Dhoona drew a pack of cards from his pocket. “Maybe a couple of rounds of Hunter will help us unwind.”
Ravi grinned. “I love that game.”
“I’ve never played it,” Kalani said.
“Oh, I know this one,” C’ael said with a smirk.
“You’ve played?” Yudh asked.
“Once, at camp. The troops there played it.”
“It’s a popular game among ground forces,” Ravi said.
I looked to Pashim, who smiled. “I’ve played it too.”
“Well, you guys better teach me and Kalani, so we can kick your asses.”
The next hour was spent in laughter, good-natured banter, and exclamations as C’ael won game after game.
I shot him a mock glare as Yudh shuffled the cards for one final round. “Like hell you only played once.”
“I wouldn’t lie to you,” C’ael said.
“Seriously?” I shook my head. “Every game…”
C’ael winked. “What can I say? I’m a natural.”
C’ael won the last round too, and Yudh packed up the cards, mumbling under his breath about strange entities and mind reading.
We arranged our packs close together for warmth, and I made sure to place mine next to Pashim’s. C’ael lay down on the other side of me, his body just as warm as Ravi's, who positionedhimself by my feet once again. The others found spots nearby, creating a cocoon of heat for us to settle in.
We’d lost the nagrata, and now a whole settlement had been swallowed into nothing, and tomorrow…Tomorrow we’d part ways on our separate missions. It felt like the beginnings of a fantasy quest, and in all the books I’d read, not all the characters made it till the end.
But this wasn’t a book. This was my life. These were my friends, and I’d do whatever was in my power to keep them with me.
Chapter 19
THIS IS THE HEART OF ME
ARAZ
When the air begins to taste like fire, I know that we’re close to our destination. I feel Leela’s probing regard on the side of my face. She’s waiting for me to recall something important, and yes, I sense a memory shrouded in shadow, aching to step into the light, but I’m afraid that if I reach for it now, it will slip deeper. I fear that is how I planned it.
Yes, this memory is hidden by design.
I will remember when the time is right.
The dunes crest then dip, and the thing I have been searching for comes into view. A circular wound in the sand, the stone lip barely four feet high.
The air above it shimmers with intense heat.
I slide down the dunes, pulse racing, throat burning with each breath as I get closer. My blood simmers in awakening, inhomecoming, as I run toward the aperture carved into the desert of my soul.
I know what I’ll see even before I look, but the sight of it burns away the clawing ache that’s lived inside me for much too long.
“Oh…” Leela joins me at the stone barrier, leaning in to look down into the glowing abyss where the heart of me resides.
The sun hidden in the depths flares and rotates. Orange and blue flames lick at its surface before reaching for me.
