Sylia, the Dark & Light Saint

November, Two years ago

Magali rose to her feet, the room swaying around her, but the true vertigo came from within.

She clenched her fists, her fury gathering beneath the surface, swelling with every breath.

Sylia knew.

Of course she did. She always knew.

Magali's heart pounded, her breath ragged as she struggled to keep from trembling outright. That smile, the one Sylia had flashed just before introducing Megan, had confirmed it. She had learned the truth. The whole truth.

Taryna.

Taryna, who had trusted her.

Taryna, who had been so foolish, so disgustingly naïve. Who had believed Magali, even after the trap had sprung. Who had not even screamed until the Church men had tried to chain her arms and brand her with their sanctified iron.

The Spell Magali had used on her cousin had been her mother's idea. A family Spell, old and vicious, masked as Slight Healing. It was supposed to cloud the mind, weaken the limbs, numb the will. Even someone like Taryna, powerful and sharp-eyed, should have stumbled.

But she had not.

She had fought them. She had burned the Sigils from the walls and turned all their Spells against them. Magali had not expected that outcome. No one had. But in the end, Taryna had fled, and Magali had managed to survive. She had sweet-talked her cousin, shown deep remorse, begging her not to tell her mother Sylia. She had even cried, real tears, hot with fear. And Taryna… had agreed.

Or so Magali had thought.

Taryna must have told her mother. She must have changed her mind. Magali's fists clenched tighter.

Taryna had broken her promise.

She had sworn that she would not tell Saint Sylia or any other. She had even claimed she understood. That she forgave Magali. Liar.

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"No, I'm the liar," she corrected herself, biting back bile.

Magali had not done it out of concern for Taryna. She had not worried for Sylia's daughter, at all. Only for herself. She had just wanted the promised money, and to be rid of Taryna forever. That girl had shone too brightly, drawn too many eyes, stood too far above her. Even the father of Magali's child, her dream husband, had watched Taryna for a little too long once, his gaze lingering in a way that had cut deeper than any blade.

So Magali had arranged it with the help of her family and the complicity of Taryna's biological father, Grenek.

And now she was certain that Sylia knew.

Magali's lips parted slightly, her body numb even as her thoughts spun with frantic speed. Sylia would kill her. No, worse, she would enslave and transform her. Twist her Soul into something small, something shameful. Maybe even turn her to a collared pet. Like she had done to others before. Magali had seen it. She knew what Sylia could do.

Unless…

Her eyes flicked up, just briefly, to where Sylia stood, surrounded by the Slums' children and the terrifying calm of absolute authority.

"Unless I act now. Unless I shape the story. Unless I make her see what I want her to see." She thought bitterly.

The plan crystallized in her mind, sharp, bright, and desperate.

She would beg. She would weep. She would become the grieving girl again, the confused cousin who had only ever wanted to protect a child she cherished. She would say she had feared for Taryna's safety. That the Spell was a mistake, that her mother had insisted it was a safeguard. That she had sent her to the Church for discipline, not ruin. That she had no idea what the Church would do.

"Sylia would hear that. She might even give me a chance. She might think that she had misjudged me. If I act quickly, if I show remorse, she might choose mercy." Magali hoped.

Even the others, including her intended, might look at her with sympathy again. Might forget what they now suspected after Sylia's statement. Might see her as a victim too, led astray by circumstance, by fear, or better yet by a manipulative family.

Yes. That was the only path left. The only one with a shred of hope.

Magali inhaled shakily and pressed her palms together. Her stomach turned as she made the final decision.

She had already sacrificed much by casting the Spell upon Taryna. Her child's survival was now unlikely, given the nature of the Spell she had wielded. No other option had existed at the time. Taryna's power had been overwhelming, and Magali had foreseen the father of her child abandoning her for another. Someone like her cousin, beautiful, wealthy, powerful, and naive. She resolved to persuade Sylia and seek forgiveness for her vicious actions, as it was her only path forward.

She had to sell it.

She had to become the victim and benefactor in this story.

The girl who had only wanted the best.

She would show grief.

She would claim she had not known.

And maybe, just maybe, Sylia would spare her.