Page 137 of Heat of the Everflame

Seemingly out of nowhere, the tunnel ended. A sheer rock face stretched over our heads, thick and impenetrable, no openings in sight.

Zalaric clasped his hands and turned to face us. “I’ll go with you as far as I can, but beyond this point, you’ll be in the hands of my contact. I will not be able to help you if anything goes wrong.”

“Beyond what point?” Taran asked, scratching his head and staring at the wall of stone.

Zalaric ignored him. “There’s no turning back. Are you sure you want to do this?”

Though he’d spoken the words to Luther, his eyes shifted to me.

“Do we have reason to fear?” Luther asked. “Do you not trust your contact?”

“It’sUmbros. I trust no one here—and neither should you.”

“Wonderful,” Taran grumbled.

Still, Zalaric’s eyes weighed on me. “I would not deliver you to them if I believed they intended to do you harm, but if they do, I cannot prevent it.” His shoulders lifted in a slow shrug, but there was none of the haughtiness in it he normally displayed. Instead, he looked... resigned. Sad, almost. “I have only the power I can afford to buy. Such is the way of life in Umbros.”

“We have no other choice,” Luther said. “We’ll have to trust your contact. Even if you do not.”

Zalaric didn’t move.

Just as I’d experienced once before with Luther, Zalaric’s mind appeared to me as a thin wall of mist.

Look, thevoiceurged.

I jerked back a step, startled at my godhood’s sudden appearance and its novel demand.

Look, it urged again.

I squinted my eyes, and the haze parted like a curtain drawn back from a window, revealing what felt like an infinite library of images that felt at once wholly foreign and yet intimately familiar. A wave of thoughts and emotions overwhelmed me, but among them, one stood out—a secret buried under a deep layer of sorrow and regret.

And suddenly, I understood.

I glanced over my shoulder at the dark tunnel at our backs, second-guessing my choices and wondering if I was leading us all to ruin.

I reeled my godhood back in and looked back at Zalaric, then subtly dipped my chin.

Understanding. Accepting.

He seemed to understand, too. His shoulders sank. His head hung as he swept one hand in a graceful arc at his side, and the stone along the wall began to shimmer in place.

A birdlike chirp rang out, sounding muffled and far away. Zalaric balled his fist, and the shimmering disappeared, revealing a narrow crawlspace carved into the rock.

“Go ahead,” he said, gesturing toward it.

Taran crossed his arms. “You first.”

“I have to go last, so I can conceal the opening once we’re all through.” Zalaric raked his eyes over Taran, one eyebrow raised. “But ifyoucan do that, just say the word, Terrance.”

Taran growled.

“At least he’s getting closer to your name,” Alixe whispered to him with a sly smile.

“I’ll go,” Luther said. “Don’t follow until you hear from me.”

He crouched low and wobbled. His eyes squeezed shut as he grabbed a nearby rock to steady himself. A moment later, he dropped to his knees, and slowly, stiffly, he disappeared through the crawlspace.

We waited in tense silence for a minute, then another, then finally, Luther’s voice came echoing back: “All clear.”

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