Once Was: Book One of the Asylum Trilogy by Miya Kressin Page A

almost kissed me.
    I stomped all the way to the hut where Kira had tested me all those years ago. Cade was turning me into a pouting child, and I did not have time for . . . this. Even as I groused in my own head, my arms were flailing in my silent argument with myself. I am a priestess. A deep breath did nothing to calm my mind. I must be above earthly pleasures. The only image I had then was of Cade beneath me, our bodies indulging in such earthly pleasures. Thoughts of when I held Fion like that were fading from my inner sight. The larger frame of the blacksmith had taken his place.
    “I am sorry, Fion, wherever you may be.” The last time I had seen him, I thought it was a sign we were meant to be.
     
    *
     
    “How did you end up here?” The warm cloth was rough as Fion rubbed the contusion covering my forehead. His eyes were filled with as much relief as they were fear. “You should be an hour’s crow flight from here, Priestess.” His whisper frigid, words squeezed out as he tried to feign indifference to me. “Liand will kill you when you’ve finished with him.” With a stricken look, he added, “You’ll heal my Lord, won’t you, Roseen?”
    Nodding made the room spin, and I laid back down into the nest of pillows I had been resting in while unconscious. “Where am I, Fion?”
    His lithe form bent in half at the waist, one hand going over his heart. “Welcome to God’s City, the grand Lorilindo, my love. We are at the center of Liand’s enlightened lands, away from the barbaric customs of the coast.” The entire length of my body shivered at his words. “Calm yourself, Roseen. I know your vows make you bristle to hear such things, but you must see how wrong the old ways were. We are moving the world into one of peace.”
    “By giving our people the choice of forsaking their faith, the faith of their families back as far as history remembers, or dying upon the swords of Liand’s soldiers. And why? Why must we die? It wasn’t like this before Aristeer fell. What has caused Liand’s hatred for my brethren?”
    The sad shake of his dusty blond curls was accompanied by the pouting of unnaturally red lips. Turning my head, slowly, I saw a bowl of fresh berries on the tray. “You never could resist a berry patch.”
    “Liand has realized that your teachers, your so-called prophets, are nothing more than morally-bankrupt instillers of corruption. He wishes to see no more families ripped apart by the deception caused by others of your spiritual kin.” Fion scuttled back several feet as a heavy wooden door creaked open. “Kaya, I thought you were with His Majesty this afternoon?”
    A young woman—she could not have been more than my twenty-two—bristled as she looked between Fion and me. “My apologies, Fion. My brother said you were tending to a patient. I expected you to be in the infirmary, not private quarters.” Another glare from her set me on edge. My mind painted a ritual scarf over her hair, and exchanged her modest robe for one of a nicer cut. The binder.
    Sensing my growing unease, Fion held out a hand to each of us. “Roseen, may I present Lady Kayade, sister of Lord Liand, High Lady of Lorilindo and a Minister of the Sun Lord. Kaya, may I present Sister Roseen of the priesthood of Bas, a daughter of Sheelin and a childhood friend of mine. Outside of one visit two years ago, we have not seen one another since she was initiated.”
    Sneered words chilled the air. “Don’t get too friendly with the enemy, Fion. My brother will have her executed like the others.” Dark hair swung in an arc, and the lingering scent of her perfumed oil hung long after she left.
    “She acts as my assistant medic. Having a patient here unsettled Kayade. She likes things to be as they always have been. You are mine, though, Roseen. I won’t let them hurt you, even if it means sneaking you out in the early hours while all are in prayer.” His lips sealed to mine then, reawakening the binding we had