Chapter 42
As it turned out, I did not get to celebrate my birthday with a small, convivial party in Mistress Ainya’s garden after all.
Instead, the night I turned fifteen I was racked with pains and fever. I’m not well, I thought, waking in misery in the thick darkness of my room. Then the sickness had me in its jaws, shaking me fiercely, and I cried out in pain. My bones burned as though lined with coals, and my left hand throbbed, an explosion of agony with each heartbeat.
The inside of my elbow felt raw and seared, as though the leaf tattoo had been branded into my skin, sizzling with power that ate at my flesh.
I was dimly aware of Mama coming in, her face illuminated by a flickering candle. I stared at the flame, feeling as though I were the wick, and the heat was consuming me, b
