Page 46

“You mean you don’t know?” Maddock asked incredulously. I ignored him and took another step toward the shimmering curtain, but as I did, the sun blazed into my eyes. But how was that possible? The sun was behind me. “Be careful,” he urged.

A shadow stretched out towards me from the opposite side of the mist, a sun beaming behind their back.

My heart leaped in my chest. “ Sun casts upon sun! This has to be the right place.”

The shadow didn’t share my enthusiasm or mirror my movements. It made no move to invite me in at all.

“And your shadow greets mine. But how?” I mused aloud. I had no clue what the desert elves deemed an appropriate greeting.

I turned back to everyone and shrugged my shoulders. “I think I need to greet the shadow,” I whisper-yelled. “Any clues?”

“Try waving,” Maddock offered enthusiastically.

Feeling ridiculous but having no better idea, I waved. The shadow before me remained unchanged as I waved like an idiot.

I whipped around and hissed, “I knew that wouldn’t work. ”

“Try the old Wyn greeting,” Dyani said, planting her fist on her heart and bowing.

I did as she showed, but the shadow remained impassive as ever.

“Perhaps the bow of a lord or lady,” Rowen offered, giving a courtly nod with a slight raising of his hand. Though sweat beaded on his brow and a rogue curl fell into his eyes, he exuded an innate grace that was palpable and caused a fluttering in my stomach.

“Well, that looked official,” Maddock said with a crooked smile.

“And here I thought you were a fearsome warrior,” Dyani added, fighting a grin herself. “Speaking of. Try this! It’s a warrior greeting meant to show respect to your opponent.”

“And when have you ever done that?” Rowen asked with a skeptical lift of his brow. “The most you offer is a swift kick to the groin or an elbow to the ribs.”

“You’re lucky it’s not a fist to the nose,” Dyani countered, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m showing respect by not marring that pretty face of yours, though it does nothing for me.” She shrugged. “Take the greeting you get.”

“As long as I remember to dodge it,” Rowen responded with a smirk.

Though I knew it was a long shot, I tried their suggestions.

I tried all manner of greetings, but nothing worked. The shadow only appeared when I was right at the veil of sand. Anytime I stepped away, the dark silhouette disappeared.

After several frustrating attempts, I walked around the entirety of the arch, scanning the stone for any markings or notches that would allow us entry.

Having circled the soaring marvel several times over, with no clues revealed, I plopped down in front of the colossal curve.

I gazed into the arch for what felt like hours, trying to uncover its secrets. I stared into the abyss, feeling like it was staring back, taunting me.

The others had grown quiet, their joking at an end, allowing me space to think.

The sun beat down on us incessantly, burning our skin and drying our lips. My frustration mounted as time ticked by.

I astral projected in place, sending tendrils of myself toward the curtain of mist to see if I could communicate with it. But the air was thick with the portal’s energy. “There must be wards up. I can’t project through it.”

“Me either,” Maddock said, his linen shirt sticking to his body, his eyes squinting from the relentless glare.

“I have to be close to figuring it out,” I insisted, trying to emit confidence. There had to be a way through. Rayal and Indrasyl wouldn’t have sent me on a fool’s errand. But the mystery of how to enter pressed down on me like the desert heat.

“I hope you’re right,” Dyani said, shooting me a glance. “I am a forest elf not meant for this blasted desert. I can feel myself wilting.”

“Did Rayal make any movements as she told you the riddle?” Rowen asked after taking a swig of water.

My body recoiled. The memory he asked me to unlock remained in a place I never wanted to revisit. But I drew a deep breath and closed my eyes anyway. It was like stepping into a grave as I brought myself back to the deep, dark cell of the Crystal Crypts.

Rayal’s bright but terrified eyes shone across my memory as I replayed our conversation word for word, seeing if I missed any clues.

Rayal spoke the riddle, “If you should survive and ever find yourself where sun casts upon sun and your shadow greets mine, know that you are amongst friends. ”

My eyes flew open. I remembered! While she spoke the words, she grabbed my hand and made a gesture—a greeting!

I shot to my feet, hope flittering in my chest like a delicate butterfly. The whispers behind me fell silent as I stepped to the curtain of mist again. Three bodies shuffled behind me, flanking me and holding their breath.

The shadow met me at the veil, its dark silhouette the only constant against the swirling haze.

Keeping my voice steady, I repeated Rayal’s words aloud, extending my arm with my palm facing the sky. My shadow reached to the stranger beyond the veil, and slowly, the body on the other side mirrored the motion, stretching their arm back toward me.

The shadows aligned through the archway as the air cracked and whipped with energy. Before I could comprehend what was happening, a hand circled my wrist, and I was yanked through the curtain of sand.

The falling golden particles separated for me as I entered the land of the desert elves, the sun in my face, blinding me.