“What’s wrong?”
“Those priests are dangerous,” he whispered without moving. “More so than the Winged Soldiers. We need to get out of here.”
I nodded, my gaze never straying from the scene unfolding before us.
Two of the mysterious priests were unmoving, while the third stepped forward and conferred with one of the soldiers. Their heads remained together for a minute before the priest nodded. He lifted his hands, the sleeves of his robe slipping back to reveal pasty, white skin covered in swaths of black, winding tattoos.
The priest walked halfway down the steps before stopping.
“My children.” The deep register of the priest’s voice echoed through the square. “Today, Kydona smiles down on us. His Supreme Majesty High King Edgar’s soldiers have uncovered an Earth Elf living among us. This male has been masquerading as a Light Elf in our very city, living under our noses.”
A collective gasp echoed through the market. My heart was pounding as the reality of what was happening set in.
The priest’s voice thundered through the square once more. “If the marking on his back wasn’t proof enough, in his home, the Winged Soldiers found a shrine to Thelrena.”
Thelrena.
Thelrena.
Thelrena.
The name echoed through my mind as I gasped. The square faded away as a long-forgotten memory forced its way to the surface of my mind.
Flashing, searing, burning pain erupted on my back over and over again. Salt filled my mouth as the sound of a whip cracking filled the air. Time and time again, it slammed onto my exposed back as I cried out. The scent of copper and sandalwood filled the air, mingling with the salt of my tears.
“Help me, Thelrena,” I whimpered the only prayers I knew as I drew my legs up to my chest and tried to escape my tormentor.
“Don’t ever say that name again,” a voice growled from behind me.
“Please,” I whimpered.
“There is no room for Thelrena here,” they continued as I sobbed into the mattress. “You are my pet. You will forget you ever knew ofher. She is a false goddess. If she wasn’t, she’d be saving you by now. No one will come for you. Not today. Not ever.”
I shoved my fist in my mouth and the goddess’ name echoed in my mind, but I wouldn’t say it. I couldn’t.
Thelrena.
I was pulled back to the present by a loud clap. The priest paused as all over the square, whispers rose.
“The elf worships the false goddess.”
“… Heretics among us…”
“Earth Elves…”
“… I thought they all died two decades ago.”
The whispers were like voices calling to me in a dream as I swayed on my feet. My skin felt too tight as I struggled to draw air into my lungs. It took me a moment to realize that the priest had continued speaking.
“… Kydona, in her eternal wisdom, has allowed our illustrious High King to bring the heretical Earth Elves under control.”
Another priest stepped forward, climbing down the steps as he spoke. “Remember, children of Thyr, the horrors the Earth Elves inflicted upon our lands. It is only because of our glorious king that twenty years ago, our forests became free of these wicked creatures. Their shrines to their false goddess were destroyed alongside the temples where they sacrificed their own young in her name.”
The second priest fell silent, dipping his head.
Jeers rose from the crowd as emotion swelled all around us. People’s faces contorted as they sneered at the trembling elf on the steps. Shouts erupted from the crowd as I pressed myself against Xander. I wanted nothing more than to be out of this square.
Gods forbid if their attention turned to me… I swallowed, pulling my hood down even more. At that moment, I wished I was somewhere else. Anywhere else.