The Priestess' Affair [Books 1 &2]

𝐗𝐈𝐗. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬

-HER-

As soon as I got some of the senses back in my legs, I tried to get up, but Vittoria's steely grip only solidified around my arm painfully. I found it surprising how she could drag me so effortlessly despite being of diminutive stature.

"Let me go," I hissed as she continued to drag me to the lagoon.

"Why? You wanted to hear us talk. You'll hear us better on the boat rather than hiding here," Vittoria suggested cynically.

"I wasn't eavesdropping!" I defend myself.

"Then why would you need to hide in those shadows?" she shot back before pulling me into the water with a rough, final tug. I winced at the pain. I wouldn't be surprised if she left her fingermarks on my arm after this.

"Vittoria," I dared to hiss at her as she further pulled me into the lagoon water, making my dress wet.

"Just get into the boat," she ordered impatiently.

"I don't want to!" I opposed.

"Get into the boat, Theresa," The Matriarch commanded using the voice. Unwillingly, I found myself obeying her command... or rather, my body obeyed her. But I wanted to run from there as far as possible. Nothing good ever happens whenever I am with these two women, alone.

I did my best not to look the Matriarch in her eyes as I climbed into the boat obediently. Vittoria followed after me. The only place for me to sit was right opposite the Matriarch, which would have me facing her anyway. I glared at my feet as Vittoria settled beside me, sinking in her seat while taking a long drag from her pipe.

"Look at me," the Matriarch ordered with that voice. My head snapped up, forcing me to look into her pitch-black eyes. They almost looked hollow in the pale moonlight. A shiver ran down my spine as my eyes locked with her eerie ones. She studied me intensely, swiping a glance from my head to toes.

"How did you get here?" She demanded, tacking me with her white-less eyes. Sometimes, the darkness in her eyes seemed thick enough to swallow light.

"I followed Vittoria,"

"And why were you following me?" Vittoria asked.

"I was looking for you when I saw you stepping out of the shrine—"

"— so you decided to follow me here and eavesdrop?"

"I didn't hear anything!" I urged.

"Vittoria has been here for a while now. If you've been following her, you must have been here for a while as well. Which suggests that you must have at least heard something, Theresa," the Matriarch prodded. I couldn't even blink even though my vision was blurring due to tears.

"I didn't hear anything," I claimed as my eyes burned with tears, but she continued to study me unblinkingly. Meanwhile, Vittoria continued to get as high as the Lagrifiri volcano.

"You're a terrible liar," The Matriarch remarked.

"It isn't my fault. Vittoria takes the classes on the art of lying and fabrication," I remarked, earning a sarcastic chuckle from Vittoria.

"I can't help if you don't pay enough attention," she responded, tapping the dust off her pipe.

"Tell me, girl," The Matriarch started again, "What did you hear?" The temperature of her voice had fallen another notch, sounding graver and darker.

"I didn't hear anything," I answered with tears running down my cheeks. The burning in my eyes further intensified to a blinding threshold. Meanwhile, the darkness in the Matriarch's eyes further darkened. I could bet the bottom of an ocean trench had more light than the Matriarch's eyes.