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Heru flies effortlessly, each sweep of her wings carrying us farther than a horse could manage in several strides. Time blurs, and both Ramona and Esther take turns requesting I sing various tunes. The juxtaposition of singing Lucky Lovely Ladybug while arguably riding into certain danger doesn’t go unnoticed, yet the music calms my nerves. As it always does.

The farther west we travel, the stranger the land becomes. Sparse trees, long stretches of grey stone broken by crooked ravines, and large craters carved into the surface like concave eyes watching us as we fly. Nothing feels alive. We have to be getting close.

I close my eyes.

The stars answer almost immediately with images pulsing in time with my heartbeat. Moonlight spilling over black cliffs. A jagged mountain split clean through. Water disappearing into darkness. An arch of stone shaped like a broken crown. Each vision lasts only a heartbeat before another replaces it.

We are getting closer.

I open my eyes. “We’re almost there.”

Esther calls from over her shoulder. “You ready?”

“Something tells me this is going to be a little more complicated than just finding the right cave, trotting inside, and collecting a stone.”

“Okay, so, yes?”

“Yes, Esther. I want to do this. Already, we are seeing differences with the Moon’chers, let alone the sickness I’ve seen with the Underlings…”

“We will be right here with you, Kem.” Ramona says from behind. She squeezes my waist a few times.

The stars tug at my consciousness. I call over to Leaf, “We need to land!”

Leaf nods and pulls Taman’s reins.

I follow suit. Heru tucks in her wings, and Esther screams as the ground quickly approaches.

THUMP!

We land with a definitive crack. Both rocs land on the rocky surface. A few hours remain until sunrise, and I’ll be able to retrieve the star stone from the Cave of Silence. One step closer to having all three stones and capturing a fucking moon. Even if half of the underworld broke away from the peace treaty, they don’t deserve to fall sick with illness. The moon, their home planet, that’s slowly floating away is causing irreparable harm.

Irreparable harm to the man I love.

Atlys is sick.

No. I can’t think about that. I slide off the mount relatively easily, my thighs only slightly sore from the ride. Deep within the recesses of my consciousness, a star begs to be heard. I can feel it tugging. Beckoning me forward. The familiar sensation tingles inside, like hundreds of bees trapped and eager for their release. It’s almost a literal and metaphorical itching sensation like Leaf described happening to the Solarball players when they harness as much magic as possible to prepare for massive outputs during the game. My body is readying for something big. Storing magic within and waiting.

“We should rest here until the morning,” Castor says, slipping off of Taman. Then, as if realizing he took the lead without permission, he turns to me. “Akemi, are we close enough?”

I nod, feeling the slight pull from inside my chest to the northwest, knowing that somewhere hidden within those jagged mountain peaks lies the solution to the world. A nagging sense of dread weighs on my shoulders like a million stars and their infinite possibilities.

An apprentice bard from northern Midland responsible for the future.

Ramona’s arm links with mine, releasing some of that burden instantly.

Pressure forms behind my eyes. A simple touch that offers more than words can describe. Words. The same weapons used by the Elders ignoring the impending doom. Trying to profit by obtaining the stones for themselves instead of using them for the greater good. The hunger in Elder Markus’s eyes and blatant selfish action told more of a story than his words ever could.

Perhaps the most responsibility ends up falling on those who never asked for it.

A natural form of balance.

I blink rapidly to dry my eyes, not wanting anyone to see. One day, I’ll create a Telling of this moment. How much their companionship means. But for now, I cannot find the words. I clear my throat and look around the terrain, barely a flat spot in sight to set up camp for the remainder of the night. “We will need to clear all of these rocks.”

Leaf extends his hands. “I got this.” Then with a blast of heat, the rocks glow a deep red.

“You literally just made our tripping hazards burn hazards as well,” Ramonda says flatly.

“I’d like to see you try something then.”