Nyx stopped three days east of the coast.
Mid-stride.
Vane knew immediately that it had nothing to do with the road.
He had seen her stop like this before.
Outside Ossara.
At the Dreslic Shallows.
Every time she sensed a door before the rest of them even knew there was something to look for.
But this time, Nyx turned the wrong way.
Not east, toward whatever waited ahead.
Her head tilted south.
Then back.
Then slightly upward, as though trying to locate a sound that had no direction at all.
Vane stopped beside her.
"What?"
Nyx didn't answer.
The others noticed.
Ashe turned first.
"Door?"
Nyx's expression tightened.
"No."
A pause.
"That's the problem."
Valerica approached.
"What are you hearing?"
"I don't know."
Nyx closed her eyes.
"Or I do, and I've spent so long trying to classify it incorrectly that I keep reaching for the wrong answer."
Her head tilted again.
"It's not new."
Vane frowned.
"A new what?"
"Door. World. Crossing."
She opened her eyes.
