“Thank you, now leave me.” I rose and walked into the bedroom.
“Headache?” he asked, following. The man didn’t know when to take a hint.
“And exhaustion.” I held out a shaking hand. “Is this normal?”
He glanced at it. “Shaking, nausea, headache, all of them are common symptoms of overuse. You mean to say this is the first time?”
“Of getting these symptoms, yes, this is a first for me.”
“You are fortunate,” he muttered sinking into a nearby seat. “My first time was after sixth level testing. It happens to most talents when they have overused their abilities during a short period of time.”
Rubbing my temples, I closed my eyes. “It was the testing. Three hours of testing and then that sending.” My head throbbed and my stomach churned at the memory of all those tastes at once.
“Don’t worry. The symptoms will pass. By tomorrow morning you will be back to normal. Now we have to talk.”
I groaned. “Can’t it wait until tomorrow?” The bed was only a few feet away, and I longed to collapse upon it and sleep.
“We have to talk now. I am going to be gone tomorrow by the time you are awake.”
“Gone?” That roused me. I had been counting on Errol’s support for the next week. He alone would understand how difficult this was going to be. He would advise me on how to deal with the Mesitas and ease me through the ceremonies. “What do you mean you are going to be gone?”
He rose and crossed to the windows. As he closed the drapes he announced, “I am taking Zezilia away immediately. The next few days are going to be rough, and I don’t want Ilar getting cold feet about her training. If I remove her, he will have to do more than say no to stop it.”
“The Mesitas is going to skin me alive once he knows for certain that I do not serve the goddess.”
“Which is exactly why I must get Zezilia away before Ilar can verify it.”
I lowered my head to my hands as a new wave of nausea washed over my senses. Even in my sickened state, I could see the reason. “So why are you here to speak to me?”
“I need the use of your land.”
I lifted my head and blinked at him. “My land?” The only land I owned was a willow farm in the south.
“It is far enough south that they will have difficulty extracting her, and if you sell it to me it will not pass to your brothers with your ascension. It is a perfect location for training a young talent, reclusive, beautiful and quiet. Besides that, the house is big enough for my wife and daughters.”
I began waving him away as soon as I understood. I was certain that if I didn’t lie down in the next few moments my head would explode.
“Agreed. Now leave me.”
“I shall. I promise you that you will feel better tomorrow.” He came over and laid a hand on my arm. “I shall be praying for you. You have a long road before you.”
“I know,” I managed weakly.
“Sleep,” he instructed, pushing me toward the bed. I obediently crossed to it and fell in. The moment my head hit the softness my awareness faded. I vaguely remember hearing the sound of him shutting the door.
Zezilia
I WOKE TO DIMNESS AND the murmur of rain outside my widow. Rolling over, I looked out at the gray sky, thankful that I had been able to explore the gardens the day before. I was just replaying the events of the evening when a sound outside my door drew my attention. A muffled thump and a flurry of whispers drew me from my bed. I plucked my wrap from the end of my bed and crossed to my door.
“You must be quiet,” a female voice hissed.
“But the queen is awake,” protested another.
“The Donellea isn’t.”
Easing the door open, I found two handmaidens opening my empty traveling boxes on the sitting room floor.
“What are you doing?” I asked as I opened the door all of the way.
Both girls straightened up abruptly and then bowed. “We were instructed to pack your things as soon as you were awake. Drina and I were just preparing the boxes so we could begin as soon as you stirred, Donellea.”
“Who ordered this?”
“Your mother, Donellea,” Drina supplied.
“May we begin?” the first asked.
I nodded and crossed to my mother’s door. Tapping lightly, I listened. The summons came immediately. I figured it would. Mother was an early riser, though she didn’t really move from her bed until well after ten.
I found her as I expected, sitting up in bed with a bowl of fruit in her lap, studying the missives that she received daily. A prolific letter writer, Mother kept in touch with at least ten different Proctor’s wives under Father’s rule.
“Close the door, Zez,” she said without looking up. “I don’t wish to be gawked at by the handmaids.
I closed the door. The handmaids were too busy to look.
“Why did you order my things packed?”
Looking up from her letter, Mother’s dark eyes were slightly sad. “You will be leaving. For reasons that I cannot understand, your father has decided that you are to visit Master Errol Silas and his family. Since Master Silas is leaving immediately, you are to leave with him.”
I simply stared at her in shock. When Master Silas had said that he would get father to allow him to train me, I hadn’t believed it. But now that it was happening, I wasn’t sure what to think.
“From what I understand you will be traveling with Master Silas and his wife to an estate in the south. I hope it shall not be too far south. The humidity can be quite oppressive down there. All that water.”
“Did he mention anything about training?” I asked.
Mother’s response was a blank look. “Training? Child, what are you talking about?”
“Nothing,” I quickly replied. “I should go get dressed for the journey.”
“That sounds wise.
