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And Peri—Peri would remind herself that someday, surely, all of this would make sense.
Someday, her beliefs would prove to be the right ones.
Wouldn’t they?
Now here she was, watching everything she had once been so certain about slowly unravel. The rules that had governed her existence were slipping through her fingers, leaving behind a chasm of unanswered questions.
Who would she be without them?
What would she do if she could do anything she wanted?
Her thoughts spiralled, drowning out the deep, measured cadence of her grandfather’s voice at the altar. Moloch, the guest curate for this sacred gathering spoke with fervour, but Peri barely heard him.
A murmur of whispers stirred around her.
Peri blinked, pulled abruptly from her thoughts. Every face in the room was turned toward her, expectant. A question had been asked.
And she hadn’t heard it.
Her fists clenched and unclenched as her mind scrambled for an answer.
Sia’s voice cut through the silence. “I apologise, Curate Moloch. We stayed up late last night reading the Silver Book, and I think Perine is exhausted.”
Peri forced her expression into one of apologetic obedience. “Forgive me,” she murmured, lowering her gaze. “I was feeling quite tired for a moment. I am better now.”
The silence stretched, heavy and unyielding.
Peri swallowed. “Would you be so kind as to repeat the question?”
Moloch sighed—a slow, exaggerated thing designed for effect. “This is not how young demonesses should conduct themselves. You are only a few moons away from Ascension. I expected better from you.”
“You are right, Curate Moloch.” Peri bowed her head, forcing as much remorse into her tone as she could muster. “Please forgive me.”
The weight of a hundred stares bore down on her—some filled with condemnation, others laced with curiosity. Around her, the demonesses sat still, taut with anticipation.
Moloch cleared his throat. “Come forward, Miss Wilder.”
Her stomach twisted, but she rose, gripping her Silver Book with trembling fingers. The slow echo of her footsteps filled the chamber as she walked toward the altar, head bowed, fighting the rising wave of unease.
She had no idea what was about to happen.
When she reached Moloch, he placed his hands on her shoulders. He spoke loudly. Forcefully. “Kneel here before me and keep your eyes on me. I will help lead you back to humility and respect.”
Peri knelt.
She turned her face toward him, forcing her expression into impassive calm. Humiliation burnt through her, but she refused to let him see it. She would not give him that.
Moloch turned to the congregation of demonesses, his presence a looming shadow over them all. “I will repeat the question for our beloved sister, Miss Wilder.”
His hand lifted, fingers barely brushing her chin, eyes locking onto hers with the weight of judgement.
“How do we keep our bodies pure despite the allure of sexual promiscuity?”
Peri kept her back straight, every muscle rigid beneath the scrutiny of the room. Her throat felt dry as she swallowed, forcing herself to speak. “We should read the Silver Book daily.”
Her grandfather’s stern gaze bore into her. “What else?”
Panic raged in her chest. What answer did he want? What would make this end?
