I smother the urge to knock them over. Instead, I clench my fingers together and will the foolish thought away. Hector would only make things harder on me if I destroyed those statues.
As if knowing my internal struggle, Hector clutches my arm tighter and guides me toward a granite dais. An older woman with long white hair and amber eyes sits on a plain but well-crafted chair at the top. A crown of white roses rests on her head.
Hector pulls me into a kneeling position next to him. The thirty warriors and Everly kneel behind us.
“Forgive us for the intrusion, Priestess of Light,” Hector says, his words echoing off the granite floor. “We wish to ask the gods’ blessing to travel through the Akarri mountains.”
The woman studies him, her brown eyes keen. “So, you are Hector.”
“I am.”
“You look like your grandfather.” She stacks her hands together and continues. “He was an honorable man.”
A tick forms in Hector’s jaw as he finds his voice. “Thank you.”
“Why do you wish to journey through the Akarri mountains?” the woman asks.
“We must pass through the mountains to reach the cave of reflection.”
Giant knots tighten in my belly. Hector doesn’t care that I have no wish to go there. He’s still forcing me to do something I don’t want to do.
“Why do you want to visit the cave of reflection?”
“To bring magic back to the Bloodstone people,” he says, his words clear and piercing.
Oh, how they pierce. How they cut. How they wound the part of me desperate to not let him achieve his mission.
She lifts her crown from her head and holds it out to him. “The gods grant you and your companions permission to travel through the Akarri mountains.”
Hector rises, leans forward, and touches his forehead to the crown of flowers.
“Thank you, Priestess of Light.”
Hector straightens and nods at me. I follow his lead, leaning closer and pressing my forehead against the crown of flowers.
Guilt constricts my throat, tightening with each breath I dare to take. I have no other choice but to obey his request. I already tried running, and it didn’t go well.
A foolish woman runs recklessly without thought. A wise woman plans and waits for opportunities.
I must be wise. It’s the only way.
I straighten and trail Hector from the room. Nobody speaks as we remount our horses and point them toward Astarobane.
Somehow, I must adopt the same determination I had when I first arrived among the Bloodstone. Then, I was willing to do anything.
A voice creeps into my thoughts.Yes, but that was before you fell for the man you married.
Sadness burrows deep into my soul. Such bone-aching sadness.
If only I could have those moments back with Gabriel.
If only…
I swallow and mentally shake my head. There is no going back. Only forward.
I will escape Hector and not let him use me for my serpent mark.
I must.
