Page 14 of The Frost Witch (The Covenants of Velora #1)

The ceremonies had not changed much in three hundred years. Chanting. Call and response. An offering of blood directly into the fountain. Though it ran so continuously, I doubted those few dribbles from each of us were enough to sustain it. It would take our blood as we died in the gates, too.

“You will enter the Mercy Gate at dawn,” the priestess said once we’d all made our final bloody offerings. “By entering the temple, you have pledged yourself to the Seven Gates. The only forfeit is death. If you have a query, speak it now.”

“I have heard that you can walk away between the gates.”

Every eye in the circle swung to Nimra, including the acolytes. Apparently, the supplicants did not usually take the priestess up on her offer.

The priestess inclined her head. “For a time,” she confirmed. “But the gods will demand their due. Should you not return in a timely manner, they will punish you.”

I nearly snorted at the rhyme, unintentional or not.

Nimra appeared unphased by the attention now focused on her, though her left hand did tap out an unsteady rhythm on her thigh. “What is a timely manner?” she questioned.

“That is up to the gods.” The priestess bowed her head. “A gate is always near.”

“A god is always watching,” Nimra murmured back. Her eyes had glazed over now, some calculation happening behind them.

The priestess did not linger; too bad if any of the rest of us had queries. The acolytes filed out behind her, Tomin included. He winked at me before disappearing in line. This time, I didn’t hold back the impulse to roll my eyes.

The thin man bolted, following the train of acolytes. Nimra stepped into the now empty place at my side, mouth already open. A headache began to form at the base of my skull.

“That skittish one is called Rilk,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “I doubt he’ll make it through the Mercy Gate. I cannot see him caring about anyone other than himself.”

I let the laugh bubble out of me. I did not care about anyone but myself. At least, not anyone else within the walls of this temple. To do so was na?ve. I opened my mouth to say as much to Nimra, then closed it. She was a friendly fount of information and nothing more.

Besides, I had two hulking men to deal with. The first was approaching me with a glint in his eye I wanted nothing to do with—whatever Garrick the Red had seen in his appraisal of me, he wanted a closer look.

But the other had moved into the semi-darkness at the outer edge of the temple.

The altars provided scant light, and now that evening was falling outside, the ornate stained-glass windows provided almost nothing.

My eyes adjusted easily to the darkness.

I could see his outline between the altars to the deities of Sacrifice and Devotion.

I had to get to him before he could spill my secret. And before Garrick the Red could get to me.

“Don’t let him get you by yourself,” I whispered over my shoulder.

I did not wait to see how or if Nimra would heed my warning.

She seemed astute enough on her own, if a bit too talkative.

I did not care about her wellbeing for her own sake, but my own.

She was already proving a valuable source of information on the other supplicants.

It was not kindness that had me uttering the warning. Witches were not kind.

I moved quickly despite my size, several lifetimes of maneuvering my wider-than-average body working to my advantage as I used the doe-eyed female as a shield to exit the ring of stone benches and avoid Garrick the Red.

I only had a few yards to consider. The man from the tavern already knew I was a witch.

I’d given all of my gold to Kyrelle, and he boasted more weapons than I’d ever seen on a single person.

He certainly wouldn’t want the meager dagger I carried.

So I’d offer him my power. A spell of his choosing, but I’d put limits on it.

It couldn’t reveal my secret, and it could not directly kill one of the other supplicants.

Power and magic were always enticing to humans, the only race born on the continent without a scrap of either.

Only a few steps to go. I didn’t try to quiet my steps; I was close enough that he wouldn’t be able to flee.

His shoulders tensed as he turned. He’d left off the thick cloak I’d seen him in before, clothed now in a black linen shirt that was too thin for the cold outside the temple walls and a well-worn leather vest that fit him to perfection.

Dark God spare me, I will not lust after a man who holds a dangerous secret about me.

I’d been so concerned with getting enough gold to get out of Velora that I hadn’t taken anyone to my bed, man or woman, in months.

I may not have a beating heart, but I certainly had a fully functioning female body otherwise.

Later, I promised the tingling in my stomach.

Alone in the dark, I’d see to my own physical needs.

Not when it made me vulnerable. Not when?—

He turned to look at me, his turquoise eyes darkening a full shade. But that was not what turned the heat in my belly to icy flame. It was the fae female standing behind him.