Page 119 of The Isles of the Gods
“Most of all, a part of me dreams of visiting the Isle of the Mother. I pointed out to the captain that all her children are said to be present in the Mother’s temple, so Barrica would keep us safe, but she’s havingnone of it. The stories say there’s a temple on the Isle of the Mother, built before all the others. I wish we could see it, learn who built it, learn whether they knew their gods more intimately than we do today.
“What must it have been like for those early worshippers and temple builders to visit the Isle where they say the gods were born?”
Keegan glances up, like we’re in a classroom and he’s waiting for us to catch up with him. But he loses patience in a heartbeat, lowering the book and looking to each of us in turn.
“Do you understand?” he asks.
“I don’t recognize that. Who wrote it?” Leander asks, his voice a whisper.
“It’s the most recent entry,” Keegan replies. “It must have been your father.”
“And you’re saying…” Leander’s words die out, desperate hope warring with the fear of being wrong on his expressiveface.
“I am saying that judging by this journal, your father was at least as reckless as you, Your Highness. Imagine suggesting visiting the Isle of the Mother herself. No wonder the captain refused.”
I could swear Keegan’s smiling.
“And I am also saying that if he’s right, we have one more card left to play. But only if we can live long enough to make it off this island.”
LASKIA
The Temple of Barrica
The Isles of the Gods
Jude stumbles out of Barrica’s temple, dragging in a long breath of the humid jungle air. “They got to the altar before they…beforethathappened,” he says, refusing to look at the dried-out bodies by my feet.
I’m leaning down to study the team I sent straight from Port Naranda, all of them dry as dust, while Dasriel explores the clearing.
They did their job and broke the altar, but they can’t tell me where the prince is, andthat’swhat I need. With a growl, I kick the nearest one in frustration—the bones fall apart inside the withered skin, but the clothes hold it all together. “Could you see any sign of where he went?”
Jude simply shakes his head, pressing his lips together as he swallows hard.
“The goddess, then. Do you think she’s out of action now?”
Jude spreads his hands helplessly. “Not a priest, Laskia.”
“Sure, but she didn’t strike you down like she struck them down,” I reply, and he shoots me a sharp look. I guess that’s him figuring out why I senthimin to check on the altar, instead of braving the temple myself.
Perhaps the goddess is out of action—or he prayed while he was in there, to keep himself safe. I’d much rather we were on the Isle of Macean, whereIcould pray.
I want to tell my god what we’ve done—that the Sentinel, who’s watched over him all these centuries, will lose her strength now, will loosen his bonds. I want to tell himI’vedone it. That I, Laskia, was the one brave enough, strong enough, to do what he’s needed all these years.
I want to promise him I’ll find the prince next, and I’ll wipe out everything that stands between him and his return, but I daren’t reach out to him—not here. If any part of Barrica is still present, a prayer to her brother must be the surest way to draw her attention.
“Any sign the prince has been inside?” I ask, grinding my teeth, casting about for something,anything.I can’t go back to Ruby and Sister Beris with anI don’t know.
Jude hesitates just a bit too long for my comfort before he shakes his head. “No way to know.”
“Well, he’s somewhere,” Dasriel says, without looking up. The sailors stayed behind on the boat, and it’s just the three of us up here, Dasriel roaming the edges of the clearing like some great hunting beast searching for a scent.
My anger bubbles up, bursting past the barriers that try to keep it in place. “How can they not be here?” I snap. “We followed the only path up from the cove. From their boat! It’s the only way for them to get back to it, isn’t it?”
“Should we…” Jude’s voice trails off, and when I glance across, he’s looking at the dead bodies.
“Should we what?” I grind out.
“I don’t know. Bury them?”
