Shadows danced on the wall as the fire in the goblet gently flickered. Of all the moving shadows, one of them remained still. This shadow belonged to someone, unlike the others shadows circling the room. The said shadow belonged to the high priestess, who sat surrounded by the darkness lurking with the shadows of beings from other realms.

The fire burned bright red; sometimes, it would cackle, sending tiny sparks towards the ceiling before taming itself. However, the high priestess didn't seem to care about the fire or the shadows. She sat with her eyes closed, quieter than a grave and stiller than a dead body.

As the shadows engulfed her, she tried to look at the future and past simultaneously. She looked through alternative realities, searching.

For what? Only she knew.

Just when the order of the universe started to unfold in her mind's eyes, the door behind her opened. Instantly, all the shadows were drained into all the nooks and crannies of the room. With them, the darkness disappeared, and instantly the room was flooded with light. The fire in the goblet went out in a snap, leaving behind a thin line of smoke.

"I hate to interrupt your divination, Vittoria," The Matriarch spoke, entering the room and standing before the high priestess who remained still and silent with her eyes closed, "but we need to talk,"

"Talk about what, Arrieta?" Vittoria asked. The annoyance in her voice was audible, but the Matriarch overlooked it. Instead, she pinned the young high priestess with her old and sly pitch-black eyes, taking a seat on the other side of the table.

"She is in Cromeria," The Matriarch commented, "with the wolf king,"

"I know," Vittoria answered patiently, still her eyes closed.

"When are you going to bring her back?" The Matriarch asked. At this, Vittoria finally opened her eyes and looked at the old woman.

"You sound impatient, Arrieta," Vittoria noted.

"As I should be," the Matriarch almost snapped, "She is there with the wolf king who also happens to be her—"

"— I know," Vittoria nodded. "I know everything," The Matriarch stared at Vittoria grimly.

"So, it was all by your design," she concluded coldly.

"You know me well, Arrieta," Vittoria smiled at the old woman before she rose from her place with the goblet. However, the Matriarch wasn't done speaking yet.

"You lied to us," the Matriarch hissed. "I knew it from the beginning. You never had that dream. No, it was what you wanted to happen,"

"Calm down, Arrieta," Vittoria laughed, "what's supposed to happen is happening,"

"You're trying to tell me that it was all fated? Don't think I am a fool, Vittoria!" The Matriarch incited, "I know your ways. You have been meddling with fate, twisting destiny as you please. Who do you think you are!" The Matriarch's voice rose as she spoke, but Vittoria maintained her calm despite this provocation. She put away the goblin and started preparing some tea instead. "Answer me, girl!" The Matriarch tried to push further.

"Arrieta, Arrieta, what did I tell you about talking to me in that tone?" Vittoria spoke softly, but there was an undertone of warning with which the Matriarch was far too familiar. It made her jaw quiver. Even if she was far older than the High Priestess, Arrieta was just a Matriarch at the mercy of the former. "I thought we settled this a long time ago?" Vittoria maintained her soft tone, but Matriarch knew what exactly Vittoria was talking about. It made her remember the pain she had felt in her left eye before losing her vision as a conclusion to an old argument between them.

"I don't like your doings," The Matriarch added quickly but much more tamely. "If you wanted the two of them to be together, then you could have simply arranged for a marriage,"

"Where would have been the fun in that?" Vittoria laughed.

"Is that all about? Fun and Games?" The Matriarch questioned. "You do reckon you're dealing with two kings and a future queen,"

"Yes, I am aware of that," Vittoria purred.

"Then what is this all about?" The Matriarch demanded.

"You don't have to know that, and neither do I want you to know, Arrieta. I have reasons, and of course, one of them is the twisted things you do behind my back," Vittoria spoke, not afraid to tell the truth. The Matriarch's eyes gleamed cunningly.

"You're calling me a traitor," The Matriarch tried to provoke the high priestess again.

"No, I'm reminding you that you're one," Vittoria corrected the Matriarch. The latter clenched her jaw. "It's the truth that you must accept, Arrieta,"

"This is why you intend to keep Theresa in Cromeria, isn't it?" The Matriarch questioned, "You want to keep her away from me,"

"Of course I do," Vittoria spoke, "She's the safest there,"

This made the Matriarch laugh out loud.

"I'm surprised you'd be so naive to say that," the Matriarch commented.

"But I am not surprised, Arrieta. You are that same cunning bitch I knew from my first day here," Vittoria said, making the Matriarch laugh.

"But isn't it my cunning nature that has kept you from getting rid of me?" Matriarch laughed, "I'm a double-edged sword for you, Vittoria,"

"A sword I can make blunt at my own will," Vittoria reminded the Matriarch again, wiping the sly smirk off her face.

"I might never win in this war of words," the Matriarch accepted her defeat, "but that doesn't mean I am giving up. In the end, things will be how I intended them to be while all your designs will fail,"

"I didn't know you were such a dreamer, Arrieta. Maybe this is the reason why you cannot have visions. Your inner eye is clouded with delusion," Vittoria remarked.

"At least I don't lie about my visions like you," the Matriarch shot back.

"Who says it was a lie?" Vittoria laughed, leaving Matriarch speechless. "It was planned all along, even before Theresa was born and that wolf king got cursed. It was planned even before I set foot on this island and before you were just a little girl. It was planned all along. The previous High Priestesses had been executing this plan accordingly. Similarly, I am doing just what I am supposed to do,"

"And what is it?"

"God's work,"

~

END OF BOOK 1 BUT NOT THE END OF THERESA AND ALEXANDROS' STORY.

Please read the note below before clicking off -

I am choosing to end this book at this point. However, the story hasn't ended yet. It has just started. All the events in this book were just the build-up to what's about to come. There will be more books on these two. You'll definitely get to see the two of them together more in the upcoming book.

I initially planned to have 100 chapters for this book but decided to cut it here because I just couldn't continue anymore. I wrote this book in 2022, and that year has been mentally tough for me due to stuff happening in my personal life. I was feeling completely burned out by everything, and I didn't want to reflect it in my work, so I decided to cut this book here and allow myself the time to rest and come back to it later with a fresh mind. I have grand plans with this book, and that's why I believe this break is important. However, you don't have to wait too much. I will most likely return to this book by the second part of 2023. You'll get to read the sequel by sometime late this year. I cannot give any proper dates yet.

For the time being, I will be posting my light-hearted books. Check them out. Also, I am finally posting Mr Night's Book 2, so check that out. I am continuing it in the old book itself.

Thank you for all the love and support. It means a lot to me. If you liked the journey so far, please leave a review of this book on Inkitt. It will definitely motivate me to start working on the sequel earlier ;)

- Benita