Night Spinner (Night Spinner #1) - Addie Thorley Page 0,14

and Earth. Now only a few remain on lonely, ill-traveled roads.

I rifle through my satchel until I find an old, faded green scarf. It’s not the traditional cobalt pennant of the Lady of the Sky, but it’s better than nothing. With my head bowed in reverence, I venture forward and tie my scarf to a stick midway up the cairn.

“Ghoa would kill you if she caught you paying tribute to that thing,” Serik says, rumbling up with the cart.

Ghoa would also kill me if she knew there was a prayer doll hidden in the bottom of my satchel and that I still write in my Book of Whisperings. But I see no reason to bend to the king’s New Order. Even before my imprisonment, I struggled to accept his religious declarations.

“Why?” I asked constantly during our early days together, when Ghoa was grooming me to follow in her footsteps. “Don’t you find it slightly convenient that he denounced the First Gods and named himself ‘King of the Sky’ when the people were questioning his reign because he was the first ruler in the history of Ashkar without a Kalima power?”

“Do not speak such heresy!” she scolded. “You’re from the outskirts of the Unified Empire, where it took longer to eradicate old false customs and beliefs. Here in Sagaan, we witnessed his saving grace firsthand. When the First Gods turned their backs on us and allowed the land to be stricken with drought, the Sky King spared us all from certain death by marching to the marshlands of Namaag, convincing them to become the first Protected Territory, and building aqueducts to Sagaan. And he’s brought your people, and so many others, into the fold of the empire, offering protection from Zemya. Only a god on Earth could accomplish so much, yet still no Kalima power came. It’s proof the First Gods are dead.”

I nodded because I knew that’s what she wanted, but it didn’t make sense. When Zemya gave her power to her children, Ashkar was forced to do the same, to protect them from his spiteful sister. Though he was far more prudent. He designated one member from each clan, who had proven themselves true of heart, to serve as a protector, and together they formed the first Kalima warriors. “So then where do our Kalima powers come from, if not from Ashkar?”

“Our gifts have lived within us from the beginning, so we could protect the people. We are not blessed by the gods; we are the gods. As is anyone who has been called to serve our great empire—like the Sky King.”

While I can see the appeal of proclaiming myself a god, I can’t believe it. Not when I feel the Lady of the Sky pulsing through my veins each night. Or hear the ghost of my mother’s voice singing praises to Father Guzan. Or see the flash of golden earrings crawling up my father’s ears. I cannot turn my back on the First Gods of my ancestors. On my parents’ memory.

I lean back on my heels and stare up at the towering shrine. It’s almost pretty in its disarray, with the offerings scattered about at random: a waterfall of scarves, cascading from top to bottom; tiny vorkhi cups painted with suns and moons and stars; and thousands of coins, some old and tarnished with time—bronze listras from Verdenet and heavy square happas from Namaag. As well as golden kahan coins—the common currency adopted across the Unified Empire. I trail a finger over the king’s stamped profile and smile. These new coins are proof that there are still a few remaining believers, like me, who pay tribute to the Lady of the Sky.

I don’t realize how deeply I’ve fallen under the mound’s spell until Serik pokes me in the back. “Done yet?”

I turn and find him picking the dirt under his nails. This sacred monument might as well be a pile of horse manure, for all the respect he’s paying it. Serik and I shared almost everything growing up, but never this. “Don’t you ever wish you had something to believe in?”

He snorts, and then outright laughs. “Nope. I don’t wish to waste my life recording the sins of others and kissing the feet of a vain king. Nor do I care to worship the First Gods, who overlooked and abandoned me. I believe in making my own destiny.”

“Well, since you’re not interested in participating, would you mind grabbing the vorkhi? It’s tucked in the outside pocket of my