“I cannot marry him. I have not even spoken to him. He is old and decrepit.” My hand flew to my mouth as I choked on a sob. “They will force me to join with him. I… I cannot do it. I love Styx. I will not betray him! What am I to do?”

My sisters were sympathetic to my plight.

“There is nothing to do, Mae,” Lilah said apologetically. “You are back now. They will never let you go. You must do as they command.”

Something within me shattered with the realization. A part of me died.

I looked up and stared out of the tiny window at the setting sun. “How long do I have?” I questioned.

“Ten minutes,” Maddie whispered.

I nodded numbly. “Will you be taking me to the altar?”

“No,” Lilah answered.

I faced my sisters. “Why not?” I asked, confused.

Maddie shrugged. “We were told by Sister Eve to wait here until they come for you. We were told we will not be attending the ceremony, that we are still shunned. Banned from public events.”

I sucked in a breath through pursed lips. My Lord, I will have to go through with this hellish act alone.

Nothing was said for the full ten minutes. What was there to say?

The three of us sat in complete silence as I awaited my fate. For the full ten minutes, I thought of nothing but Styx. I wondered what he was doing right now. I wondered what they had done to him when I had been drugged. My Lord… what if they had—no! I could not think of such a thing. I focused on remembering his ruggedly handsome face, his unshaven cheeks, rough under my touch, his deep dimples that shone when he smiled, his full lips so soft when caressing me and his large hazel eyes the color of Fall.

I will see him again one day.

I felt it in my heart.

I reached forward, taking Lilah’s and Maddie’s hands. “I love you, my sisters, no matter what happens, okay?”

They both frowned and Maddie flinched. “What do you mean?”

I resolved not to stay married to Prophet David. I could not join with him, under any circumstance. I also knew what would await me if I refused. I was prepared to face any consequences.

I pulled Maddie in for an embrace. “Be strong, sister. Keep strong,” I pleaded.

“Mae—”

Lilah was interrupted as my bedroom door opened… Gabriel. Gabriel in his white ceremonial garments.

He ogled me as I sat on the bed and I shuddered as he smiled. “My, my, Salome, you look exactly like Jezebel sat there.”

My heart sank and my fingers grasped the bed sheets for security. “Do not talk of her ever again! You killed Bella. You are a murderer, Gabriel. You will burn in hell for your crimes.”

His smile faltered. “I did the world a service, ridding it of her darkness. She was a whore, a temptress of the highest form. She deserved to die. She was too disobedient to be broken into the righteous path.”

My fists clenched. “Why? Because she refused to love you? You made her a whore, kept her—us—locked up in this… prison. We are toys for you and the other elders to have your wicked way with… for your own entertainment! You raped us over and over and over again! And you took poor Bella, whipped her until she could not move. You left her to die from her injuries, bleeding out on a dirty cell floor! You bastard!”

Gabriel stormed forward and grabbed me roughly in his arms. I heard Maddie and Lilah whimper from behind me.

“It is the Lord’s way. It is what was revealed to Prophet David through his writings.”

I locked my gaze with Gabriel’s. “Bullshit! If you believe that, you are a fool! This whole setup, the teachings, the rituals, is all for the enjoyment of men. I read the real Bible when I was out there, the one not doctored to suit The Order’s purpose. I read about what normal people on the outside believe… and it is nothing like this!”

Gabriel went wide-eyed, completely shocked. He recovered to state, “Well, the outside world has surely corrupted you.” He leaned in close. “Must have been all those hours you spent under that mute devil worshipper.”

My eyes burned with rage. I lifted my hand and set to strike it across his face, but Gabriel seized me by my wrist. “I will enjoy breaking you back into our ways. Now Bella has gone, I have been needing a new project.”

Gabriel grasped the tops of my arms and abruptly spun me around to face my sisters. “Guards!” Gabriel yelled.

Two disciples entered the room and made a beeline for Lilah and Maddie. Maddie scrambled to get away, but a disciple grabbed her by the hair. She froze, pure terror gripped her.

“NO!” I screamed. “What are you doing with them?” I whispered as I watched Maddie zone out, go numb to her surroundings. She was taking herself to the place that no one could touch her. The place we all had learned to find. Lilah stood quietly obedient, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.

“They are to be put away for insurance, just in case you decide you want to try and escape again. You run, they pay the consequence.”

Every fiber of my being tensed and all the fight left my body. I went limp, passive and quiescent.

“Why, Mae, you seem to have found your obedience again,” Gabriel mocked once again. With a wave of his hand, the disciples led my sisters out of the door and out of sight, but not out of mind.

Gabriel spun me around and grasped my face with his hand. “We are to go to the altar now. You are to marry Prophet David, with no trouble. Do you understand?”

I nodded meekly.

“Good. Let’s go,” he said. Gripping my elbow, Gabriel led me from the room.

We traced a familiar trail through the forest to the altar and no words were spoken. I would not put my sisters in harm’s way ever again. My stomach churned as my life’s path became more and more real. I would marry the prophet and that was all there was to it. Styx was a fleeting fantasy, a dream. I was again trapped.

As we rounded into the ceremony space, I beheld hundreds and hundreds of guests. They were dressed in white, sitting cross-legged in rows, facing a large wooden altar… the altar at which Prophet David stood, looking bloated and old. Next to him stood… Cain.

As Gabriel slowed us to a halt at the end of the walkway, I stared at my former friend. He looked thoroughly miserable, standing dutifully next to his uncle. He looked drawn and his head remained bowed. Even now, I found it hard to believe that Rider is Brother Cain. Lord help me, it just all seemed so surreal.