CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
What? Zalira demanded, looking away from Ahyana, who accidentally punched her hard in the jaw since Zalira had dropped her defense.
Ahyana apologized to her sister as she helped Zalira get back to her feet and then turned to face me. Say that again, she said.
I have to break into the treasury. I glanced around to make certain that no one could overhear us.
Why? Io asked.
There s something specific that I m looking for that is in the vault.
Tell us what it is, Zalira said.
I shook my head. I don t want you to have to lie for me. If I m caught, I don t want any of you to be in trouble. You can honestly tell them that you didn t know what I was searching for.
Ahyana and Zalira exchanged a look communicating their displeasure, Suri angrily crossed her arms over her chest, and Io looked like she was about to faint.
I tried to reassure them. It will be fine. I went out last night and nobody noticed. I can do this without getting caught. I just wanted to be honest with you about what I m planning.
Io pushed away from the wall. Well, obviously we re going to help you.
That was the last thing I had expected any of them to say. What?
We are bound to you, Ahyana said. Where you go, we go. If you re going to break into the vault, we re breaking in with you.
You re our sister, Io added.
My breath caught and I felt tears burning my eyes. If they got caught, they would be thrown out of the temple, too. Where would they all go if their home was taken from them?
It was one thing for them to help me sneak out for a reason they understood-to send a message to my parents. This was an entirely different situation and yet they were still willing to be there for me. No. I can t ask that of you.
You didn t ask, Zalira said. We re offering.
Suri nodded her agreement.
If they were willing to take this risk, maybe they should have all of the information. You should at least know why-
But Zalira interrupted me. We don t need to know why. The only thing that matters is that you need help.
When? Io asked.
As soon as possible, I said, stunned and touched that they wanted to help me. The Jason distraction aside, I was still on a deadline. I only had so much time before the Ilionian prince sent for me in Locris. I had to find the eye first.
Ahyana nodded. What s the first step?
I think that it might be easier to break into Theano s office. I m theorizing that she may keep a spare key in there.
That sounds logical, Zalira said. Can anyone pick a lock?
My hopes lifted momentarily but were immediately dashed when nobody responded.
We ll figure it out when we get there, I said.
Do you ever have an actual plan? Ahyana teased, and I smiled back at her.
Were you going to try tonight? Io asked.
Not tonight. The exhaustion hadn t caught up with me, but I knew that it would eventually. At the very least I wanted a good night s rest before I attempted something as dangerous and foolish as breaking into the high priestess s personal office.
Tomorrow night, then, Zalira said with Suri nodding.
Tomorrow night, I agreed.
Maia s looking at us, Ahyana said. Let s get back to work.
I stepped into the ring with Ahyana so that we could spar. I couldn t keep the grin off my face. My mouth actually hurt.
I had started out this morning thinking that I was completely alone. It was such a relief to discover that my sisters were ready and willing to stand by my side.
What I wanted to do was return to our room so that we could try to stitch together some sort of plan on how to break into Theano s office. Instead we had to attend our afternoon class, where Maia was again instructing on the different aspects of the goddess.
When you become a priestess, you will choose an aspect to specialize in, she said. I d now officially been at the temple long enough that she had started to repeat her lessons. Io had warned me that would happen, but it felt excruciating to hear recycled information, given that I was so desperate to talk to my sisters.
Maia began listing the different aspects and I realized that I hadn t ever really worried about choosing one because I didn t plan on being in the temple long enough to do so.
It was easy to see what my adelphia would pick to honor the goddess. Io loved new life and plants. Zalira had an instinct about storms and when rain would fall. Ahyana surrounded herself with insects and animals that helped things grow. Suri was drawn to uncovering secrets, like the types hidden in the deep earth.
I was the only one in our immediate group who hadn t shown some kind of affinity or interest. The thought bothered me. I might even be the only one in the room who hadn t picked a specialization.
Artemisia might not have chosen one yet, either. And probably wouldn t, unless the goddess had a murderous, destroying aspect that I was unaware of. I d spent the last month keeping clear of Artemisia, who continued to lash out at the other acolytes every chance she could. She was careful to not ever cross the line to where she would officially be hurting someone and running afoul of her vows but came as close as she possibly could.
There was something truly awful deep in her core and I wondered why the priestesses couldn t see it and continued to reward her by making her a Chosen, week after week. An honor still denied to me, no matter how well I did.
Like Theano had some kind of personal vendetta against me.
Our class finally ended and we headed over to the courtyard to take care of our weekly chores.
Is there a possibility of getting the vault key some other way? Zalira asked. Without having to break into a locked room?
I ve been trying to figure out how to do that since I arrived. Theano wears them all the time. I thought maybe I could become a Chosen and offer to be a key bearer, but as far as I can tell, she doesn t let anyone else have that responsibility.
You re right, Io said with a nod. She doesn t. She always wears those keys.
I don t remember anyone being given the role of key bearer when I was a Chosen, either. Zalira had been a Chosen for two weeks a few months ago, before she d been pushed out of the rankings.
I turned toward Ahyana. I even thought about asking you if we could train Kunguru to retrieve keys and maybe he could steal them for us. She must take them off at some point. To bathe or to sleep.
It wouldn t take him that long to learn how to do it. He s very smart. Maybe a week?
That wouldn t work. I didn t have that kind of time. He doesn t speak, does he?
I was rewarded with a bunch of strange looks and Ahyana s laughter. Of course not. Why would you think that?
It would just make things easier if he could, I mumbled, feeling foolish.
Oh, I agree. It absolutely would. Ahyana was trying to make me feel better but it wasn t working.
We performed our tasks and continued trying to formulate a plan together. It was quickly decided that two people should remain behind because the smaller the group, the better. Ahyana and Zalira were going to stay back. Initially they had volunteered to accompany me, but Io said she wanted to go.
It surprised everyone.
I can do this, she said. It was like she insisted on coming because she had something to prove to herself.
Which I understood.
Suri was also going to come along and keep watch near the administrative building. Ahyana would stand guard outside the entrance to our dormitory, promising to send Kunguru if something went wrong or if one of the guards changed her nightly path. Zalira would remain in our room in case the guards came to check on us. They did that from time to time. It wasn t a constant or a given, but we had to be prepared.
I still didn t know how I was going to get Theano s office door opened and hoped a solution would present itself when I got there.
It was foolish to go without knowing exactly how I would accomplish my goal, but there was no other option and nobody else had a suggestion on what I should do, either.
I also had to consider the possibility that I might not be able to get into her office. That despite my best attempts and efforts, I could still be kept out. Or even if I did succeed, find a spare key, and open the vault, the gem might not be there. It might mean I would have to investigate other paths.
Like returning to the public library.
Which could mean seeing Jason again.
While sweeping alongside Io, I asked her, Is there something you could create that would put a goose to sleep?
Why would you want to put a goose to sleep? She didn t sound surprised, only curious. I think at this point my sisters expected me to say bizarre things to them.
So that I won t have to kill it.
She accepted this as an explanation and paused. I think so. I could combine some poppy powder with valerian root. The problem would be having it work and then immediately dissipating so that the person who threw it wouldn t fall asleep as well.
Io began mumbling to herself, brainstorming a formula out loud.
A wave of exhaustion hit me and I sat down on one of the temple steps.
Zalira saw me and wagged one of her fingers at me. We have to make sure the courtyard is spotless for the festival.
I nodded. There was some annual festival that was set to take place in a few days. It had been mentioned frequently but I d mostly been ignoring the details as it was unimportant to me. Again, I hoped I wouldn t still be here when the festival took place. I knew almost nothing about it-just that it was something that only women participated in here on the temple grounds and in the surrounding neighborhood. Men were not allowed to attend.
Maia had said something about harvest and fertility and that the festival would ensure good fortune for the next season by celebrating and thanking the goddess, if I remembered correctly.
I yawned.
You should skip dinner and go to bed, Zalira said.
Maybe I will. It wasn t like me to miss out on a meal, but I would probably fall asleep halfway through.
She reached for my broom. Go now. We have this.
I thanked her and headed for our room. I used the washroom and then crashed onto my bed. Kunguru was waiting in the windowsill and called out to me. I reached under my bed and felt the edges of the book against my fingers. He seemed to have done as I d asked and watched over it.
Good boy, I called out to him right before I passed out.
Who s a good boy? Jason asked me.
Blinking, it took me a few beats to take in my surroundings. I was back in Jason s room, with him on his bed. We were sitting up, facing one another. I had my legs over his so that the backs of my knees were on top of his strong thighs.
I was running my fingers through his midnight-black hair and he was turning his head so that he could lean into my touch.
Kunguru is a good boy, I told him. I was talking to him before I got here. Your hair reminds me of his feathers.
You like him.
I do. He s usually quiet. Unlike you.
Jason grinned. I can be quiet.
Only when my lips are on yours. And you re not very quiet then, either.
That s true. His hands were around my waist and he pulled me a bit closer to him. Should I be jealous?
Of a bird? I asked with a laugh. No.
It was different when we were here together. I wasn t ever as angry with him or as annoyed. We could be playful. Tease. Laugh.
Or, more accurately, I could. He was always like that.
Which was where the annoyance came in.
I am jealous of him, you know, he said.
Why?
He gets to be with you as often as he would like. He can fly in and see you and touch you and be near you and I would give anything to have that.
I kissed his forehead. His words were so sweet, so romantic. Now I know that I m dreaming.
Why would you say that?
Because you aren t vulnerable like this with me when we re awake. I wish that you would be. I kissed his face in between my words, still running my fingers along his scalp.
He released my waist and reached up for my wrists, pulling them away from his head. He put them on top of my legs and then reached up to frame my face with his hands. Lia, don t you know how I feel about you?