Page 6 of Sacrifice

I swallowed thickly and lay back on the altar, dreading what was coming. I’d managed to delay the unmasking of my true self until now, but deep down, I knew I was only delaying theinevitable. I couldn’t fake it anymore. Couldn’t fake my purity. I’d given it away to a man two days ago, and Healer Fontenot would realize that the second he reached between my legs and discovered that it was missing.

“Just relax, darling,” he muttered as his right hand snaked between my thighs. “Open your legs a bit more.”

I gulped again and spread my legs wider, granting him easier access. His clammy hand slipped beneath my dress and slowly probed between my legs, making my skin crawl as icy tendrils slithered up my spine.

In a last-ditch attempt to save myself, I clenched my muscles as tight as I could, just like Sebastian had taught me. I knew it was futile, though. The healer would notice that my virginity was no longer intact, and then he’d announce it to the entire Covenant. I would be exposed as the fraud I was, and I—

“Rosamund is still pure.” Healer Fontenot pulled his hand away, letting the skirt of my dress fall back into place. “She has told us the truth.”

My mind reeled.

What?

How?

Sebastian… he wasright.The healers couldn’t tell whether I was pure or not.

Was there even such a thing as purity, or was Sebastian right about that too? If so, did that mean he was right about everything else as well?

It’s all bullshit, baby girl,he’d said to me so many times.All total fucking bullshit.

Jean-Pierre helped me off the altar, lips spread in a prideful grin as he lifted my right hand above my head. The crowd before us whooped and cheered, and my father caught my eye and dipped his chin in a nod, looking immensely satisfied. EvenAnaïs looked thoroughly convinced now, staring up at me with saucer-wide eyes and an open mouth.

Every single member of the Covenant was completely certain that my story was true—that the Entity had taken me as a holy test, and my virginity remained intact. But it was all bullshit, as Sebastian would say.

All fucking bullshit.

I stared out at the elated crowd, mind still whirling with shock as the whole world seemed to crash down around me.

For as long as I could remember, my life had been shaped by my beliefs. From childhood, every facet of my existence had revolved around prayers, rituals, and the strict moral code laid out by the Covenant founders. I was taught that our way of life was the only true and proper one, and I believed in it with unwavering certainty.

But now, everything I held sacred was crumbling beneath the weight of this devastating realization. Sebastian had been right all along. I’d been lied to all my life. We’dallbeen lied to, by those who were in charge.

Another torrent of emotions overwhelmed me then—disbelief, fury, and a profound sense of loss. The teachings that had shaped my entire life and worldview felt hollow and meaningless. Like a big, cruel trick had been played on me since the second I was born.

How could I have been blind for so long? How could I have made such a terrible mistake?

As I stared out at the sea of rapturous faces, I wanted to scream.It’s all bullshit! The founders made it all up!But I held my tongue, knowing there was no arguing with this many devoted men and women.

Besides, even if I tried, they’d demand to know how I knew it was all a lie. Then I’d have to tell them that I wasn’t with the Entity at all, and that I actually ran off with a man and hadincredible sex with him, andthenI’d likely encounter a wrath so terrible that I couldn’t even begin to imagine the punishment.

“Behold!” Jean-Pierre boomed, lifting my hand higher. “Rosamund Trudeau is the only person since our founders to have been taken and returned by the Entity! She has always been, and still remains, our most cherished celestial virgin!”

As another cheer rose in the crowd, a new fear struck me like an ice-cold hatchet to the chest. The final Tetrad blood moon was happening in four days, and it didn’t matter if I no longer believed in its significance. The rest of the Covenant did, their faiths thoroughly renewed by my successful Confession, and they would sacrifice me at the Red Rocks come hell or high water.

Adrenaline kicked in, urging me to break free from Jean-Pierre’s firm grip and flee. But I knew there was no point. The entire town of Alderwood was like an inescapable prison. The secret tunnel beneath the boundary fence had been filled in now that my father and the other elders had learned of its existence, and I could forget about ever being allowed through the main gate.

There was no way out. Nowhere to run. My fate was sealed from the moment I returned.

In four days, I would be dead.

4

Sebastian

I took a deep breath,gritted my teeth, and began the final leg of the journey up to Alderwood.

“Don’t worry, baby girl,” I muttered, as if the frigid air could somehow telegraph my words right to Rose’s ears. “I’m coming for you.”

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