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Father Dominic starts to argue, “You haven’t checked—"

But Father McCall raises his voice and talks over him. “From what I’ve witnessed over the years, the mark only appears in a few places. Sister Agatha has been adequately thorough.”

“I agree,” the Prophet says, putting an end to the argument.

Hoping the nightmare is over now, I manage to work up enough nerve to wrap my arms around myself.

But I freeze up again and my eyes fly open when the Prophet suddenly orders, “Bring the girl to me.”

Sister Agatha nods at Jeffrey.

Clenching his jaw, Jeffrey refuses to look at me as he grabs my arm and jerks me nearly off my feet. Forced to trip and stumble beside him, I try my best to cover myself with one hand.

Bone-white fingers gripping the arms of his throne, the Prophet leans forward as we approach. When Jeffrey shoves me down to my knees, I can feel the darkness beneath his hood biting into my skin like thousands of icy needles.

“Tell me, child,” the Prophet says, his words scraping against my nerves. “Do you love God?”

Out of everything that’s happened to me today, I didn’t think I could be more freaked out. But with his attentionbitinginto me, the question fills me with dread.

What will they do to me if I answer honestly and tell them no? Strip the meat off my bones? After what’s already happened to me, I wouldn’t put anything past them.

Feeling as if I have no other choice, I bow my head and say, “Yes.”

Somewhere behind me, I hear someone exhale in relief.

“Good,” the Prophet says, his rattling voice somehow sounding pleased. “There may be hope for you yet.”

Hope.

Foolish, stupid hope. It’s what has kept me alive all these years and brought me to this very moment. Perhaps I should have given up long ago and avoided all of this torment.

Because right now, kneeling naked at the Prophet’s feet, violated and completely humiliated, I don’t feel like it was worth it.

Just as a sob catches in my throat, the Prophet says, “I believe we can still prevent the connection.”

Connection? What connection?

“How?!” Father Dominic asks in disbelief before catching himself and clearing his throat. “I mean, how do you plan to prevent that, Your Holiness?”

“The same way we’ve blocked… the other. We’ll bleed it out,” the Prophet answers.

“She is not like her,” Father McCall says in a rush. “It could kill her.”

“Perhaps,” the Prophet agrees coldly. “But we’ll fill her with holy blood first.”

“Holy blood?” Father Dominic repeats in shock, taken aback. “You can’t mean…”

“Not mine, if that’s what you’re thinking,” the Prophet says. “Jeffrey, you’ve recently performed your sacrament, yes?”

“Yes, Your Holiness,” Jeffrey answers, his voice as meek as he can make it. “I received my sacrament yesterday.”

“Good,” the Prophet says. “Retrieve the goblet from the shelf and return to me quickly.”

The floorboards beneath my knees vibrate as Jeffrey stomps off on his mission, and my sobs die away as my mind starts to go crazy with panic over what the Prophet plans to do to me.

He plans to bleed me out in some way, but will fill me with holy blood first?!

How? How does he plan to do it?