are things that hunt in here."
Eva nodded. "Ajari, I know you don't think much of us, but thank you."
He surveyed her carefully before his shoulders lifted in a casual shrug and he sauntered away.
Eva followed, heading for the gate, the mist thinning further with every step. Then they were out, crossing into the city, its perimeter walls looming high on either side.
Eva led the wagon in a circle as she chanced a glance out the gates. The mist still lingered, a seething wall ten feet beyond the stone walls marking the city.
Didn’t it usually dissipate when you left its depths? How unusual.
Ajari watched the furor that followed their reappearance among the Tratori with bored eyes, not even reacting when the fox plopped down on top of his feet and yawned.
"Get the general," someone cried. "The commander and the herd mistress are back."
Laurell and the other warrior who'd elected to watch the wagon's sides looked around them with stunned disbelief. Ollie reclined, exhausted on the seat, the reins trailing from his hands.
Caden moved around the back, already snapping orders to those who approached.
Jason appeared out of nowhere, taking the reins from her. "I've got this."
Eva murmured a thank you, too happy they’d made it back to refuse.
Caden crossed to her, his expression once again a remote mask. Drake and Jane dogged his steps, relief on their faces.
He'd just reached her when Darius came pounding out of a building.
He headed straight for Caden. "We thought you lost."
"So did I," Caden admitted as the two clasped hands.
Darius's attention swung toward Eva. "That was a reckless move."
Eva couldn't argue with that, so she didn't even try.
"Don't do it again," he ordered.
Eva couldn't promise that. Life happened and you either rolled with it or you were crushed. Sometimes that meant leaping and hoping for the best.
"How many did we lose?" Caden asked.
"Very few. The pathfinder made it back a few hours before you with several he'd rounded up before they were engulfed," Darius responded.
Eva looked around, examining the city they'd sought refuge in. It was quiet, except for the Trateri who had come out at their reappearance. The inhabitants’ absence was curiously loud amid the tall buildings surrounding the courtyard, their windows dark and ominous.
"Where is everyone?" Eva finally asked, interrupting the two men.
Darius broke off, his expression grim. "Gone. We found the city abandoned."
How was that possible? It wasn't a huge city, but there had had to be several hundred living here prior to their arrival. Perhaps even a thousand.
The buildings were well-maintained, and there was no sign of violence or beast activity. It was like the inhabitants simply got up and walked away.
"What does the pathfinder have to say about that?" Caden asked.
Darius shook his head. "He's as flummoxed as the rest of us."
"A city of ghosts," Eva whispered. The feel of the place held an eerie chill, unwelcoming, but then most of the Highlands was unwelcoming, much like its inhabitants.
"The mist seems content to stay outside its borders so for now we've set up camp in a few of the buildings," Darius said.
"How long have we been gone?" Caden asked.
The mist was known to cause jumps in time, twisting and turning in on itself. What felt like minutes for them might have been hours or days for the rest.
"You came out pretty close to when you left, only a few hours off at most," Darius said.
Eva slid a glance toward the mythologicals. She wondered if they might have had something to do with that.
She left the two men to their discussion, moving toward Ajari. "Have you seen Sebastian?"
"I haven't, but I have many things to discuss with my old friend," Ajari said unhappily.
Curiosity moved through Eva at the dark undercurrent in his voice. He seemed angry, but Eva couldn't figure out why.
"What's wrong?" Eva asked.
Ajari hesitated. For a moment she thought he wasn't going to answer as his lips pressed together in an unhappy frown.
"We're not where we're supposed to be," he said.
Eva looked around. No, she supposed they weren't, but Sebastian couldn't have known about the mist or any of the other obstacles that had thrown them so far off course.
"This place is nowhere near the herd lands," Ajari continued. "Either the pathfinder is way off in his calculations or Sebastian misled us."
Eva frowned. There was conviction in his words even if she didn't understand why. "Wouldn't you have known we were going the wrong way before now?"
If Ajari had realized they were off-course, why wouldn't he have said anything? Why