A chill ran down my spine. I'd seen an obsidian dragon and a rider with dark eyes as well. Shared hallucinations weren't supposed to be possible, were they?
I'd heard that some herbs, when ingested, produced similar visions, and I often wondered whether certain chemical compounds affected a specific area of the brain, which was how they were producing similar experiences. But other than the powder that Lysara had given me, I hadn't ingested anything, and Kailin hadn't touched the powder at all.
The group leaders dictated a punishing pace, trying to make up for lost time and reach the circle before nightfall. When it finally came into full view, I was ready to drop to my knees and kiss the ground, which was surprisingly free of snow.
The standing stones loomed before us, forming a large circle, but my eyes seemed to slide off them whenever I tried to count their number. Within the circle, the ground was perfectly flat, clear, and compacted, and it seemed to be covered in symbols that appeared to move when I wasn't looking directly at them. I assumed the wavering symbols were just another form of hallucination, but the lack of snow was real.
Was it a natural phenomenon, something to do with what was underground, or had the snow been cleared?
I imagined that several dragons releasing their breath of fire could clear the snow with ease, but given that I couldn't see any scorch marks, that wasn't likely how it had been done.
Magic perhaps?
In the center of the circle stood Saphir Fatewever or an apparition of him, radiating power in waves that were distorting the air like heat rising from sunbaked stones. Or at least that was what I was seeing.
Was it real?
I doubted it. I'd seen the shaman at the foot of the mountain, and he'd been impressive, but he hadn't emitted power or anything else.
My head spun, and as I stumbled, the rope went taut as both Codric and Kailin compensated for my misstep, keeping me upright.
Kailin caught my elbow, and for a moment, I allowed myself to pretend that her touch meant more than just preventing my fall.
"Thank you." I managed a weak smile.
"Look," Shovia called back to us, pointing to the sky.
Dragons of every imaginable color flew over the Circle of Fate, their scales catching the waning light like living jewels. Blue and green, gold and silver, red and purple—they moved in a well-practiced dance.
"The Breath of Fate," Morek whispered. "Just like in the old songs."
"What does that mean?" Codric asked.
"Dragons dance in the sky when powerful magic arises in the Circle of Fate," Kailin said. "But since I don't believe in magic, I'd say it's part of the ceremony. There is nothing like the sightof so many dragons flying overhead to put the fear of Elu into everyone's heart."
I was surprised that she could think so clearly. I was foggy and dazed, and everything about this place seemed magical to me.
The dragons' dance seemed to pull at something deep inside me, awakening an answering rhythm in my blood.
It was probably all in my head.
Kailin took a step back, bumping into me, and I put my hand on her back to stabilize her. "We are almost there."
"Yeah." She turned to look at me over her shoulder, and I pretended not to see the question in her eyes. The same question that had been growing between us since that moment in the cave.
What happens when we get there?
The warrior spirits returned, but now they stood at attention between the stones, their spectral forms snapping salutes as we passed.
I returned their salutes automatically, earning a strange look from Codric. "Just humoring them," I muttered. "It seems polite."
He laughed, a slightly hysterical sound that suggested he was seeing his own visions. "Right, because we wouldn't want to offend your imagined honor guard."
"They're as real as anything else right now," I said, surprising myself with the truth in those words. The line between reality and vision had grown so thin it was barely discernible.
We were close enough now to see individual symbols carved into the standing stones. They seemed to writhe and shift under my gaze, forming patterns that almost made sense before dissolving again. Power thrummed through the ground beneath our feet, growing stronger with each step toward the circle.
Pilgrims who had made it there before us were sitting or lying on the ground, probably overcome by the same hallucinations that plagued us. Others stood in small groups, their faces turned toward the shaman.
