Page 70 of A Tribute of Fire

I realized that I didn’t know how Ilionian women joined the temple. “What is the process for you to become a priestess? Do they chase you, too?”

She looked embarrassed and ducked her head slightly. “First, I’m only an acolyte. Like you. It takes a long time to become a priestess. Second, we run, but we aren’t chased. We can, however, do whatever it takes to reach the temple first. Including fighting with other competitors.”

Io must have seen the incredulous look on my face because she smiled. “I know I must not seem like the sort of person who would win that kind of ultra-competitive race. Acolytes are taken every six months, and they take as many as are necessary to replace priestesses that have died since the last race.”

“What if no one dies?”

“Then there are no races. When I participated, they took two. The six months prior to that, they took two as well.”

That was concerning. Why were priestesses dying so quickly?

“Of old age,” Io added, correctly interpreting my expression. “We serve our entire lives. Now this will be your home until you die.”

I didn’t bother to correct her. There wasn’t a point. But even if it was from natural causes, that still seemed like a significant number.

She leaned in, her eyes twinkling. “Can I tell you a secret?”

Part of me wanted to warn her that anything she shared with me I’d use to further my own ends, but I couldn’t risk failure. It might mean that I’d have to betray people, pretend to be their friend, earn their confidence.

It bothered me, and I heard Demaratus’s voice in my head telling me that it shouldn’t.

“Yes,” I said, pushing those concerns aside.

“I shouldn’t be here. It’s believed that only the strongest and fastest should be allowed to serve the goddess. I cheated.”

“You did?”

She nodded, her eyes dancing. “I have worshipped the goddess and her creations since I was a little girl. The only thing I have ever wanted was to serve her in her temple. I knew I’d never win the race. I’m too small and I’m not very fast. So I hid near the end and waited. After Suri crossed the threshold, I immediately followed her.”

Her confession made me uneasy. This seemed like information that could get her tossed out of the temple. Why would she tell it to me, an enemy, someone the priestess had wanted to offer to the hunters last night?

Was it a test? To see where my allegiances might lie?

Or was she just as she appeared? Kind, generous, trusting?

Not able to help myself, I vocalized my concern. “Why would you share that kind of confidence with me?”

She tilted her head and looked at me as if I’d just asked a foolish question. “Because now you are my sister. And we have been waiting for you.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“Waiting for me?” I asked, not understanding what she meant.

Io nodded and then stood. “I am to take you on a tour of the temple grounds and then there will be a ceremony for you because it’s the fifth day.”

She didn’t clarify what she’d meant when she said they’d been waiting for me and instead began to speak about something different. I felt like I was struggling to keep up, my questions overwhelming me.

“The fifth day of what?” I knew for a fact it was not the fifth day of the month.

“The fifth day since you arrived.”

I sat straight up in my bed and realized that I wasn’t in any physical pain. I tested all of my limbs, holding my arms out in front of me, pressing my fingers against my ribs. Had I really been here for five days?

“Do you have healers with magic?” I asked. My grandmother’s book had mentioned life mages with a special type of magic that could mend bones, stop bleeding, or wipe away any sickness.

“There hasn’t been someone with that sort of ability in a very long time,” she said.

Perhaps the mages had drained too much power from their shards?

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