Page 176

"No,” he said on a sharp exhale. “No, that’s not it. I’ve never been here. I just... I can’t explain, alright?”

They all looked warily at one another before Elowynn gently touched his arm.

“Alright,” she whispered.

He was grateful she didn’t push him further. He wasn’t certain he’d be able to remain composed if she—or anyone else—had forced him to continue describing something he didn't understand himself.

They resumed walking, though nobody seemed eager to continue the conversation. The deeper they traveled, the more Caelyn found himself watching the walls.

Those strange channels continued appearing beneath layers of stone, and convergence markings emerged at regular intervals along the passage. Every time they did, the sensation returned.

It wasn’t stronger, but it was clearer. Like hearing individual voices emerge from a crowd.

He stopped again, suddenly realizing that he could focus on particular pulls and make them out over others.

Caelyn physically staggered, and Elowynn reached him first. Her hand caught his arm before he lost his balance while he leaned heavily on the tunnel wall.

"What now? Caelyn?” she asked shakily.

The question came from several directions at once, but Caelyn barely heard any of them.

Because suddenly he understood.

The pull was not one feeling. Not one voice.

It was thousands of them.

Caelyn's heart began slamming against his ribs as the pieces finally started fitting together.

The Starless were moving through the city with purpose. They were gathering. Converging. Following routes hidden beneath Veylspire that most people no longer even knew existed.

But that wasn't what this felt like. This feeling was not a command or an attempt to control.

This feeling was thousands of... people.

The Starless were still people. Corrupted. Changed. Lost. But people nonetheless.

His breathing slowed as the thought clicked into place, only to quicken again when he understood the implications.

He looked up toward Elowynn and the others. "They aren't being controlled."

The words drew immediate attention toward him. Confusion and suspicion appeared across several faces.

Only Elowynn seemed to grasp that there was more to the thought than he had managed to say aloud. She nodded encouragingly for him to continue.

His gaze drifted toward the darkness stretching ahead of them. Toward the place where every route seemed to converge.

Toward whatever waited beneath the city.

"The Starless. They're going somewhere."

Korvel's expression turned to exhaustion. "That sounds like the same thing." He paused, looking around. “Doesn’t it?” he added.

"No." Caelyn shook his head. “No, it’s not. If they were being controlled, they would fight it. Right? Wouldn’t you?”

The corridor fell silent, and he continued. "If they were being forced, some part of them would know something was wrong and try to escape its hold. The Starless aren’t corpses. They aren’t dead. They’re still alive."

He found himself speaking more slowly now, assembling the thought even as he voiced it.