Chapter 6

The warmth of Adunbi’s seed was still a slick, cooling presence between my thighs when Nne’s gnarled hand closed around my wrist. Her touch was firm, a silent command that cut through the hum of the ritual’s aftermath. She didn’t lead me back toward the village, but away from the torch-lit circle, deeper into the sacred grove where the shadows swallowed the moonlight whole.

We walked in silence, the only sounds our quiet footfalls and the rustle of unseen creatures in the underbrush. My body felt heavy, well-used, the new swell of my belly a constant, humming reminder. Adunbi’s massive invasion had left me tender, stretched in a way that lingered as a dull, pleasant ache. I stumbled once on a root, and Nne’s grip tightened, steadying me without a word.

She stopped before what appeared to be a solid wall of ancient, gnarled vines. With a murmur too low for me to catch, she pressed her palm against the wood. The vines shivered, then peeled back soundlessly, revealing a dark, yawning mouth in the earth. A cool, damp breath wafted out, carrying the scent of wet stone and something sweet, like honey and river flowers.

“The goddess’s tears,” Nne said, her voice a whisper that seemed to come from the cave itself. “Clean the vessel. Prepare the soul.”

She nudged me forward. I stepped into darkness, but after a few paces, a soft, golden light began to emanate from ahead. The passage opened into a cavern so vast the ceiling was lost in shadow. And in its center, a pool of water glowed with its own inner luminescence, shimmering in hues of liquid gold and pale honey. The air thrummed with a feminine, inviting energy.

Nne remained at the entrance. “Submerge. All of you. Let Oshun see the truth of your heart.”

My linen wrap, already loose and stained, fell away easily. I stood naked at the water’s edge, my skin still shiny with ritual oils and the evidence of my brother’s blessing. The water was neither hot nor cold, but a perfect, skin-temperature embrace as I waded in. When it reached my shoulders, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and let myself sink.

The world disappeared. There was no sound, no village, no memory of horn or cock. Only a radiant, liquid warmth that seeped into my pores, my muscles, the very marrow of my bones. It felt like being cradled. Forgiven. Known. I felt the lingering soreness ease, the phantom stretch of Adunbi’s girth soften into memory. My mind grew quiet.

When my breath ran out, I pushed upward, breaking the surface with a gasp. The air felt different. Sharper. Sweeter. As I wiped the water from my eyes, a sensation like warm honey poured down my spine, settling in my core. My limbs moved without my conscious thought, striding from the pool with a grace that wasn’t entirely my own. Water beaded on my skin, not dripping, but clinging like liquid gold.