We shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be here.
“Let me remove that veil so I can gaze at your beauty.”
He undoes the pins and pulls back the veil, leaving it half in and half out. Without the partition between us, I feel exposed.
“Those eyes,” Josiah sighs as he drinks me. “What beautiful, innocent eyes. They can drive a man insane. I’m sure they have…”
He reaches to the bedside table and picks up a heavy goblet. “Drink this,” he orders.
“What is—”
“Drink it.”
I tense. Something bad is hurtling towards me like a shooting star. I can sense it, even if I don’t know yet what it is.
“Yes, Father Josiah,” I murmur. I raise to my lips and take the tiniest sip possible.
His smile sours. “More.”
“I don’t want—”
“It wasn’t a question.”
I hesitate. I’m locked in. Not just into this room but
