Page 173 of A Tribute of Fire

“Jason’s right.”

“I didn’t say ... How did you know that?” I demanded.

Another smile. “I didn’t for sure until you just confirmed it. Before Ahyana and I joined the temple, I had a boy that I was in love with. Stephanos.” Her eyes took on a faraway expression, remembering. “We wanted to be married, but his parents wouldn’t allow it, as I didn’t have a dowry.”

And now she had taken vows that would prevent her from ever being with him.

“Did you tell him? That you loved him?” It would have been a commitment she couldn’t have been able to turn her back on.

“No. I didn’t. And he never said it to me.”

My heart ached for her.

She cleared her throat and then patted me on the knee. “All of that is to say I know what a well-kissed woman looks like when I see one. Good night.”

Zalira got up and went over to her bedroll and curled up in her blanket, quickly falling asleep.

Leaving me to stare out into the darkness and think about everything that had happened recently—finding out how long Theano had been high priestess, the spring being plugged shut, the red dirt, that the eye was someplace else.

And my thoughts kept turning to Jason, especially after the story Zalira had shared with me.

It didn’t help when I saw a pair of fireflies not far from where I was sitting, reminding me of when I’d first seen one with Jason. They seemed to be sitting on a low branch, unmoving, their golden lights slowly blinking.

They were mesmerizing.

A sudden high-pitched howl pierced the night air. It was eerie, chilling, sending a shiver down my back.

What was that?

All my adelphia immediately woke up at the sound. There was an answering howl even farther away, and Io gasped.

“What is going on?” I asked.

“Have you seen anything unusual?” she asked, sounding panicked.

“Just a couple of fireflies.” I gestured in their direction. Her gaze followed where I pointed.

“Those aren’t fireflies. They are eyes. Terawolves.”

She started muttering the word “no” to herself over and over again and then said, “We have to go. Everyone pack up but don’t make any sudden moves.”

“What are terawolves?” I demanded.

Zalira grimaced as she said, “Lia, we’re about to test whether or not you actually have a magical power of staying alive.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

I packed my things, discreetly keeping those golden eyes within my line of vision. “Is somebody going to tell me what’s going on?”

“Terawolves are part aether dragon, part wolf. They are the sacred animal of the goddess’s son,” Io said in a low voice. The son, the one who took after his mother and had dominion over earth and metals. “They were a gift to him from the war god. Once they choose their prey, they don’t give up until they are dead.”

The dread that had been building inside me since I’d heard the howl bubbled over, and I felt my back break out in a sweat.

“I only see one terawolf,” I said. “We can handle that.”

Io shook her head. “That’s the scout. It is waiting for the others to arrive before they attack. They hunt in packs.”

“So do we,” I said more confidently than I was feeling. If we were going to survive, everyone was going to have to believe that it was an actual possibility. We couldn’t have anyone giving up.

---