“Minverna,” Lissa said. “Her name is Minverna.”
“Oh, right.” Nadiah nodded. “You know, I haven’t seen her around lately. Is she still sulking in her new quarters?”
“You mean the novice quarters?” Lissa allowed herself the ghost of a smile and Nadiah was sure she hadn’t been fond of the overbearing ex-high priestess either. “Yes, she’s been keeping the door shut and only coming out late at night when no one’s around.”
“That has to stop,” Nadiah said frowning. “She’s had long enough to lick her wounds and I don’t like the idea of her sneaking around the temple at night when no one else is up and around to keep an eye on her.” The old high priestess had been power hungry in the extreme and Nadiah wouldn’t put it past her to try some kind of sabotage in order to get revenge on herself and Rast for her new, lowly position.
“I will look in on her this very night,” Lissa promised dutifully. “Forgive me for not doing so before. It is…difficult to assert my authority over one who has always been so much more powerful than me.”
“Of course it is,” Nadiah said comfortingly. “If you want, I’ll have Rast go with you. Old Minverna won’t dare to mess with him—not after what happened last time she tried.”
Lissa smiled again, a little broader this time. “Thank you, my L…Nadiah, but I think I can handle it. Without her Goddess-given power she is just an old woman. An angry and unhappy one, but just an old woman all the same.”
“All right then.” Nadiah smiled at her. “I’m so glad we had this talk. I’ve felt from the first moment I saw you that we would be friends if we could just get to know each other.”
“Friends?” Lissa’s jade green eyes went round with surprise. “The Lysell would think of me as a friend?”
“Of course I would.” Nadiah laughed. “Don’t look so surprised. You’re sweet and earnest and loyal and kind—of course I want you for a friend.” She grew suddenly shy. “But…I’m not sure. If you don’t feel the same way…”
“Of course I do!” Lissa grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. “I’ve felt so alone since I came here,” she said in a quiet, intense voice. “So cut off from everyone else, even the other priestesses, because I couldn’t tell anyone my secret. But with you…now you know. And…and you truly don’t hate me for it?”
“Of course not.” Nadiah laughed. “Not a bit. And Lissa,” she said, growing more serious. “I think you should forgive yourself for your feelings. They may seem unnatural to you, but I promise you that most of the people in the universe would think differently.” She sighed. “Of course, I know we all have our own hang-ups—”
“Hang-ups?” Lissa frowned.
“Oh, it’s an Earth word I got from my good friend Sophie,” Nadiah explained. “It means we all have certain things that bother us, that we get caught or hung up on and can’t get past. But—”
“My Lady? My Lady!” One of the few male temple guards suddenly rushed into the library, his face red from exertion. “Oh, my Lady,” he gasped, nodding at Nadiah. “My Lord the Challa thought I might find you here.”
Nadiah was instantly on the alert. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“A…a ship has been found,” the guard explained, still gasping a little for breath. “It crash landed in the desert outside the holy mountain.”
“What kind of ship?” Nadiah went suddenly cold. “Does it belong to one of the Hoard?” The Hoard were an ancient Kindred enemy which had recently resurfaced and now threatened everything her people held dear.
“No, my Lady.” The guard shook his head. “The ship is not of that cursed origin. It is the occupant which must concern you. He was badly injured in the crash. But he keeps calling…”
“Calling what?” Nadiah asked impatiently, when he didn’t finish his sentence. “Calling for who?”
“Calling for you, my Lady.” The temple guard looked grave. “He has been calling with his dying breath for you.”
Nadiah rushed down to the lower levels of the holy mountain with the winded guard leading the way as fast as he could. The infirmary was located not far from the temple kitchens where the special memory bread was baked and she got there less than ten minutes after the guard had come for her.
The first thing she saw upon opening the heavy stone door was her new husband, Rast, leaning over a cot containing a limp figure. She tried to see who it was but Rast’s broad shoulders blocked her way even though his wings were currently furled tight and folded against his body.