I feel like I’m trapped all over again, in a prison that I’ve willingly walked into.
My stomach’s in knots. I rub my hand over it. Something is very, very, wrong, and I’m not smart enough to even know what.
I am a fool. A fool.
I should have known Nydo had something up his sleeve.
I’m so angry.
Angry… and hurt.
Tears well in my eyes, and I throw my stupid black gown off, the stupid black circlet landing next to it. I jump in the huge pool of water just to give myself something to do.
I’m so, so fucking mad and hurt.
“You really fucked up, didn’t you, Leigh Miller,” I mutter to myself.
“Welcome to Roth,” a smooth female voice calls. The words echo around the chamber, freaky and unnatural.
I screech, ducking underwater.
A laugh ripples across my awareness, and I scramble to the surface, sputtering, doing my best not to drown myself while freaking out. At least I’m not crying anymore, I guess. The thought guts me though, a knife wound to the heart.
I swim for the edge of the massive pool and hold on to the stone edge, all too aware of my own nakedness.
“Who’s there?” I ask, my voice small and strange in the vastness of the temple pool.
“Am I here, then?” the voice asks, amused.
The hair pricks up on the back of my neck. I gulp.
“I am here, and I am there, and I am everywhere all at once.” The voice is deeper now, more ominous, layered. Otherworldly.
Real fear cuts through me.
“What do you want?” I ask, paddling out to the center of the pool again. Holding on to the ledge doesn’t seem to be the wisest choice, if it’s an attacker. Fuck. Although, if I’m swimming in the middle of the pool, they’ll shoot me.
I’m not thrilled with my situation; I don’t want to die.
“What do I want?” The voice pauses, the air heavy and muggy. “I want to see the future of my species. I want to give you my blessing, and my warning.”
The air is oppressive, and I gasp for breath, a headache blooming between my eyes.
What the fuck is going on?
“You bathe in my sacred pool,” the voice whispers, right in my ear, and it’s all I can do to stay afloat and not suck in a mouthful of water out of sheer, sudden terror. “I can see all of you, laid bare before me, all your wants, your needs, your past, your present, and your future.”
I shiver again, despite the heat in the room.
“And I find you worthy,” the voice says.
I blink. I swear, I feel a caress on my brow, along my cheekbone and across to my jaw. The temperature in the temple immediately returns to normal, the humidity dissipating as quickly as it came on. The pool steams slightly, and I glance around, my eyes wide.
“The fuck?” I say out loud.
I swim for the steps as fast as I can, only too ready to get the hell out of this room.
My clothes are still in a heap on the floor, and I clutch them to me as I scuttle away.
Mental note: never bathe in a Roth temple again.
The only exit is directly opposite the now barred doors I came through, and I do my best not to slip on the stone floors as I rush to the arched opening.
Who the hell was talking to me? There’s no one here. There are certainly no Roth women around, hanging out and telling me I’m worthy.
I’d almost think it was a trick of some kind, that they’d piped in the voice and the steam or something… if I hadn’t felt the touch on my face.
I search my brain for any memories of what Nydo told me of the Roth gods, my wet feet slapping the floor, my hair hanging around my face in wet tendrils.
He never mentioned a goddess, as far as I can remember, but I know he said his mother thought his people were being punished. I remember that because I thought it was silly and superstitious. I mean, sure, I celebrate Christmas and all, but it’s not like I’m religious.
Then again I never had a god—goddess—speak to me and touch my face.
My mind reels. I don’t want to believe it. It’s just too weird.
Besides, what I should be thinking about, worried about, isn’t some divine intervention, but the fact that Nydo has obviously been less than truthful with me. He didn’t tell me we’d be separated; he didn’t tell me anything about this at all.
I try to swallow past the lump in my throat. I didn’t think I would mind being away from him. It’s more than minding, though. I want him here, by my side, talking me through this. Talking me through whatever the hell that was in that bath… room.
I miss him.
Nydo, for all his egocentric asshole behavior… still makes me feel safe. I must be the worst kind of stupid for wanting him right now.
I stare around the new chamber, so huge that the fluted columns disappear into darkness the further I follow them up, and up, and up.
More torches light up the columns, and it’s just so weird that the Roth aesthetic is so damn… medieval, considering their tech rivals the Suevans’, and it way outstrips Earth. But this is a temple, and maybe everything here is old and weird and created according to some esoteric, archaic tradition.
That wouldn’t be too far off from human culture, at least.
I shake my head, trying to focus, my heart beating too fast, my adrenaline pumping.
A Roth male I don’t recognize materializes out of the shadows, his eyes dark as he surveys me.
I clutch my clothes tighter, all too aware of my nudity… and the fact I’m dripping water everywhere.
“I am here to help you prepare for your mating ceremony, human,” he intones.
“Great,” I say, my voice completely lacking enthusiasm. At least I don’t sound scared shitless, which would be an accurate reflection of how I’m feeling.
“This way, human,” he says, and he all but disappears between the dark pillars. God, I’m tired of being called human in such a derogatory tone. I squint after him, putting one hand in front of myself to try and avoid running face-first into something.
Awesome. This just gets more and more fucked up.
“Mind lighting some more torches or something? Human, remember? I can’t see in the dark.” I try to keep my voice light. I don’t want to piss him off.
All by myself, don’t wanna be with a Roth stranger… I hum quietly, and it at least makes me feel a little less scared.
I’ve only taken four or five baby steps when light flares all around me, dazzlingly bright. My hand flies to my forehead as I attempt to shield my poor pupils against the sudden onslaught.
“Here,” the Roth calls out, and still I wait, on edge and starting to get completely freaked out by all this weirdness.
Okay, less starting and more just continuing to freak out.
My eyes slowly adjust, the warmth from the blazing fires lining the walls oppressive but welcome after walking around wet in the cold temple.
“I must prepare your body for the ceremony.” He holds up a jar of gold… cream? Something oily and shimmery, at least.
“You’re going to do what now?” I ask, glaring at him.
“Prepare your body for the ceremony.”
“You aren’t touching me,” I say tartly. “I can do whatever… preparation is needed myself.”
“It is not the way of the Ro—”
“I’m human, remember?” I ask acidly, not about to let some weird Roth slather gold oil all over me. “I can do this my way, at least.”