Page 179 of A Tribute of Fire

During my tutorial with Maia, I thought about what Ahyana had brought up—that someone at the temple might know about the red dirt. When Maia mentioned the ocean during a story she was sharing, Iinterrupted her to tell her a bit about my voyage over, where we’d been attacked by pirates and how they’d spread the red dirt.

“Have you ever heard of anything like that?” I asked. No one was more knowledgeable than Maia.

“No. That seems very strange.”

Another dead end. I was getting tired of running into those, especially when I’d spent the past year training to avoid them.

I also hadn’t dreamed of Jason the last two nights. Part of me thought I was just so exhausted in every way imaginable that my body was trying to recuperate, putting me into a sleep so deep that I didn’t dream.

It didn’t feel that way, though. It was more like he was being kept from me deliberately.

And I didn’t like it.

We had to help in the kitchens before the festival began because so much food was being prepared for our guests.

Io described what would happen during the celebration. “There will be a parade that will start at the docks and make its way here. It will be led by the living goddess, the young woman selected by the people of Troas to be at the head of the procession. She will be given the honor of bringing a new tunic and veil for the statue.”

She then explained about all the women of the city who would join in, carrying baskets filled with fruits and flowers, trays with wine and honey, incense burners that would fill the air with the scent of irises, olive branches to be offered as a sacrifice.

“They will wear irises in wreaths on their heads, their hair unbound, their feet unshod. They will sing and dance as they approach, great hymns to the goddess.”

“Don’t forget the horses,” Ahyana said.

Io smiled. “Oh, yes. There will be five white horses in the parade, representing the goddess’s daughter. They’re her sacred animal.”

That made me less interested in the horses. After the terawolves, I’d had my fill of sacred animals. “And there won’t be any men involved at all?” I asked.

“No, this is a festival solely for women. Men who try to watch usually meet a bloody end,” she said. I wondered who administered that punishment. Probably Antiope. “Along the way the procession will stop and dig five furrows into the ground to ensure fertility for next season.”

“Five being sacred to the goddess.”

She nodded. “It also has to do with the myth that the goddess lay with a mortal man in a recently plowed field with five furrows. Iasion was his name, if I recall correctly. He impregnated the goddess with a mortal child who became the first high priestess of her temple.”

“Which is why some men talk about plowing women in a very crude way,” Zalira said with a shake of her head.

I was curious as to why the goddess could take lovers and have children, but her priestesses were not permitted to do so.

“There will be a great bonfire in the courtyard, where sacrifices can be made,” Zalira added. “After the fire burns out, those ashes are collected to sprinkle onto the fields for planting, as they will ensure a good harvest.”

“And the wine!” Ahyana said, her eyes dancing. “There will be so much honeyed wine. The purest, sweetest thing you’ve ever tasted.”

“Which none of you should drink because they add a mixture that includes pomegranate juice, saffron, and wild orchid powder to it,” Io said with a wag of her finger.

“What does that do?” I asked, and my sisters laughed while Suri smiled.

“It gives the women a very strong desire to return to their homes and increase their own fertility with their husbands,” Ahyana said with a wink.

“Does that actually work?” I asked.

Io just rolled her eyes at me. “Of course it does. A great number of children will be born nine months from now.” Seemingly embarrassed, she directed the conversation to a more neutral topic.

The rest of the afternoon flew past and it was time for us to gather in the courtyard. Everyone had been given a new tunic in honor of the celebration. I supposed that I wouldn’t receive one but Maia surprised me by handing me a light green tunic to match with my sisters’.

“Just for tonight,” she said. I understood the message—I was to resume wearing my black tunic when Theano came back to rule over us.

We waited in silence and heard the far-off sounds of the processional.

“It has begun!” Ahyana said with undisguised glee.

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