“Try to think things through a bit more, will you?” Isa told him before running ahead to join their Granna.

  The Speaker, Artaeus, brushed against Kar as he and his retinue pushed past in the direction Natalie had been taken. “Watch yourself, young man. I will not easily forget this.”

  Clenching his teeth in frustration, Kar turned toward Erio and Tharn.

  “That… could have been handled better,” Erio said, flashing Kar a crystalline grin.

  Kar just shook his head and started after Isa.

  Tobi fell in beside him. “You really don’t hesitate to jump right in there, do you?”

  Raised eyebrows were all Kar offered in response.

  “Just come by Hall Crucible when you get the chance,” Tobi continued. “I have some people I want to introduce you to. You made some enemies today, but I want you to know you have friends here too. I have a feeling you’re going to help us shake things up around here.”

  With a quick smile, the youngest of the High Elders raced ahead, flagging down another Elder and immediately launching into an animated discussion with them.

  Kar marched out of the tunnel and back into the Forum. Much of the audience had already left, but some still lingered in the stands. A mix of cheers and jeers met Kar and the Valorcryst as they made their way up the steps toward the street.

  “So, do the two of you plan to follow me around from now on?”

  Erio and Tharn looked at each other, then back at Kar.

  Erio shrugged. “Until the Source directs us otherwise, that is my intention.”

  Tharn chuckled. “Where Erio goes, I usually follow. I would suggest you take that Elder Tobithal up on his offer, though. Some things are as we remember them here in the Enclave, but most have changed. Having an ally who is well informed would be wise.”

  Kar ran his fingers through his hair and scratched the back of his head in frustration. The politics of all this was more than a headache. He felt like he had stirred up a nest of hornets without meaning to.

  But that could wait until tomorrow. For now, he needed to say goodbye to Nat. It felt like they’d only just reunited.

  “Do not worry, Karalinde,” Ember said softly in his mind. “If Natalie has to leave for now, I can help the two of you keep in touch. I will also help you here in the Enclave. I am getting better at sensing things where and when I want to.”

  The wheels in Kar’s head started turning as he thought of how he could make use of Ember’s help. They would get things sorted out here. Without Natalie or anyone else being put in harm’s way.

  “Thank you, Ember. Who all can you talk to directly, by the way?”

  “Hmm. You, Natalie. Annalia—”

  “Who?” Kar asked, not recognizing the name.

  “Oh. I believe you call her Granna.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Obviously she had a name other than Granna. Kar felt embarrassed he hadn’t wondered about it before now.

  Ember continued. “Erio and I can still communicate.”

  Kar looked back at the taller of the Valorcryst, who waved lazily.

  “I told him to do that,” Ember added with a strange giggle. “And I know Sayasenia can hear me, though she will not talk back to me. Oh, and I think Isa would be able to speak with me too, after she interfaces with me the first time.”

  In the distance Kar spotted Isa and their Granna—Annalia—shuffling down the street toward the Mountain.

  “I think we’re going to take a detour and come visit you before we see Nat off,” Kar muttered so only Ember could hear.

  About half an hour later, Kar, Isa, Granna, and the two Valorcryst arrived at the doors of an isolated structure built into the side of the Mountain.

  They had followed a winding path up the slope to reach it, and now had an expansive view of the entire plateau below. From up here the patterned layout of the Enclave was clearly visible.

  It was an impressive sight.

  “How did you even know about this place, hmm?” Granna asked Kar.

  “Ember told me.”

  Granna eyed him shrewdly. “That Prism of yours, huh? For some reason he doesn’t talk to me very much. I’ll have to remember you have eyes and ears spying on things.”

  “It’s not like that…” Kar muttered.

  The two Guardians standing watch beside the doors snapped to attention as Granna approached.

  “High Elder,” they intoned in unison, bowing at the waist.

  They repeated the gesture to the rest of them, though Kar noticed the bow was not nearly as deep for him as it was for Granna or the Valorcryst.

  “Any visitors other than us today?” Granna asked.

  “Only the Restoration Elders who come every day.”

  Granna hobbled forward, still leaning on the Encryst cane she had forged.

  Kar eyed it carefully. They were both members of the Asenia family, so he knew there was an overlap in their capabilities when it came to Ember’s power. He just had thought the way he used it to forge things was unique.

  “Why did you insist we come all the way up here?” Isa said, leaning against Kar’s shoulder. “I wanted to spend as much time with Nat as we could before she has to leave.”

  “You’ll get plenty of time with Nat, trust me,” Kar said quietly. “I just wanted you to get better acquainted with Ember first.”

  Isa narrowed her eyes at him, then hurried ahead and offered her arm to Granna as they reached the winding stairs just inside the doors.

  “We will wait out here for you,” Erio told Kar, as he and Tharn took positions beside the Guards already stationed there.

  Kar nodded and followed the others inside.

  They found Saya near the top of the fourth level.

  She lay in bed beneath a large window that filled the room with sunlight. Ember sat on a pedestal beside her, calmly radiating Potentía from the crack along his side.

  Kar hung back near the doorway while Granna and Isa stepped inside.

  Saya stared blankly at the ceiling.

  Two Guardian women attended her. They wore light green robes with a spiral droplet of silver embroidered over the left breast.

  “How is she?” Granna asked.

  The women bowed their heads.

  “She continues to improve physically, but her vision has not returned. And either she cannot, or will not speak.” the older of the two answered.

  “I think she could speak if she wanted to, but is refusing to,” Ember whispered in Kar’s mind.

  Saya turned her head toward Ember as he spoke to Kar, almost as if she could hear him. The faintest hint of a smile touched the corner of her mouth before disappearing when Kar focused his full attention on her.

  “Sorry to interrupt your work,” Granna told the Restoration Guardians. “We’re only here to visit with the Prism briefly.”

  She turned to Kar. “So. What now?”

  “Right,” Kar said. He pointed from Isa to Ember. “Go ahead and place your hand on Ember.”

  Isa frowned but stepped forward cautiously, reaching out.

  Saya suddenly sat upright and spoke in a strange, fluting language.

  Kar sensed her Focusing. It wasn’t like anything he was familiar with. A barrier of light snapped into existence between Isa and Ember.

  “Only a Captain, or his Ward, may touch the Prism,” she said haltingly, her body trembling.

  The Restoration Guardians stepped away from the bed, and Granna lifted her cane as if prepared to strike.

  “I told you she could talk,” Ember remarked.

  Saya turned her sightless eyes toward the Prism.

  “And you should not be able to.”

  So she could hear Ember even when he wasn’t speaking to her directly. How? One thing was certain. This woman knew things Kar desperately wanted to learn.

  “Back up, Isa,” Kar said carefully.

  Saya turned toward him.

  “Who, and what, are you?” she asked.

  “I am Kar,” he said. “A friend of Ember.”

  She grunted and leaned back against the pillows. “I am Sayasenia. And whatever you name it, that Prism is my responsibility. Do not touch it.”

  Isa stepped back beside Granna, who shrugged and turned toward the door.

  “You heard the lady,” she said. “Best if we all listen to our Elders.”

  That was right. Though she didn’t look it, Sayasenia was likely the oldest person in this room.