Page 107 of A Tribute of Fire

Her words made me think that my adelphia didn’t like the high priestess any better than I did.

Theano shifted in her seat and there was the unmistakable clanking of metal against metal. The keys. She always wore them around herwaist. Io had told me there was a key bearer, but so far, each time I’d seen Theano, she’d had the keys on her person.

Including the night I’d fallen through the roof.

I had come up with a number of ridiculous scenarios for how to get my hands on the keys. Sneaking into Theano’s room late at night and stealing them. Although that wouldn’t work with the patrols. I’d get caught long before I even got close to her bedroom. If she ever did give the keys over to a key bearer, maybe I could bribe them to loan them to me briefly. But I was fairly certain that whoever I asked would immediately turn me in.

I considered asking Ahyana to train Kunguru and his associates to steal keys and getting them to go to Theano’s room for me. But I would somehow have to buy a key from a metalsmith or locksmith and I would have to tell Ahyana what I was up to and why I needed her help. Not to mention that the ravens might be completely uncooperative.

Ahyana’s allegiance was to the temple and the goddess. The same was true for all my new sisters. I couldn’t ask for their help.

The only other path I saw was to be selected a Chosen, to become someone the high priestess trusted. A person who would have access to her office and possibly her keys. The eye was somewhere in this complex, or there had to be information about how to find it. But to become one of the Chosen would mean excelling in both training and my studies. Something that would take time.

The problem was that it felt like I was trapped inside a giant hourglass and time was slipping away from me far too quickly.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

That desperate, panicky feeling that time was passing too fast only got worse as the days went on. For two weeks straight my routine remained unchanged.

On the morning of the fourteenth day, I woke from a dream in which I’d been lying face down on a bed, unclothed, while Jason kissed and stroked my bare back, murmuring unintelligible words against my skin that made me shiver and ache.

I cleaned the outer patio and steps and then entered the temple, expecting to exchange a nod with the guard.

Only she wasn’t there. For the very first time, I was alone in the temple.

My heart pounded, my blood rushing in my ears, as I evaluated my situation. What had happened? Where was the guard? Should I wait to see if she showed up? Or take advantage of her absence? If I went downstairs, what would I do if someone caught me?

What if this was a test? And by going downstairs, I would fail?

I had to risk it. I didn’t know when I’d have this opportunity again. I threw my broom down to the base of the stairs. It would be my excuse if I was apprehended.

With my heart in my throat, I crept down the stairs, listening for any sound that would indicate someone was coming. The lower floorfelt cooler than the top. Only two torches were lit, casting most of the room in darkness.

I hesitated at the bottom step, waiting. Making certain that no one lurked in those shadows. As my eyes adjusted, I saw that the room was empty of everything but the statue. I pulled in a deep, fortifying breath and began walking toward it.

Was I going to be struck down by lightning? Would the floor beneath me open up and swallow me whole for my blasphemy? I considered all the ways the goddess might punish me before I ever reached her.

Hesitating, I wondered if she would see this as another act of Locrian aggression. Would she be angry with me for wanting to heal a land she had cursed? Upset that I was violating her rules?

I glanced over at the stairs. I didn’t have time to spare. Regardless of the outcome, I had to do this now.

Resolved, I approached her statue, eyes darting left and right, still listening. Total silence. I climbed up on the ledge at the base of the statue and reached for the veil.

This was it. I might finally have what I’d come here for.

My hand was shaking, my heartbeat so loud I was sure the entire temple complex would be able to hear it. I forced myself to push through and lifted the veil away from her face.

Nothing.

The socket was empty.

The eye wasn’t there.

Disappointment flooded my limbs and I let go of the veil, taking a step down.

I had been so hopeful.

They had posted a guard not because there was anything valuable in this room, but for the sole purpose of keeping acolytes like me away. I’d heard other girls whispering about wanting to visit the statue. Their reasons were different from my own, but it was enough of a problem to explain the security they’d instituted.

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