Page 5 of Sacred

A chill shot down my spine as I cast my eyes over the path that led to the Forbidden Cave. I whispered a silent prayer for any elders or alchemists who were working there today, and then I turned and hurried down my own path.

Leaves rustled across the ground before me. I hummed softly to myself, lifting one arm to touch nearby branches as I passed them, and the sweet scent of wildflowers filled my nostrils, making my lips curve in a smile. Despite all the stress and urgency affecting me, the beauty and serenity of our land never failed to cheer me up.

When I reached my spot, I spotted my basket lying on the ground near the fence, partially tipped over. I ran over and knelt to inspect it. Most of the berries I’d gathered yesterday afternoon were inside it, and they were still perfectly fine for consumption, due to the drop in temperature we’d experienced last night. Ibreathed a quiet sigh of relief and scooped the fallen berries back into the basket.

When I stood up straight, I came face-to-face with the Devil himself.

A tall, dark-haired man was standing on the other side of the fence, his presence both striking and terrifying. He was undeniably handsome with sharp features and a commanding presence, but one half of his face was grotesquely skeletal, as if death itself had reached out and claimed that part of him.

I held my hand over my mouth as the forest seemed to hum around me in a silent panic. My mind was racing, desperately trying to make sense of what I was seeing. This couldn’t be real. The Devil had no reason to show himself to me. Not unless the Darkness within the caves had been released… but I knew that hadn’t happened. My father and the elders worked to keep us safe from those terrors every day.

I closed my eyes and exhaled through my nose. I was daydreaming, wasn’t I?Of course.I must have briefly fallen asleep due to exhaustion after the hurried journey through the woods. When I opened my eyes, the nightmarish vision would be gone.

I took a long, deep breath. Then I looked again.

The man was still there, staring at me through one beautiful green eye and one gaping black hole where the other eye used to be. His good eye seemed to glow as he watched me, emphasized by the small, malicious smile dancing across his cruel mouth. When he registered my wide-eyed gaze, the smile grew wider, and he lifted a hand, beckoning me to him.

Heat rushed up my body, and I felt my face flush with shame and confusion. Why did his gesture feel more like a predatory threat than a greeting? And why did my heart begin to race at the thought of being his prey?

I dropped my hand from my mouth. “Who… who are you?” I managed to croak, throat suddenly parched. “Are you real?”

The man’s wicked smile faded, and his gaze went cold. It seemed to suck all the warmth from the air alongside it. “You’ll find out one day, little girl,” he said. His voice was low and menacing, dripping with icy malice.

I felt real fear then, cold as it crawled up the backs of my legs and settled in my guts. Panic surged through me, and a scream tore from my lips before I could stop it. The thick woods surrounding me seemed to swallow my cry, amplifying the terror that gripped me.

The handsome man grinned again and took a step forward.

Without thinking, I turned and ran, my heart pounding like a drum. The day was still bright but the darkness around me felt alive anyway, closing in as I fled, each rapid step fueled by sheer, unadulterated terror.

The truth was humming a haunting melody in the back of my mind. I knew why this was happening now. I knew why the Devil had shown himself to me at the fence. The Darkness was sending me a message.

Something is coming for you, Rose.

4

Rose

One monthlater

Fire coursedthrough me as the skull-faced man kissed his way down my body. His lips landed on my hipbone, making me jolt and gasp, and I clenched the sheets on either side of me, feeling myself dripping all over the bed.

The man’s mouth ventured lower, and I bit my bottom lip to stop myself from crying out. If anyone heard…

No.I couldn’t think about that right now. All I could think about was the undeniable pleasure racing through me from the skull-faced man’s touch.

I once thought he was the Devil, but now I knew that couldn’t be true. The Devil would surely be cold to the touch, like death, but this man’s lips were warm, and his sweet-smelling breath was hot on my thighs as he grunted out his satisfaction over the taste of my skin.

But…

Maybe that wasn’t true after all. Maybe the Devil had come to me like this, warm and wonderful, just to entice me. After all, what we were doing right now was wrong. So wrong.

My purity was one of the only things that really mattered about me, and it granted me my elevated status in the Covenant. But right now, I was struggling very hard to fight my urges. I wanted this man’s touch. I wanted his mouth and hands on me.Inme. I wanted to feel… everything.

Only this man could give it to me. I didn’t know exactlyhowI knew that, but I still knew it was true without a doubt.

“Oh… oh, yes. More,” I said breathlessly.

His big hands crawled up my stomach to cup my breasts. At the same time, his mouth found a small spot directly between my legs; a spot that made me squirm and moan with bliss.

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