You stumble as you are led further and further from the temple, but you refuse help. Some look at you with sympathy, while others regard you with contempt. You can’t help but feel ashamed. You place your hand on your stomach, the gesture hidden by the robe, but does it even matter? The term is still very short, and your belly has yet to show its fullness. This child became your death, yet you cannot help but regret that they will die with you.

This is your fate. You are a Vestal who failed to keep her chastity. Vestal Virgins are women who serve Vesta—the goddess of domestic peace and the hearth. Their primary duty was to maintain the sacred fire in the temple, a fire that must never be extinguished. An important condition of their service was their vow of chastity.

This should not have been a problem, but how could you have foreseen that the gaze of the god of gods would fall on you? One day, Zeus simply appeared in your chambers, uninvited. That night, he shattered your life. You hoped to hide this shame, to carry it silently to the grave. But life had already begun within you, and it could not be concealed.

They sentenced you to a painful death. You will be walled up alive in a small, stone room, where you will spend your final days, alone, starving and wasting away.

And now, you sit on the cold stone floor, watching the last rays of sunlight fade away. This is the end—for both of you. You feel sorrow for the child inside you. There are no tears, no prayers left. You close your eyes, wondering what name you would have given them if they had survived.

Not even three hours pass before you hear a roar. What is happening? The room fills with a blinding light, the brightness stark against the darkness your eyes have grown accustomed to. Before your eyes can adjust, you feel yourself being lifted from the ground, cradled in strong arms. The scent of blood is heavy in the air. A deep, muffled sound presses your head to the man’s chest.

"Better not look around," he murmurs.