Remembered Read Online Free PDF Page B

She almost missed it when Rhea pierced her other nipple. The pain was even worse for the second, making her tears flow even faster. Rhea ignored them. Instead, she reached into the envelope again.
    This time, she withdrew two open gold rings. With the quick movements of long practice, she slid the rings through Galia’s piercings, closing them with a deft snap of her fingers.
    “Oh, there we go. There, that’s pretty.”
    Galia stared down at her breasts, gasping. The foreignness of metal through her tender nipples was shocking.
    “Oh, poor little dear. It has been hard for you. That is the worst of it tonight, I promise, all right? Come here, sweetheart.”
    Galia allowed herself to be gathered into Rhea’s embrace. The woman smelled of something sweet and flowery.
    “Priestesses are wed to the Goddess,” Rhea said quietly. “The rings are the outward sign. Since you will never marry or bear children, you will have no need to suckle a newborn.”
    Galia sobbed. The pain, the strangeness, and her sudden glimpse of the future were too much. Rhea’s arms were soft, gathering her close, and Galia wanted nothing more than to sink into her.
    This is how they do it, Galia realized. The thought was as clear and cold as the never-ending ice in the northern lakes. They hurt you. Then they comfort you, and you remember that. You forget that they were the ones who hurt you in the first place. Remember this. This is what this place is like.
    But Galia couldn’t help herself. She let herself collapse against the tall woman, crying hard. She had betrayed Strayke, and found herself a priestess in some frightening palace. She couldn’t be strong anymore. Rhea rocked her until she had cried herself out. Finally, when she was still, the older woman sat back.
    “Once you’re dressed properly, I will take you to the Oracle.”
    “Please, will you tell me what is happening? Will you tell me why I’m here?”
    Rhea shook her head. “That is for the Oracle to say.”
    The gown that she offered to Galia made the cotton she wore earlier seem like leather. This fabric was so thin and smooth that at first Galia thought it was some kind of water.
    “Silk,” Rhea said. “The green does look lovely on you.” The dress clung to her curves and draped from her hips in soft folds to the ground. “Come. The Oracle is waiting.”
    Galia followed behind Rhea and her lemur. Occasionally they passed by other men or women who wore robes like Rhea and the Oracle. Invariably they were accompanied by animals. Even in the north, Galia had heard tales of beings such as these.
    “Rhea,” she said, as they passed a robed man with a falcon on his shoulder, “are you a magician?”
    Rhea glanced over her shoulder, a slight smile on her face. “We call ourselves Wiccans. This is our coven.”
    Finally they arrived at a large door with an eye carved into it. Rhea stepped forward briskly and knocked. “Oracle, it’s the new priestess to see you.”
    “Send her in.”
    Galia stepped into one of the finest rooms she had ever been in. It was not incredibly large, though one of the smaller homes in her village would have fit in it with room to spare. However, it was incredibly sumptuous. There was a banked hearth that ran along the length of the room. The tall glass windows let in the last of the light. The floor was covered with soft pelts.
    The Oracle sat at a bench under the window, her wolf resting its head on her knee. Galia stepped cautiously into the room, aware that Rhea was closing the door behind her.
    For a long moment, the Oracle looked her over silently. The woman’s eyes were the coldest that Galia had ever seen. Galia had been a slave for weeks, but she had never felt as naked as she did now.
    “You are a likely looking one after all,” the Oracle said finally. “But it takes more than looks to survive in Tenebris. Do you know why I have purchased you?”
    Galia shook her head. “No, Oracle.”
    “This is the palace of Tenebris, the