The Cerulean (The Cerulean Duology #1) - Amy Ewing Page 0,79

it in her eyes, the cogs and gears of her brain working furiously. She knew what this tether thing was. Did she know where the girl was from? Did she know how her blood healed him, or why he could suddenly understand her?

Leo wanted answers. Whatever Agnes knew, he wanted to know too. Even if it meant going against his father. Even if it meant losing his place in the business.

As the men continued to pass him around, patting his father on the back and speculating wildly about how else they might use Sera’s blood, Leo found his thoughts taking a path they had never ventured down before, new and unfamiliar, but one that felt right.

For the first time in his life, he wanted to talk to his sister.

Part Four

The City Above the Sky

23

LEELA HAD ALWAYS KNOWN HER BEST FRIEND WAS brave—far braver than Leela herself could ever be.

But when Sera turned so calmly and stepped out past the barrier of safety, blood streaming down her arms, her body willowy in stillness, Leela was hit with the enormity of what she had been chosen to do.

And then she watched helplessly as Sera spread her arms and fell from the dais. In the span of a heartbeat, she was gone.

Leela could not bring herself to stay, to witness Sera’s mothers’ agony or hear words of comfort from the High Priestess. She only wanted to be alone with her grief. Her mothers did not try to stop her as she slipped away back home.

Her dwelling felt like a stranger, a different place than it had this morning when Sera was still alive and the world made sense. She sat in her bedroom, as still as one of the statues in the Moon Gardens, until she heard the Cerulean returning to their dwellings, catching bits of conversation as they passed her window. Most were hopeful. Some were excited. A few were somber. Leela could feel Sera becoming less and less of a person with each passing hour. She was a martyr, an idol, a story to be told.

“She was so pious,” Leela heard one woman say.

“She was a great asset to our City,” another murmured.

“Mother Sun saw much in her.”

“She will be praised in everlasting grace once we reach a new planet.”

Leela could not stand it. She did not know this person they were speaking of. Sera had been bold and curious and silly. It had been her dream to see a new planet, one she had been teased about or hushed for expressing out loud. And she was the one missing it. It wasn’t fair.

That night was the longest of Leela’s life. When the gray light of morning crept into her room, she roused herself, sat up, and tied her hair back. She had to know if they were moving yet. She had to learn as much as she could, about space, about everything they passed on the way to the new planet, about the journey ahead. She had to know for Sera.

But when Durea, one of the beekeepers, stopped by the dwelling to deliver the day’s honey, Leela could sense instantly that something was wrong.

“We are still attached,” Durea said softly to her green mother. “The High Priestess has not been seen since last night.”

Her mothers looked worried, but not for the reason Leela did. If the City was not moving, did that mean that Sera had sacrificed herself for nothing?

She accompanied her purple mother to the Aviary to collect eggs, and Ileen, one of the midwives, stopped them on the way.

“The tether has not broken,” she said. “I heard the High Priestess has sequestered herself in the temple.”

Her purple mother glanced at Leela, then said, “I am sure all will be well. We must trust in the High Priestess and in Mother Sun.”

Leela felt an unfamiliar jerk of irritation. Once Ileen had gone, she snapped, “You do not have to say those things for my sake.”

Her tone was sharp as nettles, and her purple mother looked hurt. Leela knew she was being unfair, but she could not bring herself to apologize.

By the hour of the dove, the novices were spreading throughout the City.

“Do not fear,” they said. “The High Priestess is seeking guidance. All will be well. Stay in your homes. Do not go out. Pray. Pray for our City.”

Her orange mother gathered the family in the common room. And they prayed, until almost the hour of the serpent, when Leela felt like she would burst if she had to