ina
ornate ceremonial gown. The guards immediately flanked
Her eyes raked over me again, this time with a flicker of something th
urning on her heel withou
tern-faced Kensingtons watched me from the walls, their
ce was pale with anxiety, her brown eyes wide with fear for me. She was a timid Omega girl, a distant
ptible shake of my head, warnin
Keep moving," she snapped, shoving m
myself, my jaw tightening. The insult was a small, sha
were open, revealing a dark carriage drawn by two black horses
, my voice firm. "Holl
"You're in no positi
I just managed to come up with. "It's to ensure the purity of the offering to the Goddess.
sense. It was a gamble that their fear of a fai
ith suspicion and annoyance, but the menti
d one of the guards, who
want to be the one responsible if the r
h the girl. But she rides on
me," I countered, pushing my a
frustrated sigh and nodded curtly. Holly
get in, the carriage lurched violently, a wheel di
feeling a trickle of warmth on my forehead. My fingers came away sticky with a trace
in after me, her eyes filled with tea
mmed shut, plunging u
Holly whispered, fumbl
my voice urgent. "Listen to me very
r trembling. "I need you to do som
ith her loyalty. She understood loya
s it started to move, and began to give he
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