Chapter 4

That night, someone kicked the door of the guest house open from outside.

Adrian came in, his face twisted into something ugly.

I sat up on the bed, watching him warily. "What do you want now?"

"Calista told me everything you said."

Something stirred in me, but I kept my face still. "What did I say?"

"The crown. The curse." He gritted his teeth. "I already went to the temple and asked. The priests said if we can get a token blessed by the goddess herself, it'll break the curse."

I let out a cold laugh. "Then go get one."

"I can't go. Calista definitely can't go." He stepped closer. "You go. It works out perfectly. We just lost the baby. You can use that as your excuse to go pray at the temple."

I stumbled back. "My body's like this right now, and you want me to trade my life for it?"

"You're living in this house on my money. Everything you eat, everything you wear, I paid for it." His voice went cold. "I need you to go. So you're going."

Before I could say another word, he called for the servants.

Two of them came forward, grabbed my arms without a word, and started dragging me out.

"Let go of me!" I fought hard, but I couldn't break free.

The mountain path was long and steep. They dragged me barefoot, forcing me up step after step, bowing forward with each one.

I hadn't eaten or drunk anything in two days, and I'd just lost the baby. Almost all the blood in my body felt like it was gone. I wasn't even halfway up when my vision went black. I fell on the stone steps more than once, and every time, the servants hauled me back up and shoved me forward.

By dawn, I finally reached the temple gates. Something inside me shuddered.

This temple was built for me.

The moment I stepped inside, power would rush in from every direction. The seal on me would start to loosen on its own.

I kept my face calm and walked in, knelt before the statue, and laid down the offering I'd already prepared.

The second my fingers touched the temple floor, a token carved with an olive pattern appeared in my palm out of nowhere.

At almost the same instant, a burst of seven-colored holy fire shot up from above the temple, straight into the sky. Every rose in the city-state bloomed at once.

Gasps broke out all around me.

"The goddess has shown herself! She's blessed her!"

"They say Aphrodite might actually appear wherever her blessed token goes!"

I gripped the token tight. A flood of power poured into me from every direction.

Days of starvation had left me too weak to hold that much power at once. My vision went dark, and I collapsed straight down.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in Adrian's arms.

He looked at me, something almost like pain in his eyes. "You suffered a lot this time. Even after I marry Calista, you're the only one in my heart. Once all this is over, we'll go back to how things were."

I felt sick to my stomach.

"Let me go."

He acted like he hadn't heard me. He tucked the token away, carried me straight back, and locked me in the guest house again.

Before he left, he said, "Tomorrow's my wedding with the princess. Stay put in here and don't cause trouble."

He had no idea that not long after he left, a messenger sent by my father found me.

With her help, I broke the seal on my power completely.

I watched him walk away and let a cold smile pull at my lips.

Adrian had rushed off with the token, probably to please Calista, to tell her that as long as she carried it, Aphrodite might appear at the wedding herself and bless them. Their marriage would become a story people talked about for years.

Tomorrow, of course, I'd be there. But I hoped they wouldn't regret it.

On the wedding day, nobles from across the city-state packed in front of the altar.

Adrian and Calista stood side by side, ready to exchange their vows.

That was when the crown on Calista's head began to glow, blinding and without warning.

The whole crowd broke into noise.

Then the temple priest shot to his feet, voice shaking with excitement. "It's Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty! She's actually come down to walk among us!"