Page 149

Egzod, Maestro Chives, Neoni

The moment the white robe slipped down my body, I felt isolated. It was as if I were drifting away, losing connection with my body.

Silvar said something, demanded something, but it was the lukewarm hand on my back that made me step forward as if paralyzed.

My feet moved down the stone stairs into the pool while I held Gloria's gaze. One gaze among hundreds that examined me, inspected my naked body as proof that I was indeed carrying a child.

I felt numb. Empty. And the fact that I was standing in cold water up to my belly didn't make it any better.

I was theirs. My body belonged to her. Just as she had taught us early on.

Amara said something in Latin, and Silvar stepped down the stairs opposite me, her robe trailing around her as she entered the pool.

One of her hands slightly extended forward to the side, with the palm facing upward. A gesture of respect toward the gods. In her other hand she was holding a stone bowl containing a blue-shimmering, almost sparkling liquid. A mineral essence.

Again, Amara said something in Latin, and the Water Quatura raised her fingers until the water around us began to move and form a slow vortex.

And only then did I feel the water. How it surrounded my body.

Water. They had let me step into a pool full of water...

How could they have been so short-sighted?

I gasped sharply as I felt emotions returning.

Unable to hold Gloria's gaze any longer, I was mercilessly dragged back into reality.

They had let me into a pool of water...

Silvar was close to me. Not even a meter separated us.

A gray glow ran through her irises.

“Moenia, tange animam infantis.”

Frantically, I looked up at Amara, whose eyes glowed green. She had raised her hands.

“Moenia, tange animam infantis.”

My head snapped around to all the Quatura, whose voices combined to form an eerie hum that repeated Amara’s words.

Many Quatura... They all saw my naked body...

Something wet touched my forehead.

Startled, I flinched and stared at Silvar, who was running her finger, dipped in blue liquid, over my nose.

A shiver ran down my spine as she touched my lip and continued down to my chin.

An unpleasant tingling spread through my body, followed by a cold pulling sensation in my fingertips.

Her finger touched my throat, and I swallowed as she moved it further down, before she handed the bowl to one of the women at the edge of the pool, dipped both hands in it, and tried to place her palms on my bare breasts.

I recoiled.

Someone in the crowd gasped audibly.

Silvar didn't let it bother her.