Chapter 151

The couple introduced themselves as Delta and Zoey. Aria knew immediately that she’d been caught looking—or more accurately, admiring. The two were probably used to being stared at, so the way she’d panicked and turned away had all but tattled on her.

The good news was that it didn’t seem like her ogling had made them uncomfortable. In fact, they had used it as an excuse to come over and chat. To feel her out. They probably thought Aria’s staring meant she was interested. The way they asked her about the Temple and Ephythithys’s altar, subdued smirks and teasing present throughout the whole conversation, made it clear that they had come over for her more than to learn about the Temple.

Was that bad, though? That Aria was suddenly being hit on by two goddesses? And Aria knew it was blasphemous to be calling other women ‘goddesses’ in a temple of all places, in a space meant for worshiping actual divinities, but there wasn’t another word she could use. They were perfect. More than perfect. Aria’s cheeks had started burning the moment they had come over.

Which, unfortunately, they were delighted by—a reaction that only made Aria’s face burn even hotter, and her stomach squirm around even more excitedly.

The two girls kept the conversation polite, keeping away from their obvious real intentions as if explicitly to tease Aria. They asked about the Temple of Natural Order and the surrounding churches, about the various gods, goddesses, altars, and amenities. Finally, they asked about her duties, and what she’d been doing—cleaning, she explained, waving her duster to emphasize—and the topic somehow landed on Ephythithys’s statue. Namely, the same subject of Aria’s previous musings: how obvious it was that visitors were groping the goddess’s figure for ‘good luck’. Delta seemed to find that hilarious, even stepping forward to also touch—which Aria protested, and Zoey also scolded her for.

The conversation was actually somewhat difficult to navigate, not because it was awkward, but because their presence simply made Aria hot and tongue-tied. Especially with all the subtle teasing, and the way their eyes flicked down to her figure, not bothering to be covert about checking her out. After Aria had done the same, she supposed that was only fair. Though she’d done so from across the hall, not right next to them, while they were talking.

They were interested in her, which Aria honestly found a bit confusing. It wasn’t like her priestess’s get-up was flattering, and compared to them, she was nothing. Aria hardly thought she was ugly, but Zoey and Delta made her heart stop just by looking at them.

Thanks to how flustered she was, Aria nearly forgot about the incident with the pink candles. A reminder came shortly, as soon the two girls revealed their true reason for coming to the temple.

“It’s funny you were here, actually,” Zoey said. “By Ephy’s statue. She was who we came for. Lucky coincidence.”

“Divine intervention, maybe?” Delta tacked on, a hint of mischief in her voice.

Aria paused, though not at the flirting. ‘Ephy’? That was a bizarrely familiar nickname to use for a goddess. And said with such casualness, as if the woman was accustomed to using it. How odd.

Aria’s thoughts returned to the flickering pink candles. If she wasn’t so distracted by two beautiful women flirting shamelessly with her, she would have been much more focused on that.

So, these two goddesses had come for Ephythithys? After the goddess had maybe given Aria a sign? Just what was going on?

“You came to say a prayer?” Aria asked in clarification, wanting to know more about their intentions.

Zoey and Delta shared a look. “More than a prayer,” Zoey said. “More direct. Which is why we need advice. If I wanted to commune with her—to try to speak with her directly, or be given a message—what would be the best way to go about that?”

Aria stared blankly at the woman. It was hardly the first time a visitor had come to the temple to receive wisdom from a patron deity directly, but combined with the pink candles? The coincidences kept piling up. Though, she guessed there weren’t that many. Just three: the candles, the fact that Zoey had a body sculpted as if by Ephythithys herself, and now, that these two had come explicitly to commune with her.

Then, Aria digested the question itself. Commune with Ephythithys. Her blushing had been subdued up to this point, with Aria fighting it away desperately, but the question finally broke through. Her face turned red.

“Yeah, I told you,” Delta said, nudging Zoey with her elbow. “It’s totally what we thought.”

“We’re not trying to make you uncomfortable,” Zoey said apologetically. “We just need an expert’s advice.”

Aria fought to control her blushing. Just, the imagery that had been created by the question was a bit flustering.

“Communion with Ephythithys,” Aria said. “You could try, but, of course, a response from the divine might not come as directly as you would hope.” It sounded like the two of them thought they’d receive an actual message, or something of the sort. That didn’t happen often. Certainly never to Aria or anyone she knew.

The two shared a look, though Aria didn’t know what it meant.

“We know,” Delta reassured her. “We’re just wondering what the best way to get her attention is.” She smiled, and there was a bit of a predator’s excitement in it—which had Aria’s heart beating faster. “We have a few guesses, but, again, you’re the expert.”