Priya coughed up a mouthful of blood, her body sprawling for a moment. She immediately rolled up to her feet, her Talent stirring inside of her as she seemed ready to explode into battle.
Her anger had already been reined under control, but no amount of control would help her if Belladoll lost her mind and ended up killing her right here and now.
However, it seemed that Priya had thought too much. The instant she rolled to her feet, seemingly prepared to battle it out, she found Belladoll looking down at her hand in horror, as though she couldn't believe that she had lost her temper like that either.
There was a flicker of rage and struggle in Belladoll's eyes for a moment before she flicked her wrist and turned away, storming off.
She knew that she had made a mistake. The best way to deal with it now was to leave. Quickly.
"Head Priestess!" Sona was shocked, but she rushed after. "Wait! It's dangerous!"
Belladoll's quick thinking had helped her this time, not allowing Sona to linger on the issue of what she had just done for too long.
The two retreated to the terrace overlooking the training field once again, leaving the enclave candidates standing in silence.
Several gazes flickered over toward Priya, but she had already stood to her feet, blood leaking from a cut in her lips as her face began to swell further. However, there was a light in her eyes as she watched Belladoll retreat.
Judging by the woman's reaction, she knew that Belladoll had made a mistake just now. Exactly what that mistake was, Priya didn't know with 100% certainty. But it was likely related to the roles they were all playing here.
Priya, Mitch, and Snooz were candidates and had to train like them. Stepping out would turn the storyline of this Dream Godsfall Tear against them. By comparison, Belladoll seemed all-powerful. But, was she…?
From everything that Priya had heard, the Head Priestess was their compass of morality. Someone not chosen for her power, but instead her kindness and intelligence. Someone…
Priya's eyes flashed.
Those words that Zarek had spoken out before. She thought that he was speaking them for the sake of turning the situation around, but then he suddenly attacked and killed Sir Ejold with prejudice.
If he was going to use his words to reverse the situation, why didn't he give it more time to marinate? Unless, from the very beginning, those words were just a clue.
What was it he had said again?
Priya pulled from her memories, doing her best to recall. She found herself smiling even through the pain as she recalled Zarek's fury. There was no doubt in her mind that he was only so furious because of what he knew Sir Ejold had done to her.
Then she remembered.
~"I heard from several on the way here that I was a heretic and that the enclave was a place of kindness, a leader in the forward progress of humanity and the country, a place where evil was banished. I didn't expect to see such irony the moment I walked in."~
She picked out several tidbits of information from this.
First, Zarek was a heretic. He was already labeled as the exact sort of thing they were all trying to avoid. That was a clue.
Why would Zarek be here if he was a heretic? How did he stand among them?
Priya knew that understanding this would be vitally important.
'The only way for Zarek to be here and not in the prison is if he was useful to them somehow. In that case, did Zarek manage to find a way to trick them into thinking they could cure his heretical status? For some reason, he wants me to know this…'
The second thing she picked out was the importance of kindness, but also the forward progress of humanity and the country… a banishment of evil…
That was something that Priya already knew. It was what had been ingrained in them as recruits while they weren't busy getting their asses handed to them on the training field.
But now, Priya was certain that Zarek was mentioning this for a very specific reason.
By now, Mitch and Snooz were already checking on Priya to see if she was alright, but she was stuck in such a daze trying to figure out her boyfriend's intentions that she almost looked as though she had lost her soul.
The two friends could only look at one another, worry clear in their eyes. They had no way of understanding the history between these three or why it was Belladoll had lost her temper like that. They didn't even realize that Bella losing her temper in the first place was quite useful.
'Useful.'
Suddenly Priya understood. Half-way. She abruptly stood to her full height, the arch in her back vanishing.
Belladoll had already taken a misstep.
It wasn't just the words Zarek had spoken, but when he had spoken them. And he had chosen to speak up right after Sir Ejold proposed the Trial of Fire and Belladoll smiled in assent.
Why didn't she just toss them into the Trial of Fire if that was what she wanted all along? What was restricting her? Was she just trying to bait Zarek into action? But then why didn't she try harder to deal with Zarek when she had the chance?
Was it really that Belladoll was so restricted by the laws here? There was no doubt that she was far more powerful than Sona—was there no way for her to figure out how to get rid of her?
Sona had certainly left Belladoll's side before, or how else would she have been taken by Su to see Zarek back then?
So why did Belladoll allow Sona to be here—or, at the very least, not pick a time when there was someone easier to manipulate by her side instead?
Everything pointed to the Trial of Fire.