Page 28 of A Vow of Embers

Ahyana handed me the necklace. I set down my dress and took it from her. I ran my fingers over the bumps and ridges. There hadto be an ulterior motive here. I wouldn’t be swayed by it. He couldn’t buy me off.

He already has,that annoying inner voice of mine whispered.

Suri held out her hand and I passed the pearls over to her. She also rubbed her thumbs across their surface and gave me a smile of approval.

“Why black pearls?” Io asked, and I didn’t know how to respond. “Does that mean something to you?”

I didn’t want to lie to her, nor did I want her to extol her brother’s virtues, so I just stayed quiet.

“They’re beautiful,” Zalira said as Suri handed them to her.

“Your brother is very generous,” Ahyana said to Io, and she preened under the compliment.

“It was part of our arrangement,” I reminded them. This seemed to deflate Io a little bit, which made me feel bad. “But it was kind of him.”

I hated making that concession. I reminded myself that it was for Io’s sake and that she and I were trying to rebuild.

And that we were running out of time to do so.

Zalira opened a small wooden box and pulled out a shiny ring. “This must be your wedding ring.”

Rings were typically exchanged before the ceremony, usually when the betrothal was signed. They were symbolic of the never-ending commitment that two people were about to make.

They were also usually made of silver or gold.

But when Zalira gave me the ring, I realized that it had been made from Chalcidian steel. The same material as my xiphos.

While prized for weapons, it was essentially worthless as jewelry. Another insult.

There was a key pattern engraved on the surface—continuous lines that created a repeated mazelike design. I knew that many people had it on their wedding rings, as it symbolized unbreakable bonds and eternal commitment, but it reminded me uncomfortably of the labyrinth.

“That’s pretty,” Ahyana said encouragingly. She must have noticed my expression.

“Steel symbolizes strength and permanence. And it’s usually forged for battle, so it seems appropriate,” Io said. I knew that she was trying to be helpful. I handed the ring back to Zalira and she returned it to the box. I would put it on only when I absolutely had to.

We opened up the rest of the things the prince had sent over. Most of it was to help me get ready for the wedding, the clothing he wanted me to wear, the jewelry I was supposed to adorn myself with, the special sandals he had commissioned.

“When do I start getting ready?” I asked. I had no idea how much time this would take.

Io said, “My brother has a house nearby and it was decided that you’re going to get ready there.”

“I know the place,” I said, trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice. I wondered who had decided it. Theano? Alexandros?

“Yes. You were just there. Maia said Theano doesn’t want you getting dressed here because she doesn’t want a wedding processional from the temple grounds.”

That answered my question and it also made sense. It might give people in the neighborhood the wrong idea about the priestesses. Even though they had gotten married long ago, I seemed to be the only person who knew that fact. I again wondered what had happened to the book that I had stolen from the administration building, the one the prince had helped me obtain. He had sworn on his life, and mine, that he hadn’t taken it from me. But that was before I’d discovered what a liar he was, so it was possible he had stolen it.

When I had accused him of the theft originally, he’d asked me why he would have taken it, and that was still a valid question. There was no reason to do so. If he had stolen it, wouldn’t he have brought it up in his meeting with Theano? She had said there was no precedent for an acolyte marrying and he could have pulled the book out to prove that wasn’t true because there was a list of priestesses who had married, the names of their grooms, and the dowry the temple had provided.

No, Prince Alexandros didn’t have it.

So there was possibly one thing he hadn’t lied about.

Io was still talking and I forced myself to pay attention to her. “We will take everything over to the house. But first you must pay a visit to the goddess.”

“What do you mean?”

“It is customary for brides to sacrifice something to the goddess before they are wed. They typically do it at their family altar, but since you don’t have one—”