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“Good, good. You are safe here…I swear by the Grace of God.”
Ironic how he kept mentioning God, but I didn’t know if God had allowed a spawn of Satan to walk among his crosses and statues. I’m sure God wasn’t pleased with this situation.
I moved away from the table, pushing back away from Domenico and his sweet, spicy smell.
My thoughts hovered over Charity and if she was all right. I needed to be there for her if she was sick or needed comfort. I wanted to be her rock.
“And what will you do with Freyja?” I asked, feeling the need to further prove my point that I was not scared of him.
“We will know soon enough,” he said, returning to his seat at the head of the sprawling table full of wine and food.
I had forgotten about the sleeping girl and resisted bringing her up, since I knew that was the real reason behind this. Domenico thought I was foolish, I knew that much. At this point, I would continue to let him think that way of me. It would only make it easier for me to find out more.
However, I wasn’t brave enough to push the issue. Not quite yet anyway. I excused myself abruptly and hurried down the long, narrow hallways to our sleeping quarters, only to find Charity was gone.
I mean, really, I should’ve known better.
Of course, she searched for Freyja. It was her idea to venture into the woods that morning beside me, refusing to turn back. Of course, she would go in search of someone she cared for so deeply.
A pit began to form at the bottom of my stomach, and I fought back the urge to sob.
Did she still want meandFreyja? Or was I just a way for her to get inside these walls and rescue her beloved? A sharp dagger of jealousy pinched my heart, and I decided that I would not let Freyja interfere with my plans. Even if it was the last thing I did, I would marry Charity and she would be mine. I didn’tneed toshare.
Doubt flooded my mind, even as I said it to myself. A nagging at the back of my mind wouldn’t let me entertain the idea that she only had eyes for me. I knew that she didn’t; I knew how she felt about Freyja. Was I selfishly trying to help Freyja, just so I could get her out of the way? Or did I truly want to see Charity safe and happy? I didn’t have the answers to that yet, but I told myself it would all work out in the end. God would see to it, and I knew now that he would favor me over thesemonsters.
LILITH
1544 FRANCE: THE PAST
The mortal world was a boring one. I was stoned if I was naked in front of humans, cat called and ostracized. There was no endless supply of food or water; I must find those things on my own, and often, that meant someone must die in the process. I didn’t fit in sixteenth century France either. I’d noticed a theme around that. I craved acceptance and needed mercy, but how does one receive mercy and acceptance when they were destined for adoration and devotion? Mercy was given to the poor, the inept. I wasn’t kind to men, and women seemed to fear me at the very least. It was no bother, I didn’t care for the opinions of others—I was a Goddess, and I would walk to the ends of the earth until I was rightfully worshipped.
The clothes of this century were uncomfortable to say the least, the corset hugging my waist and hips made me feel as though I’d suffocate. What was living if it wasn’t steeped in the small pleasures of life? Why would I ever want to squeeze my insides so that I may have a small waist? I would rather jiggle my hips and my arse all the way down the dirt and stone pathways, without one care in the world. Let them stare, let them say what they may—it didn’t affect the way I felt about myself. It was them who were bothered by it, not me. Perhaps I should remain deep inside the woods and stay in my naked, natural form beside the animals. It would be much like Eden, which was exactly what I didn’t want. I came here looking for more, and more was what I would have.
I sat at the edge of a fountain in the middle of someone’s courtyard. I’d fallen asleep against a tree this morning, after an invigorating kill—a deer and her fawns. They were delicious, the meat gently warmed by a fire. I had also taken some cheese from old lady Marie, who had a habit of leaving her doors unlocked at night after her husband died suddenly.
The courtyard was not modest by any means, but there were no horses with carts, only crosses and heavy iron gates. The full moon hung above me, and I looked up at it longingly, reaching out a hand as the white light bathed my body.
I was naked again, but my wavy hair reached my thighs and covered my breasts. I crossed my legs, eating an apple and surveying the tall steeples and windows that surrounded me.
Someone must have brought me here, I was powerful, but not powerful enough to travel by thought, not yet. I was working on that. My strength was unmatched, and I’d killed bears bigger than I. I was unsure of my immortality, but I was most fearful of being caged again.
A man, taller than I, emerged from the shadows below the eaves of the windows. His hair was black as night, with grey dusted at his temples. His body was tall and lean, and his smile was nothing less of the Devil’s—sinister and full of mischief. He was clothed in a tight fitting, grey tunic with a high collar. He looked regal, royal almost. Yet his dark eyes held something inside of them that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I squeezed my thighs together as he walked towards me, sparks tittered up my lower abdomen and flourished around my hips and around to my lower back. I took a sharp breath in as he reached me far quicker than I anticipated, his hands folded behind his back.
“Breathtaking,andbold. Not very often I meet a woman like that anymore. You are seated naked, without shame, in front of a priest. Do you feel ashamed?”
His voice was deep, and the bass of it hit my nipples. I grinned at this question.
Feel ashamed? I was a damned woman, I didn’t know how to feel ashamed.
I had never met a man like this before, commanding my attention with just his smile and honey-dripped words.
“Ashamed? Would you like it if I felt ashamed?”
His smile was shadowed by the steeples, and I couldn’t tell if he was pleased with me. Something told me he was.
“Darling, myjobis to make people recognize shame, and why. Atonement is the end goal. Do you atone for your sins?”
I straightened up at this, pushing my shoulders back and canting my head. “If by atonement, you meanpayment, then yes, I have atoned for mysins.”
