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.

hair, I turned my arm toward the light and I

without getting my hair pulled out, and saw the lines from a different

looked like a map of an area in the Light Realm. How had

could be the

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

before. Maybe it was because I'd been looking at it upside down all this time. If I'd seen the marks in a mirror, then

back to Jared," I said, too eager

though. I had to wait for them to change

a bonfire crackling away and the

My stomach growled.

meal. We'd just been eating quick snacks here

the lamb shish kabob. The meat was so tender and juicy, I couldn't stop eating. It hit my stomach so satisfyingly that

up with

I shoved the shish kabob at him. He

this is the best food I've had

Jared sucked some stray juice off his

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

listened intently. Local stories, though most were embellished or exaggerated, did have some roots in actual

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

an

I glanced at Jared and saw his

as the village leader stopped talking, the musicians began playing

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

“What's going on?"

answer with words. Jared pulled me against him and kissed me hard on

you?" I

this

but we were here

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

dance with me," I pleaded

the twirling figures as they moved

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

stung as I smiled. I skipped and hopped, feeling

like I could just run and spin

was no real pattern to the dance. I felt like I could just

and then, I looked at him and saw that he

thought

drink," I said, fanning myself with my

bodies and we headed to a table