AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No, sorry,” she said hurrying down the walkway.
I debated calling her out on the weird behavior, but the memory of green lines of poison coloring her veins made me pause. Who knows what kind of side effects the poison caused? That was aside from the fresh trauma of a near-death experience. Guilt churned in me. I really did have trust issues. Everything that had happened left me seeing shadows where there were none. This was Clara. She was basically my best friend. We were as close as I’d been with my sister; perhaps closer since coming to Tartarus together. She’d never lie to me, and here I was, suspecting her of what? I didn’t even know.
“We still have time. No pressure.” I wanted to be supportive of her. She’d been through so much. “Guess it was wishful thinking that there’d be some quick and easy super spell you were on the cusp of completing.”
I tried to laugh it off. Clara followed suit, chuckling somewhat awkwardly. It was stilted and flat.
Being poisoned really had done a number on her. I paused and touched her arm. “Are you okay?” I asked.
Clara flinched. “What? I’m fine. Why?” Her eyes narrowed on me, and I smiled kindly.
“You’re just kind of jumpy, that’s all. I just want to make sure you’re okay. You were poisoned. No one would blame you if it was affecting you, you know?” And by no one, I meant me. I didn’t care about anyone else “I’m here for you. And you don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to. I made the deal, not you. I just want you to be okay.”
She wrapped her arms around me in a fierce hug. “I love you, Rea. You know that right?”
“Of course I do.” I patted her back then held her close until she released me. “I love you too.”
Clara wiped the moisture from her eyes. “It was scary. I’ll be okay. Might take some time.”
And that was that. The weirdness was forgotten as we talked about the latest soul she trapped in a crocheted baphomet.
Still, uneasiness followed me. Tartarus was a dangerous place, and it was clear we weren’t welcome. I couldn’t protect her. The throbbing welts on my body reminded me I could barely protect myself.
Chapter31
Reagan
Sweat beaded at my hairline dripping down my face while I tried to control my erratic heart rate. The back of my neck was damp and clammy. It wasn't even the heat causing it.
It was my nerves.
Standing in the middle of a circle of vertical stones, I waited for Caius while a group of villagers had formed around it, holding baskets of petals. A group of healers walked around, blessing the sacred space.
There was a nice breeze at the edge of the forest, and I was dressed in what I'd been told was appropriate for the upcoming ceremony. A white cloth skirt wrapped around my waist, a slit on each side of my legs to give me room to run. The halter-style top left little to the imagination. There was no room for a bra of any kind and white was fairly transparent. I was a brown-skinned woman. My nipples were dark, and they were on full display, but no one listened when I complained about it.
Time was crawling at a glacial pace. For the hundredth time, I tried to adjust my boobs, smooth my skirt, and brush stray hairs back.
“Stop fidgeting,” Styx chastised in a quiet voice.
“You stand here in the humidity wearing this ridiculous outfit like a virgin about to be sacrificed,” I grumbled, not wanting to speak too loudly.
She snorted. “You are definitely not a virgin.”
“I saidlikeone, dammit.” I sighed, trying to distract myself from the torture of waiting and the hum of the healers’ chants. “Is this even safe?” I asked her.
“It'll be perfectly safe.”
“How can you guarantee that? With everything that's happened?”
“Because Caius and I took care of it.”
“What does that mean?”
“Hush. You aren't supposed to be talking while the shamans are blessing the sacred circle.”
A man in robes walked to where we waited, and he dipped his head in greeting. “Your Highness.”
“Oh, I'm not”—I paused when Styx elbowed me, and a frown formed between the shaman’s brows—“Used to being called that.” I cleared my throat. “Hi.”
