They were about thirty feet away from the birthing houses when her purple mother stopped. Leela could not see their small domes through the trees but she could faintly hear voices and occasional laughter. “This is as far as you can go, my love,” her purple mother said, gesturing to the ground. White and blue pebbles were scattered to form a line that stretched out in both directions. Leela had not seen this yesterday when she had come to see Kandra and tell her about the moonstone necklace she had given to Sera and how she had heard Sera’s voice coming from Aila’s statue. Kandra had not wanted her to go beneath the City, thinking it too dangerous. And she had warned Leela to stay away from the birthing houses and not do anything foolish. And now Leela was back again to see her. But she had to. Kandra needed to know.

“The birthing houses are all filled now,” her purple mother said. “Lyron Sunbringer arrived this morning, and she is the last one. There will not be another Cerulean blessed to have a child until one of the waiting mothers becomes pregnant. Then she will leave the houses to make room for a new purple mother, returning to her own dwelling until her time draws close. She will only come back to these houses to give birth.”

Leela felt a tug of selfish joy that Kandra would be allowed to leave at some point, followed by a pang of sadness that it would come at the cost of bearing another child so soon after losing Sera.

But she has not lost Sera, Leela thought fiercely. And I will find a way to tell her that.

“You will wait here for me,” her purple mother said, and Leela nodded. But as soon as her mother was out of sight through the trees, Leela began to follow the line of stones. Even if she had not been so familiar with this part of the forest already, the voices that grew louder were a beacon calling to her. Finally she stopped. She could not see the houses but she knew where she needed to go. And she would not be afraid of breaking the rules anymore. If the High Priestess could lie, and sacrifice Sera, and trap Cerulean in stalactites, then surely Mother Sun would forgive Leela for this infraction.

She took a breath and stepped over the line. When nothing happened except a sparrow singing loudly in a nearby birch, Leela let out a light-headed giggle. She was not sure what she had expected—a lightning bolt, perhaps, or a sun flare? She marched forward, feeling braver than she ever had, or maybe simply accepting her bravery in a way she hadn’t before.

But being brave did not mean being rash, and she slowed her pace when the first domed house came into view, flitting from tree to tree to stay hidden.