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

my hair pulled out, and

of an area in the Light Realm. How

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

it upside down all this time. If I'd seen the

to Jared," I said, too

women weren't ready, though. I had to wait for them to change into dresses that matched mine in elegance and

crackling away and the delicious,

My stomach growled.

felt like ages since I'd had a good meal. We'd just been eating quick snacks here and there while we worked

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

up

so I shoved the shish kabob at him. He grinned

this is the best food I've had

sucked some stray juice off his

other side of the bonfire. They played slow, soft music at

Local stories, though most were embellished or exaggerated, did have some roots in

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

an

glanced at Jared and saw his eyes glazed

leader stopped talking, the musicians

arm around

“What's going on?"

pulled me against him and kissed me

into you?" I asked

this

got the sense there was more to his enjoyment and determination, but we were here to have a good time. I wasn't going

more food and I clapped along with the music while the villagers danced around the

with me," I

into the twirling figures as they moved around the fire in a rhythmic

We spun around each other and got caught up in the fray of villagers as

skipped and hopped, feeling like I was floating over the grass

I could just run and spin around

like I could just run and spin around with the rest of

Jared's. Now and then, I

danced until I thought my legs would

to drink," I said, fanning

dancing bodies and we headed to a table with drinks on it. He grabbed a beer