Kaye woke in Celeste's cave with a pounding headache and a dry tongue. Her stomach churned and her wings burned like they had just been cut.

The mouth of the cave was dark; the fire in the hearth burned low. Celeste was asleep on the floor, but lifted her head when Kaye tried to sit up.

"What happened?" Kaye whispered so she wouldn't wake Elett on the other side of the room.

Celeste filled a cup with water and brought it to her. "You found the Altar of Aleda. I should have warned you, but I never thought you would go in."

Kaye sipped the water slowly as her memories returned. "It knew me. It said I must see."

"See what?" Celeste sat down next to her, face full of curiosity. The fight was forgotten.

Kaye thought on what she saw. Ian Odion, the separation of the tribe. The women. "A woman named Kat cut the Lady's wings off."

Celeste nodded. "Katrina, the Odion's consort. She wanted to be a priestess, and when the Lady would not allow it because she was Tarrin, Katrina cut Brianna's wings off and made herself a goddess."

"A goddess?" Kaye had never heard of the Goddess Kat.

"Trina, your false goddess. Twin and consort of Eoin, your false god."

Katrina, Trina. She had been the first priestess of Fie Eoin. Kaye was horrified at the memory of the vision and how it differed from what she was told as a child. Ian Odion was a hero in the Seven Tribes—Trina the priestess beside him. They had been deified for the courageous, selfless act of "saving" the Seven Tribes from the Faye. It was all a lie.

"And the Lady?" she whispered. "Brianna?"

"Was the Odion's true wife. He took their Tarrin son away. He destroyed her. A Faye with no wings is no longer Faye."

"Oh gods." Kaye pressed her fingers against her mouth. Ian Odion was no hero. He wasn't a good man at all. "Why would they do it?"

"Because they were Tarrin, and we are Faye." Celeste shrugged as if that explained it.

"That's not a good reason."

"They were not good people."

"But…” Kaye had grown up Tarrin, in a Tarrin tribe, and no one had ever tried to take her wings. She'd encountered a bit of prejudice when she was young—Grandmother Odion in particular resented the fact that an Odion was born with wings and they had not been removed at birth—but no one had ever tried to hurt her, and as Kaye became a priestess apprentice the wings were forgotten for her other talents.

"The Seven Tribes aren't bad people. They never tried to take my wings or throw me out."

Celeste lifted an eyebrow. "I suspect that was Kaye Conal's doing."

"But Kaye Conal isn't there." Even if she was hidden away somewhere in Fie Eoin, she certainly didn't have the power to keep Kaye safe.

Celeste's face changed from aggravated to curious. "Has no one told you about Kaye Conal?"

Kaye studied her, wondering what surprised her so. "Gabe said she came across the mountains when the Seven Tribes drove her out for being Faye. Then my father came to retrieve her and now she's gone. She's not in Fie Eoin."

"For the Mother, Kaye." Celeste rubbed her face as then stared at Kaye as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "No one has told you?"

Told her what? The truth of what happened to Kaye Conal when she returned home? The truth of what would happen to her when she returned? Kaye shook her head.

"Kaye Conal is the High Priestess of the Seven Tribes of Aleda."

It took a long moment for that to sink in. First Kaye thought she must have heard wrong, then she assumed Celeste was mistaken. Then she remembered the first Trina's Day that the High Priestess asked her to help during the ceremony. Kaye was eleven summers old—much too young to be at the ceremony—and when her father saw her, he was furious. He yelled at the High Priestess in front of the entire tribe. "What is wrong with you, Kaye? She's not old enough to be here." At the time Kaye had been too scared and embarrassed to wonder why her father called the High Priestess 'Kaye'. Now she knew.

"She never told me about the Faye," Kaye whispered. "I didn't even know her name."

Celeste squeezed Kaye's hand. "There is a lot your High Priestess has not told you."

"I have to go home." Kaye began to stand, but Celeste didn't let go.

"It’s the middle of the night."

Desperation grabbed Kaye's heart and lodged there. "You don't understand. All this time I thought they killed Kaye Conal. I thought I would be hurt if I went home. Now," she turned to Celeste, "I have to talk to her. I have to tell her about Eoin and Trina."

"She knows." Celeste stood and put her hands on Kaye's shoulders, pushing her back onto the cot. "It can wait until morning, at least."

Kaye looked into the dark beyond the door and thought of Bryant. He wouldn't like this at all. But what could she do? She had to talk to the High Priestess.

"Lay down." Celeste pushed Kaye's shoulders until she gave in, weary body overriding the frantic thumping of her heart and the thoughts racing through her mind. Celeste's fingers began working through Kaye's hair, just as they had after her first failed attempt at flying.

"Relax, Kaye," Celeste's soft voice rippled over her, slowing her pulse, calming her thoughts. "The High Priestess knows about Eoin and Trina. She knows you are in Aleda. It was your destiny to come and find out for yourself, so you can take her place when the time comes."

Kaye's eyes travelled to her bracelet, the symbol of the High Priestess dark against the white of the wood. "But Bryant…”

"Knew it would come to this. He knew you would have to leave." Her fingers worked their magic and Kaye's lids felt heavy.

"I don't want to leave him."

"You do not have to tonight, or even tomorrow. The pass will be clear soon—it can wait."

Kaye didn't want to wait, but she didn't want to leave. Celeste was right, she could make her decision soon enough. As the soothing magic spread over her, Kaye fell asleep—perhaps she would have a clear answer come morning.