Page 64 of Cursed Dreams
Vaelith followed her gaze, his silver-white brows drawing together slightly. "It’s time for their sermon," he said, his voice soft, lacking its usual teasing edge. "Eshu’s priestesses gather to offer prayers for those who seek their god’s favour."
Thalia’s chest tightened,
My mother once prayed in this temple.
She asked Eshu for a child… and he answered.
Hope, desperate and fragile, flared in her chest like the flicker of a dying candle.
"Thalia?" Vaelith’s voice was laced with concern as she turned to face him.
She swallowed. "I’d like to join the sermon."
A flicker of something unreadable crossed his face. He studied her for a long moment before tilting his head. "I wouldn’t have thought you the praying type."
Neither had she, but she had tried everything else.
If there was even the slightest chance—if there was anything,anything at allthat could help Aric, she had to try. She owed it to his family.
Vaelith watched her carefully, and for once, he didn’t argue. Instead, his expression softened, as though he understood what this meant to her.
"I’ll come with you," he said.
Thalia shook her head. "I’ll be okay."
His lips pressed into a thin line, hesitation flickering in his silver gaze. But then, with a sigh, he nodded.
“Alright,”
For a moment, neither of them moved. The weight of everything that had happened between them lingered, unspoken.
Gently, so gently, he bent forward and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, the warmth of his lips lingering against her skin for the briefest moment.
Thalia sucked in a sharp breath; her eyes fluttering shut at the unexpected tenderness of it. A warm tingling spreading through her body.
When she opened them, Vaelith was already pulling away, his expression solemn, a rare look of sorrow settling over his sharp features.
"Your gentle heart," he murmured, "is what makes you the best of us."
Thalia’s throat tightened, emotion rising too fast, too sharp to contain.
She wanted to say something,anything,but all she could do was give him a small nod, before she turned toward the temple steps.
With her chest aching, she climbed.
One step at a time
Chapter16
The air inside the Temple was cool and heavy, as if the very stones had absorbed the weight of centuries of whispered prayers, unfulfilled wishes, and fated destinies.
Thalia stepped across the smooth marble floors, her soft footsteps swallowed by the silence that stretched through the towering chamber. Golden light filtered through the stained-glass windows, casting shifting blue and silver patterns onto the floors and walls, their intricate designs mimicking the same swirling symbols etched into the temple’s outer archways.
Braziers lined the vast space, their flames burning low, filling the air with the scent of smoky myrrh and sweetened incense. Between them, the priestesses moved with slow, purposeful grace, their indigo robes flowing like dark rivers as they took their places in a perfect circle around the centre of the room.
Thalia’s chest ached, a lump forming in her throat as she took in the sheer weight of it all. The history, the faith, the hope that this place represented.
Her mother had prayed in this very temple, years ago. Begging. Pleading.
