Two hours later, Relia stood on the landing pad outside Kenzo’s fortress. The cool mountain air struck her like a rush of icy water, chasing the fog from her head. She’d also braided her hair and found clothes that actually matched. Good enough to fool anyone who wasn't looking too closely.

  The landing pad sat carved into the mountainside, a flat expanse of stone kept clear with a grid of heating sigils. Beyond the pad, the ground dropped away into a steep valley filled with snow and pine trees.

  Kalden stood to Relia’s right, clasping his hands behind his back in that formal Shokenese way. He must have been using a ridiculous amount of hair product, because the wind failed to pull a single strand out of place.

  Arturo stood more casually with his hands in his pockets, wearing a pair of yellow-rimmed sunglasses. Glim floated in midair between them, while Zukan loomed a few paces behind, radiating heat from his dark green scales.

  Relia tried to focus on their conversation rather than her own thoughts. Anything to avoid thinking about the future. Or the present. Or the past.

  Especially the past.

  Countless memories swirled through her mind like blades. Watching her friends die at the Palace Prime. Failing to save Elise for the second time. Letting her father worm his way into her head. Using her Moonfire to destroy his body from the inside.

  A part of her itched to make the pain go away—to retreat so deep that nothing could hurt her. But her friends needed her right now. Or at least, they needed someone with her aspect and her power.

  They'd told Relia to take all the time she needed. And for a moment, she’d almost believed them.

  Then Akari left without saying goodbye. Kalden had defended her, but Relia read between the lines. This was about getting a Veilcord. It was always something with Akari.

  They should be together right now as a team, making up for the months they'd spent apart.

  But her friends just kept moving toward the next milestone. Today, it was Veilcords in the War Gardens. Tomorrow, they’d be finding their Grandmaster revelations. Then what? Leaving this planet? Advancing to the Mystic realm? Just so they could come back and fight some more?

  That was Kenzo’s plan, and everyone just went along with it. Meanwhile, Relia felt like she was still trapped in the Palace Prime, watching their antics through a TV screen.

  She couldn’t match their pace, but Glim could. The mana spirit might struggle to button a shirt, but she knew her business when it came to mana arts. With practice, she could be the healer this team needed.

  Several more minutes passed, then the airship appeared as a dark speck against the pale winter sky. It grew larger as it approached, revealing a sleek, elongated hull that stretched nearly two hundred feet from its tapered nose to its curving tail. The ship descended with surprising grace for something so large, touching down on the pad with a whoosh of air and the whine of retracted landing gear. A ramp unfolded from the starboard side, and two figures emerged from the doorway.

  Ricardo Kazalla was a scientist, but he had more of a warrior’s build. Tall and broad-shouldered, with a shaved head that gleamed in the sunlight and a thick black beard peppered with gray. He wore a black button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal the tattoos on his forearm.

  Sofia was the exact opposite. Barely five feet tall, she had a warm bronze complexion and dark curly hair pulled back in a practical bun. Her round face broke into a smile when she spotted her son, and she hurried down the ramp with her arms spread wide.

  Arturo broke into a jog, meeting them halfway across the clearing. His mother caught him in a hug, while his father clapped him on the shoulder.

  Relia watched the exchange from across the landing pad, unable to hear their words over the howling winds. Then the trio joined them a minute later.

  "You guys already know Zukan.” Arturo gestured up at the massive dragonborn who’d moved to stand on the right side of Relia’s group.

  Zukan inclined his head. "Grandmaster Ricardo. Grandmaster Sofia."

  "Zukan!” Sofia smiled up at him. "You've certainly grown. Are those scales darker than before?"

  "Natural molting phase," Ricardo said before Zukan could answer. "The melanin concentration increases with each shed cycle.”

  Zukan gave a stoic nod. “What he said.”

  Arturo cleared his throat and continued down the line. “This is Kalden.”

  “Grandmasters.” Kalden gave a proper Shokenese bow. “It’s an honor to meet you both.”

  "Please." Sofia waved a hand before stepping forward. "We're not that formal." Before Kalden could protest, she'd wrapped her arms around his waist. Kalden adapted quickly, returning the hug as if he’d planned that all along.

  “And this is Relia,” Arturo said when his mother released Kalden.

  “The healer?” Sofia’s face lit up at the sight of her. “Arturo’s told us so much about you.”

  “Oh.” Relia breathed a sigh of relief; she’d half-expected them to comment on her relationship to Ashur Moonfire. “Did he really?”

  Arturo’s father nodded along. “The way he tells it, you’ve saved his life more times than he can count.” The man stepped forward and clasped Relia’s wrist. Sofia followed with another hug that smelled like cinnamon and machine oil.

  Relia felt more of her tension drain away. Arturo often spoke fondly of his parents, but she’d half expected them to be more like Kalden’s father, or her own. Serious mana artists who saw their children as extensions of their own goals.

  These two were downright strange by comparison.

  Sofia continued to the end of the line. “And this must be Glimmer. I’ve never met a mana spirit before. Do you shake hands? Or—“

  “Hugs!” Glim zipped down and wrapped her arms around Sofia's shoulders, her form solidifying mid-flight. “I love hugs!”

  Sofia laughed, a rich, genuine sound that seemed to fill the landing pad. “Well, that answers that question.” Then she took a step back, surveying the entire team. “Where’s Akari?”

  “Long story,” Kalden said. “She’s fine. Just . . . doing her own thing.”

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  “I see.” She gave the team a longer look, meeting each of their eyes in turn. Her expression shifted in that moment, warmth tempered with something more solemn. “I’m sorry about Elend and Irina. I know you were all close with them.”

  Relia and the others nodded and muttered their thanks. For a moment, she feared the conversation would continue down that line.

  Or did she to talk about the Darklights? Honestly, she didn’t know anymore. It hurt to talk about them, but it felt even worse to press on as if nothing was wrong.

  Just then, another woman stepped down the airship’s ramp behind the the pilot. She was Cadrian, her black hair bound in half a dozen braids that swayed with each step. A stylized black dragon hung from a golden chain around her neck. The Solidors’ clan sigil.

  Relia’s eyes widened as the newcomer stepped across the landing pad. “?”

  Her old teacher—Lena Cavaco—stepped forward and met Relia’s eyes with a nod. Several new scars covered her face, along with a black patch over her left eye.

  “What happened?” Relia asked her. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to see you,” Lena said, “I need your help.”

  ~~~

  They spent the next few minutes settling into a dining room on the first floor of the fortress. A long table dominated the center of the room, big enough to seat twenty people. Afternoon light slanted through the tall windows, casting geometric shadows on the table’s polished surface.

  Kalden sat at the head, with Lena on his left, and Relia, Arturo, and Zukan on his right. Glim had led Arturo’s parents upstairs to help them get settled.

  "It happened two weeks ago.” Lena’s fingers wrapped around a bowl of steaming red tea that filled the air with its bitter scent. “Just after Rosintar betrayed your team at the safe house.”

  She brought the bowl to her lips and took a gentle sip. “The Sons of Talek attacked our other base house in New Cadria. Many of us were captured and tortured.” Lena gestured vaguely to her eyepatch. “They wanted to know about the Church’s other locations. Fortunately, I didn’t know much.”

  Kalden leaned forward. “Speaking of which, why Rosintar betray us?”

  “I’m afraid that answer died with him.” Lena set down her bowl with a soft clink. “But I have my suspicions. Some members of my church weren’t happy with the Solidors’ plans. They wanted this world to change, and they expected our patrons to bring that change personally.”

  “The Solidors wanted to leave,” Kalden mused. “And Akari was their ticket home.”

  “But what about the rest of the cult?” Arturo asked from his spot on Relia’s left.

  “Church,” Lena corrected. “We aren’t a cult.”

  “Right.” He scratched the back of his head. “Sorry. But the rest of you are cool with the Solidors jumping ship?”

  “This was never about Thane and Relyn Solidor,” Lena said. “That might seem strange to you, given our name, but we know the Solidors aren’t gods. Neither are the Angels. It’s the ideas they represent that matter. The Angels represent the world we live in today. The Aeons represent change.”

  Relia shot Zukan a sidelong glance. He believed the Angels were far stronger than ordinary men and women—strong enough to guide their followers to Eternity when they died. But in many ways, Lena was right. The Angels represented a static world. Anyone could advance to the Mystic realm, but ascension would defy the natural order of things. Or so the Angelic church claimed.

  “But why would the Sons of Talek attack you now?” Kalden asked. “They must have known about your safe houses before this.

  Lena nodded. “They made a deal with Rosintar. He wanted to spare the rest of us—we saw that in Northern Espiria when he evacuated the safe house. Now he’s dead, and no one else even knew about the deal.”

  In other words, they had no reason to honor it.

  Was Relia’s father behind all this? He rarely spoke of the Sons of Talek, much less his place in it. Then again, how many Mystics could this group have? Ashur could be leading the entire thing for all she knew.

  “And we think they’re looking for someone specific,” Lena said.

  “Who?” Arturo asked. Then he gestured a finger around the table. “Us?”

  “It’s not us,” Kalden said. “Moonfire knows exactly where we are right now. But they had another space artist there at Emperor’s Cross. He helped Rosintar open the portal.”

  “Exactly,” Lena said. “His name is Caster Serrano. He’s the only space artist on this planet who can make a portal into the Abyss.” She paused, shooting Kalden a curious glance. “Unless Miss Zeller has already learned this?”

  “She hasn’t,” Kalden said with a quick shake of his head. “She doesn’t even know where to start.”

  “I’m not surprised.” Lena took another sip of her tea. “They say it’s impossible to find the Abyss unless you’ve already been there. Rosintar learned the technique from Thane Solidor himself.”

  “So the Sons of Talek want to find Caster Serrano,” Kalden said. “To prevent the Solidors from returning to this planet?”

  “Or my father wants to learn that technique for himself,” Relia said.

  “I suspect you’re both right,” Lena replied. “I have no idea where Serrano is now, but I learned one thing during my captivity. They’re extending their search to the Church of Trelian. Serrano had friends there. He could be hiding with them.”

  Relia’s breath caught in her throat. “Is this where I come in?”

  Lena turned to face her. “We want to get Serrano to safety, but we have no idea where Trelian’s followers are hiding.”

  “They have hideouts down in Cadria,” Relia said. “I could tell you where they are.”

  “That’s a start,” Lena said. “But things aren’t exactly peaceful between our organizations. An introduction from you would go a long way.”

  “What?” Relia blinked. “You want me to go with you? To Cadria?”

  “You’re Lyraina Trelian’s granddaughter. They’ll listen to you.”

  “They only know me as her apprentice.” Relia stared down at the coconut latte in front of her. “It might be better if we keep it that way.” It was hard enough to keep up with her friends these days. The last thing she needed was a whole cult—or church—looking to her.

  “They know more than you think,” Lena said.

  Relia ignored that and gestured back to Kalden. “We’re entering the Shadow Garden in three days.”

  “This might be more important,” Kalden said.

  The whole table turned to face him. Even Lena looked slightly surprised.

  “You remember my father’s plan,” he told them. “Every Mystic on this planet has sworn an oath not to oppose the enemy directly. The enemy strikes during the advancement, and there’s no way to escape him. Not unless we leave the planet. That means we need Serrano. We need him to teach Akari what he knows.”

  “I’m sure that can be arranged,” Lena said. “I’ve already spoken to Ricardo and Sofia. They’ve agreed to transport Serrano and any other survivors here.”

  Relia kept staring at Kalden. “You want me to go to Cadria? Without the rest of the team?”

  “You don’t have to go alone,” Arturo cut in. “I’ll go with you.” Now it was Kalden’s turn to look surprised, but Arturo held up a hand before he could object. “I’m the tech guy, but they don’t allow weapons in the Shadow Garden. Tell me, shoko, how am I supposed to fight down there without weapons?”

  “I’d planned on helping you and Zukan reach the Master realm,” Kalden said.

  “I appreciate that,” Arturo said. “But I’d still slow you guys down in the meantime.”

  Kalden frowned. “You never mentioned this before.”

  “Yeah, well, I was waiting for the right time to bring it up. But you said it yourself—leaving the planet is more important.” He gestured to Zukan on his right. “You two were built for the War Gardens. I can do more good in Cadria.”

  “Point taken,” Kalden said after a short pause.

  Relia’s blood ran cold at the thought of this mission. She’d planned on letting Glim take over for the next few months. But Glim couldn’t lead them to the Cult of Trelian, and she definitely couldn’t talk to Lyraina’s followers.

  Kalden turned back to Relia, his expression softer than she'd seen in days. “My father wants me to get my Veilcord so I can unite the clans of North Shoken. But I’m willing to postpone that if I need to.”

  Relia blinked at him, feeling a sudden warmth in her chest. “You’d do that?” The War Gardens only opened once every three years. Could he really afford to wait that long?

  Kalden nodded once. “I know it’s important to you that we keep this team together. And I understand, given everything that’s happened. So if you need me to come with you, I can make that happen.”

  “So can I,” Zukan said.

  Relia sank back in her chair. A part of her still wanted to refuse—to let someone else handle this while she disappeared. But then she thought of her mother, Clara.

  “I’m tired of this,” the woman had told Relia. “Decades of training and fighting and sacrifices. And where does it get us? There are always more enemies. More advancements. More goals to conquer.”

  Deep down, a small part of Relia couldn’t help but agree. But her past self had rejected that idea, and her old response echoed in her mind:

  Even if Relia agreed with her mother, she didn’t have to share the woman’s fate. She trained to know what was right. That meant being out there in the real world and becoming the best version of herself.

  Even when it was hard.

  Lena cleared her throat. “I realize this is a lot to take in. I don’t expect an answer from you today.”

  “No,” Relia said. “No . . . Kalden’s right. This is too important to wait.” She turned back to the head of the table. “And I appreciate the thought, but you need to get your Veilcord. That’s important, too.”

  Finally, she took a deep breath and met Lena’s eyes again. “I’ll go with you to Cadria.”

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