Just as she began to consider the terrifying possibility, her friend waved a dismissive hand.
"Relax. You're just caught up in his energy. Happens sometimes. If a person's internal energy is strong enough, especially if it's strange or ancient, it can leave an impression on someone sensitive to mana. You were exposed to it during the evaluation. That's probably all it is."
The priestess hesitated.
"You really think so?"
Her friend nodded.
"It's just like residual aura. You'll feel back to normal after some rest. Trust me."
But as she parted ways with her friend and headed to her assigned quarters at the temple, the priestess couldn't shake the lingering feeling that this wasn't just residual energy.
It was him.
That night, she knelt before the shrine of her goddess, her hands pressed together tightly in prayer.
The golden incense burned in curling spirals beside her, and the sacred bells chimed softly with the breeze.
