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“I don’t know and never thought to ask.” Avera glanced over her shoulder. “Perhaps we should have stayed to ask more questions.”

“And deal with that bugger trying to control our minds? No thanks,” Gustav grumbled, still disgruntled by what had transpired.

“Not to mention, Opal seemed pretty determined to have us leave,” Josslyn reminded.

“A little too eager if you ask me, which leads me to wonder why, if she knew this Zhos was acting up, did she not send warning or word to the capital?” Gustav asked.

Avera had no reply. “I don’t know.”

“Then how do you know she hasn’t sent us on a fool’s errand? You have only the word of a stranger that this path will lead us out of the mountain.”

Avera’s mouth opened and shut. Gustav raised very good points. “I don’t think she was lying.”

“Good liars are rarely caught.”

“If she wanted me to come to harm, she would have let you kill me,” Avera stated.

“She’s right.” Josslyn came to her defense and Opal’s. “If that old woman hadn’t done that spell with Avera’s blood, you’d have murdered the queen.”

“Might have been kinder,” Gustav grumbled. “I can’t seriously believe you’re contemplating travelling to Verlora. There’s a reason no one goes there.”

“And what else should I do? Return to the capital so Benoit can finish the assassination? Ride around, evading those backing him, trying to garner support whilst convincing people I didn’t actually have my family killed? All the while waiting for Zhos to finally emerge and destroy the world?”

Gustav’s reply emerged stiff. “I don’t know what the next step is. I can say that I don’t think sailing into danger should be a part of it.”

“And if Opal is right and Zhos is attempting to escape and bring back its reign of terror?” Avera countered.

“Then wouldn’t we have some mention of it in our histories?”

To which Josslyn quietly murmured, “Perhaps they hid it, fearing the less-savory would try and free this Zhos. After all, isn’t that what Benoit and his cronies are attempting?”

An astute observation that left Gustav silent for a moment.

Avera changed the subject. “What did it feel like when the mist took you?”

“Discomfiting. I became a passenger in my own body,” Josslyn said. “I lacked control my limbs even as I could see and hear and think.”

Gustav grunted. “The worst part was I didn’t even mind being taken over. I heard the singing and had to obey. I didn’t want to fight the control even as I understood what was happening.”

“You remember everything?”

“Ayuh.” Gustav went silent for a moment. “My task was to slaughter the useless for the fire. I was about to raise my swordagainst an older gent who couldn’t work when I was commanded to kill you.” His head dropped. “It’s a terrible thing to not be in control. To feel something cold and malevolent invading your mind.”

“I had to dig at the frozen lake,” Josslyn complained. “Me, doing manual labor. My hands are blistered and for what? Barely a few scratches. I’ve never encountered ice so hard.”

“Could you see anything through the ice?” Avera asked. “Any hint of what lay beneath?”

“No. It was black, opaque, and had a smell about it as if it weren’t just water.”

“We’re coming to an intersection,” Gustav announced. The fork appeared in a small chamber of sorts, large enough to hold them all and their steeds. Parts of it appeared natural, the roof jagged as well as part of the walls, though the openings had been smoothed. “I think we should go right.”

“Opal said to always choose left,” Avera stated.

“Left smells rank,” was his blunt reply. “The right has a hint of freshness.” The faint breeze from it made the torch flicker.

“But that doesn’t mean it exits where we need.”

Gustav uttered a long sigh. “I swear, if that old woman leads us astray, I will return and remove her head.”