Page 118 of In Her Own Rite

“Even though…”

Her voice trails off, and I feel a sinking in my gut.

“You did your rite,” I say. “They’re still figuring out what it means for the council seat, and they didn’t want to decide before talking to you. But you did it,piu. And you deserve to be an elder.”

She nods again, closing her eyes and leaning her face into the palm of my hand. I can tell my words don’t quite reach her.

“What do you need?” I whisper. “Food? Water? More rest?”

She shakes her head softly, and I see her breath grow heavier again.

“Okay. I think water would be good, so I’m gonna go get some for when you’re up more. You stay here and rest. I’ll be back in a bit.”

She nods wordlessly, and I climb out of bed and make my way to the stairs, leaving the door open a bit to let some of the stale air out. As I shuffle down, I can hear voices from the kitchen.

“Heij,” I say, walking in to see who’s seated around the table. Seb, Saga, Gabe. “Em’s up.”

“Yeah? How’s she feeling?” asks Gabe. His face is gray, too, though not from Em’s rite or the aftermath. He hasn’t been the same since we spoke to Thalia a few days ago, and I’ve been too in my own world to ask about it.

“To soon to say,” I say. “She just woke up, and I think she's going back to sleep. But I thought I’d get her water for when she’s awake again.”

“Ah, good,” says Saga, standing. “She needs to rehydrate after thekattaka, and she couldn’t keep anything down last night. Let me make some with salt and sugar, to help.”

I nod and she walks to the fridge, getting out a jug of filtered water and setting it on the counter. As she reaches for the salts above the stove, I take a seat at the table beside Seb.

“What were you guys talking about?”

He shakes his head barely perceptibly, and Gabe looks at me.

“Janus is starting to come to this morning,” he says. “The council needs to decide what to do with him and the others. Mom’s called a vote tomorrow night about sending them back.Allof them.”

I glance over my shoulder at Saga, standing at the counter.

“Thalia was the one who told me he was on the cliffs,” I say. “She did that for Em’s safety, not for her own self-interest. That changes things.”

“Does it?” Saga asks, turning around. “Because last I checked, she still attacked our shores and hurt my son. And Emerson didn’t need you to intervene—she survived on her own.”

I feel myself bristle, and I can see Gabe’s posture tighten.

“But Thalia had no way of knowing that, and neither did we,” I say. “She alerted us to a threat.”

“And if we send her and her sister back with them now, they’ll be torn apart,” says Gabe. “The others already know she met with Kieran. It’s a death sentence.”

“She should have thought of that before she hurt you,” Saga says.

“Ama,” he says, his voice low. “You can’t mean that. You can’t possibly think she deserves to die for what happened to me.”

Saga looks up at him, and I watch something in her face change.

“It’s not like you,Aja,” I say.Aunt. “Didn’t you say we need to think about the good of the islands? We have to look beyond our ownfika.”

“And besides,” says Seb. “You fought so hard for Maren to come here. And look how much good she’s brought all of us.”

“That was different,” Saga snaps. “She’s family.”

An awkward silence falls at the table, and I glance over at Seb. I can see Gabe from the corner of my eye, seething, and I know this conversation is only going to get worse, so I change the subject.

“You went looking at newfikarigsthe other day, right?” I ask. “How’d it go?”

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