Page 171 of The Priory of the Orange Tree

Her birthplace was a land of red deserts and rugged peaks, of hidden caves and thundering waterfalls, of golden beaches foamed by surf from the Halassa Sea. For the most part, it was a dry country, like the Ersyr—but vast rivers flowed through Lasia, and greenery cleaved to them. Looking at the plains below her, Ead felt the homesickness fade at last. No matter how much of the world she saw, she would always believe this was its most beautiful place.

Soon Parspa was soaring over the ruins of Yikala. Ead and Jondu had gone scavenging there many times as children, eager for trinkets from the days of the Mother.

Parspa banked toward the Lasian Basin. It was this vast and ancient forest, blooded by the River Minara, that cloaked the Priory. By the time the sun had risen, Parspa was above its trees, her shadow coasting over the close-knit canopy.

The bird finally descended, touching down in one of the few clearings in the forest. Ead slid off her back.

“Thank you, my friend,” she said in Selinyi. “I know the way from here.”

Parspa took off without a sound.

Ead strode between the trees, feeling as small as one of their leaves. Strangler fig clambered up their trunks. Her exhausted feet recalled the way, even if her mind had mislaid it. The mouth of the cave was somewhere close, guarded by powerful wardings, hidden in the thickest foliage. It would take her deep into the ground, to the labyrinth of secret halls.

A whisper in her blood. She turned. A woman stood in a pool of sunlight, her belly great with child.

“Nairuj,” Ead said.

“Eadaz,” the woman answered. “Welcome home.”

Light splintered through arched lattice windows. Ead became aware that she was in bed, her head supported by silk cushions. The soles of her feet were on fire after so many days on the road.

A muffled roar made her sit up. Breathing hard, she groped for a weapon.

“Eadaz.” Callused hands cupped hers, startling her. “Eadaz, be still.”

She stared at the bearded face before her. Dark eyes that turned up at the corners, like hers.

“Chassar,” she whispered. “Chassar. Is this—?”

“Yes.” He smiled. “You’re home, beloved.”

She pressed her face against his chest. His robes soaked up the wet on her lashes.

“You came a long way.” His hand moved over her sand-crusted hair. “If you had written before you left Ascalon, I could have sent Parspa much sooner.”

Ead grasped his arm. “I had no time. Chassar,” she said, “I must tell you. Sabran is in danger—the Dukes Spiritual, I think they mean to fight for her throne—”

“Nothing in Inys matters now. The Prioress will speak with you soon.”

She slept again. When she woke, the sky was the red of dying embers. Lasia remained warm for most of the year, but a chill clung to the evening wind. She rose and wrapped herself in a brocaded robe before walking to the balcony. And she beheld it.

The orange tree.

It reached up from the heart of the Lasian Basin, larger and more beautiful than she had dreamed it in Inys. White flowers dotted its branches and the grass. Around it lay the Vale of Blood, where the Mother had vanquished the Nameless One. Ead released her breath.

She was home.

The underground chambers came to an end in this valley. Only these rooms—the sunrooms—had the privilege of looking over it. The Prioress had honored her by allowing her to rest in one. They were usually reserved for prayer and childbirth.

Three thousand feet of unbroken water thundered from high above. That was the roar she had heard. Siyati uq-Nara had named the falls the Wail of Galian to mock his cowardice. Far below her, the River Minara crashed through the valley, feeding the roots of the tree.

Her gaze flitted over its labyrinth of branches. Fruit was nestled here and there, rutilant upon the bough. The sight dried her mouth. No water could sate the thirst that throbbed inside her.

As she returned to her chamber, she stopped and pressed her brow against the cool, rose-colored stone of the doorway.

Home.

A low growl lifted the hairs on her nape. She turned to see a full-grown ichneumon in the doorway.

---