Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 78 : As Soon As Possible

*Eliza*

The elder women led me away from the village into the woods a little way. I glanced back, but Jared was already out of my eyesight.

They brought me to a sacred temple. There were statues of the Moon Goddess in the doorway.

Mesmerized by the temple and the carvings, I totally forgot about Jared being far away.

“What is this place?" I gasped, placing my hand on one of the carvings.

“A holy, sacred place of the Moon Goddess," one of the elders said.

I sighed and shook my head. Well, that was obvious. I was kind of hoping for a little more than that.

Inside the temple, at the center, was a large opening in the floor. Water bubbled up from a natural spring underneath.

“You can bathe here. We have fresh clothes when you're ready."

I nodded but walked around the pool to the shrine at the head of the temple. There was a statue in the shrine that looked like it was meant to be the Moon Goddess. She had features that seemed familiar but that weren't usually associated with the Moon Goddess.

Where had I seen this woman before? It felt like a distant memory or a dream, something I should remember but couldn't quite grasp…

There was a stone placard in front of the statue. It read, “Luna of Blackfire."

“Miss Eliza," an elder called to me.

“I'm coming."

I stripped down and got into the pool. The women came in with me. They washed me and tamed my hair. Once I was dried off, they handed me a gorgeous dress, nicer than anything I'd seen or worn in a long time.

It was satin, dark emerald, and perfect for this kind of tropical night warmth.

“These tattoos," one of the elders said, running her fingers up my arm with the curse marks. Her eyes were distant and glazed over as she studied them.

“What about them?" I asked, creasing my brow.

The elder frowned and ran her thumb over my arm. “Is this a place in the Light Realm, a map?"

“A map?" I gasped.

The elder nodded. “It is familiar to me, like the lines of a map, something from the Light Realm."

All I could do was shrug.

my hair, I turned my arm toward the

tilted my head as far as I could, without getting my hair pulled out, and saw the lines from

elder was right… it looked like a map of an area in the Light Realm. How had I

be the key to

fluttered excitedly. I wanted to get back to Jared and tell him about this new map. New hope swelled in my chest, threatening

all this time. If I'd seen the marks

I

had to wait for them to change into dresses that matched

led me back to the village. There was a bonfire crackling away and the delicious, mouthwatering scent of roasting meat filled the

My stomach growled.

good meal. We'd just been eating quick snacks here and there while we

me around the fire and got me a plate full of delicious feast food. I tucked right into the lamb shish kabob. The meat was so tender and juicy, I couldn't stop eating. It hit my stomach so satisfyingly

met up with

kabob

is the best

sucked some stray juice off

played slow, soft music at first and the village leader told a

intently. Local stories, though most were embellished or exaggerated, did

place witches were hunted and somehow

was an

Jared and

village leader stopped talking, the musicians began

out of his daze. He smiled and tightened his arm around my shoulders. There was a new

“What's going on?"

didn't answer with words. Jared pulled me against him and kissed me hard on

gotten into you?"

this festival." He

his enjoyment and determination, but we were here

more food and I clapped along with the music while the villagers danced around the fire. Eventually, the

with me," I pleaded with

and pulled him out into the twirling figures as they moved around the fire in a rhythmic

and held my hands tightly. We spun around each other and got caught up in the fray of villagers as they danced and

I smiled. I skipped and hopped, feeling like I was floating

felt like I could just run

felt like I

in Jared's. Now and then, I looked at him and saw that he

until I thought my legs would

something to drink," I said, fanning myself with my

headed to a table with drinks on it. He grabbed a beer and handed me