Page 268 of The Wishing Game

"They can only mean one thing...doom," she utters in a low voice.

Turning her gaze to Ze, she addresses him, "You are concerned about demons, butyouhave brought danger within Aperion. The enemy might be closer than you think, God Killer."

"I advise you to choose your words carefully. Any insult to her is an insult to me, and I will not let it slide," Ze adds in a harsh tone as he fiddles with the handle of his sword.

I put a finger up.

"I am not the enemy, and regardless of what you may think of me, I only want to help. These demons...they've already infiltrated the intermediary realms, and from what I'm told, it's not long before they'll be able to jump freely between worlds. That meansmyworld is in danger," I tell her. To Ze, I turn to ask, "How do I go about making a vow like hers?"

"You will do no such thing!" he immediately thunders.

"How, Ze? Tell me."

"You vow three times to our Vestal Ladyship and give a drop of your blood as offering."

"You will do no such thing," he growls.

I ignore him as I grab a pin from my hair, pricking my finger as I say the words.

"I vow to the Vestal Ladyship that I do not have any nefarious purposes planned for the vial." I repeat it three times just as a drop of blood falls to the ground, evaporating into the hard stone.

Ze continues to grumble in the background while the priestess merely stares at me.

"You foolish human," he says as he crouches next to me, grabbing my finger and bringing it to his lips to lick the wound. His words speak of his disapproval, but his eyes express the opposite, a fiery warmth enveloping me as he caresses me with his gaze.

I gulp down hard, barely wrenching my eyes from his.

"It is done. You can see that I am in earnest now. Will you help us?" I put on a smile as I address the priestess. Her lips tremble as her gaze moves from me to Ze, who's greedily sucking on my finger. I pull my hand away, my flesh healed. He grumbles a small protest under his breath.

The priestess is quiet for a moment before she nods, her shoulders slumping down in defeat.

Getting to her feet, she waves the stone wall aside as she wobbles toward the main hall.

Ze and I follow closely. Skepticism is written all over Ze's features, and I can tell he's ready for attack at any point. The only reason he's going along with this is to please me and earn his designation asnice. As odd as that might seem, it appears to be the only thing he truly cares about. He doesn't mind when he's called names, not even when he is referred to as the God Killer. But being calledniceseems to work wonders for his ego.

The priestess stops in front of the giant statue in the hallway. Going closer to it, she climbs the podium, placing herself at its feet. She reaches out with her good hand, touching the precious stones in some kind of secret combination. Her movements are fast—so much so I can barely follow. But as she uses her power to make herself levitate, she places herself in front of the statue and touches the lips of the goddess—her Ladyship as she'd called her.

A loud noise permeates the air as a fissure appears in the middle of the statue, the two halves separating to reveal the vial in the center. It is a small container—no bigger than my palm. The outside material is made of gold and encrusted with the same type of precious stones as the statue. Only at the top there's a translucent material that reveals the red of the blood within.

Ze uses his powers to bring the vial to him, the object infinitely smaller in his big hand. He closes his fist over it, and when he opens it next, the vial is gone.

"Your help is appreciated, Priestess. Rest assured that the vial will be safe in my keep." Ze inclines his head. "For your cooperation, I will give you back your hand."

The severed hand makes an appearance, floating toward us and fitting itself at the priestess's wrist. Her eyes widen for a moment, but as the hand is locked in place, her flesh begins to mend until it's as good as new.

"How did you do that?" I whisper in awe since he didn't use his healing saliva.

"I merely nullified the spell keeping her from healing." He shrugs. "It is not by chance that I am called the God Killer. My sword is the only weapon from which a god cannot heal."

"Oh." I blink.

I guess that explains why everyone's so scared of him.

"But I should mention one other thing, Priestess." He turns his attention to her, his voice cold and unyielding. "You will utter no word of what you have seen of my female. Not about her markings, nor about the sphere. If anyone asks, you shall say it was just a mishap. Understood?"

The priestess nods slowly, barely daring to meet his gaze.

"Good. That concludes our business here," he tells me.

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