faces. All three were of middle age and clad in sand-colored robes, their darkly tanned faces creased from long hours spent beneath the sun. “A pleasure to meet you.”
“The pleasure is ours,” Lillani said. “Isabis tells us you are the child of the one who returned our jewel.”
“I am.”
“And now you wish to take it away again,” Horan said, his voice smoother than velvet night. He had an intensity to his golden eyes that shone bright as starlight, and Rosalia feared for one moment that he saw her mind and innermost thoughts.
Shoving her paranoia aside, she dismissed that thought and cleared her throat. Her gaze darted to Isabis, and she remained silent until the elder nodded. “You may tell them what transpired in the volcano. There are few others more trustworthy.”
“All right.” Rosalia drew in a nervous breath. “Yes, I do need to take it. I don’t want to deprive your people of the Heart, but it’s very necessary. There is a man seeking the Legacies.”
“Your king, yes?” Miriam asked, arching one thin brow.
“Yes, but he isn’t my king.” Rosalia wet her lips nervously then began the story. It didn’t help her dry mouth. All the while that she relayed the tale, their unchanging expressions scrutinized her, and she felt like an insect pinned to a display board for their examination.
At the end, Miriam steepled her fingers. “Then it is as we feared, and there is nothing to be done if Moritan’s strength wanes. Do what you must, and we will assist you, but I fear more trials lie on the road ahead of you. At times, it is necessary to trade our goods with outsiders for reagents and materials we cannot acquire on our own. When our recent travels took us near Enimura, we passed a caravan turned away from the city. We were told it was no use to head to the gates—that the city is under a lockdown.”
Rosalia’s brows knotted close. “Lockdown?”
Horan nodded. “No one, not even merchants, is allowed in or out, and the king has sent soldiers marching to the southwest.”
“The tower!”
Again, the old man nodded.
“Have they already attacked?”
“At the time, they had not.” Elder Lillani sighed. “I felt the vibration of many thousands of soldiers in the sands, and by now they will have reached their destination. Whether it has come to a fight, I cannot say.”
“We need to return to the city, but…” Her mind went to Xavier, who hadn’t stirred since he slammed down outside of the community. If not for every able-bodied man within the tribe arriving to help relocate him to their village, he may have remained there.
Lillani’s ochre gaze gained a distant quality. “Your friend will awaken soon. Nothing has happened that is not fated by the divines. Trust in them and trust in yourself.”
Miriam smiled. “Fate brought us to you during your time of need. We will take you to the city.”
“But you’ve just come from Enimura!” Rosalia protested. “I couldn’t ask that of you.”
The elder woman chuckled. “Enimura may be closed for business, but we will take you as close as we can to the gates as we continue our trade routes. Besides, Sister Lillani is correct that we were destined to be in this precise place when we were needed most.”
When Xavier stirred, it was to the cool evening breeze and the scent of baking desert sand. The open skies of twilight stretched above him in hues of purple and pink, an amber glow on the horizon at the edge of his vision.
Drifting in and out of consciousness, he fought the pull tugging him under into sleep and focused on his returning senses. A bonfire, and the low murmur of many voices—
Rosalia!
His eyes flew open again as he jerked upward, finding strength he’d thought long spent. Rising placed weight on an injured limb, and it sang in protest. The tender, newly healed flesh of each long talon ached.
“Whoa!” a man cried.
“Easy, now,” said another voice, softer and feminine. “We mean you no harm.”
He lumbered around on unsteady legs and took in the dozens of villagers surrounding him. Several wore brilliant sun-hued robes, all gazing at him with kind faces and not a single weapon in sight.
“Welcome back to the world of the living. It was quite close a few times.” The same woman who spoke of meaning no harm to him gazed up at him with a smile. “Someone will be very happy to know you’ve finally opened your eyes.”
“Where’s Rosalia? How did I get here?”