Seconds for him to hold her back by her hair, letting all that blood pour over the altar, and lift his chin to the sky. “Goddess Nyaxia,” he screamed. “I give you this gift. An acolyte of Acaeja. The blood of a tyrant queen, and the crown of a White Pantheon kingdom. I spill this blood and claim this kingdom for you, my Mother of the Ravenous Dark, Nyaxia.” His voice cracked. Bathed in such intense light, no one else could see the single tear slide down his cheek. No one but me. He choked out, “My pact to you has been fulfilled.”
