False Gods | The Prime Archives #3 ✓

twelve

It had been proven many times that he wasn't cut out to be a 'protector'. He couldn't even protect his own family. What made Sister Maria think he was cut out to protect some girl he barely even knew?

"Just do it, please. Who knows, she might open up more."

Yeah, I doubt that.

She wasn't going to let it go until he agreed. So that's what he did.

"Speaking of opening up," Sister Maria began while stirring a spoon in a cup of tea, "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Why did you bring her here?"

His features twisted in confusion. "Where else was I going to take her?"

"You don't seem like the type to just save orphans off the street," she elaborated. "No offense."

"Gee, thanks."

"Tell me the truth this time. Where did you find her?"

Dropping his gaze to his dirty and ripped up shoes, he debated whether he should do it or not. He wanted to tell her the truth. Truly, he did. His secret often weighed down on him like an anchor, threatening to drag him beneath the angry waves that crashed within him. But what if she wasn't as receiving of the truth as he thought she would be? While she was a nice woman and all, she was catholic.

And Catholics didn't tend to like his kind. Primes reminded them of demons. At least, that's what he heard from the nuns when they spoke amongst themselves.

Father Vincent once called the incident at Adak Island that unleased the Primes on the world the beginning of the end-times.

But Sister Maria didn't seem like the rest of them. There was something different about her; the woman had secrets of her own. He had a feeling she hadn't been a nun for her whole life. He once caught a glimpse of the scar that ran along the length of her leg. Never had he asked about it, but he was starting to wonder if he should have.

Sighing, he ran a hand down his face.

Am I really about to do this?

It was a risk. What if she kicked him and Xiomara out of the church? And that would've been just the bare minimum of what she could've done. His stomach tightened as he felt his palms start to sweat. It felt like a boa constrictor had coiled around his neck.

What if she reported him to Atlas?

She didn't seem like the type to do something like that, but he could never be too sure. Putting too much trust in someone was exactly how he was going to end up locked in The Vault. He would be damned if he let that happen.

"Fine!" Sister Maria threw her hands into the air. "Don't tell me!" A sympathetic look settled on her face like a fresh sheet of snow. "You can trust me, Uriel. Believe it or not, I've seen a lot. Not much you can say that will surprise me."

He chewed on his bottom lip as he internally argued with himself. The lady had been nothing but helpful towards him since they met. Maybe he could trust her...

"If I tell you this," he began, bringing his voice to just above a whisper, "you have to promise you won't tell anyone else. Not even Father Vincent."

She stiffened and lifted her brows. "Oh. This must be serious."

He nodded.

She extended her pinky toward him. "I promise." Resisting the urge to smile, he wrapped his finger around hers, sealing the deal.

Here goes nothing.

"Xiomara is a...she's a Prime," he explained. "I rescued her from an Atlas convoy. That one you heard about on the news a few days ago."