After we rested and watered the horses, we resumed our journey. When the horses slowed again, we stopped for the night.

I helped collect a few sticks of wood for the fire from the stunted trees and sparse bushes growing in the plains. What I found wasn’t enough to cook with, but Leif had come prepared.

“Mara gave me these.” He unpacked a handful of white scoals.

While he made dinner, I groomed the horses. We ate in near silence.

“What’s the watch schedule?” I asked Leif.

“No need for one in the plains.”

I lay down by the fire. The earth was still damp from the rain and I shivered.

“Oh, for sand’s sake,” Ulrick whispered next to me. “I know we’re taking it slow, but this is ridiculous. Come here.”

He lifted his blanket and I rolled to him, ending with my back to his chest. He covered us both and put his arm around my stomach, pulling me tight against him.

“It’s been an awful day. I need to hold you,” he said.

His warmth drove the chill from my body.

“I thought you were dead. Some protector. If it wasn’t for you, we’d all be…” He swallowed. “You did what you had to. I would have done the same.”

I agreed. “But I feel like I cheated.”

“You played by their rules. They set the standard when they attacked without warning, creeping up while we slept.”

His arm trembled and I wondered if he was angry or finally reacting to the fight.

“I landed a few blows, but couldn’t reach my sword. Then being ordered to my knees and feeling so…”

“Powerless,” I supplied.

“Yes. I didn’t like it.”

Having been in the same situation many times, I was about to commiserate. But with the morning’s events still fresh in my mind, I made a realization. “We really weren’t completely powerless. In this case, we had Leif’s intelligence, tricking them. And there is always the power to choose. Cooperate or die—not a stellar choice, but a choice nonetheless.”

“What about cooperate or someone you love dies?”

“You still have a choice.”

“But when he jabbed his knife into your throat, the choice was no longer mine.”

“Right. It was mine,” I said.

“That’s why I felt so helpless.”

“You shouldn’t. It’s my choice. You need to trust me to make the right one.” And I needed to trust myself. Recognizing the lack was one step in the right direction.

Sleep came in fits and my dreams hovered on the edge of nightmares. I dreamed about a cave of lights. The images were sharp and the air smelled of wet minerals. Dampness caressed my skin. A pleading voice scratched at my thoughts. It beckoned and begged from its hidden location. Whispered promises in exchange for freedom. Promises of power.

I woke with a cry and Ulrick’s arm around my waist.

“A nightmare?” he asked.

“Not quite.” I told him about the cave of lights.

I drifted through the rest of the night. The voice haunted my sleep and the morning sun was a relief. Leif already had a pot of water heating on the coals. “These are wonderful.”

“They’re expensive,” I grumped.

“Rough night?” he asked.

“I’ve had better.”

He poured three cups of tea. I sipped mine and savored my sour mood. I felt trapped and the feeling lasted for the rest of the day. By late afternoon, we arrived at the main road to Fulgor. By then, the insistent voice from my dreams echoed in my mind. I ignored it and focused on the world around me.

The crowded cobblestone streets of Fulgor buzzed with activity. As the capital of the Moon Clan lands, the large city hosted all the government offices and boasted the wealthiest market district. The proud citizens chose to ignore the fact no one wanted to travel all the way to the Emerald Mountains to purchase jewels from the Cloud Mist Clan. Far better to have the mine owners ship their goods to Fulgor for sale and trade.

Unfortunately, rich shoppers attracted thieves and beggars; so the city guards patrolled the streets and kept a close watch.

“Yelena and Irys are staying in Councillor Moon’s guest quarters,” Leif said, angling Rusalka through the late-day traffic. “She said there was enough room for us.”

I scanned the goods in the windows of the closing shops. Fulgor was known for its variety of clay, and, sure enough, I spotted several bowls and plates fashioned from the clay. Why anyone would want to eat from a clunky, heavy piece of pottery when they could use glass was beyond my imagination. The earthenwares competed with the glasswares at the market stands. My father always sent his sturdiest cups when selling to the Fulgor merchants.

A few pottery pieces drew my attention. I would have liked to stop and examine them, but Leif was determined to reach the Councillor’s Hall before it closed for the evening and the cooks left for their homes.

The white dome of the Hall rose above the other city buildings. All Sitian government buildings had been constructed from the white marble mined from the Moon lands. The green-veined slabs had been painstakingly chiseled from the ground and exported to the other capital cities.

When we arrived at the courtyard, our horses were taken to the stable and we were directed inside. Leif had been “communicating” with his sister through his glass messenger.

Yelena waited in the main lobby, which was a huge cavern with a black-and-white marble floor and was open all the way up to the dome ten stories above.