I didn’t want to be consumed.
And I knew that Xander could absolutely have that kind of effect on me.
Zalira let out a short laugh. “I know exactly what you mean.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“That makes two of us,” she said with a sigh. “I keep thinking about what Ahyana said. That the temple guards are dead and so there’s not anyone to punish us any longer. But that’s not the reason that I’ve held back. It’s because I made that promise to the goddess herself and I can’t go back on my word.”
That felt like a thunderclap inside my chest. I certainly hadn’t wanted to get buried alive, but that was never the main reason why I had refrained—I had to keep my vows so that the goddess would help me restore Locris.
When I didn’t say anything, Zalira put her arm around my shoulders. “I’m sorry this is so hard for you.”
“And I’m sorry this is so hard for you,” I said. “It feels wrong to be worried about my relationship with him when so many terrible things are happening.”
“Terrible things are always happening, Lia. In times like this, we need to hold on to the things that bring us joy. The things that make life worth living. We should laugh when we can, love when we can. That’s a very human thing to do. Feeling that way doesn’t mean you’re wrong.”
We entered the gymnasium and my gaze darted over to the dais where I had fought Lysimache before I captured her. The wood was still stained with her blood.
Zalira walked into the center of the room and I ignored the shiver that passed through me. It was eerie being back here. This room had once teemed with women training and sparring, and now it was just us, trying to see if we could control magic. We came over to stand in front of her in a semicircle.
“You’ll be struck with a surge of power,” Ahyana told her older sister. “It feels like burning and freezing at the same time. It will drain you almost instantly and that’s when you pass out. Try to hold on for as long as you can.”
What if Zalira was like me and couldn’t do magic? Would she be disappointed? I knew that I was.
Zalira nodded. She shook her hands and jumped in place three times, like she was preparing to start fighting. She let out a deep breath and then said, “Dea Maimaktes.”
A booming clap of thunder shook the entire building and then rain started pouring down hard, like tiny missiles striking the roof. Zalira held on. Ahyana and Io had collapsed by now, but Zalira was toughing it out. Wind shrieked all around us and lightning flashed outside, so big and bright that it turned the sky purple.
She let out a groan of pain and dropped to her knees. “It ... hurts.”
It hurt to do magic? No one else had said that. Maybe because they had passed out before this point.
Zalira lifted her head and I gasped. “Your eyes are green!”
“Why are you all surrounded in white light?” she asked right before she collapsed to the ground.
The storm dissipated immediately, as if it had never been.
We all stood there in shock. Zalira’s magic had been so powerful and had lasted for longer than anyone else’s. “None of us were watching when Ahyana and Io did magic. Do you think your eyes changed colors, too?” I asked.
“We can find out,” Ahyana said.
Before I could tell her not to, she said “Dea Karpophoroi,” and a group of leather-winged creatures flew in through one of the upper windows and landed in the rafters.
She made sure to look at us, and her eyes were indeed the same shade of emerald green that I’d seen on Zalira.
“What are those?” I asked, pointing up.
“Bats,” Ahyana said through clenched teeth as she dropped to her knees. “I thought about what animal I wanted to come and they did. Zalira’s right. This hurts.”
“Do you see lights around me and Suri?” I asked.
“Yes.” She breathed the word out and then fell next to her sister.
Suri and I exchanged glances. How were we going to get them both back to the palace? We didn’t have the room. She raised one eyebrow at me as if to ask—Now what?
“We’re going to need a bigger cart,” I said.
