At long last, dusk of the third day of her fast arrived, and Acolyte Endaria came for her with a tray of broth and an onion roll sprinkled with poppy seeds. Leela’s stomach roared at the scent of it.

“Eat slowly,” Acolyte Endaria said as Leela gripped the bowl in trembling hands and slurped the broth. “It will be hard on your stomach after so many days.”

Leela was so famished she thought she could eat an entire wedding feast, but she found she could only nibble on the bread once she’d finished the broth.

“Come,” Acolyte Endaria said, standing. “I will show you to your bed.”

Leela followed obediently, and had to shield her eyes at the light of the setting sun when they emerged from the temple—she had become too accustomed to the dimness of the chamber of penitence. The Moon Gardens were so radiant that Leela felt tears prick the corners of her eyes. They passed Aila’s statue, her laughing face turned upward toward the stars, and Leela wanted to throw her arms around the moonstone and cry with joy that she was finally outside again. The rich smells of grass and earth and flowers filled her nose. She felt so light she could fly.

Acolyte Endaria led her to where the novices’ dormitory was, taking her down the steps to the large circular room beneath the temple. She had come here once before with Elorin, and she saw the novice’s bed now, her nightstand laid with a golden comb and stargem ring. The vase, which had previously contained a moonflower, now held a pale blue rose. But Acolyte Endaria directed her to the opposite side of the room.

“This is where you will sleep,” she said. A novice robe was folded neatly at the end of her new bed. “You may bathe in the Estuary this evening if you wish. Tomorrow you must begin your work cleaning the temple.”

Leela picked up the robe with hesitant fingers. “M-may I see my mothers?” she stammered. “I did not get to say goodbye to them.”

Acolyte Endaria hesitated. “I do not think that is allowed.”

A solitary tear spilled down her cheek and Leela brushed it away. “All right,” she said. She had to be strong now. She was no longer a child and her mothers could not help her.

But she missed them terribly anyway.

Acolyte Endaria’s face was creased with pity. She was the youngest of the three acolytes, with a heart-shaped face and very long eyelashes. “But of course, this was all so sudden. I am sure it would be all right for you to see them this evening once you’ve bathed. But very briefly. You must return to the temple by the hour of the owl and no later.”

Leela nodded, her heart lifting. “I will, Acolyte,” she promised. “Thank you.”