We rode from Ravenna’s house toward the city prison again. Queen Lyshara herself led our small group, fnked by her guards, with Ravenna, Mara, Evie, Vae, and myself close behind.

  But this time, we weren’t alone.

  Mara had brought a small procession of her temple’s nuns, nine in total, draped in light gray ceremonial robes, eyes gleaming with curiosity and doubt. They walked quietly. Some were young, a couple of them clearly seasoned in their years of quiet devotion. All of them had volunteered to witness what was, for them, something nearly unthinkable: the breaking of vows for the sake of salvation.

  The Queen had insisted on their presence.

  “It’s important they see with their own eyes what Mara has told them,” Lyshara said to me as we rode. “Many in the clergy still doubt your role. Even among those who follow the Yevari Faith, you are hard to accept. But faith is strengthened not by words, but by proof. I too, didn’t believe in you, till I saw it with my own eyes.”

  She had a point.

  Mara rode beside us. I could tell it hadn’t been easy convincing her sisters to come. She was respected among them, but the idea of a woman of the faith having sex with someone, even in service of prophecy, had likely shaken more than a few foundations.

  Once we reached the prison gates, the guards bowed and allowed us inside without a word. A few rge barrels of fresh water and crates of food were pced in the main hall which held these corrupted prisons. The prisoners, those still bearing the signs of early corruption as well the ones who had succumbed to it, were caged in cells.

  Ravenna and Mara moved toward the barrels, both of them holding out their hands as they began the imbuing process. Their palms glowed faintly as their mana flowed into the water and food.

  “This is not just magic,” Ravenna expined, raising her voice so the nuns could hear. “It is Ayra’s mana, through us. When we y with her in dual cultivation, our bodies and spirits are changed. Our mana becomes a reflection of hers, human mana. That is what you are about to witness.”

  One of the younger nuns, wide-eyed and skeptical, whispered something to the woman next to her.

  Mara turned to face them. “I did not lie with Lady Ayra for my own pleasure,” she said calmly. “But once I did, I felt the truth. My mana changed. And now, through that blessing, I can heal what none of us could before.”

  The food and water was then poured in ptes and bowls and passed through the opening in the cells. Everyone stood silently as the prisoners ate and drank.

  At first, nothing. Just chewing. Swallowing. A few confused gnces.

  Then it began.

  One of the younger prisoners, a Satyr girl no older than nineteen, who had just started to show the effects of corruption, let out a sharp breath and fell to her knees. Her body shuddered as a faint, golden light pulsed under her skin, burning through the bck veins of corruption. Her cws shrank. The dark rings beneath her eyes faded. She gasped, just once, and looked around in disbelief.

  “I... I’m back,” she whispered.

  Mara asked the guards to unlock the cage, she walked inside and held the Satyr girl’s hand, steadying her. “The goddess is merciful. But thank her too,” she said gently, nodding toward me. “She is the one who gave us this blessing.”

  The other nuns began to murmur among themselves. Some covered their mouths.

  “This is why I broke my vow,” Mara said, rising to her feet, facing them. “Not for pleasure. Not for temptation. But because the goddess does not care about our old rules if they keep us from doing good. Lady Ayra is the one the prophecy spoke of and this is proof.”

  One of the older nuns, an elven woman probably in her early 30s, the same as Mara’s age, stepped forward, looking directly at me. Her eyes searched my face, and whatever she found there must have satisfied her. She bowed her head.

  “If it is the goddess’s will... then I would ask to be blessed as well,” she said quietly.

  Several others followed her example, stepping forward one by one, murmuring their agreement.

  “Lay with me, Lady Ayra.” One Dogkin woman said.

  “I am ready as well, Lady Ayra.” A young Naga woman said.

  And then another one asked me to sleep with her.

  I stood there, stunned for a moment, surrounded by these women, some nervous, others awed, but all willing to sleep with me. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to fuck them. The idea of sharing that intimate moment with so many beautiful, devoted women stirred something primal in me... but I knew that it was necessary.

  Then I caught a gnce from Evie.

  She stood off to the side, arms crossed, her expression unreadable. But I’d spent enough time around her by now to recognize the signs. Her brow was drawn just a little tighter. Her jaw set. She didn’t say anything, but I could see it.

  Jealousy.

  Before I could say anything, Mara gently pulled the other nuns aside and spoke to them, likely reminding them not to overwhelm me or act disrespectfully. Meanwhile, the Queen and Ravenna were speaking with a few council members nearby.

  Then Ravenna turned and addressed the growing group.

  “We’ll organize everything,” she said firmly. “Those who wish to receive the blessing must speak to Vae and have their day and time scheduled. There will be no chaos, no crowding. This is still a sacred act, not a free-for-all.”

  Vae stepped forward with a small ledger in her hand, already prepared. “Report to me in the evening at Ravennna’s house. We will begin soon.”

  The crowd slowly began to disperse as Mara led the nuns back to the temple and the councilwoman, along with Queen Lyshara left as well.

  Everyone was happy as we left the gates and made our way back toward the heart of the city.

  Ravenna suggested we stop by the open market.

  Evie and Vae were up ahead, already debating whether the cheese vendor was a swindler or a saint.

  The market was lively, with wooden carts lined with fresh fruits, stands of spices and dried meats, families haggling, children darting between stalls.

  Then we saw him.

  He stood near a produce stall, holding a small basket of vegetables.

  A tall beastkin man, broad-shouldered and lean, with short dark hair and two soft gray wolf ears poking through it. His arms were covered in light fur, just enough to hint at his beastial heritage, not the wild, ragged corruption we’d seen before. He wore a simple, dark-blue tunic, fitted at the waist, and soft boots. His tail swayed zily behind him as he reached down to ruffle the hair of a small girl clinging to his side.

  She looked about five or six, with her mother’s softer features and her father’s gray ears. Her hands were full of sweetberries.

  When he turned and saw us, his eyes widened. For a moment, he just stared.

  Then he handed the basket to his wife, stepped forward.

  “Lady Ravenna,” he said, voice thick. “Lady Ayra.”

  I blinked. “You’re...?”

  He nodded, slowly standing again. “It’s me. You healed me. Back at the prison. I... I didn’t know if I’d ever get to be like this again.”

  His wife stepped forward too, pcing a gentle hand on his back. “We wanted to thank you,” she said quietly. “He was starting to change. Slipping. It terrified him, terrified all of us. We didn’t know what was happening.”

  “I thought I’d lose myself,” he added, eyes on me now. “That I’d hurt my daughter and my wife. Or worse. Every day, I felt my mind going, snapping, bit by bit. Like something inside was chewing through who I was. I stopped sleeping in the house. Didn’t trust myself and decided to turn myself in the prison so my family could be safe.”

  He smiled. “Now I sleep next to my wife again. I can ugh with my daughter. I can shop without wondering if I’ll go feral in the middle of the street.” His gaze flicked between the two of us. “I don’t understand exactly what you did. But I’ll never stop being grateful for it.”

  I didn’t know what to say. I just nodded, heart thudding in my chest in a different rhythm than

  Ravenna smiled at them. “It was our honor.”

  They left soon after.

  I hadn’t realized how much I needed that. Not just praise. Not just recognition.

  But to know that I made a difference. That I mattered. That someone’s world, someone’s family, had been saved because of me.

  I wasn’t the loser I used to be. Not the invisible guy people passed over.

  I was here. I was seen. And I was needed.

  I couldn’t wait to make a name for myself in this world by helping as many people as possible.