Page 68 of Sacrifice

A sympathetic tone entered the interviewer’s voice. “I’m very sorry for your loss, Rose.”

I swallowed the hard lump that had appeared in my throat. “Thank you.”

“Let’s move on to a different subject for now,” she said. “There are so many layers to this story beyond murder. Affairs, drug dealing, baby trafficking, embryo stealing, an isolated sect with extremist practices that include human sacrifice and mutilation… it’s a lot for anyone to comprehend and deal with, let alone for someone who actually lived through it all. So how have you coped with it since you left Alderwood and joined the so-called outsiders?”

The interview continued from there, stretching on for what felt like hours. Finally, the bright lights dimmed, and the interviewer set her notebook down, offering a sympathetic smile.

"I think we’ve got everything we need, Rose. You did great."

I exhaled deeply, the tension slowly releasing from my shoulders. Sebastian was by my side in an instant, his hand resting on my shoulder.

"You were amazing, baby," he said softly, his voice full of pride.

I nodded and smiled, mind still swirling with the weight of everything I’d just relived on camera. Sometimes, my life felt like a story that had happened to someone else, because it was all so wild and crazy… and those were just the parts I admitted out loud.

The other parts—the truly dark ones—I kept hidden away in my mind, never to be spoken about. Like my time in Sebastian’s underground prison cell, for instance.

Even if I never forgot the cruel, violent things he’d done to me in the past, none of it mattered anymore. I’d forgiven him for everything, wholly and utterly, because he’d saved me. When I was on the verge of giving up, he pulled me right out of the darkness, risking life and limb for me without any regard for himself.

“This is purely out of interest, so you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” the interviewer said, leaning forward as the rest of the crew scurried around to pack things up. “I was just wondering—do you still have contact with any of the other ex-Covenant members?”

I nodded. “Yes. Now that Alderwood doesn’t really exist anymore, the community has been forced to join the outside world, and it’s been a huge adjustment for all of them, as you can imagine. So we have a support group. Once a week, we have a big meeting in the city, and a lot of us attend that to chat or offer advice or help on certain matters. Even things as basic as going to the grocery store can be hard, because it’s all so different from what we grew up with.”

“Understandable.”

“For those of us who’ve managed to figure out the internet, there’s also a big group chat,” I went on. “That’s very useful too, and it’s nice to stay connected to the community. Especially since it was just us for so long. Quite a few of us had never evenseenan outsider before the last year.”

“I can’t even imagine what it’s been like for all of you.” She slowly shook her head. “But you seem to be adjusting really well. You should be proud of yourself.”

“Thank you. I’ve had a lot of help from Sebastian,” I said, smiling faintly. “Others in the community have also received a lot of help from the outside world. Donations, housing, educational opportunities, medical care, and so on. It’s been amazing. And it’s not just about the material things. It’s all the people who’ve stepped up to help us navigate the new world even though we were all strangers to them at first, and the organizations that’ve offered aid too. It’s such an amazing outpouring of support. It’s really helped us all in starting to rebuild our lives.”

She nodded slowly. “One more question. I know Alderwood doesn’t exist anymore, in the sense that the community is gone, but the village itself still exists. We filmed a lot of material up there for the doc,” she said. “Have you gone back at all, since everything happened?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I might one day. Right now, the memories are still a little too fresh. Too raw.”

“I totally understand.” The interviewer gave me a sympathetic smile. “Anyway, I’ll get out of your hair now. Your beautiful home is all yours again.”

Sebastian saw her out, and then he returned to my side, wrapping me up in his arms. “You were amazing,” he murmured against my ear. “I know I already said that, but I wanted to say it again.”

“Thank you.” My cheeks glowed with happiness. “You’re amazing too.”

He drew back. “You must be hungry after all that, right?”

“Starved.” I groaned. “I didn’t have any breakfast or lunch because I was too nervous about the interview. My stomach was in knots all day.”

“I figured as much, so I organized something special for dinner.” He winked. “A picnic down at the cove with all the very best foods the city has to offer, which will be delivered right here in—” He paused and glanced at his phone. “Ten minutes.”

“Wow.” My eyes widened. “I’m never going to get used to that.”

“Ordering stuff from the city?”

“Yes. It’s crazy to me. We don’t even live near a restaurant, but you just click a button on your phone and bam, food appears.”

Sebastian laughed. “It does sound a little crazy when you put it like that. But it’s convenient, right?”

“Very.” I took his hand and squeezed it. “Thank you for planning this, by the way. I love picnics.”

“I know.” Sebastian grinned, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “You deserve to have something you love after such a big, stressful day.”

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