Page 125 of The Amber Sunburst

“You like him,” Arete says.

Alexander huffs in surprise, and then he laughs. “Young lady, what bluntness,” he jokes, and Arete looks delighted.

“I speak only the truth, good sir.” She bows and then, halfway through, decides to curtsy instead. “You’re Alexander, right?”

“Mhm.”

“You’re the one from—” she lowers her voice to a whisper “—the outside.”

“You got me,” Alexander admits. It’s heartwarming to see them get along, though it’s no surprise. Alexander gets along with everyone.

“You’ll have to tell me about that someday,” Arete says, tone shifting to an adorable imitation of professionalism as she pulls herself up onto one of the chairs. There are six today, which means the boys pulled up an extra one for her.

“Did I hear correctly?” a voice bellows from the entrance. She would know it anywhere. “Is the little satyr truly haunting these halls today?”

Arete jumps out of her chair and runs to Zeno, who lifts her with no effort and swings her onto his shoulders. She laughs maniacally, and a warm feeling stirs in Eudoxia’s gut—something in between adoration and jealousy at how easily Zeno makes Arete happy.

Kallias comes back with a very old set of cards and a little instruction manual, and Arete scrambles off of Zeno’s shoulders and back to the table. When she sits, Kallias hands her the cards and book. “You study up on this on your own. Next time I see you, you better be all-knowing.”

Arete cheers, absolutely over the moon, and Alexander looks more besotted with Kallias than he did before, if that’s possible.

Ophelia winks at Arete, and then, surprisingly, is the one to make them all focus on the task at hand.

“I know when I’m going to sneak into the Temple of All Forms,” she says. “But I need to borrow Arete.”

34

OPHELIA

Ophelia is really starting to wish she hadn’t found a way to sneak out of the Sun Temple.

Somehow she’d convinced herself that all of the pipes leading her to the Temple of All Forms would be above ground. But, no. They just had to be in the sewers.

So here she is, trudging through swampy water like a sludge monster.

She can’t help but be jealous of Arete, enjoying Ophelia’s favorite curry in a little Priestess outfit and watching the sunset. Eudoxia just barely agreed to let her come at all, but eventually she acknowledged that this was the only way.

Dinner is the single instance where everyone in the Temple is in one place, and if Ophelia’s seat was empty, her absence would trigger a search protocol. That meant filling her spot with someone who would go unnoticed. Someone young and little who could still serve as a placeholder.

Then, once mealtime ends, Eudoxia will sneak in to retrieve Arete and take her back to the dorm. It’s not ideal, but it covers their bases.

She would much rather be part of that plan than down here.

The sewer is on a slight downward incline, like she’s descending the cliff from the inside. She just hopes the pipes will remain in sight until she actually gets to the Temple entrance. She’ll probably combust in anger if she makes it all the way to the bottom of this muck only to lose the pipes she’s been following.

After what feels like an hour of walking, her dainty Priestess shoes are covered in mud, and it’s a miracle she hasn’t slipped and fallen on her face.

The tunnel floor evens out eventually, meaning she must have reached the bottom of… somewhere. She relaxes a bit now that she can walk on level ground—but she tenses right back up again when a droplet of water hits her shoulder.

Her eyes shoot up, and water is dripping from every crack in the cobblestone ceiling of the sewer. It’s not until she turns the next corner that she realizes why.

“Oh,” she exhales. Glass walls against blue water make it very clear where she is: the bottom of the sea.

She’s tempted to demand the Priestesses down here tell her who constructed this impossible glass tunnel that withstands the astronomical pressure from the ocean. She’d really love to shake their hand. And then beg them for their secrets.

She hasn’t even thought about inventing or tinkering since her girls were taken from her. The inspiration just never struck. But now? Now she’s feeling inspired.

She speeds up in excitement, running down the glass hallway and expecting the entrance to the secret Temple to appear any second. She has to skid to a stop when she reaches a glass wall closing off the tunnel.