Page 87 of A Tribute of Fire

As I thought of Quynh, I realized that the pain of losing her had subtly lessened. Instead of a continual feeling of being stabbed over and over again, it had become more like a dull ache. Always there, but more manageable now that I’d had the chance to grieve her loss.

I reached behind my neck, as if to brush my hair away, forgetting that it wasn’t there.

Thinking of my long hair reminded me of the dream I’d woken up from and my cheeks turned hot again. I’d had many dreams before, butnone this vivid or detailed. None that had ever felt like real life. As if I were really there, and it was all actually happening to me.

In that dream I’d had my old hair. Was that supposed to mean something? Or was it just that I couldn’t picture myself any other way because I’d never seen myself with a shaved head?

I wished that we had mirrors so that I could properly take in my reflection, absorb my new physical appearance, but Io had said there were no mirrors at all in the temple because they encouraged vanity. “We’re supposed to focus on the goddess and our sisters, not on ourselves.”

It was a convenience I had taken for granted my entire life and now I missed it.

After I finished up, I found Io waiting for me just outside the main entrance to the dormitory, as she’d promised. She was holding two brooms and a large, empty pot, which she handed to me.

“We’re going to the temple. Part of your duties will be to clean the first floor and the patio and steps near the front doors.”

My pulse quickened. “What about the bottom floor? Do I clean that as well?”

She squashed my hope. “No, an older priestess takes care of that. You’re not allowed down there. I haven’t even been back to worship her yet—just my own vow ceremony and then the adelphia with you yesterday.”

That hope surged back to life. Because despite her telling me that I couldn’t go into the room where the goddess was, there was a reason why it was off-limits. Why keep acolytes out unless there was something important, valuable, on the statue?

Maybe there would be a chance to sneak down there today while Io was busy with something else and I could see for myself what was under that veil.

We stopped at the fountain in the courtyard and Io said, “After we sweep, we take this water and sprinkle it onto the ground, purifying our work.”

In Locris that would have just led to a lot of mud. She handed me a pitcher and we both started drawing the water out, filling up the pot.

“So we have water on demand in our dormitories, but not the temple?” I asked.

“I suppose they want the acolytes to do things the old way, as they’ve always been done.”

After the pot was mostly filled, we covered it with fresh vine leaves. Io held one of them up and smiled. “This is exactly what the symbol of the goddess looks like.”

I nodded—I’d seen that particular motif all over the buildings since yesterday.

“We put the leaves on top of the water to keep it cool and to protect it from dust and dirt.” She took one of the handles and I took the other and we carried it over to the steps.

“You start sweeping at the bottom, I’ll start at the top,” she said.

“Why are you the one showing me how to do everything?” I asked. “Weren’t you the last one here before I arrived? Shouldn’t someone with more experience be the one to teach me?”

“It has always fallen to the newest acolyte to teach the others. Zalira taught Suri and me when we arrived. If the race is run in a few months, you will be the one to show the newest member or members how to acclimate.”

I wondered if I would even be here. I’d promised Kallisto I’d be home in six months.

“Last night ...” Io’s voice trailed off, and by the goddess, if she brought up Jason again I was going to dump that pot of water over her head. “You cried a lot.”

Feeling immediately chastened for my unkind thought, I nodded. “I think I needed it.”

“You’ve had to deal with a lot of difficult things.”

She phrased it not as a question, but as a statement of fact.

“Yes,” I agreed.

She was quiet for a little while, which seemed very unlike her. Then she said, “Have you ever seen a plant where part of it is dying?”

“Before I came to Ilion, I’d never seen a plant at all.” I wasn’t sure the olive tree in the palace or the flowers the life mage had briefly created counted.

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