Not audibly—not loud.
It’s low.
Beneath the senses.
A presence in my bones. A quiet, continuous thrum under my boots that makes the land feel awake.
Alive.
Like a heartbeat, I’m somehow tuned into.
I swallow.
We’re not in Jersey anymore, Toto.
“This is…” My voice trails off because I honestly don’t have a word big enough. “Incredible.”
Beside me, Dagan stands tall and still, like he’s part of the scenery. Black hair pulled back, pale skin catching what little light the sky has left, green-gold eyes tracking every flicker of my reaction.
“The Rooted Marches,” he says quietly. “My territory. My duty.”
Our hands are still linked from the walk through the tunnel.
I don’t let go.
He doesn’t, either.
The sky above is not fully dark, but it’s not daylight, either.
Nightfall lives in permanent twilight, if what Dagan explained on the way is right.
The clouds are thick, bruised purple at the edges, streaked with channels of pale green light like distant storms caught in slow motion.
The air smells like loam and stone dust and something bright and sharp underlying it all—like cut limes and crushed pine needles.
The ground under my boots gives a little sigh.
Not a tremor. Not a threat.
More like it’s saying oh good, you’re here.
The realization makes my chest tight.
“The earth is different,” I murmur.
“Yes.” Dagan studies my face. “How does it feel to you?”
“Like it’s talking,” I say slowly, searching for words. “Not in English, obviously. But… I don’t know. Back home, when there’s instability, I feel it as wrongness. As tension. Potential energy waiting to snap. Here it feels more like…” I wiggle my fingers helplessly. “A conversation. Like it’s including me in whatever it’s doing.”
One corner of his mouth lifts.
“That is good, Oona,” he says. “The bond thread forms. Mine runs deep in this land. Now, yours brushes against it. The Marches recognize you. And when our zareth fully forms, the connection will only be greater.”
I laugh weakly.
“Great. The land likes me. Tell that to my student loans.”
He huffs out a quiet breath that might be his version of a laugh.
