Priya pushed past the curtained entrance—there were no actual walls, only canvas strung from beams—and offered Mai a bowl of rice covered with bean curd, slip-fried vegetables, and a red sauce swimming with slices of fish.

“Here, Mistress. You must be hungry.”

“I am.” She tucked the folded rice paper into her belt and accepted the bowl. Although the smell made her mouth water, she did not eat.

“You are still upset about the message.”

“I am.”

“Yet you accepted a marriage not of your choosing.”

Mai looked up. Sheyshi shivered behind Priya, holding a burning lamp whose light spilled around them. “Did you become a priestess at the temple by your choice, or of your clan’s choosing?”

“A meaningless question, Mistress. I came to the temple because it was the will of the Merciful One that I offer prayers there. Who spoke what words means nothing.”

Lightning flashed, and thunder cracked right over them. They all jumped, and Sheyshi yelped in surprise, bringing Avisha running from inside.

“What happened? Sheyshi, what did you do? Here, let me take the lamp. You’re shaking so hard you’re going to drop it.”

“No!” Sheyshi jerked the lamp away, and oil spilled, hissing on the planks.

“You two go inside and see after the children,” said Priya sternly, taking the lamp from Sheyshi. “The noise has woken them.”

Mai ate, listening to the anxious questions of children as rain pounded on the roof and spat in under the porch’s eaves. Canvas thrummed, tugging on ropes.

“Does the storm frighten you, Mistress?”

“No. I like it. The rain will cut the dust. I’m so tired of tasting grit.”

“You wish the captain returns soon?”

“Of course. It was easier to wait in Olossi. Still, there is more than enough to do here. After all, I must build a thriving settlement so I can have a market to enjoy.”

Priya bent to kiss her cheek, lips cool on her skin, her breath smelling faintly of cloves. “Will you eat a second portion?”

Mai handed her the empty bowl. “Yes, I will. Do you think it is too early to allow those of the men who have particular women in mind to settle their betrothals?”

“The chief is having a difficult time keeping them in line, because the women here do not hesitate to have sex whenever they desire.”

“That’s what I was thinking. Get them settled before they get restless, and into trouble.” As she shifted, the rice paper crackled, echoed by thunder rolling away over the water. “Miravia hasn’t such freedom.”

“You must accept that you cannot change certain things, Mistress, and bend your energy to those you can affect.”

MAI ROSE WITH dawn’s bell, after sleeping with the canvas walls rolled halfway up to admit some breeze into the inner chambers which would otherwise become stifling. The breath of morning had a special beauty, the sun rising over the flat waters and the Spires glinting as light sparked on ice-clad peaks. The clouds had vanished, although there was a constant, streaming mist above the peaks and a smear of pink-tinged white along the eastern horizon. The air was for the moment moist and cool. Sheep and goats grazed beyond the berm under the watchful eye of young shepherds, the children of women brave—or desperate—enough to travel to this barren reach to attempt a new life under the suzerainty of outlanders.