Heart of the Priestess

Chapter 4

The dream came in fragments—flashes of gold, the glint of torchlight on stone walls, and the weight of an ache that wrapped my chest like a tightening band.

I wasn’t just seeing it this time. I was there.

Heat radiated from his body as I stood pressed against him. My trembling hand rested flat against his bare chest, and beneath my palm, I felt it—a heavy, warm amulet resting over his heart. The gold was smooth, carved with markings I didn’t recognize yet somehow knew by touch alone.

“As long as I wear this…” His voice was low, roughened with sincerity as he tilted his forehead against mine. “…you know where my heart rests.”

The words reverberated through me, carried by the steady, powerful beat beneath my hand.

I wanted to answer him, wanted to speak, but before I could, something shifted. The world around me blurred, stone melting into darkness, and when I looked up at him again, the face wasn’t a stranger’s anymore.

It was Lex.

The same blue-gold eyes. The same warm, solid chest beneath my palm.

A searing pain lanced through my ribs, hot and suffocating, and I gasped—

—and woke up drenched in sweat, clutching my own chest as if the amulet should’ve been there.

Julia’s hand rested on my knee, gently waking me from the dream that had me gasping in my sleep. My chest still burned faintly, and for a moment, I half-expected to see gold glinting against my skin.

“Rosie,” Julia said softly, her brows knit with concern. “You were dreaming again.”

I dragged in a shaky breath, nodding as I peeled my damp hair from my forehead. She handed me a chilled water bottle, condensation slick against my palm. I drank slowly, trying to wash the phantom ache from my throat.

Outside the oval window, clouds gave way to D.C.'s monuments—spire of Washington and stained bronze jutting into the hazy afternoon light.

“Almost there,” Julia murmured. She squeezed my knee lightly before pulling back, giving me space.

Across from us, Shay was slumped in his seat, headphones in but eyes open, staring blankly at the floor. We hadn’t spoken much since Greece. He’d stayed quiet, guilt gnawing at him while I sat trapped in my own storm of dread.

The jet’s wheels kissed the tarmac with a smooth bounce. Afternoon sun bathed the runway in a sterile glow that felt too bright, too sharp. My blouse clung uncomfortably to my damp skin as we taxied toward a waiting SUV.

Dio Leandros didn’t believe in giving time to breathe after failure.

The ride into the city was silent except for the hum of tires over asphalt. Julia sat close beside me, hands folded neatly in her lap. Shay tapped absently at his laptop, eyes unfocused.

I stared out the tinted window as the skyline swallowed us whole.

Finally, I said what we were all thinking. “I’ll make sure the next personnel treats you both with the respect you deserve.”

Julia’s head whipped toward me. Shay froze mid-keystroke.

I kept my gaze fixed on the blur of pedestrians and yellow taxis. “I know Dio. He’s going to fire me the moment we walk through that door. And when he’s done, my name won’t just be off the Smithsonian—it’ll be blacklisted from every museum on the East Coast.”

“Rosie…” Julia’s voice was quiet, pained.

“It’s fine,” I lied, forcing my tone flat. “I’ll make sure neither of you gets dragged down with me. HR will place you both on solid assignments. You’ll be protected.”

Julia opened her mouth to protest but stopped when she saw the look in my eyes. Shay shifted uncomfortably, guilt written in every line of his face.

I turned my head back toward the window, jaw tight. The city streets blurred as the SUV merged into traffic, carrying us toward Dio’s offices—toward the reckoning I knew was waiting.

The elevator ride to Dio Leandros’ top-floor office felt like a slow, mechanical execution. Julia stayed behind in the lobby with Shay, offering me one last sympathetic look as the doors closed.

The moment the elevator dinged open, I knew this wasn’t going to be just a firing.

Dio’s secretary barely nodded as I walked past, my heels sinking into the thick carpet that always made me feel like I was trudging through a swamp of money and power. The office door stood slightly ajar, and when I pushed it open, Dio was already there—sitting behind his massive mahogany desk, his paperwork finished and neatly stacked to the side.

He wasn’t working.

He was thinking.

His normally pale cheeks were flushed red, his jaw tight. I knew that look. Dio wasn’t just angry—he was past the point of yelling. He was enraged.

And my job was already over.

I closed the door softly and stood in front of his desk, hands clasped loosely, keeping my posture steady even as my stomach churned.

When he finally spoke, his voice cut like glass. “You were funded to get to the prize first.” He slammed a palm on the desk, rattling a paperweight. “Do you know how much I’ve spent? The resources, the travel, the access you’ve been given? What good is it all if it’s in the hands of an imbecile?”

Each word landed like a lash, but I said nothing. Because what could I say? There was no way to speed up the process. Someone else had simply been faster. If Dio wanted to blame anyone, maybe he should’ve hired whoever that man was.

But I kept my thoughts to myself. I just stood there and took it, waiting for him to get to the point.

Finally, Dio leaned back in his chair, exhaling hard through flared nostrils. “I want you to pack your things—”

The door behind me opened.

Dio’s words died in his throat as his head snapped up, eyes widening with something I’d never seen on his face before: shock.

A voice came from behind me, low and smooth, freezing time with its familiarity.

“There’s no need for that, Dad.”

I turned sharply, my heart slamming into my ribs.

It was him. The man from Amphipolis. Lex. Standing in the doorway, calm as ever, hands tucked casually into his tailored slacks.

“I may know where it is,” he added.

“Alex…” Dio’s voice cracked slightly. “When did you—”

“Dad!?” The word exploded out of me before I could stop it. My jaw dropped, and I snapped it shut again so fast my teeth clicked.

Lex glanced at me briefly, a flicker of amusement in his eyes before looking back at his father. “I flew in earlier than they did,” he said smoothly. “Had to run a few errands before getting here. Let the poor girl rest—it’s been a long travel.”

Dio tore his gaze from his son to glare at me again, still furious. “I flew her and her team everywhere on a very comfortable jet,” he barked, his nose now a deep cherry red. “How much more rest does she need?”

Lex walked in fully, stepping closer to Dio’s desk like he owned the place. “Enough to recover from those long days in the heat,” he said lightly, then turned to me.

He winked.

Just like that.

And then turned back to his father with an expression so calm it only seemed to infuriate Dio further. The older man’s mouth opened, closed, opened again, and for once, words failed him.

Finally, Dio let out a sharp breath, throwing up a hand. “Very well then. Rest for the night,” he said grudgingly, each word sounding like it cost him something. “But I expect you back at work in two days, tops. Bright and early.”

I nodded quickly, before Dio could change his mind. “Yes, sir.”

Lex gave a single, satisfied nod, like that settled everything.

I turned and walked out, my pulse thundering in my ears, the world tilting under my feet.

Alex Leandros.

That’s his name.

What the hell is with this family and their obsession with Alexander?

I took a deep breath as the office doors closed behind me, forcing my hands to stop trembling. Dio might’ve spared me for now, but this wasn’t over. Not even close.

Stepping out into the crisp air, I scanned the lot for my car—the one I hadn’t driven in weeks. I just needed to get out of here, to think, to breathe.

But no matter how deep I inhaled, it felt like the city’s air couldn’t reach my lungs.