*COMING JUNE 1ST *
Greta is gone.
War has broken out.
The Goddess wants Judith to bring order to chaos- but all she wants is to bring Greta back home.
*This is the sequel to Unholy
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I awoke sometime later. Judging by the dim orange light that filtered through the shattered windows, it was now nearly nightfall. It was strange to see the same stone ceiling I had grown up waking up to once again. Now, it felt like a lifetime had passed in little more than half a year.
With nightfall soon, I knew I would need to leave soon to avoid any rogue Vlansovian soldiers that might be passing through, searching for stragglers. Even worse, they may still be searching for me.
Greta sat in a chair across the room. Her hair was disheveled, her clothing ripped and dirty from the fight just hours before. She somehow seemed even more slight than the last time I saw her, perhaps a result of the scarcity that conflict often brought.
Despite the anger I felt towards her for leaving me, it was outweighed significantly by the concern I felt for her wellbeing. There was no way to know for sure how I could coax out of her what she had been through the past few months.
I sat up and climbed out of the bed.
Greta stood, anxiously gripping at the hem of her jacket as she looked at me. When I said nothing, she spoke up.
"Are you feeling better now that you've had some rest?" She asked.
"I thought you were going to be gone when I woke up," I said bitterly, turning away from her. "You seemed committed to abandoning me again before I fell asleep."
Her face fell further into worry, her barely visible eyebrows coming together in concern.
"No. Of course not." She said quietly. "I love you. I wouldn't ever leave you in a vulnerable position alone."
I reached a hand over and placed it on the tattered edge of the other side of the bed.
"You didn't even sleep beside me." my fingers tightened into a fist, balling up the fabric.
"I did." She said, "It was hard. I'm hungry and you... you smell just as good as you ever have. I also needed to keep watch so we weren't ambushed. Surely you can understand that."
I said nothing, and instead winced and turned away from her as I started to braid my hair.
"You're angry with me," she spoke up. I heard her boots against the stone floor as she crept closer, something which felt like a dagger twisting in my heart.
"You left me. On purpose. Out of your own will." I said, stopping her with my words. "I thought it couldn't have been true, and yet it was."
I told you.
I ignored the goddess. She didn't need to rub my heartbreak in. It's not like it would change anything.
"Judith, I'm trying to keep you safe. I want to be a better person, and I feel like part of that is depriving myself of the things I selfishly want if those things put you in danger."
