“Rise, Fox,” Empress Alyx said, as gentle as she had just been harsh. “If you had not been by my daughter’s side all this time, I would have had reason to suspect you. But you have comported yourself with the loyalty and diligence I would wish for from my most trusted generals. You saved Hestia’s life, even while she fought for the end of yours.”

“I could have brought in my sister. I had the chance.”

“He is a good man, this Lord Fox,” Lord Garindor murmured beside me. “Guilt feels heavier on good men’s shoulders.”

“Ridiculous,” the princess argued. “Tea was surrounded by daeva. You could not have dragged her, kicking and screaming, back to Kion, whatever you might claim.”

“You saved my life,” Empress Alyx reminded him, “and my daughter’s. I am only sorry that you cannot protect Tea like you do us.”

“She made her bed, built it with nails and needles. Now she must lie in it.” Lord Fox rose to his feet, his expression resolute. “There is still the matter of the oracle, Your Majesty.”

“What of the oracle?”

“Her temple has been destroyed. There is no sign of her body among the wreckage, nor of any of her attendants. I am heading there now to investigate further.”

“For what?”

“For Tea.” There was a leanness to him, eyes narrowing and jaws shifting into an expression I recognized whenever he thought about his sister or when he believed her near. “I felt her. Briefly. I felt her satisfaction when you dressed down the elder asha. She is somewhere in the city. And I intend to find her.”

I didn’t wait. I spun away from the window and dashed downstairs, shouting half-sentences to Lord Garindor about my intentions, stopping only to snatch the letters I had set aside for Lady Altaecia to read.

The bone witch may have abandoned me, but I knew my duty.

7

The temple of the oracle stood out like an overgrown weed amid the lush greens and roses of traditional Kion aesthetics, but it was all the more remarkable for it. There was an honesty and earnestness about that domed shrine—unlike the asha-ka, which was arrayed on all sides. It made no attempt to impress with its simple, white walls and modest greenery. The only feature of note was the bell that hung over its main doors for visitors to ring, announcing their entry.

I was here alone, as was the custom. Fox and Kalen had gone to Knightscross. That my family was in Ankyo and not in our village brought me selfish relief, but the thought of another blight assault was worrying. I had promised to contact Fox as soon as I was done. Communing with the oracle was a private affair, not to be shared even among the closest of siblings.