The Dismissed Saint Became the Beast King's Healer novel · Chapter 15 of 24

Chapter 15: The Real Saint at Midnight

Sera Valtier sat in the gatehouse with a blanket over her shoulders and a cup of tea she had not touched.

She had walked a mile in the dark in thin white slippers.

Her feet were cut, and Shiori knelt in front of her and cleaned them before either of them spoke.

Her pearl light ran over the scrapes and the skin closed.

"You didn't have to do that," Sera whispered.

"I know."

Kaedan stood in the doorway in his shirtsleeves with his arms folded.

Nerei stood behind him with her ears pricked and a sword she was pretending not to hold.

"Say it," Shiori said. "Whatever you came to say."

Sera looked at her hands.

The gold sun on her right palm shone faintly in the lamplight.

"I'm not a Valtier," she said.

Nerei's ears went up.

"My father is a baker in the lower city of Sunreach. He had a daughter called Lenne, and when she was eight, the gold came up in her hand."

She swallowed.

"The Temple paid him forty silver marks. They said it was a blessing. They gave me a house name so the nobles would kneel, and a seal so I wouldn't leave."

She pulled the white collar down.

On her left shoulder blade lay a silver coin, dull as old tin.

"Eleven years. It never burned, because I never went anywhere. Tonight, at the well, it began."

Kaedan made a low sound.

"I'm sorry," Sera said to him. "I read your name out loud in front of your people. I did it because he told me that if I refused, my father's shop would lose its licence."

"I know why," Kaedan said.

His voice was rough but not unkind.

"You were handed a book and a threat," Shiori said. "That isn't the same as choosing it."

← Chapter 14 · All chapters · Chapter 16 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend