ToTrin’s surprise, Charlie turned her around and gave her a firm push in theshoulder blades. She stumbled forward and nearly fell but she caught herselfwith one hand against the trunk of a large, graceful tree. Looking up at it,Trin saw it had purple bark and leaves that were every shade of greenimaginable.

It’s beautiful…Thethought drifted into her head and it occurred to Trin that this was the firstpositive idea she’d had in weeks. She continued to stare at the tree in wonder,watching the patterns of sunlight falling through its leaves. Truly beautiful…

Whenshe finally looked away from the tree, she found that she was face to face witha slim, blonde girl with extraordinary greenish-blue eyes. She was wearing asimple white gown, not much different from Trin’s own, and a friendly smile.

“Hithere,” the girl said. “You must be Trin. I’m Nadiah.”

“Hello…”Some of Trin’s tiredness was fading—affected perhaps by the fresh, clean scentof the trees all around her. But it was replaced by confusion. Why was shehere? What did Charlie and Becca think this woman could do for her? What didthey think anyone could do against the blood curse?

“Sylvantells me you’ve been having some problems back home.” Nadiah took Trin’s handin her own smooth, cool one and led her deeper into the small grove.

“I…guessyou could say that,” Trin murmured.

Theyhad come to a small stone bench and Nadiah settled upon it. She still hadTrin’s hand and she drew her down to sit as well. Then she was silent. For along time they simply breathed, drinking in the pure, clear air of the grove,inhaling the fresh scent of the trees. At last Nadiah turned to her.

“Tellme,” she said simply.

“I…”Trin cleared her throat. “I was blood cursed by the high priestess of my templeand disowned by my mother.”

Nadiahmade a sympathetic sound.

“Whathappened to cause all that? You fell for the wrong male?”

“Inmy case it was falling for any male at all.” Trin didn’t know why she wastelling Nadiah this. She didn’t even know the female. But somehow the touch of hersoft hand and the delicious, clean scent of the trees all around them made herwant to talk. But she couldn’t…not quite. She couldn’t seem to find the words.

Nadiahseemed to understand her problem. She placed her other hand on Trin’s face andthe cupped her cheek gently.

“Bethee unbound,” she murmured and passed her fingers lightly over Trin’s lips.“Speak and tell what you must.”

Trindrew in a deep trembling breath and somehow found she was able to tell whatneeded to be told.

Thewords came haltingly at first, then faster and faster until Trin’s words weretumbling over themselves as she tried to get them all out. She told aboutbuying Thraceat the Flesh Bazaar and saving his life, then how he had returned the favorwhen he followed her into The Demon’s Eye. Then their fateful business trip toLady Tam-tam’s estate and the way they had been drawn closer and closertogether. Then their encounter with Two and the way he had forced her to drinkthe passion berry wine. And then…making love with Thrace. She blushed with shame asshe spoke of it—admitting what she had done to a complete stranger wasn’t easy.But Nadiah only nodded and there was no judgment in her face.

“Andyou bonded to him then?” she asked softly.

“Ithink so…yes…yes, I did. We did bond,” Trin admitted. “But…I didn’t want to bebonded to him. To any male. So I…found a way to block the bond.”

“Andthat was because of your belief that it is wrong to love a male?”

Trinnodded and explained about the religion she’d been raised in and how loving amale and especially making love to one was a slap in the face of the Goddess ofJudgment.

“Butit’s not just that,” she finished. “It’s the blood curse—it’s going to kill me.I had to push him away so I wouldn’tdrag him down with me.”

Nadiahnodded sympathetically, still holding Trin’s hand.

“Iunderstand,” she said quietly. “But tell me more. Tell it all—you need to.”

Trinknew she was right. But when she got to the part about what had been done toher in the temple of the Goddess of Judgment, she found she couldn’t look at theblonde girl as she spoke. Instead, she looked down at her bare feet in thepurple-green grass and tried to tell the part about Swift and Silk quickly.

Whenshe finally explained how she had been blood cursed and her mother had disownedher, she was almost afraid to look at Nadiah again. When she did, she saw, toher surprise, that the other girl’s greenish-blue eyes had turned completelygreen—a pure, brilliant emerald that seemed to blaze from her face.

Andthe pure green eyes were filled with tears.

“Uh…”Trin wasn’t sure what to say—was this normal? “Nadiah…your eyes,” she saidhesitantly. “Are you crying?”

“Daughter…” Thevoice that spoke from Nadiah’s lips was soft and kind but it was not Nadiah’s. Itwas warm and feminine and filled with such power it filled Trin with awe tohear it. “Daughter,” said the voice again. “I weep for thee. Your pain andshame is mine. I take it on myself and I absolve thee.”

“Youwhat?” Trin asked hesitantly. “I don’t understand.”

“Forthe sins you have committed and the ones you think you have committed, you areforgiven,” said the voice.

“Oh…”Trin whispered. Though she still didn’t fully understand, she suddenly feltfilled to overflowing with some vast, profound emotion she couldn’t even nameto herself. Somehow she knew she was in the presence of a deity—a being farwiser and infinitely older than herself. All around them the entire groveseemed to have hushed itself in a kind of holy reverence.

“Yourholiness…Goddess?” Trin shifted a little. There was something she wanted toknow, but she was almost afraid to speak to the presence that was talking toher through Nadiah.

“Donot fear. Speak your question.”

“Areyou…the Goddess of the Kindred?”

“Iam.”

“But…itwas the other Goddess—my Goddess thatI offended,” Trin explained haltingly. “The Goddess of Judgment. So how can you forgive me when she is the one Isinned against?”

“Youare hers no longer, for I claim you as my own, daughter,” thevoice assured her. “Fear not—all your wrongs are made right.”

“But,well…I was undergoing a…a cleansing ceremony,” Trin tried to explain. “I had topay for my sins and I tried but…I couldn’t. Nothing I did was enough.”

“Myforgiveness is freely offered—you have only to accept it. And then forgiveyourself.”

Forgiveyourself. It was exactly what Becca and Charlie had been telling her for daysbut somehow it seemed to make sense now. Trin felt something begin to loosen inher chest—a knot she hadn’t even known was there, pulled tight around her heart—wasslowly being untied. The dullness that had consumed her—the wish to lie downand sleep and never wake up—suddenly blew away.

Trintook a deep breath and felt fully alive as she hadn’t since before she enteredthe temple of the Goddess of Judgment. It was as though she’d had a dark cloudsurrounding her for days and a fresh, sweet wind had swept it far out to seawhere it could never bother her again.

“I…I’lltry,” she whispered. “I’ll try to…to forgive myself.”

“Youmust go and be healed.” Nadiah’s soft fingertips brushed lightlyover her welted arm. “When you are healed without, you will alsobe healed within.”

“Allright.” Trin wasn’t quite sure she understood that but she was willing to gowith it. Still, she had one more concern. “But…what about the blood curse?”

Nadiah’sslim hand passed over her cheek slowly.

“Thereis no curse,” the voice promised. “I lift it from you. There is nowno shame or fear or condemnation. There is only love.”