I push up onto my elbows. “How do you know?”
He looks me dead in the eye. “The Council does not fear war. They fear something new. They will try to fix the Stone. And quietly try to undo the changes it made.”
Rythar moves around the root nexus, touching the vines and stones.
“Are you ready?” he asks.
“For what, exactly?”
He gives a small shake of his head. “I am uncertain what you must accomplish. Only that you must move first, and secretly. Contact your Starfallen. With my power. I will help you monitor for Jarrett’s surveillance. Can you start now?”
I nod, but my hands shake as I press them to the rim of the pool.
He sets both hands to my shoulders, grounding me. I can feel his heartbeat through my skin. The connection snaps taut, humming like a live wire.
I close my eyes, and sink into it like a circuit.
At first, all I sense is the room—the living wall, the heat of his hands, the faint scent of mint from the water. The connection opens, but Rythar’s biome power runs alongside, holding me steady.
I reach for Sophia. It’s easier now, with Rythar’s power. Sophia’s presence is so clear it’s a shock, like stepping into cold water. She pushes back at me at first, but won’t let me go. Like we’re mentally holding hands. And she’s not alone—there’s a new warmth there, someone with her, a shadow just behind the curtain. Finally, we can communicate.
Sophia.I tell her.Hushbite came from Xytheos. We have to find out who.”
We spend a few precious minutes figuring things out. But Sophia says it’s not safe for us to talk. Maybe the High Lord can’t watch me here, but he’s on Sophia’s side. She’s got to figure that out.
I reach for Maya next. The link comes wild and hot, like a jittery rush of color and sound. The High Lord is definitely watching her. I feel him nearby and get out fast.
Finally, I look for Dana. Jarrett’s wall is there with Dana, but his mind is not. I slip under it. Dana’s psychic presence is huge, all sand and wind, a horizon with no end. My head fills with images—desert, cloudless sky, towers, and a face I recognize but can’t name.
She’s not afraid. She’s furious. She’s fighting something bigger than herself. She doesn’t know I’m here. I need to get her attention.
The root nexus shakes under my hands.
Rythar moves in, arms tight around my waist, holding me against the blast. He grits his teeth, but his power pours in, stabilizing me just enough.
Sophia cuts in, her voice slicing the haze.Mr. I’m-In-Charge is listening on my end. Shut it down. Dana knows I’m here. I’ll talk to her later.
Sophia yanks, and the link severs. I collapse, gasping, back into my own body.
I barely register Rythar catching me, tucking me into his lap. His hands are ice on my skin. I’m overheated and twitching.
“Were you seen?” Rythar rasps, searching my face.
“No, but Jarrett’s watching on that end.” I gasp. “I could see Dana, but she couldn’t see me. I got the message to Sophia.” I’m spent. I can’t explain more.
Rythar carries me up and out of the root nexus. I expect him to lay me down in the first soft place he finds, but he moves to a room near the surface. It’s a simple room with a ceiling of woven root and a bed that’s more platform than mattress. The only light is from particles drifting in slow circles overhead, throwing shifting patterns across the walls.
“They’re like the first time you took me to the bridge. Up to the forest canopy,” I murmur.
He grunts assent as he sets me down gently, kneeling beside me. My skin is still too hot, every joint buzzing from the psychic blast. Sweat slides down my sides, pooling in the small of my back.
“You’re shaking,” he says, concerned.
I try to steady my breath, feeling the connection to him strengthen me. We share the emotional connection—and then there’s something new at the center of it all.
It starts as a flutter in my belly, almost like nausea. But it’s not. It’s a new presence.
My hand flies to my abdomen.
