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"We won't be." There's a certainty in his voice that touches something inside me, a promise I want desperately to believe. His hand lifts slightly, then returns to his side. "But if it happens, Mira included a map in your pack. You’ll find safe settlements marked. She believes you know enough basic phrases to find direction to local knots."

“Knots?” It takes me a second to remember what he said about them. People who are part of this … I want to call it a resistance, but I’m not entirely sure if that’s true.

The practicality of his plan should reassure me. Instead, it only emphasizes how utterly dependent I am on him in this world. A fact that chafes against my growing need for some measure of control over my own fate.

“How am I supposed to know who they are?”

“There’s a phrase.Varamek nul’tor. Say it.”

I repeat it back.

“If you’re in trouble, speak it to those who seem sympathetic to outsiders. Anyone bound to the old ways will know it."

“What does it mean?” I repeat the words in my head, committing them to memory.

“We have waited faithfully.”

It sounds like a vow. A phrase loaded with history I have no idea about.

It’s the first real thing he’s shared with me since we arrived in Ravencross. Not strategy or survival. But a thread to hold if I’m alone.

“About what happened …” I glance toward the fire still burning in the hearth, too high, too hot. Still alive in a way that makes my skin crawl.

“Not now.” His voice is back to its quieter level. “We need to focus on getting out.Thatconversation can wait until we’re safely away from Ravencross.”

Before I can protest, Varam returns. This time with a woman. Tall and wiry, with a network of scars across her left cheek, she gives Sacha a small bow before speaking.

When she stops, Sacha introduces her.

“This is Tisera. She will lead us through the tunnels beneath Ravencross. They connect to a natural cave system in the foothills, which will allow us to avoid the town, and Authority patrols.”

“There are tunnels?” The revelation that there is yet another layer to this underground network doesn’t surprise me as much as it probably should. It fits. Of course there are.

“This settlement was built upon the remains of a much older city.” He buckles his blade to his hip. “The original builders created passages that have been forgotten by most.”

The woman, Tisera, gives me a measuring look beforeaddressing Sacha. Whatever she says makes him glance my way before responding.

“What did she say?”

“She wanted to know if you will be able to keep up. She says you look too fragile for the Veinwardens. The tunnels are challenging. Narrow in places, partially flooded in others.”

“And what did you tell her?”

One corner of his mouth tips up. “That you’re stronger than you look.”

The unexpected comment surprises me.

Is that how he sees me? Or is it simply what Tisera needed to hear to accept my presence on this journey?

Either way, it catches me off guard. And I don’t know what to do with it.

Mira touches my arm, pulling my attention away from him. She’s holding a small packet wrapped in waxed cloth. Pressing it into my hands, she speaks rapidly. I look at Sacha.

“Medicinal herbs. For fever, pain, and to purify questionable water. She says to keep them dry and only use them if necessary.”

I smile at her. “Narem.”

She beams at my attempt to say thank you, and pulls me into a hug. I stiffen at first, startled, but then let myself return it. When she draws back, she presses her palms to my cheeks.