Lunadea stood in the church, silent. Her eyes closed. Her hand raised above her head, finger extended and twitching back and forth every few seconds. After a moment of silence she opened her eyes slowly. A strange white light emanating from them. Illuminating her face partially. Her lavender skin seemed to shimmer. "Reveal" She spoke to no one. Her eyes flashing before changing, morphing into the eyes of the holy woman.

Memories, visions, what the woman saw was now Lunadea's. She smiled, watching what the priestess had seen in the past few days. The church, lectures, prayer, devotion. All of this was useless to her until finally, Lunadea saw what she had been looking for. Through this woman's eyes she saw the meeting with the Prince and his wife, the mage. She had him now. She blinked, her eyes returning back to their normal state, swirls of broken chaos. Her smile widened as she turned her head, seeming to look through the church walls, the busy streets, people, and buildings. Her gaze cutting through all of that, to what she truly wanted. She pulled the cloak around her once again and left the empty church.

A crowd had gathered in the main market square, The people were angry, yelling. "Your gods and history is wrong!" The priestess, stood in the middle of the crowd, on top of a wooden barrel. Her smile was wide and almost inhuman. She raised her hands above her head, seeming to welcome the angry crowd around her. "The fairytale is false! I have been given the gift of clairvoyance! We have not been worshipping the true gods!" The crowd yelled at her angrily. Local guards were hurrying to the square to break up the growing tension. The priestess pointed upwards, to the castle far off from the market. "Our true god is a victim! He is trapped, tortured and angry! We must free him and bear witness to his true glory!" She smiled, laughing happily as the crowd cursed her and yelled, a few of them throwing vegetables at her. She payed them no mind, clutching onto herself now. "We have all been deceived.. for generations! Our ancestors have lied to keep the sins buried deep inside, but no longer!" She flinched when a rock hit her temple. A small trail of blood running down her face, her smile still there. "You are all like livestock! Your only purpose is to be fed to the truth!" Some of the mob grabbed her, trying to pull her down. The crowd growing more and more hostile.

"Enough!" A voice cut through the tension. Illiya stood there, a few soldiers around her. She looked at the crowd, frowning, then to the woman. She was a bit unnerved by the blood soaked cloth over her eyes, but moved forward, the crowd backing away, separating. She stopped in front of the priestess, studying her quickly. They had spoken only a few days ago.. About the growing suspicion towards the church. "What has happened to you priestess? What is going on here??" The holy woman stepped off the barrel, taking Illiya's hand in hers. "I am honored to be with you again... You are one of the destined Ms. Illiya" She lifted her head, smiling widely. Illiya looked at her, confused. "Destined?" "Oh yes! The Lavender Rose has arrived. You are destined to die for the truth to be revealed!"

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Hunuki had gathered soldiers, beginning the search for the culprit of the murder outside the city. They had started questioning everyone from the entrance, making their way towards the other districts. Block by block, person by person. "It's alright, thank you for your time." He bowed to an elderly couple, sighing. He watched them walk away. "Nothing.. no one's seen a damned thing." He wiped his brow, looking up at the sky. The knot is his stomach had gotten worse. The nightmares creeping back into his mind. That woman... He shook his head, reaching up and rubbing his eyes a bit before starting out again. The city was far from a Utopia. He knew this and was happy to accept the burden when the time came. Crimes, theft, and death weren't an uncommon thing in Belfeia, but the way that man, and the carriage were crushed didn't make sense. There was no spell that he knew of that could do that. It was unnatural. "I'll have to stop at the royal academy.. ask one of the Word Keepers." He stopped as he was about to head towards the Market district, something catching his eye. He looked down, noticing the crimson droplets near his boot. "..Blood?" He knelt down, pulling a glove off his hand, reaching down and touching it. It was sticky, but somehow still warm to the touch. He frowned as a voice sent a shiver down his spine.

"All alone.. the prey unknowingly moves into the den of the predator, filled with curiosity and confidence. He is unaware of the trap set around him. The teeth poised to close.. Claws sharpened to rip, and tear. The prey realizes to late that there is no escape for him." She chuckled, coming out of the alleyway, lowering the hood. Her red lips curling into a smile. She lifted her hand, A lavender finger extending, the sharp scarlet nail at the end of it pointing it at him.

"Gaol"