Page 223

She keeps her voice barely audible. "Plants respond before people."

I understand. "Environmental changes came first."

"Maybe." She underlines the word. "If we can find botanical reports dated before the human symptoms we move the timeline backward." Exactly.

At lunch Rhyven appears. I know he's approaching before I see him. Not dramatically. There's no rush of emotion. Just awareness. Like my body quietly turns a page before my mind reaches the sentence. I hate how quickly I'm getting used to it. He stops beside our table. Looks at Caelen. "Meeting."

Caelen sighs. "I'm eating."

"Now."

"I hate when you say that."

"I know."

Then Rhyven's eyes move toward me. The sensation under my ribs shifts. Recognition. Presence meeting presence. His gaze sharpens slightly. He feels it too. Damn it. Nyra watches both of us. Very carefully. "We found something." I say before she can speak.

Rhyven looks at the map. "Show me."

Caelen points toward him. "You just told me we have a meeting."

He frowns. "We do."

"And now you're sitting."

"I'm adapting."

Caelen looks at me. "You see what you've done?"

I shake my head slightly. "I haven't done anything."

Rhyven takes the seat beside me. Warmth immediately intensifies. Subtle. But undeniable. I move my chair half an inch away. He looks down at the distance between us. Then at me. Says nothing. That is somehow worse.

Nyra explains everything. The route. The dates. The rural settlements. The botanical delay. The possibility that environmental changes occurred before human symptoms. Rhyven listens. "How far back can you trace it?" He asks.

Nyra hesitates. "417 so far."

"Go earlier." Rhyven nods.

"I was planning to." Nyra smiles.

"How much earlier?" I ask.

"As far as records allow." Rhyven nods. Then looks toward Caelen. "Tell the Chiefs."

Caelen's expression hardens. "All of them? We still don't have proof."

"No." Rhyven taps the map. "But we have a pattern." His eyes lift. "And patterns change training."

There it is. Chief first. Always. Caelen gathers the pages. Before standing, he looks at Rhyven. "You've slept?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Recently."

"That's not an answer."