Page 110 of A Tribute of Fire

The eye.

She held it out to me. Was she offering it to me?

Was this some kind of sign or just my own wishful thinking? It was impossible to tell.

It is time.

“Time for what?” I asked and then clamped a hand over my mouth. If I wasn’t even allowed to approach her statue, it seemed completely blasphemous to be questioning her. Would I offend her?

I waited, my limbs trembling.

Instead she gave me a slight smile.

Time for things to change.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

“What things?” I asked, but then she disappeared and I woke with a start, disoriented.

But despite what felt like a prophetic dream, the day was like any other. I didn’t know what was supposed to change or how. Would the goddess reveal it to me? Or was I supposed to figure it out on my own?

I hated that I didn’t know and that I couldn’t ask anyone.

Her words ran through my head, distracting me during training. Fortunately we were doing rhythmic movements as a group, teaching our bodies to naturally move as a warrior’s would so that if we were in a fight we could respond fluidly, without thinking.

We never knew when we entered the gymnasium what we would be doing that day—Antiope seemed to pride herself on keeping us on our toes. Some days we would run; others we would lift heavy objects repetitively to strengthen our muscles. One-on-one sparring was common, but we were also taught to fight groups of attackers.

Artemisia in particular took far too much pleasure in laying out every opponent who challenged her.

When I had trained with Demaratus, he’d emphasized my limits and weaknesses. Antiope, in contrast, saw only potential and encouraged me to think beyond my limitations.

That I was stronger and faster and better than anyone believed, myself included.

“Any Locrian maiden who survives the run is someone to be reckoned with,” she had said to me on more than one occasion as she encouraged me, praised me.

It was an entirely different style of teaching, and I found myself blossoming under her guidance.

After the training session ended, Suri put her hand on my shoulder and pointed toward the river that ran through the temple grounds. It wasn’t unusual for the priestesses and acolytes to cool off in the slow-moving waters.

I nodded and walked with her in silence to the riverbank. The water made a calm, soothing sound as it glided over the rocks in its bed. Suri sat down on the grass and I took the spot next to her.

She hadn’t ever attempted to spend time alone with me before, and I wondered why she had chosen today. Io and Suri were close, which I understood. Not only because they’d arrived at the same time, but because Io did all the talking.

I wondered if Suri ever felt left out. Her face was so expressive that even though she didn’t say words, she still participated in our conversations. I felt like I had come to know her.

There was a cawing above me and then Kunguru swooped down, coming to a stop near my hand. He cocked his head to the right. I knew what he wanted. I opened the pouch at my waist to get him some stale breadcrumbs. I saw Quynh’s bracelet and sadly smiled. She would have loved this bird.

He made a happy, trilling sound and moved closer, eating the crumbs off my palm. It was easy to see why Ahyana liked him so much. He was a good companion and I had become very attached to him. His only demands were to be fed and told how pretty he was.

He was also an excellent listener. I could share my secrets with him and he didn’t judge me or share them with anyone else.

Kunguru had taken a dislike to Artemisia and had swooped at her head a few times until Ahyana had told him to stop because she was afraid the other girl might shoot him out of the sky.

Suri tipped her face up, soaking in the sun’s warmth. I placed my hand against the grass, feeling that familiar hum.

I realized that Suri had turned her gaze toward me. She pointed at the ground and then laid her hand against it.

“Yes, I feel it,” I said.

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