Page 251 of The Wishing Game

"You willnotget caught. If anything happens, I will get you out."

"But how? If you can't come inside, doesn't that mean I'm screwed?"

"You don't need to worry about that." He waves his hand. "There are two approaches to everything, Luce—with force and without." He pins me with his gaze. "I will raze the temple to the ground if need be," he adds casually.

My lashes flutter in surprise.

"What would you have done if I didn't agree to help you?" I ask hesitantly.

"I would have razed it to the ground." He shrugs. "So consider this charity work. You are saving lives." He smiles.

"You..." I trail off. For a moment, I'd forgotten this part of him. Perhaps it's because since arriving in Aperion, he's only shown me the gentle, rather playful side of him. But I shouldn't forget that's not who he is.

He's not nice...at least not to most people.

He is the God Killer, and his reputation isn't just false rumors. That is who he is—a killer.

"I will protect you, Luce. Nothing will happen to you. You have my vow."

I bite on the inside of my cheek.

He's never let me down until now, always coming to my rescue. If the past is any indication, then I don't see why the future would not follow the same pattern.

"Fine. I'll trust you."

FIFTY-TWO

The white dress is simple, flowing down to my ankles and hiding the nondescript shoes I'm wearing. When I woke up, I found a big square box by my bed that housed my outfit for the day. Ze left me a small note instructing me how to dress and do my hair, saying it's important to convey a prim and proper look—nothing flashy or ostentatious. Everyone would be wearing the same type of outfit to hide social status. In this test, the only thing that matters is spiritual ability, not a person's rank or family. Ze implied that because the process is so fair, even those rare s’Aperiotes who exhibit spiritual powers can participate in the selection—the only event of its kind that allows them to make something of themselves in spite of their humble beginnings. But there's a strong no-cheating policy, and that includes the zantrax drug. Although he has assured me that no one should be able to detect the pearl, I'm still a little apprehensive. The temple seems to take its rules very seriously, and I can appreciate that they want to give a fair chance to everyone.

After I'm finished dressing, I tie my hair in a tight bun at my nape and pull up the dark hood attached to the dress over my head. Done with the preparation, I take a deep breath, giving myself a quick pep talk before I leave my room.

Ze relayed that a carriage would await me at noon, and it would take me straight to the temple, where the recruitment process would begin.

I exit the house, and a simple gray carriage greets me at the entrance. The door swings open, inviting me inside.

There's a driver and a horse, but he doesn't exchange one word with me as he waits until I'm fully boarded to begin our journey.

I make myself comfortable in my seat, though my anxiety runs high. I'm about to head into a foreign environment I barely have any information on. Sure, Ze described the temple and the priestesses to the best of his abilities, but he's only done so from the lens of a male outsider. The truth of what I'll encounter inside is yet to be revealed.

Each House has its own temple and the priestesses have been tasked with defending the Primordial artifacts. Their creation was a direct opposition to the Sons of Tenebreis—hence why only females can join the temple. But times have changed, and with the rise of demon attacks, Ze fears that the artifacts could fall into the wrong hands. It has already happened once when Elias, the King of the House of Bronte, and his high priestess defected to Tartareia with the artifact in their care. According to Ze, though, if the demons get their hands on the vial, it's the beginning of the end, and he's not one to speak in superlatives. For that alone, I'm willing to push against my discomfort and help him.

The silence of the journey is unbearable. Fidgeting in my seat, I pull on the thin cotton curtain, peering outside. The road is busy as we head into the main city. Merchant carriages are on both sides of the streets, people selling different items along the sidewalk. Most are s’Aperiotes, and I've learned to tell them apart based on their clothes. The materials are coarser, the colors washed out from too much wear. The wealthy individuals are garbed in silks and satins, the colors bright and vivid, immediately pinpointing their social status in a crowd. That in itself is reflected in the way they are treated. Shop keepers grumble when a lower-class citizen shows an interest in their merchandise, but when an upper-class person looks at the same item, they go above and beyond, their attitude sickeningly servile.

I suppose our appearance was not the only thing that was modeled after gods—our morals were too. Does every realm have a classist worldview? Is it a universal trait? Somehow, I refuse to believe it. Perhaps this is my past speaking, but I've seen the worst of mankind, yet at the same time I've also seen the best. So I choose to believe peoplecanbe better.

Nikki was one of the richest men alive. Yet he never once looked down on me, not for my lack of wealth, nor for my ignorance. Where I didn't know, he taught me. He never once made me feel bad for not knowing something. He's a prime example of someone born at the top, who lived his entire life at the top, yet never let that affect him and the way he interacted with those who had less than him.

My lips tug up as I tightly wrap my arms around myself, imagining it's his embrace.

I miss him. So damn much. But every day brings me closer to him. I just have to be patient.

The carriage breezes through the city, and soon we leave that boisterous atmosphere behind. Fields stretch around on either side of the road, and every now and then, there's a farm in the distance, with workers toiling under the bright suns. It's too far for me to see, but I think they're tending to crops and some domestic animals.

The journey continues for what feels like an eternity. I don't have a watch with me, but I think it must have been a few hours since I left Thea's house.

"Couldn't Ze just teleport me there?" I grumble to myself. Maybe I've gotten too used to that mode of transportation because this feels like torture. Thinking back on it, either he or Cer could have teleported us to China and it would have been so much easier—especially on them since they'd never flown before. The more I think on it, the more disgruntled I become at all the wasted opportunities. Now I understand that they were trying to conceal their real identities, but did they have to do it at the expense of their own comfort?

Another hour passes as we leave the plains behind, mountains appearing in the distance. The contrast is stark. The earth rises out of nowhere, lush, green pastures turning into a rocky, hostile environment. And before I know it, the carriage draws to a halt.

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