Journey Into Nyx Read Online Free Page B

that true?” Hew asked. “Or has that changed?”
    “Since the Silence, he’s been sleeping at night and rising early to train with Elspeth …” Stelanos broke off. At first, Elspeth thought they stopped because they saw her through the trellis. But then she realized they still didn’t know she was there. They’d just paused on the other side of the pillar to continue their conversation, not knowing that she was listening.
    “Why are you dismissive of her?” Stelanos asked. “You don’t believe she is a chosen of Heliod?”
    “Why would Heliod choose an outsider?” Hew asked. “What is she, a Setessan? Then let her be the chosen of the Hunter. We don’t need her kind here.”
    Elspeth’s cheeks flushed red. They had been talking about Daxos, and now they were talking about her.
    “Her kind?” Stelanos asked. “You think the Sun Godshould only bless those born in Meletis? Or do you frown at all women nowadays?”
    “I have no problem with women,” Hew protested. “I don’t see how Heliod chose her before he was called to Nyx by the Silence.”
    “You presume to understand the mysteries of Heliod?” Stelanos asked. “Or are you calling Daxos a liar? He is the one saying Heliod made her his champion.”
    “No, no,” Hew said. “Some of the priests are questioning if she’s what she says she is.”
    “She did strike the killing blow to the hydra,” Stelanos reminded him.
    “Yes, but you can’t deny there’s been a change in Daxos ever since she’s arrived,” Hew said. “I don’t like it. He’s been absentminded. I don’t think he’s set foot inside the temple proper since …”
    “Since the Silence,” Stelanos finished for him. “Why do you think it’s the stranger and not the Silence that’s afflicting him?”
    “I saw her early this morning walking near the fountain,” the older man said. “She’s not with him now, but she might know where he is.”
    “I don’t want to trouble her,” Stelanos said. “I’ll speak to Daxos when I see him again.”
    “Have you heard about the strange sightings of the Nyxborn?” Hew asked as the two men walked away. “They attacked Setessa. Can you imagine …”
    As their footsteps echoed down the corridor, Elspeth felt sick with embarrassment. It had never occurred to her that the priests like Hew didn’t want her here. Since she’d arrived, most of her time was spent with Daxos. But the priests had seemed to welcome her. The politeness of her interactions with them reminded her of the knightly protocol of Bant. Human interaction felt cool and crisp. It was pleasant, but careful and formalized. Lifeless, perhaps, butit never occurred to her that it wasn’t genuine.
    Elspeth decided not to wait for Daxos any longer. She’d been meaning to visit Nikka, who was staying in Ephara’s compound, where she was subject to strict rules. Temple life was an awkward fit for the rebellious teenager. Just as Elspeth made up her mind to leave, she heard a
tink
as a pebble landed on the bench behind her. She stared at the pebble, which glowed a soft amber.
    Why do you look at the pebble and not where it came from?
    The words seemed to flow into her mind, and she looked across the courtyard. Daxos was perched on the very edge of the sloped roof, watching her. When their eyes met, he grinned and tossed another pebble in her general direction. She plucked the amber pebble off the bench and slung it back at him. With feline reflexes, he plucked the pebble from midair and grinned again.
    This time his lips moved, but no sound came out.
Meet me by Sleeper’s Gate
.

    The streets were crowded with people heading to morning worship as Elspeth slipped out Sleeper’s Gate, the little-used wooden door tucked into the ivy along the southern entrance to the temple grounds. She didn’t have to scan the crowds long before she saw Daxos standing beside the public cistern at the end of the street. He held the reins of a large brown horse that stamped the