The Alcazar (The Cerulean Duology #2) - Amy Ewing Page 0,32

the second smallest candle and a bright green flame began to burn. “So that she may take full responsibility for her actions.”

Acolyte Klymthe fixed her wide-set eyes on Leela. “She must clean the temple until the floors shine and the doors gleam and every last inch is spotless,” she said. “To prove the value of hard work and her commitment to this City.”

She touched the second tallest candle and a red flame appeared.

At last, the High Priestess moved forward. She towered over her acolytes and Leela felt a strange chill emanating from her, and her own heart went silent in her chest. She knew this was the penance that would mean the most, and be the most difficult to bear. The entire sanctum seemed to be holding its breath.

“She will relinquish her right to find her purpose in this City,” the High Priestess said, “and join the novices to live a life in service of Mother Sun. For only in devotion will she truly be able to atone for her wrongs.”

The gasps and shocked mutterings from the congregation filled the sanctum as Leela felt all the air seep out of her lungs. The room seemed to spin—she dimly noticed Acolyte Endaria’s eyes flicker to the High Priestess as if she too was surprised by this pronouncement. The High Priestess touched the tallest candle and the flame burned black.

“And so the conclave has ended,” she said. Just like that, the High Priestess had taken away her right to find her purpose, to ever become part of a triad, to choose her own fate as a Cerulean. She had taken away her home and her room, her mothers and her freedom, all in one fell swoop.

She caught sight of Koreen in the crowd, the prettiest Cerulean of Leela’s age, sitting beside Atana, another of Leela’s old friends. The two of them were whispering together, and Leela felt certain Koreen was enjoying this. She was the sort of girl who loved gossip.

She could not bear to look at her mothers. If she did, she would burst into tears. She would not give the High Priestess the satisfaction.

“It may seem as though we are requiring too much of her,” the High Priestess was saying. “But this was no small violation, my children. Imagine if there are no pregnancies because of what she has done? The sacred circle exists to protect our beloved purple mothers and ensure fertility. How will we feel as a community if that has been threatened by one Cerulean’s rash decision?”

Leela felt a shocking clarity flood her veins like ice—of course this was why the High Priestess was punishing her so. If Mother Sun was no longer deciding the chosen one, or the wedding season, or the birthing season, then things could go wrong, as they had with Sera’s sacrifice. And so if no purple mother were to become pregnant, the High Priestess would have a ready-made scapegoat right at her fingertips.

Leela cursed herself for her stupidity. She was not seeing clearly enough, only looking at what was right in front of her. The High Priestess had been lying to the City for who knew how long—she must have prepared for a time such as this. How many Cerulean were being kept beneath the City? Leela guessed at least a hundred. Her eyes flickered to the Altar of the Lost as a new thought occurred to her.

The Great Sadness. The High Priestess was the sole remaining survivor of that tragedy left. Her account was the only one that existed. What if she had lied about that too?

Leela realized with a start that the temple had gone quiet. Acolyte Endaria gave her a tiny nudge and Leela stepped forward. It was time for her to apologize for her actions.

She wasn’t sorry, not one bit, but she had learned to lie over the past weeks since Sera had fallen, and now she was grateful for that horrible skill. She caught sight of Elorin, standing with the other novices along the walls, her eyes wide, her hands clutching the front of her robe. Leela gave her the faintest hint of a smile. At least the High Priestess did not know how close they had become, or what Leela had confided in her. At least she had assigned Leela to the one place where she had a friend.

“I ask forgiveness,” Leela began, “for the wrong I have done this City . . .”

10

SHE WAS COMMANDED TO STAY IN THE CHAMBER OF PENITENCE until the end