Free Royal Airs by Sharon Shinn Page B

broad table, Josetta said, “I’m getting tired. Are you ready to go back?”
    Corene nodded, then said, “Could we stop at a temple first?”
    “You want to pull some blessings?”
    Corene gave her a swift, unhappy smile. “It seems like the sort of day when I should, don’t you think?”
    “I think any day is a good one to seek out blessings.”
    “I don’t know how to find the nearest temple.”
    Josetta grinned and put a hand to her heart. “Elay, remember? I know where every temple in the city is.”
    They took the elaymotive as far as they could through narrow, tangled streets until it became easier to get out and walk the last few blocks. The brief rest in the car seemed to have given Corene renewed strength, and she barely limped as they made it to the temple.
    It was a small, pretty one made of veined gray stone and covered with vines. In the front played a dainty fountain decorated with butterflies; a smoky oil lamp hung just outside the door. All five elements subtly laid out to greet visitors before they’d even stepped across the threshold.
    Darien’s guards stayed outside, but Foley followed them in, ducking his head at the low lintel. There were only three other people inside, all of them congregated on the torz bench, which wasn’t uncommon. People frequently paused at a temple to meditate themselves into a state of balance, which theoretically meant they would spend equal time contemplating each of the five elements. But there was something comforting about the element of flesh and earth, something that made you feel whole and alive and connected to everyone else in the room, in the city. People tended to strike up spontaneous friendships with other visitors; there were dozens of stories about romances blossoming at the torz station in some temple or another. Almost no one lingered on the sweela bench, but the torz section always collected a crowd.
    Corene dropped the last of her coins in the tithing box and headed straight for the barrel in the middle of the room. Then stood a moment, staring down at the tumble of blessings. She lifted her hand as if to plunge it in, then let it settle back down at her side, empty.
    “You pick for me,” she said to Josetta in a low voice. No one liked it if anyone spoke above a whisper in the temple.
    But Josetta was staring at Corene’s hand, bare of all jewelry for the first time Josetta could remember. “Corene—where are your rings? Your blessings?”
    Corene gave her a saucy smile, the first sign of spirit she’d shown since they’d left the seers. “I gave them to Rafe Adova.”
    “You gave them—”
    “Because he didn’t have any of his own.”
    Josetta stared at her, too stunned to reply.
    Corene tossed her head. “Maybe he can sell them. Or maybe he can keep them. It was just—I mean, who doesn’t have blessings? It was too sad.”
    “But Vernon had those made for you. When you were a girl.”
    Corene’s face hardened. “My mother had them made for me. Anyway, they were getting too small for my fingers. I’ve had them enlarged three times already. It’s time for new ones.”
    “New blessings ?” Josetta had never heard of anyone denying their original random blessings and acquiring a whole new set. Of course, people liked to draw daily blessings as often as they could, hoping for a little insight into whatever vexing problem faced them at the moment, but that was different. That wasn’t an attempt at a wholesale makeover; that was just a wish for guidance. A little worried, she glanced around the temple. “If that’s really what you want, maybe we should find three strangers. Or maybe we should wait till a propitious day—Quinnahunti changeday, for instance—”
    “No. Now. You.” Corene smiled at her again, though Josetta read strain in her face. “Elay, remember? You always draw the right ones.”
    Josetta nodded, hiding her sudden surge of anxiety, and slowly dipped her hand into the pile of metal disks. Each one was a