Stella was just trying to get outside of her comfort zone, and now she was paying for it.
A hand on her shoulder startled her. She whipped her head around to meet the dark brown eyes of another priestess.
“I don’t believe it,” the priestess whispered. “How curious.” She tugged Stella forward.
It wasn’t until Teddy started moving too that Stella realized the priestess had grabbed his wrist as well.
The priestess dragged them into the silver light pouring in from the opening at the center of the room.
“What are you—” Stella stopped speaking when Desiree stepped into the moonlit circle with them.
The goddess laughed heartily. “Oh, the fates do like to play games.” She nodded at the priestess. “I see what you mean.”
Two priestesses stepped up on either side of the goddess. They looked at Stella and Teddy as if seeing right through them.
“What now?” Teddy whispered.
Teddy shifted under their assessing gazes, but Stella met them with a fierce defiance in her eyes.
“Look at the threads between them. They’re woven in gold. How interesting,” Desiree said.
“It’s very curious,” said the priestess who had dragged them into the circle.
“Curious indeed,” Desiree said. “It’s hard to believe they aren’t here together. These two are meant to be.”
Teddy let out a choked sound that sounded like a laugh.
Stella wrinkled her nose. “Surely you’re joking.”
Teddy looked offended that she thoughthewasn’t good enough forher.
Stella scoffed. Desiree was just trying to teach her a lesson about running off to do impulsive things. This was some sort of godly entertainment.
“You’re mistaken,” Teddy said. His deep voice brought the entire temple to a halt.
The humor disappeared from the goddess’s face in an instant. “Excuse me.”
Teddy bowed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “What I meant is that we’re not at all well-suited. I would never be with someone so—” He gestured to Stella broadly.
“So beautiful you’re at a loss for words,Your Grace?” Stella taunted.
“So irrationally emotional,” Teddy snapped.
Stella crossed her arms, jutting her chin out. “And I’d never be with someone so heartless.”
Desiree’s full red lips twisted into a smirk and her eyes glowed. The air filled with the scent of crushed rose petals.
“Love is an untamed thing, as strange to me as it is to all of you. If there is one thing I’ve learned in my many years of existence, it’s that not even I can understand the mysterious ways in which it moves us,” Desiree said. “I can see these threads that connect people, but I’mwise enough not to presume to understand why they connect certain loves. My job is merely to interpret what I see.”
Stella shook her head violently. “But I’m here with Arden.” She gestured toward the hallway, as if she had any control here.
Desiree eyed Stella. “Did you not bleed into the sacred bowl? That magic is binding. You promised to accept the outcome.”
Teddy shifted beside her. He had clearly mastered his shock much better than her. Of course he had. Teddy Savero was as emotional as a stone. He had no feelings to turn off.
“If you truly think you have nothing to fear from each other, then the bond will fade in a few weeks and you’ll be no worse for the wear,” Desiree said.
Stella’s heart thundered, pumping raw panic through her blood. She wanted to thrash around in the trap she’d been caught in, even though she knew there was no way to shake herself free. She glanced toward the exit, wishing it was as simple as leaving. She’d bled into that bowl and promised to accept the outcome.
