I watched, mesmerized, as she descended the staircase. The way the bottom of her sparkly silver dress moved as she took each step made it appear as if she was floating. Once she reached the last step, to my surprise, she looked right at me with her icy-blue Christoulakis eyes—or so it seemed, at least. As she came to stand at the podium, she said, “You may rise.” Only then did I realize that everyone else had bowed before her, and on her command, were now respectfully standing. I blushed and mouthed, Sorry, and I swear I saw a hint of a smile on Queen Rhea’s face before she turned her attention to the huddle.

“Welcome, everyone—those who have been in the Court before and those of you for whom today is your first time.

“We, the Hellenicus, are graced by the gods, as we have been since time immemorial. And we welcome the newest among us to find their true wholeness, their one body with their soul mate, in this most sacred of Hellenicus traditions.”

The queen explained how important it was for us to keep our tradition and to always remind ourselves that we were still bound by the rules of the gods—subject to their favor and their wrath. She called upon her steward to bring forth a chalice and explained how the ceremony would proceed.

The Golden Chalice was one of our most cherished relics. It was created by Hebe, the goddess of youth, prime of life, and forgiveness, and then blessed by Eros, the god of love, eroticism, and sensual desires. Engraved with the Fountain of Youth for Hebe and wings for Eros, the chalice was used in the ritual awakening of the Hellenicus. Only after a Hellenicus drank wine from the chalice would their clairaudient ability be activated.

The ceremony unfolded as the Pure Royals were invited to be the first to drink the nectar of the gods and be awakened. The Royals followed after them. And then lastly, the Regulars.

I hopped down from my perch to find my place in the line that had formed. One of the organizers hurriedly asked me my name before ushering me to stand behind a girl I’d never met before. We slowly moved closer to the front of the line as each of the Awakened accepted the chalice from the cupbearer, took a sip, and bowed to the queen, who looked on attentively. I realized it was simply another way to segregate Regulars from Royals, as rank determined the order in which we went up for the nectar of the gods. Each caste received a different type of nectar, and apparently, Regulars couldn’t drink the Royals’ nectar (or vice versa) without getting sick. Please. It was probably everyone’s backwash that made people sick! As if a Royal’s backwash was any less disgusting than a Regular’s.