By the time Zanos got home from the temple, he could do nothing but fall into bed and sleep.  For some time he slept the dreamless sleep of exhaustion, but eventually his soul retreated into his favorite dream - the dream that had sustained him through all the years of his captivity.

He stood on the deck of a northbound ship, staring at the waters ahead as the blue sky slowly turned to a familiar iron gray.  The air grew cool and crisp, and green islands appeared on the horizon, snow-capped mountains rising to greet him and his friends.

Above them, white birds with black-tipped wings circled the ship, and he pointed them out to Astra as she came up to him and lovingly slipped her arm around -

NO!  Suddenly he was sitting up in bed, surrounded by darkness, hearing nothing but his own rapid breathing.  "By Mawort - !" he swore, but broke off.  He didn't really believe in the gods, not even the warrior god to whom his life was dedicated.

Serafon is right, he thought.  Why am I dreaming of a Reader in such terms?

He didn't know, as he sat sweating in the darkness, which Astra terrified him more: the Reader who might discover his secret... or the woman who had in two brief encounters impressed him as no other woman ever had.  Against his will, her face appeared in his mind, mature yet childlike, with beautiful features that reminded him of one of the temple statues.  When she had smiled at him after the earthquake-  He wanted to see that smile again.

And I will, he told himself.  She is part of my destiny.  He had not slept long enough to recover his strength, and drowsiness began to overtake him again.  But before he yielded, one last thought warned, That destiny may be my destruction.


In the Academy the next day, Astra also struggled with a sense of impending danger.  She had agreed to meet Tressa out of body.

Why? she demanded of herself, thoughts carefully shielded.  Why did I trust her?  She's no friend - never has been.  I've often wished she could be, since it would have been safe....

Had Astra and Tressa been friends, they would not have had to fear separation.  Readers who failed to reach the top ranks were married off to other failed Readers, to produce children with stronger talents, in service to the empire.  Consummating such marriages weakened those Readers' meager powers, and birthing children sometimes destroyed a mother's powers entirely.  In all cases, she lost contact with the girls she had grown up with.

Astra remembered the sad day when her friend Helena was wed to Tranos, a total stranger.  She was there at her friend's request, as the bride's attendant.  Just before the ceremony, the two young Readers had stolen a few minutes by themselves.  Helena had cried in Astra's arms, for the badge of the Dark Moon had just been pinned on her.