“You don’t know that. What if it is? And what if we made the mistake of leaving it behind and got kicked out of this room and couldn’t go back and get it?”
“If you’d actually been paying attention, you would see that this is the fourth room and everything has been about fives. Of course there’s going to be a fifth room, and that’s where the actual greatest weapon will be!” I shouted back.
“The bird automaton is representative of the life the goddess created. This must be her most prized possession,” Ahyana said.
“That’s not what the sign says,” Io told her. “It’s her greatest treasure, not her most prized possession.”
“How do we know that? We’re just supposed to take your word for it?” Ahyana retorted.
“You wouldn’t have to if you knew how to read!” Io yelled.
“It’s the eye of the goddess and I’m putting it on the altar and taking it with us,” I told them.
Zalira again got in my way. “Why do you think you get to make all the decisions?”
“Because I’m your queen. Move aside!”
She pointed the golden sword at me. “Stop telling us what to do!”
The four of us started yelling at each other and reaching for our own weapons. None of them were going to order me around when I so clearly had the eye of the goddess and—
“Stop!”
We all turned to see Suri staring at us, her chest heaving.
“Stop,” she repeated.
Chapter Forty
Suri’s voice was unfamiliar, raspy.
But the shock of her speaking was enough to get us to stop arguing.
“This is a trap by the goddess of discord,” she said. “There’s something on those objects you’ve picked up that is making you fight each other. The longer you hold on to them, the worse it will get.”
“How do you know that?” Io asked.
“We need to leave this room before those feelings start up again,” Suri said, ignoring Io’s question. It was so strange to see her mouth moving and words coming out. “You didn’t pick the right one, either.”
She went over to the table and grabbed a sheaf of barley. I hadn’t even noticed it. Suri walked across the room to the altar. “This is the goddess’s greatest treasure.”
I was about to tell her to stop when she dropped the barley onto the altar. The top of the altar slid open to accept the offering and closed again.
Oh no. My heart beat uncontrollably. Had she picked the wrong one and now we were going to be trapped here forever?
Or were we going to have to fight our way out of this room?
What would the goddess of discord send to kill us?
But the door appeared, indicating that we had passed.
The gem in my hand turned to dust, and I looked up to see the same thing happening with the items my sisters were holding.
“Out now,” Suri commanded.
I shook the dust from my hand and did as she said. I was too surprised by her talking to do anything else but obey.
Once we were all in the hallway, Suri closed the door and we heard it lock. She took her tunic from her pack and used it to wipe the dust off our hands.
