Page 169 of A Tribute of Fire

“I don’t think the high priestess cares whether or not we’ll be safe,” Zalira said.

Io shook her head. “I don’t understand why they would send us.”

“I think because we’re the newest and it makes us the most expendable if something happens. And I’m afraid it might.” I hadn’t meant to say the last part out loud, especially after I saw Io’s face.

Ahyana frowned, pushing a branch away from her head. “I hope you’re wrong.”

So did I, but I got the distinct feeling that I wasn’t.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

“Do you think we’ll miss the festival?” Io asked after we’d been walking for about two hours.

“We’ll be back in time,” Ahyana said.

I pushed back a sound of pain. I couldn’t carry my knapsack on my left shoulder, and my right was aching from the weight of it.

Suri came up behind me and lifted it from my shoulder.

“I can carry that,” I told her. She ignored me and put it on her front so that she had a knapsack on each side of her body.

“You can ask us for help,” Zalira said, her eyes trained on the ground. She seemed to be following a path that only she could see.

“I’m not used to doing that.”

“We noticed,” Ahyana said with a teasing laugh.

They didn’t understand. “I told you I was trained in fighting before I came to Ilion.”

“Another thing we noticed,” she responded.

“The man who taught me used to say ‘one for many.’ That it was my responsibility to defend myself and protect others and my country.” I pressed my lips together, nearly admitting too much. “That I should do what I can on my own and not rely on others. That it was noble to sacrifice myself to save those I care about.”

“That explains a lot,” Zalira said as Io walked over to me. She put her hand on my right shoulder.

“You’re here with us now,” she said. “You don’t have to do things alone anymore. My whole life I wanted a sister more than anything, and now I have four. You have us. We will always be here for you.”

I nodded, biting my inner cheek so that I wouldn’t cry. I knew she was right. I’d been learning that—instead of relying solely on myself, I’d needed my sisters to help me succeed.

That didn’t make me weak or incapable. It just meant that we were stronger together.

Io let her hand drop. “How are you doing otherwise?”

It made sense that she would be the one to notice how I’d been feeling. “I’m a failure. Part of me feels numb. Disconnected. Hopeless.”

“Whatever it is that you’re looking for, will it hurt people?” Ahyana asked me.

“No!” I immediately replied. “It will save thousands of lives.”

“Are you certain that it exists?”

“I think it does.”

“Then it must be somewhere,” Ahyana responded. “If not at the temple, then somewhere else. And if it’s going to save so many, we will help you find it.”

Again I was struck with the urge to tell them about the eye, but something prevented me. I wanted them to have plausible deniability if Theano questioned them. This was one burden I could carry alone to keep them safe.

“Just keep going,” Io said. “One foot in front of another. We’re all on this path together.”

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