The days that followed were uneventful, but the desert seemed to grow stranger the farther north they traveled. By dusk, the desert began to change. The endless dunes gave way to stone and salt flats, white crusts spreading across the earth like frost beneath the dying sun. The air tasted different here. Sharper. Metallic. Beneath it lingered something faintly sweet and unpleasant, like decay buried too long beneath dry earth.
The settlement appeared shortly afterward. It wasn't much. A scattering of low mud-brick dwellings crouched against the ground, many of them half-sunken into the earth to escape the desert heat. Thin trails of smoke rose from crooked chimneys. A few buildings leaned visibly to one side, their walls cracked by decades of wind and shifting sand. Talia slowed at the edge of the nearest street. Children were laughing somewhere deeper within the settlement. At least, she thought they were. The sound reached them in strange bursts. A laugh. Silence. Another laugh, beginning half a moment too late.Like an echo that had forgotten what it was supposed to follow.
She glanced toward Calenelda. The Diviner had stopped beside Stonefang. For once, there was no teasing smile on her face. No poorly concealed amusement at Talia's increasingly obvious discomfort whenever Calenelda forgot—or deliberately chose not—to wear something appropriate. She simply stood there. Still. Her head slightly lowered. Talia knew that posture. Calenelda was listening. Not with her ears.
Foxglove pulled her hood further over her head. Her enormous ears twitched beneath the fabric.
"This place…" she murmured.
Talia looked at her. "What?"
Foxglove hesitated. Then her gaze drifted toward the settlement. "It hums."
Talia's hand instinctively settled near the pommel of her sword. "Like the temple?"
Foxglove slowly shook her head. "No." Her expression tightened. "The other temple."
Calenelda's face changed. Only slightly. But Talia saw it.
Foxglove continued. "Quieter. Distant." She paused. "But it remembers the same tune."
No one spoke for a moment. Then Calenelda began walking. Talia immediately followed. They entered the settlement together. The streets were narrow enough that their shoulders nearly brushed the mud-brick walls on either side. Villagers watched them pass. Most nodded politely, some smiled. But there was something strange about the way they looked at them. Their attention lingered too long. Eyes following Calenelda. Then Talia. Then Stonefang. As though they were waiting for something to happen. Talia felt herself moving closer to Calenelda. The Diviner didn't seem to notice. Or perhaps she simply didn't care. Her attention was somewhere else. Stonefang's ears had flattened against his skull. His limp had worsened during the last few miles, but he continued walking without complaint. Now and then, he glanced north. Always north. Calenelda noticed. Talia saw her fingers tighten slightly.
She had been watching him for days. Trying to understand what was wrong. Trying not to admit that she couldn't. They passed a small market square. Most of the stalls had been abandoned for the evening. One remained occupied. A man sat beside a brazier. At first, Talia didn't notice anything unusual about him. Then she looked at the fire. The smoke wasn't gray. It was red. Thin threads of crimson rose from the brazier and disappeared into the evening air. Calenelda stopped. So abruptly that Talia nearly walked into her. The Diviner stared.
Talia followed her gaze. "What is it?"
Calenelda didn't answer. For several seconds, she simply stood there.
Then she whispered. "No."
The word was so quiet Talia almost didn't hear it. Foxglove stepped closer. Her ears had gone rigid. Calenelda took one slow step toward the brazier. Stonefang growled. She stopped.
Talia looked between them. "What is it?"
Calenelda swallowed.
When she finally spoke, her voice sounded smaller than usual. "I know that."
Talia frowned. "The fire?"
Calenelda nodded. Her gaze remained fixed upon the crimson flame, the fire reflecting in the milky green haze of her eyes.
"Ba'Ham."
The name settled heavily between them. Talia's hand closed around her sword. The man beside the brazier smiled. He hadn't looked at them yet.
"A blessing," he said softly.
Talia stared at him. The man continued feeding small pieces of wood into the brazier.
"To keep the cold away."
Talia looked toward the desert. The sun was setting. The air was still warm enough to make sweat gather beneath her armor.
"There is no cold here."
The man smiled. "No."
Slowly, he lifted his head. His eyes were unfocused. "But it's coming."
Calenelda took another step forward. Then stopped again. Her hand lifted instinctively.
She reached toward the brazier—
—and froze. For a moment, Talia thought she was going to touch the flame. Instead, Calenelda slowly lowered her hand. Her fingers were trembling. Talia noticed. Calenelda noticed that she noticed. She quickly curled her hand into a fist.
"Who taught you to make that fire?"
The man tilted his head. "The desert."
"That doesn't answer the question."
His smile widened slightly. "It answered mine."
Foxglove shifted behind them. Her wings rustled beneath her cloak. The man looked back toward the flame. Then began humming. Quietly. Three notes. A pause. Then three more. Foxglove went still. Calenelda's face lost what little color remained in it. Talia recognized the expression. She had seen it only once before. Inside the temple.Not when Calenelda had been fighting. Not when she had nearly been consumed. After all of that. When she had finally understood how close she had come to disappearing. Fear. Or something close enough to it.
"Calenelda," Talia said quietly.
The Diviner didn't answer. She was staring into the red flame. Talia stepped between her and the brazier. That finally seemed to reach her. Calenelda blinked. Her expression cleared slightly. Then she looked away.
"Let's go."
Talia didn't argue. Neither did Foxglove. They left the square without looking back. The humming followed them. Not loudly. Not even continuously. But Talia could hear it for several streets afterward. Three notes. A pause. Three more.
They didn't leave the settlement immediately. Calenelda stopped beside an old well near its northern edge. The stone structure had partially collapsed. Sand filled most of its basin. A rusted bucket lay overturned nearby. She lowered herself onto the edge. Not gracefully. She simply sat. For several seconds, no one spoke. Talia stood in front of her. Stonefang remained close. His body was tense. Foxglove watched Calenelda carefully.
Finally, Talia crouched. "You felt it."
Calenelda rubbed her thumb against her palm. The gesture was restless.
"I don't know."
Talia frowned. "You don't know?"
"No." The answer came sharper than Calenelda intended. She immediately looked away. Her shoulders lowered. "Sorry."
Talia's expression softened. Calenelda stared down at the salt-covered ground.
"I know what Ba'Ham felt like." Her voice was quiet. "I know His fire."
Foxglove leaned against the broken wall of the well. "And?"
Calenelda shook her head. "And it shouldn't be here."
That was all. No explanation. No theory. Talia waited.
Eventually Calenelda continued. "I destroyed what was inside the temple."
"You think."
Calenelda looked up sharply.
Foxglove didn't flinch. "You destroyed its vessel," the Nyxir said. "I felt the temple fall. But I have spent my entire life among ruins left behind by gods and those who worshipped them." She glanced toward the settlement. "Things like that rarely end cleanly."
Calenelda looked back toward the ground. "I know."
The admission surprised Talia. Normally Calenelda would have argued. Made some sarcastic remark. Insisted that Foxglove was being dramatic. Instead, she simply sat there. Exhausted. Talia studied her.
Only days ago, Calenelda had been inside an ancient temple. She had nearly been consumed by something divine. Lost her fear. Saved Foxglove. Called a creature large enough to make mountains seem small. Stood beneath something older than history. Then somehow awakened a power inside herself she still didn't understand. And through all of it, Stonefang had grown increasingly restless. Calenelda had barely stopped moving long enough to understand any of it. Now, for the first time, Talia wondered if it was finally catching up with her.
Calenelda pressed her palms against her eyes. "I don't understand anything anymore."
The words were barely audible. Talia went still. Calenelda lowered her hands. She seemed almost surprised she had said it aloud.
Foxglove's expression softened. "The Mountain understood you."
Calenelda gave a quiet, humorless laugh. "Yes."
"And Ba'Ham?"
"No." Her answer came immediately. "That is the problem." She looked toward the settlement. "I can feel something wrong here. I know it is familiar. But I don't know what it is."
Her fingers curled against the stone beneath her. "And I am tired of pretending I understand things simply because everyone expects the Diviner to."
That silenced them. Even Stonefang stopped moving.
Calenelda took a slow breath. Then another. Talia sat beside her. Their shoulders touched. She didn't say anything. For a while, that was enough.
Foxglove eventually broke the silence. "What will you do?"
Calenelda looked north. Stonefang did the same. Talia noticed and couldn't help but see the troubled similarities between the two. The wolf had been doing it constantly. Calenelda followed his gaze.
Her expression tightened. "I think we were already going in the right direction."
Talia turned toward her. "Tan'Thalon."
Calenelda nodded. "I don't want to go back."
"That might be the most sensible thing you've said all week."
Calenelda glanced at her. "I've said plenty of sensible things."
"You tried to communicate with a forty-kilometer creature by sitting in the sand."
"It worked."
"You nearly died doing it."
"But it worked."
Talia sighed. Foxglove's mouth twitched. For a brief moment, Calenelda smiled. Then it faded.
"Something is wrong with Stonefang."
The wolf's ears flicked at his name. Calenelda reached toward him. He immediately stepped closer. Her fingers disappeared into the thick fur around his neck.
"I thought it was me."
Talia looked at her. "Because of what happened in the temple."
Calenelda nodded. "I thought he could feel that I had changed."
"He probably can."
"Yes." Calenelda swallowed. "But that's not all."
Stonefang suddenly turned his head north. A low growl rolled through his chest. Everyone went still. Calenelda felt it. Not the growl. Something beneath it. A faint disturbance. Deep inside the strange magic that had been placed within him. Gone almost immediately. But there.
Calenelda's expression hardened. "No."
Talia watched her. "What?"
"Something is calling him."
Foxglove's ears twitched. "From Tan'Thalon?"
"I don't know." Calenelda looked north. "I only know that every time he faces that direction…" Stonefang growled again. This time, Calenelda placed both hands against his neck. The wolf's breathing slowed. But he didn't stop staring. Talia looked toward the distant horizon. Tan'Thalon was still days away. Beyond dunes and stone. Beyond the desert. Waiting behind its enormous Arc Wall. Home. At least, it was supposed to be.
Talia looked at Calenelda. "So we go."
Calenelda remained quiet. Then she nodded. "Yes."
Foxglove studied them both. "You expect your Council to help?"
Calenelda snorted softly. "I expect them to be difficult."
"That's optimistic."
"I'm trying something new."
Talia raised an eyebrow. "Optimism?"
"Trusting people."
Talia smiled faintly. "And how's that going?"
Calenelda turned toward her. A tired smile touched her lips. "Ask me when we get there."
Talia shook her head. "Impossible woman."
"Yet you're still here."
The words were teasing. But beneath them was something else. Something quieter.
Talia heard it. Calenelda had been through too much. And for once, she wasn't pretending otherwise.
Talia's hand found hers. "I said I wasn't going anywhere."
Calenelda squeezed her fingers. "I remember."
Behind them, the settlement had grown quiet. Too quiet. Somewhere in its narrow streets, a man continued humming beside a crimson fire. Three notes. A pause. Three more.
Calenelda heard it. Her grip tightened around Talia's hand. She didn't look back. Neither did Talia. Ahead of them waited Tan'Thalon. Its Council. Its secrets.
Whatever had been buried beneath its streets. And whatever had reached into Stonefang deeply enough that even he did not understand it.
For the first time since leaving the temple, Calenelda didn't feel like she was moving toward an answer. She felt like she was following a trail someone else had laid before her. And she hated that feeling more than she could say.