My wrists itched. My eyes snapped open and my head shot up, eliciting a moan from me. My neck had become stiff from leaning in one position and my head throbbed. I tried to move my hands to rub it, but they wouldn't budge. I tugged on my arms, but something cut into my wrists.

I had been bound to a tree, my arms wrapped behind me around its trunk. Rope grazed my wrists. My dagger had been taken from me as well as my cape and scarf. I could feel the cool wind on my face, my hair fluttering. I leaned back against the trunk, pulling my knees up. My legs had been bound as well. I shifted into a more comfortable sitting position.

It was night still, though what little of the moon I could see betrayed the fact that it wouldn't remain dark for long. I was in the forest, trees rising on all sides like pillars. They held up a ceiling of dense leaves, branches weaving into each other. Moonlight struggled to pierce through, and the little that pooled down was insufficient in lighting up my surroundings. Since I had been unconscious, my eyes didn't take long to adjust to the sparse light, and even that was not enough. I could make out silhouettes of trees and bushes and what looked like an empty bonfire.

There was nobody around me and I wondered why someone would just leave me here. I wasn't complaining, but it wasn't the best idea to leave someone you had captured alone.

I swallowed past my growing panic. Maybe it had been the person's plan to just leave me here to rot. If I didn't get out of here soon, I would be at the mercy of the animals and insects.

I struggled against the ropes, but that only resulted in it digging deeper into my wrists. I stopped when I felt blood trickle down my fingers.

A deep rumbling of laughter came from behind me. I strained my neck to look back, but the people stepped into my line of vision.

"Well, well, well," one man said, the other two coming to a halt beside him. "Look who we have here."

I knew that voice. I had grown up with that voice.

"Segan?" I asked. He had been Larkin's advisor and trusted friend, which meant that when Larkin wasn't available to train us, Segan would. I hadn't seen him with the party that had arrived at the palace and had assumed he was with the rebels, here. "What are you doing?"

"Larkin told us to stay away from you," he hissed, sinking to a crouch. Something glinted and I felt the icy tip of a sword being pressed against my neck. "But why should we? Do you know what you did, you stupid girl?"

I met his gaze levelly, daring even to wring up a sly smile. My face was the only thing not giving my galloping heart away. "Of course I know what I did. I went home."

A fist connected with the side of my face, throwing my head to the side. My ears rang with the impact and I had to blink several times to wipe the spots from my vision. My headache pierced and my chest heaved. I tasted blood. The punch had cut the inside of my cheek. The force of the impact had stretched my left arm and I was sure my wound had opened again.

I flipped my hair back and glared at him. The throbbing behind my eyes made it hard for me to focus.

"You've always been a stubborn one." Segan stood and nodded to the two men beside him. They untied my arms from around the tree, but were quick in binding my wrists together in front of me. One man hauled me up, his fingers taut around my arm. I winced as the contact ignited my wound. It was definitely open.

"What do you want Segan?" I asked. The other man undid the rope around my legs and I considered kicking him.

"I," started Segan, drawing my attention up, "have an offer. Leave the king and go away."

I raised an eyebrow. He had brought me all the way here to ell me to leave? "Why would I do that?"

"Because he is going to fall very soon," he said. "Aaron and his little prince will burn."

I tensed. I knew killing Aaron was part of the plan but I had never considered Lyon. "I won't let you."

I was rewarded with another punch. This time I stumbled. The man had been kind enough to release my arm right at that moment. I spat out blood while I blinked back tears.

"You can try," Segan growled. I stood up as tall as I could and smirked. I saw his fist flex, but he didn't punch me.

"What are you going to do, Segan?" I mocked. "Leave me here? Do you think I'm the only one who wants to protect the king? He has an army at his command. A second-grade farmer like you is going to get nowhere."

I braced myself for a punch that didn't come. Instead, Segan grinned evilly. "We have a plan far greater than your silly little mind can comprehend. No, since you did not take my offer to leave, here is what I am going to do to you. I do not care if the king has an army at his command. You'll not be alive to see it rise."

A chill ran down my spine. "We have a certain deity we owe fidelity to. She would like a sacrifice."

My cheek thrummed with a ferocity to rival the beating of my heart. "What deity?" I asked, my voice wavering.

I saw his teeth glint in the moonlight. "Bring her," he told his men.

...

The Goddess Mordrigana was worshiped during the primeval ages. She was the Goddess of all things vile. A cruel few worshipped her, honoring her as the 'Mother Goddess'.

Mordrigana, in the few tales of her that have survived, has been described as a vicious Goddess. She watched over the decay of fields, was the cause of the unbecoming of mortals and incited a majority of wars. She brought disease and destruction to those whom she opposed. She caused unwanted lust and need for violence in mortals. Her worshippers, few as they were, were as ruthless as their patron.

Her worshippers would steal children and women in the dead of night and conduct obscure sacrifices to earn the Goddesses appeal. It is said that if Mordrigana turns her favour to you, all your enemies would be vanquished in one way or other.

She is often depicted carrying a spear to impale foes and a conch shell to summon troops of the dead. Two of her hands are cupped in front of her, as a way of demanding blood sacrifices.

No temples for her exist till date and none of her worshippers have survived. 

...

The temple was underground, just like the other one had been.

A small house, barely larger than an animal shed, stood against the desolated edge of the town. It hadn't taken us long to get here. Segan had a carriage at the ready and they'd quickly hauled me in. They hadn't blindfolded me as I expected them to. They were fairly sure I would not be alive to remember my way back. Still, I kept my eyes peeled on the road. We bumped out of the town and had come to a halt in front of that house.

Segan pushed me in, rougher than necessary. The house was empty. There was no furniture to make the place seem slightly less terrifying. Parts of the wall had crumbled in, leaving the house exposed to the elements. There were no lights, either, and I heard one man curse as he bumped into a stray brick.

A lever was pushed. A trapdoor in the floor fell open. Segan led me to it and prodded me forward with the blade of his sword. I felt like I was walking the plank. 

The inside was worse than the darkness outside. The place smelled heavily of dust and damp. It was clear from the way the stench clogged my nose that it hadn't been cleaned out in ages. I coughed as I inhaled dust. I heard the others follow, and despite the fact that I was going to my inevitable death, I found a little comfort knowing there were others with me.

The stairs came to a halt quickly. I heard the flick of a match being struck and a pinprick of light briefly illuminated someone's armour. The light moved and dipped, and a torch flared, spluttering to life. Two more torches were lit and finally, I could see.

The room we had entered was a small room, hardly more than twenty feet across. It was made of grey stone and cobwebs like paper hung in the corners. In the center of the room stood the same statue I had seen under the palace.

Here, she was made of the same grey stone that made up the walls. She was smaller, but her form was the same. She held a spear, a conch, and had two hands cupped in front of her. The same cold eyes stared at me hungrily. A bowl and a dagger were placed by her feet.

I couldn't think of anything but the sword at my back. It would be so simple, a sleight of the hand, really. Just thrust the blade forward and it would puncture through muscle, fiber, nerve and bone. It would be over so quick. Blood would pool on the floor that hadn't seen its share of worthy sacrifices in years. A scream might linger in the ancient air; a scream that would mingle with the ghosts of the ones from old. A body would thud, lifeless. It was all so simple.

"So you recognize her," Segan said, making me start. He was observing my expression.

I didn't try to keep the fear out of my eyes. There was no use anymore.

"This is the Goddess Mordrigana," he said with a grand gesture. "I have worshipped her for years now, and finally the time has come for me to make a sacrifice to show my loyalty." The two men dragged me forward. I pressed my heals against the floor, but I might as well have been trying to weigh against elephants.

They threw me on the ground beneath the Goddess' feet. Segan stood over me, his sword raised. He looked at Mordrigana. "O, Goddess, accept my offering."

"Wait!" I shouted before he could bring the sword down.

Segan looked irritated. "What?"

"I . . .," I didn't know what to say.

Segan smirked and raised his sword, again.

"Larkin will know!" I blurted. My heart was pounding frantically. I couldn't see a way out of here. I needed to stall until I could think of something.

"Oh, yes, what a tragedy," he said dryly.

"He told you not to touch me," I said, my voice hysterical. "He's not going to like it when he finds out."

"My ties with Larkin have long since been severed."

I frowned. "What?"

"After you left, we wanted to come after you but Larkin denied us. He said to let you be. There was no harm you could do to us. But you'd already done your damage, hadn't you, you little witch?" he spat. "You divided the camp. Larkin was blinded by his love for you. He thought of you as a daughter. He raised you by himself and how did you repay him?" He kicked, his boot hitting my arm right on the wound. I cried out in pain.

"You betrayed him," he hissed. "You betrayed us all. Do you know how many hearts you broke?" his voice rose. "There was not a single day that went by when people weren't disheartened. For days nobody did anything but sit around. There were no practices. There was no laughter. Even the words spoken were hollow and forced. Suddenly the light in peoples lives had been snuffed out. Did you even care? Did you bother to find out what state you left us in? You betrayed Kirin. Your best friend. He was so broken nobody thought he would make it. The shock hit him the hardest. He didn't speak for weeks. He'd disappear for days together only to turn up later, a blank expression on his face. When we suggested we come here and end you, he denied. He said you still had some good in you. He vouched for you, after everything you did to him." He snorted. "Some good you are, going around and destroying peoples lives. How many rebels have you rooted out so far? How many lives have you burned?"

I sat there, suddenly immobile. Everything he said hit me hard. I hadn't checked. Of course I hadn't. I had to pretend to sever all ties so there was no knowing what an impact my leaving had made. I couldn't imagine them being cast in grey. Despite their agenda, the rebels were a lively lot. That was one of the reasons I loved being there.

"Larkin wouldn't let us kill you, so I left. When I heard they were coming here, I took the opportunity. Now you're in my mercy and I am going to end you for all the pain you have caused us."

I laughed, bitterly, mostly at myself. "'Us' who? There's only you, Segan. The others have left you. You're not going to help anyone by killing me."

"Do you want to wager on that?" he asked. "I would bet you a thousand shillings, only you're going to be dead either way. There were others who wanted you dead as much as I, only they were too afraid to leave Larkin."

"Afraid or sensible?" I asked. "From where I'm sitting, it sounds like your sight shifted from the king to me. Who do you really oppose, Segan?"

"Both of you," he growled. "I will destroy you and then him?"

"Oh, really? It doesn't sound like it. I t sounds like you actually don't care about the king at all. What happened, Segan? Did a younger girl get the best of you? Were you angry at yourself for not finding me out? I bet you were. The great swords master Segan, the man who could tell the opponent's next attack a second before the opponent knew it himself, ousted by a little gi-"

This time, he wasn't delicate while kicking me. His foot sent me crashing into the wall. I coughed and I curled up on the floor. I gasped for air, my throat scraped raw with coughs. My stomach screamed in protest and my back was sore.

I could make out heavy boots come to a halt in front of my face, though they were hazy. One of those boots, embedded themselves in my stomach again and I screamed. I felt like my insides were being pushed around by sharp, white-hot iron rods. It was an effort for me to swallow. My head spun and if I had been standing I would have fallen.

A rough hand grabbed me by the collar and hoisted me up, throwing me again to the ground. I skid across the dirt and came to a halt in front of the statue. I didn't have the strength to get up. My shoulders shook with the pain and unfelt tears streamed down my face, causing the bruises on my jaw to burn.

Segan flipped me over with his foot. The hands of the Goddess were right above me, held out in anticipation of my imminent death. I didn't even have the strength to fight. I watched with detached interest as Segan raised his sword over my head for what would be the last time. I saw his shoulders tense as he prepared to bring it down and closed my eyes.