Despite the panicked screeching in Ash's mind, she could think well enough to place her hand in Nydia's and let herself be dragged along.

Her darling priest. The one that Odella was becoming close to for their mission. It had been foolish, but Ash had been doing her best not to think too hard about it, as if doing so would prolong the amount of time until she had to face this reality. But already it met her on the first day.

Roan had been scrubbing a neighbor's house but stood on the street now. At their approach, he faced them. "Isn't it early in the quarter-lune for the Holy Passing?"

"It's for the festival," Nydia explained.

He made a small noise of understanding, but a wrinkle remained between his brows. "Odella and I planned on meeting the others shortly. I will take her the rest of the way." When Nydia hesitated, Roan said, "We have been to many of these. We know where to go."

She sighed. "Yes, you're right, I was only..." She shook her head and released her hold on Ash. "I will see you two again soon."

When Nydia left them, Ash finally allowed the panic to seep into her expression. "What is happening?" she asked.

Roan slipped his arm through hers and began guiding her toward the center of town. He took a less direct route than Nydia, his eyes darting every way to watch for others. "The Holy Passing isn't exactly a mandatory event in this town, but it is one people do out of respect. Those who don't attend only do so because they are busy or otherwise unable."

They came to a stop as a family passed in front of them, all heading for the town's center. It surprised Ash how excited they seemed for an event that sounded appearance-based more than anything.

"But what exactly is it?" she whispered.

"I was getting there." Once the family finished passing, Roan continued their trek as well as his explanation. "The Blessed Guards lead the priest from his home at the opposite end of Volant all the way through the town and up to the temple." As he spoke, he pointed to where a large grey building rose near where the bell had rung, then trailed his finger across the town until it rested on the Serpent's temple. "There, he prays to their 'god.' It normally only happens once a quarter-lune, on the evening of the final day, but apparently with this festival..."

"It will be every day," Ash said, repeating what she'd heard from Nydia.

Roan's eyes hardened, and his grip on Ash's arm tightened. "Stay close to me."

"Can we not hide away from it?" Ash cursed herself for the tremor in her voice, but she couldn't help but imagine what type of man the priest had to be. She'd expected to have much more warning before having to face him.

"No," Roan said, dashing her hopes. "The people would be very suspicious if Odella didn't show at her first chance to see the priest again."

She winced, remembering Nydia's excitement. "I can't believe that my sister was actually courting him..."

Roan did a double take, his pace slowing. "Is that what you thought I meant when I said they were growing close?"

Ash stared right back. She was sure her expression was just as confused as his. "Well, yes. You said... And with the way that Nydia was acting..."

But Roan was shaking his head. "Odella was only getting close to him as a caring friend. Nobody would ask her to defile herself by courting such a monster. However, that doesn't stop the town from speculating or growing invested in something that isn't there."

Oh. Oh. Ash's breath came more easily. In all their talks about Odella interacting with the priest, she'd assumed there was a courting aspect lingering over it. She either didn't make it obvious or Roan didn't notice when she asked questions tainted by her assumption.

This felt much easier than it had before. Still, she reached out toward her glamour, making sure that it was in place. It greeted her like the flicker of a candle's flame, soft and soothing. Still firmly over her. She was safe.

She placed her hand over top Roan's.

She was safe.

Any new arrival in town could tell this was a practiced procedure. Even though there were no clear markings of which street the priest and his guards would walk through, everyone knew where to stand. The city's population, or the part that could make it to the Holy Passing, formed a serpentine line along the appropriate path. At least a few hundred people had to be out and about, but they kept their voices to a respectful whisper.

There was something both haunting and beautiful to it all as Ash and Roan joined the line somewhere in the town square.

The murmurs picked up at their appearance, and Ash could swear she felt the eyes turning on her. She didn't realize she'd started digging her nails into Roan's arm until he patted her hands.

"Careful there," he whispered through the corner of his half-quirked lips.

She kept her own upturned as well, knowing Odella wouldn't be nervous at this event. "Sorry," she said back quietly.

The crowd's noise both rose and fell at the same time when the first armored guards appeared. They wore chainmail shirts that peeked out from the neck of their long, deep-purple tunics. A silver winged serpent decorated their chests, representing their false god. Each guard wore a sword strapped to their waist, the weapon contrasting greatly with the smiles each of them gave to the people as they proceeded along their path.

With their good cheer, it was easy to forget that they were meant to be guarding someone. The twelve guards she counted walked in a clear box formation, though, doing their best to keep the one in their middle guarded from any onlookers.

Still, the surrounding people leaned forward as far as they dared, not quite shouting, but doing their best to convey wishes to the priest hidden within. Sharing their desired prayers. Asking him to pray for a good crop. To ask the Serpent if it could somehow bless a husband's sick wife with healing. If it could help with the sudden string of temper tantrums a mother couldn't figure out from her new babe. If it could help an elderly man's failing mind.

Ash forced her face to remain neutral as the band of guards drew closer and closer. All these requests. How did they expect a Terror to fulfill them? Its domain lay with the winds alone. Even the gods each had their own specialties. Unless their minds were so warped that they believed the Serpent could do these things.

The closer the troupe grew, the tighter Ash's chest felt. She kept her gaze trained straight ahead. Even if the priest knew Odella, he was hidden away by his guards. She would not have to face him today—

"Oh, your holiness!" Someone bumped hard against Ash. At first, she thought it an accident, but the jostling continued, and another set of arms slipped through her own, forcing her away from Roan. He growled a curse, but they both knew he couldn't yank her back without drawing attention.

A giggling older woman pulled Ash forward, and she noticed Nydia close by. "Your holiness," they both called. "Look who has returned." And they shoved her away, freeing her from the safe cover of the crowd.

For such a holy procession, it lost the respect of the townsfolk quickly as Ash stumbled forward out of the line. Laughter spilled from the surrounding people, and she heard those very rumors that Roan had mentioned in real time. Talk of how the priest's beloved had returned. How his sulky mood would finally lift. Someone whistled from the other side of the square.

Even the guards, meant to protect their priest, loosened their tight position, knowing smirks playing on their faces. "Odella," a nearby one said. "It's nice to see you back, though you should really save your entrances for a more proper moment."

"It's her?"

The voice that came from the center was deep and melodic. Sharing a glance, the closest guards shifted further apart. Their own shuffling feet didn't mask the sounds of someone hurrying forward to fill their space. Ash's breath stalled in her throat as she realized who was approaching. She was about to see the priest of the Terror.

Callum Brynn. Ash's mind had concocted images of this man multiple times since learning she would have to get close to him for their mission to proceed as planned. None of them had him as a young man only a few years older than herself. Eyes as dark blue as the deepest part of the ocean widened as he took her in. Absent were the scars and hard, cold demeanor of a cult leader, replaced by an open smile and a childish innocence as he took yet another step towards her.

"Odella."

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Words. Even a single one. She needed to speak, not stand there like a fish that found itself suddenly out of water. The priest's thick brows drew together until a crease of worry formed between them.

"Odella?" Her twin's name again, this time a question rather than excitement.

Ash was crazy, but amidst the whispers of the crowd, she could have sworn she heard Roan's voice. A very simple, very direct, "Focus, Ashlin," that penetrated her ears and sent shockwaves through her body. Then again, he was a Scion. Perhaps he could project his voice.

Either way, imagined or not, it provided the breath of air she needed. She planted that false smile on her lips and straightened to her full height.

"Callum."

She breathed the name. Tasted it. Placed it to this handsome young man with his shoulder-length black hair and long white robes. It should have been bitter, but he came across as so open, so friendly... She tried to search him for scars to prove he sliced himself open to give blood to the vile beast, but aside from his face, he covered every part of himself despite the warm weather.

Realizing that all she'd done was say his name, she chuckled. "Sorry, it was just a surprise to see you so suddenly. It's been so long."

The tension eased from his shoulders, but there was a slight quirk to his smile that meant she wasn't entirely free of consequence for her blunder. He reached out and took her arms with a slight squeeze. "I am so glad to see you again, though I wish it could be at a better time."

He glanced around them. A hint of mischief entered his eyes when he faced her again. "I'd ask you to join me on the walk, but then we would never be able to quell all the town rumors."

His smile caused warmth to creep toward her cheeks, but she willed it down. Roan had told her that the priest and Odella had an easy, friendly air, passing banter between themselves as if they had known each other for much longer than they had. Ash needed to somehow mimic that.

If only she'd had more time to brace herself to meet this man, to prepare what she would say.

And gods above, why did he have to be so disarming and handsome? Why couldn't he be the scowling monster she imagined?

"We'll have to meet up again later," she said, and she thought she sounded nonchalant.

"Yes. But for now, I really do need to return to my duties." He shrugged in a way that seemed both amused and resigned at the same time. Before she could figure out if she needed to move away, he swept one of her hands in both of his. For a moment, she thought he'd kiss it, but he only squeezed. Perhaps the town rumors were getting to her head as well. "Until then, Odella."

She hated it, but the smile she gave him came easily. "Until then."

He released her hand and stepped back into the free space provided between the shield of his guards' bodies. Ash mirrored the movement. The Blessed Guard closed their ranks again. It wasn't until one shot Ash a wry look that she realized she still stood too close.

Giving them an apologetic half-grin, she retreated to her place in the crowd. She shared a few quick laughs with Nydia and others she passed, but her muscles didn't relax until she found herself at Roan's side once more.

"Did I do well enough?" she whispered. She felt silly, but the event had exhausted her. As she tilted close to Roan to be sure only he heard her, she had the sudden impulse to lean against him, if only to not feel like she held up so much weight at that moment.

Roan didn't answer at first. Anxiety turned Ash's next swallow into a knot. She glanced up at him. He watched the vanishing procession with hardened eyes.

She forced down the pressure building in her throat. "Roan?"

He finally wrenched his gaze away from the Holy Pass and back to her, but his troubled expression remained. "You need to be wary around him."

"Who?" She frowned. "You mean the priest?"

He nodded.

She pitched her voice even lower, knowing she'd speak words that were blasphemy here. "I know that. He's nothing like I expected, but he's still the priest of a Terror."

"That's not what I mean." He spoke as quietly as her, his words almost a mere breath against her skin. "I've not told you everything, Ash. The night Odella disappeared and whatever happened to her occurred? She was going to meet Callum."

*****

Feel sorta funky about this chapter, maybe because I made a mistake in a previous chapter editing and had to messy fix it this chapter, but meh xD First draft!  Enjoy the ride with me or get off >:D (maybe I'm still tired when writing this author's note, I dunno).  The priest has been introduced, and he's nothing like Ash expected!  But Roan seems to think he may play a part in Odella's state maybe?  Strange time to be revealing that info, friendo >:V 

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter down below, and if you enjoyed it, don't forget to vote and comment! I also have a discord open to anyone who wants to join, and we have a section there to discuss the book :D Let me know if you want to join!