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.

started brushing my hair, I turned my arm toward the

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

of an area in the

could be the

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

If I'd seen the marks in a mirror, then I probably would have made the connection. But being out

back to Jared," I said, too eager to wait any

women weren't ready, though. I had to wait for them to change into dresses

crackling away and the delicious, mouthwatering scent of roasting meat filled

My stomach growled.

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

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 that my toes curled

met up with

mouth was full, so I shoved the shish kabob at him. He

best food I've

some stray juice off his

side of the bonfire. They played slow, soft music at first and the village leader told a story

intently. Local stories, though most were embellished

about witches and how Saboreef had been a place witches were hunted and somehow one of the witches survived and

an

at Jared

village leader stopped talking, the musicians began

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

“What's going on?"

Jared pulled me against him and kissed

gotten into you?"

this festival."

was more to his enjoyment and determination, but we

villagers danced around the fire. Eventually, the rest of the Saboreef missionaries

dance with me," I

pulled him out into the twirling figures as they moved around the fire

tightly. We spun around each other and

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

felt like I could just run

no real pattern to the dance. I felt like I

and then, I looked at

thought my legs

something to drink," I said, fanning myself

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