The entire walk to the High Priestess’ chambers, Hestia’s heart was clawing at her chest as she considered the possibilities for this meeting over and over again. She had done nothing that would warrant disciplinary action, at least not that she thought. She also couldn’t think of anything particularly outstanding that she had done to warrant any special attention either. She was left to wonder for the entire walk and by the time she made it to Elithiya’s door, she was a nervous wreck.

The door flew open just as she was about to knock, but Hestia was able to plaster a smile on her face before Elithiya appeared on the other side. The High Priestess had orange hair so intense, one may wonder if her head was actually on fire. Not to mention her ivory skin and orange eyes that only add to the the illusion. Her sharp features, coupled with her reputation made her incredibly intimidating to approach, even for one in her good graces as Hestia was.

“Ah Hestia, just who I had hoped to see. Please do come in,” she beckoned.

The room was quite large, with an ornate wooden desk on one side, surrounded by bookshelves filled to the brim. The other side held a luxurious sitting area. One chair was already taken, and it didn’t take Hestia long to realize the male sitting in that chair was the same male she ran into in the garden. She chose not to react, not allowing him to learn anything from her as she faked a smile and sat down in the chair next to him.

“Hestia, meet Lord Ezra Ashbrook, a wealthy nobleman from the Vulcan Beaches,” Elithiya said, introducing the two as she took a seat across from them.

“It’s a honor to meet you, Lord Ashbrook,” Hestia replied, bowing her head to him. So he was one of the few noble fae left that still held their family’s title.

“Please call me Ezra,” he said, giving her another one of those soft smiles and gently grabbing her hand, placing a kiss to her knuckles. She could feel her face begin to heat as he let her hand go, so she quickly turned to Elithiya hoping she would begin to explain why Hestia was there in the first place.

“I assume you are wondering why you’re here?”

Hestia only nodded, she just wanted to get on with the conversation.

“Well, Lord Ashbrook has volunteered his home for this year’s Pyrniel and invited us all to celebrate with him,” Elithiya explained.

There had to be a catch, this festival was their biggest celebration of the year and there was no way this male wants to spend it with a bunch of priestesses. She needed to know more, so she sat quietly, allowing Elithiya to explain further, except this time she wasn’t the one to speak up.

“It has always been my favorite celebration,” Ezra explained. “My mother was a priestess before meeting my father, and even though she left the temple, she always made sure we celebrated everything, just the two of us. I have some very special memories from our Pyrniels, and I would like to honor my mother by celebrating with all of you.”

Hestia couldn’t help but smile at his story. Her own mother had died when she was still a child, so she had very few memories of her left but each one that held onto was incredibly important to her. She could understand why he would want to honor his mother in this way. What she didn’t understand was what any of this had to do with her.

“This all sounds wonderful, but I still don’t know where I fit in all of this.”

“I was just getting to the part,” Elithiya chimed in. “While Lord Ashbrook has offered his home to us, he has requested some help in planning the festivities, something I believe you would be perfect for, Hestia. You have really shown your talent for planning our ceremonies in the last year.”

There it was, the real reason she had been called down here in the first place. This was an incredible opportunity for her, a chance to prove that she is worthy of becoming High Priestess one day. The morning of the festival held several ceremonies and rights honoring the passing of spring and ushering in the beginning of summer. The afternoon is then spent getting ready for a night full of drinking, dancing, and feasting around enormous bonfires until the sun comes up. It was Hestia’s favorite celebration and she had always dreamed of being the one to plan the festivities. In fact, she could hardly contain her excitement until Elithiya began talking once more.

“Before you answer, there is one thing you should know. You will have to accompany Lord Ashbrook to his home in the Vulcan Beaches and plan the ceremony from there. There is just no way you could successfully handle all the details without doing so. If that is not a problem, then the two of you will depart tonight after dinner. So, Hestia, would you like to take this opportunity or shall I pass it on to the next most worthy candidate?”

Hestia didn’t know what to say, she hadn’t left the temple since the night she arrived and she quite enjoyed the relative safety its walls provided. What if this was all a ploy by her father to get her to return home? What if this man is no different than her father was once they are behind closed doors? All of the horrible possibilities swirled in her head, drowning her in thoughts about how this could go wrong. And yet, a small voice called out to her through the sea of doubt. Something telling her she needed to take this opportunity, that somehow it would lead her down the right path, and as uneasy as it made her feel, she knew the voice was right.

If she could pull this off, she was one step closer to High Priestess, which meant she was one step closer to being able to provide a safe space for her sisters to escape to, and that was something she simply couldn’t throw away. So, after a minute of deliberation, she put on her best smile, and accepted the offer.

“I think you are making the right choice,” Elithiya remarked as she stood and retrieved a few papers from her desk across the room. “These are some ideas from last year’s festivities to get you started. We won’t be able to communicate much once you depart, so take some time to look over them and see if you have any questions you would like to ask before then.”

Hestia knew she would have more questions than she had time to ask, so she only thanked the High Priestess, said her goodbyes to Ezra, who looked thoroughly pleased with how the meeting had gone, and made her way back to her room to study the papers she was given and begin to pack for the long journey ahead of her.

The dinner bell had come and gone by the time Hestia made it down to the dining hall. It had taken her longer than she anticipated to read through the papers Elithiya gave her. She was so rushed for time she almost forgot to pack her bags, luckily the contents were made up almost entirely of robes and nightgowns. She silently prayed that she would have enough time to ask Elithiya a few questions and eat dinner before she had to leave.

Finally, she rounded the corner to the mess hall. Stowing her bag just outside but keeping the papers close in hand, Hestia made her way to the table where Elithiya and Ezra were seated. She chose a seat next to Elithiya this time, which turned out to be even worse because now she was forced to look at and talk to Lord Ashbrook. She didn’t know why she felt so weird around him, it wasn’t an uneasy feeling, it was something different, something she had never felt before and that was what made her nervous. Was he charming her? If he is of noble descent then it is entirely plausible he possesses magic of some kind. That’s it, he must be using magic to affect her in some way. If that is the case, then she needs to be extremely cautious around him.

Hestia finished dinner feeling a little better about her trip, whether that was due to the food in her stomach or the fact that Elithiya answered all her questions and then some, she wasn’t sure. Either way, she was feeling less nervous about the journey ahead of her. Elithiya trusted this man enough to let him into her sanctuary, so for now, she would trust him too.

As the dining hall began to empty, Ezra stood with a satisfied sigh.

“That meal was most delicious. Thank you for sharing your home, and your food, with the likes of me,” he declared, bowing his head to both women seated across from him.

“It was my pleasure, I wish you both a safe journey. We shall see you for Pyrniel in a few weeks.” Elithiya replied, giving them a wry smile before standing and exiting the hall.

Now it was just the two of them, and Hestia suddenly felt very small where she was seated, Ezra looming over her from across the table. She stood immediately, regardless of the fact that he was so much taller he still loomed over her, but even this was better than feeling trapped on the bench of this dining table.

“Suddenly in a rush to leave?” he questioned, a little alarmed at the way she jumped from her seat as soon as the High Priestess departed. Did he make her that uncomfortable?

“N-no, I’m sorry. I’m just anxious about the journey ahead of us, that’s all.” It wasn’t a lie, she was nervous about leaving the temple and what may wait for her outside its walls, even if that wasn’t the reason she was looking at him funny.

“I understand,” he replied. “How about this? I will go get the carriage ready for our departure, and you take your time saying goodbye to whoever you need to.” He smiled at her, in what she assumed was an attempt to make it clear that he didn’t mind waiting.

“Thank you,” she said softly, bowing her head in gratitude. “My bag is just outside the door, would you mind brining it to the carriage with you?”

“It would be my honor. When you are ready, I will be waiting right outside.” As he turned to leave, Hestia couldn’t help but notice a faint aura surrounding him, shimmering as the light reflected off of it. It was as if some outside force was protecting him, but when she tried to get a better look, it disappeared. So she convinced herself she must have been seeing things because even in the magic she had seen and studied in her almost three centuries of life, nothing had ever looked like that. She had plenty of time to investigate Ezra and figure out exactly who he was, but for now, she needed to find Raea.

It didn’t take long, it never did. The pair had an uncanny way of always finding their way back to one another as if some invisible force was drawing them together.

Raea was standing outside the mess hall as soon as Hestia walked out, waiting a few moments of course to ensure Ezra would be long gone.

“Who was that?” Raea hissed at her. “And why haven’t I heard anything about him?”

“What do you think I was just coming to do,” Hestia spat in a low, harsh whisper. The two bickered like sisters but neither ever took it personally, it was just their way of sharing their love for one another.

“Well get on with it then, before I drop dead of curiosity.”

Hestia quickly explained the whole story to Raea, including her chance encounter in the gardens earlier in the day. Once up to speed, Raea didn’t say a word. The silence only lasted for a moment before the biggest smile Hestia had ever seen was plastered on Raea’s face and she started to giggle like a little girl playing with her toys.

“This is amazing, Hes!” Her eyes held much more excitement than Hestia deemed necessary for the situation, it wasn’t that amazing.

“Please tell me why you think that because I go back and forth on the entire situation.”

“Are you kidding me?,” Raea exclaimed, quickly hushing her voice as the other priestesses milling around the courtyard looked in their direction. “Not only are you one step closer to High Priestess, but you get to do it by spending weeks alone with that man, in his estate, on the beach. I don’t know what you are thinking Hes, but this sounds just like one of my books that you always refuse to read.”

“I don’t think this is going to turn out like that,” Hestia sighed. “Real men don’t bring women to their houses for weeks for no reason. He has some reason for doing this and I think it’s more than he is letting on, but I will have plenty of time to figure it out.”

“Ugh, so boring,” Raea moaned. “You are passing up on the chance of a lifetime, but here, if you won’t do it in real life, at least read about what could be.” She opened the satchel draped over her shoulder and pulled out a small, leather-bound book. Hestia knew without opening it that it was one of Raea’s mature romance novels she was always going on about. Hestia never bothered with them. She hadn’t been with a male since she had arrived at the temple, and she really wasn’t interested in reading about them now. She didn’t say any of that to Raea. Instead, she thanked her and took the book she was offering.

Once she accepted the gift, a silence fell over them. They had both finally realized that for the first time in five years, they wouldn’t see each other for weeks.

“I’m going to miss you,” Raea sniffed, tears already forming in her eyes.

“I’m going to miss you too,” Hestia replied, grabbing her friend and hugging her as tightly as she could. “But we will see each other soon, at the best Pyrniel celebration you’ve ever seen.” They both laughed, sharing one more hug before Hestia finally said goodbye and made her way to the carriage waiting for her in the middle of the courtyard.

Before Hestia had made it even halfway to the carriage, Ezra stepped out from behind it, opening the door and waiting for her beside it. He helped her step into the carriage, and once inside, Hestia quickly moved to the bench seat that was not behind the driver. This was not her first time in a carriage. She knew Ezra would have to sit behind the driver in order to communicate with him throughout the journey, and there was no reason they needed to sit on the same side of the carriage.

Ezra climbed in after her and sure enough, took the seat behind the driver, immediately opening the wooden panel in the carriage wall that allowed him to talk to the driver outside.

“Get the horses ready please,” he instructed, “we will depart in a few short moments.” The driver murmured a response that was too soft and too far away for Hestia to make out, before Ezra shut the wood panel, closing them off once again to the outside world.

“Were you able to say goodbye to everyone?” His question startled her. She hadn’t expected him to even speak to her now that nobody was around to watch, and she wasn’t yet sure if it was a welcome surprise or not.

“I was, thank you for giving me the time.”

“It was my pleasure, in fact, you didn’t take nearly as long as I anticipated.”

Hestia ran her finger along the edge of the leather-bound book Raea had sent with her, she wasn’t sure if she wanted this man to know she only had one close friend. What if that made her more of a target?

“They were quick goodbyes,” she replied instead, keeping the truth to herself for the time being.

“I understand,” he said, as if he could sense the truth beneath her lies and wanted her to know he understood that too. A knock on the carriage wall signaled they were ready to depart, which was when Hestia realized she wasn’t even completely sure where they were going or how long it would take to get there.

Ezra was quick to answer her questions as she asked them, one after another as the nerves caused her to ramble. He didn’t seem to mind, however, just continued to answer her until her mind was at ease.

The journey to Ezra’s Estate would take a day and a half. Which was far too long for an already exhausted Hestia. She felt like a year had passed since her sleepless night with the overwhelming events of the day, and she was utterly exhausted. Once the carriage reached a steady pace, Hestia said a silent prayer that they would have a safe and uneventful journey, she wasn’t sure how much more she would be able to handle today.