Page 97 of Ecliptic

“Dyani, thank you, but this is dangerous. I don’t even know if I can get us there.”

The warrior unsheathed her blades and lowered to one knee, silencing my protest. “I offer you my blades, Alcreon Light,” she replied, her sharp eyes unfaltering. “Do you accept them or deny them?”

My breath caught in my throat, and my eyes burned at the depth of her loyalty. “I accept your blades,” I nodded with gratitude.

“Good,” she said, standing upright. “I would’ve had to hurt you had you declined such an offer. And you will get us there. I believe in you.”

“Well, if she’s going, then I’m going,” Maddock said, stalking up to us. “Don’t fight me on this one, sparky. Rowen, tell her.”

“The more protection you have, the better. We know very little about the desert elves. They may not take kindly to being disturbed.”

I didn’t have time to argue. Indrasyl needed me. Luneth needed me. “Fine, but only because we don’t have time to argue.”

“You have two minutes to get provisions,” Rowen said, and our tagalongs darted off.

“Can you get us there?” I asked Nepta worriedly.

“I know little of this ‘Eye of the Sun,’ but I’ll call upon the spirits and ask them to allow you to guide this portal. Focus on where you must go. Hesitate, or let your mind wander, and you could all be lost.”

“No pressure,” I said, shooting Rowen a glance.

“I regret I cannot leave,” the Elven-head replied, and though hope shone faintly in her eyes, fatigue lingered in the subtle movements of her face. “My protection wards are connected to me, and it’s nearly taking all my strength to keep them up. We cannot risk any stray Voro-Kai entering the village. You must go without me.” Her hand rested on my shoulder. “I cannot leave my people, but when you speak to the desert elves, you speak for us all.” Her voice carried both the weight of unspoken fear and immeasurable trust.

“Thank you for believing in me,” I said, honored that she viewed me as an extension of her and her kin.

“No need for all that,” the Elven-head said as Dyani and Maddock returned with their supplies.

Nepta raised her hands and summoned a portal of pulsing blue light.

I gathered my strength, both physical and mental, hoping what Rayal said was true—that if I did manage to find her, I would be amongst friends.

I approached Nepta’s shimmering portal, feeling Rowen, Maddock, and Dyani close behind. Whatever Nepta had asked of the spirits, I prayed they accepted.

I emptied my mind of everything except for one thing: the arch.

Indrasyl showed me the Eye of the Sun—or at least I hoped she had. She was a dying tree who had admitted to having memory issues. She might have led me to the wrong place, but I couldn’t think too hard about that now. Instead, I focused on that arch as if my life depended on it. I stepped through Nepta’s portal, hoping it would land us somewhere close.

The air changed in an instant as a bright light blinded me. I felt the environment shift from a forest filled with sap, salt, and evergreens to a dry and arid landscape.

My eyes adjusted to the harsh light, revealing a sea of goldensand. Heat like a furnace washed over my skin. The sun was bright and blistering, with no shade or protection anywhere in sight. Sand billowed across the dunes in a hazy glow, making it hard to tell the distance and height of anything. It all felt like an illusion.

“I don’t see an arch. Do you see an arch?” Maddock’s voice held an edge of panic as he spun around, looking in all directions.

“Keira,” Rowen said calmly, the desert wind making his shirt billow around him. “Where are we?”

I spun back around, looking for Nepta’s portal, but it had vanished. “We should be at the Eye of the Sun.”

Dyani shielded her eyes from the harsh light. “What exactly were you thinking when you stepped through?”

“I was thinking of the arch,”I said, trying to remain calm.

“What else?” Dyani ground out.

My heart stuttered in my chest. “Oh no.”

Oh no, oh no, oh no.

The memory struck me. My last thought had been one I didn’t even realize. “I may have thought,land us somewhere close.”

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