Leela felt a warm smile spread across her face at the same time there was a pinch of irritation in her stomach. She wished she did not need Klymthe’s help, that she could do this all on her own. “I will find a place for her this evening,” she said, gazing down at the unconscious Cerulean. “Her magic will feed the tether and keep the City strong. Like all the rest of them. They are saving this City and I know they would agree with me if they were to know the truth.”

“But you fear they would not understand?”

“I know they would not. They were not there, Klymthe, nor were you. If you had seen it, the violence, the carnage . . .” Leela shuddered. “You would do as I have done, I am certain of it. All I have ever wanted is to protect this City. It is my one mission, my only purpose. It requires great sacrifice. But it must be done.”

Acolyte Klymthe bowed.

“Now,” Leela said, straightening. “Let us go and announce to the City that she has died.”

The vision spun and swirled and Leela felt her stomach lurch and for a moment she thought she might be sick. Then everything righted itself and she was beneath the City, among the Sky Gardens. It seemed to Leela that they were not quite as withered as they were now—and the frosted vines were much heavier with fruit.

She was kneeling on the cold ground, pushing at Estelle’s shoulders as her legs slid into an open stalactite. The young Cerulean’s eyes fluttered and for a second, Leela’s heart froze in her chest. But then she stilled and Leela exhaled and pushed the rest of her into the long cone of sunglass. It was filled with a viscous liquid that would help sustain her, suspending her in the sunglass. A fruit fell from the vines and she dropped it into the thick water. Then she passed one hand in a clockwise circle over the opening.

“For devotion,” she said. She passed her other hand counterclockwise. “For wisdom.” Finally, she passed both hands in a long line down the center of the circle. “For love. May your blood protect this City and keep it safe and whole for all time.”

Icy fingers spread across the circle like spiderwebs until the surface was completely covered and Estelle was a mere blur beneath it. Then Leela pressed a palm against it and markings appeared, writing Estelle’s name.

“So I shall never forget,” she murmured. She gazed out over all the circles, each one etched with a name, each Cerulean donating the power of her blood to keeping the tether healthy, to keeping the City alive. She knew every one of them, their vibrancy, their magic. She was doing the right thing, she knew it deep in her bones. Her faith was being tested, but it had been tested before.