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accompanied by a vision. Do not be alarmed, as these visions are often powerful and can evoke great
emotional response.
Talon took a deep breath. Lyris had warned her of this. Ithyrian priestesses were the only ones allowed
to drink from a cup blessed by the Goddess in order to more fully experience Her presence and hear Her
voice. Talon secretly figured it had to be some sort of potent wine or drug in the cup that induced
hallucinations and other such seemingly mystical experiences. Still, Lyris had seemed very excited about
it, and so she watched curiously as her sister took the cup from the high priestess and drank.
To Talon s shock, the silver goblet fell from Lyris s hands and hit the stone floor with a metallic crash,
spilling its contents. Talon tensed as her sister s head was suddenly thrown back, her arms out to the
sides, and instinctively her hand went to the hilt of her sword. But the high priestess held up her hands to
soothe the startled onlookers. Apparently this phenomenon was expected. Talon kept her fingers on her
sword, however. The smooth, solid feel of the hilt in her hand was oddly comforting, though it was
doubtful that the weapon would be of any use in defending Lyris from whatever it was that had come
over her.
Lyris s body convulsed involuntarily, her blank gaze fastened on the ceiling murals of the temple and her
arms outstretched. The Ithyrian priestesses began to sing a hymn together, and the high priestess picked
the goblet up from the floor, replacing it onto the tray so it could be carried away. She pulled a small
bottle of oil from her belt and used her forefinger to anoint first the feet of the statue, then Lyris s
forehead.
Talon saw a tear trickle down her sister s face and ground her teeth. Irrational as it was, she wanted
nothing more at that moment than to snatch Lyris up and run with her out of the temple, away from these
crazy women and their veils and oils and holy cups of radiant whatever-it-was. Only Shasta s soft touch
on her arm prevented her from acting on that impulse, and stubbornly she reminded herself that this was
what Lyris wanted and she wasn t in any real danger.
After several tense minutes, Lyris gave one final gasping jerk and collapsed onto the floor. One of the
veiled women brought a stool, and the high priestess helped the girl to sit as she recovered from the
intense experience. The high priestess used a gossamer scarf to dab at Lyris s forehead. What did you
see, Child?
I& Lyris s gaze flew to Talon, and Talon s lips parted at the look of awe on her sister s face. I saw
Ithyris.
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The Goddess herself? The high priestess s eyes widened. Are you sure?
Yes. She& she was beautiful. Her eyes glowed with light, and Her voice sounded like She was
singing.
The high priestess nodded slowly. Those who drink from the cup of purification are unable to lie. If you
say you saw Ithyris& She shook her head, her long golden earrings jingling. Child, you are truly
chosen by the Goddess. Very few of us have ever seen her directly in a vision. I myself have only seen
Her twice, and never have I heard of Ithyris appearing to a Pledged in her first vision. She gazed at Lyris
with an expression akin to reverence. Did she speak to you?
Still staring uncertainly at Talon, Lyris said, Yes.
What did she say?
Lyris gulped. I d rather not talk about it, Your Grace. Please& I can t.
The high priestess regarded her for a moment before acquiescing. The Goddess s words may have
been for your ears alone, Child. Whatever She told you, you must take it to heart, and ponder it
carefully. She would not have appeared to you this day if it were not important.
Talon watched her sister with concern. Something had happened that Lyris didn t want to talk about,
and if Talon wasn t mistaken, it had to do with her. Why else would Lyris have looked at her with such
uncharacteristic fright in her eyes?
The rest of the ceremony passed in a bit of a blur. Lyris read from a scroll and chanted several prayers,
then two of the priestesses helped to raise the hood on her white cloak, effectively hiding her face. When
it was over, everyone rushed forward to congratulate the newest member of the Pledged. Lyris seemed
distracted, though she smiled at the well-wishers and accepted the embraces of the priestesses with
respectful curtsies.
When they stepped out of the temple to return to the palace, Shasta and Bria both opened their parasols
and scurried across the muddy ground as quickly as possible, wanting to get out of the rain. Talon took
the opportunity to fall behind them with Lyris. She opened her sister s parasol and held it over both their
heads. Walk with me? she asked.
Yes, please. Lyris still seemed afraid and clung to Talon s waist as they picked their way across the
soggy lot.
Tell me, Talon said, pausing as Lyris hopped over a puddle and gathered the hem of her white cloak
over one arm to prevent getting it dirty.
Tell you what? Lyris asked, though Talon was sure her sister knew perfectly well what she meant.
Something happened in there. Something s scared you.
I just& the Goddess, she& Lyris looked up into Talon s face. Talon, you wouldn t ever betray King
Soltran, would you?
Talon s eyes widened. What? She stopped moving and stood for a moment as the sound of the rain
hitting the canvas of the parasol pattered above them.
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Lyris cleared her throat awkwardly. And you re not& um& you re not pregnant, right?
Talon choked back a laugh. Lyris, what are you talking about? What did she say to you?
You re going to think I m crazy. She began walking again, slowly, and Talon matched her pace.
Ithyris s words were vague. I couldn t make sense of much of it. But one thing I did understand clearly.
The Goddess told me that one day your child will rule Ithyria.
Talon gave a snort. Mychild? Lyris, I can assure you I am not pregnant, and I m not planning on having
children. That sort of requires& well, it requires factors that are very unlikely in my situation.
I know. Lyris squeezed Talon s arm gently. But I also know what Ithyris said. Your offspring will
take the throne one day. I don t see how it s possible, unless you&
Now Talon understood the reason for her sister s fear, and she stopped them again. I am not a traitor,
Lyris.
The younger girl sighed. Of course you re not. I can t even imagine you doing such a thing. But how
else& ?
It was just a vision. It might not mean anything. And this is the Goddess we re talking about. She s
notorious for speaking in riddles and confounding us poor mortals with her mysteries and so on. For all
we know, Talon s child will take the throne might have meant that I m going to eat pork the next time
the wind blows.
Lyris giggled and smacked Talon lightly on the shoulder. You are such a heretic. But she sobered
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