comparison to what awaits you.” A woman encapsulated by a blinding light appeared in the center mirror. Two white tails ticked back and forth behind her, and an intricate, golden mask covered her face.

  Lady Saoirse.

  Sister Allegra gasped. Was this not another trial? Just a picture of what she thought the goddess looked like? Cannoli hesitated and licked her lips. She could feel her Myana slow.

  “It would be much easier to return to Ni Island, Cannoli. Return to your safe, warm bed, and the people who adore you.” Saoirse reached forward, and her arm breached the mirror. Golden bangles clinked together on her wrist, and a long white sleeve brushed the floor. Her cold hand caressed Cannoli’s cheek. Potent Myana surged through Saoirse’s fingertips, promising that any Spell she uttered would spark to life without hesitation.

  Cannoli’s tongue refused to move.

  “Do you truly believe that you have the strength to carry my truth?”

  Cannoli’s hands trembled, and tears streamed down her face. Whether it was actually Lady Saoirse in the mirror or another trick of her mind, this was still a test, and there was only one answer. The single word that would continue her journey and help her find her strength. The word that would bring her back to the people she adored.

  “Yes,” Cannoli said. She raised one arm and cupped the hand at her cheek. With a shaking voice that hardly sounded like her own, she sang the final lines. “Grant me your light, and I will gift it to those in need.”

  Saoirse drew her arm away, and she smiled. “Very well, then. Light guide you, Cannoli.”

  She vanished, and the air in Cannoli’s lungs escaped with her. The room was dark and eerily silent outside of Cannoli’s rasped breaths. Shivers wracked her body, and she curled her tail around her knees.

  “S-Sister Allegra…” Cannoli stammered. “Has that…?”

  “Happened before? I…do not believe so.” Allegra’s words sounded just as startled as Cannoli felt. “I have witnessed accounts of initiates fearing the thoughts of our goddess, but the image has never appeared so…genuine. Nor have I seen a reflection move outside of the mirror.”

  She was real? Cannoli hugged her arms around her body and leaned back onto her feet. Lady Saoirse touched me?

  Another long silence blanketed the room. Cannoli’s brief joy with her successful casting of [Beseeching Chant] sank into awe, wonder, and terror. Why? Why me? “What should I do?”

  “Allow me to look further into what happened before you share the experience with your peers.” Allegra touched Cannoli’s shoulder. “For now, we shall celebrate your successful Spell cast and move you to the next step.”

  “R-right. Thank you, Sister Allegra.” Cannoli rose to her feet, though her knees wobbled beneath her.

  Allegra offered her a helping hand, and Cannoli steadied herself. “I said similarly yesterday, Cannoli, but I believe it bears repeating. The trials you have endured are vast and complicated. You are a brave young woman and well-deserving of your sapphire.”

  Cannoli began the walk beside Allegra down the hallway, willing the feeling back into her toes. “Thank you. I just, well…”

  “Hm?”

  “If Lady Saoirse says that what’s waiting in my future is even more difficult… I’m scared,” Cannoli murmured.

  “Of course you are. Fear is an understandable and acceptable emotion. It is the very thing this test is designed to overcome,” Allegra said. “You will feel it and experience it, but what you do in the face of fear is what is most important.”

  Cannoli nodded. No more jumping into Matt’s arms or hiding behind Ceres’s advance. She had an important role to play, and she couldn’t let her fear destroy her. “I want to carry Lady Saoirse’s words, and I want to keep my friends safe.”

  “I know. I could feel your whole being inside of your affirmation.” Sister Allegra smiled and patted Cannoli’s shoulder. “I believe you are and will be an inspiration to many.”

  Heat rose to Cannoli’s cheeks, and she looked down before the light could catch her blush. “You are too kind.”

  When they returned to the classroom, Cannoli took her seat beside Cora and gave Rozalyn’s hand a reassuring squeeze as she walked toward the dark hallway.

  “Did you do it?” Cora whispered.

  Cannoli nodded.

  “I knew it! I knew you’d be the first of us.” Cora pumped a fist into the air. “Great job! Now you can relax!”

  Cannoli smiled and leaned back against her chair, doing her best to calm her shaken nerves. After a few deep breaths, a familiar urging in her chest called her attention. She hadn’t felt the prickling, excited sensation in what felt like forever. When she acknowledged it, her hand shot to her mouth.

  I’m a Level 10 Acolyte?!

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