"Innocence isn't always lost. Sometimes, it's offered."
The first rule of the Order was silence.
The second?
Obedience.
When Rhea was chosen as the Offering, the village stood still. Not from pride but fear disguised as reverence. At nineteen, she was the healer's daughter, soft-spoken, wide-eyed, and pure. It was the last part that mattered most.
The red moon had risen only twice in her lifetime, and both times it ended in whispers of what happened behind the temple doors. No one returned. No one ever spoke.
Yet Rhea did not weep when her name was called.
She only asked, "Will I feel it?"
Her mother had no answer.
The Temple loomed high on the mountain, built of black stone and mystery. At its heart was the Chamber of Offerings, a forbidden place cloaked in shadow and scented wit
