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