Page 143 of This Vicious Dream

“I am a goddess,” Anarthys purrs. “I should be worshipped as such.”

“You tried to convince the seer to tell you my foretelling,” the dark-haired one says, and his voice echoes with a subtle threat.

Anarthys merely smiles. “Are you truly so weak that my visit to the seer would concern you?”

“Seers cannot share someone else’s fate. Cease your games. Our time together is over.”

“It is over when I say it is over. Men do not cast me aside, Calpharos.”

Calpharos. I’ve heard of him and his twin. One trulyisdark, the other light. Together, they represent balance. Apart, they create chaos.

My skin prickles, and I lift my gaze, finding the dark god staring unapologetically at me.

Anarthys hisses a warning, and I drop my eyes, but not before I narrow them at the god who dared upset my goddess.

A flicker of amusement crosses his face, and then all I can see is Anarthys’s bare feet as she strides from her throne, her gauzy gown swirling around her ankles.

“If you wish to speak to me, we will converse elsewhere,” she says.

And then all three of them are gone.

“Ugh,” I clamp a hand to my temple, as pain slices into my mind, sharp as a blade. “What is this?”

Eamonn’s eyes meet mine. “Memories.”

“Impossible.”

But I’m already bracing myself once more.

“Will you join us sister? We will go the river and bathe.”

“Perhaps later. I’d like to take a walk.”

Liona nods, linking her arm through Yalanda’s. “We will join you later then.”

They walk down the temple steps, and a strange sense of restlessness burns through me. Truthfully, I would like to wander the city, would like to watch the people gathered in the market, the children racing through the streets.

I would like to see my parents.

Such a thought is shocking, and I glance behind me, as if Anarthys will appear and punish me.

But I am being unnecessarily morbid. Anarthys may not be known for her benevolence, but she has never caused any of us harm.

And evenshecannot read our minds.

“It is good to see you again.” The low male voice comes from behind me, and I jolt, whirl, and stumble, all at once.

A strong hand catches my arm, ensuring I keep my feet. I look into familiar dark eyes and suck in a breath, lowering my head in a bow.

He catches my chin. “Look at me.”

His brows lower, and my heart thrashes in my chest. The dark god. If hewanted, he could strike me down in a moment.

The rumors I’ve heard…

“You’re trembling.”

“You are the dark god.”

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