“That doesn’t mean I would seek conflict out.”
“Perhaps you should. My captivity taught me what I am capable of. The Falari seek that challenge, but throughout their entire society. Whereas we allow only a small number of individuals to protect us all. Only one or two of every ten in the empire knows how to wield a weapon. But every Falari is armed and eager to defend their land.”
Brandt joined Regar in looking out into the distance. “And all we have to do is convince them to let us control one of their most powerful weapons.”
Regar’s smile was grim. “If it was easy, my father would have sent someone else.”
14
The next day, Alena, Jace, and Sooni’s family packed their camp and made their way toward Cardon, the final destination of Alena’s journey. The trip took a little less than three days. When the tent city first came into view, Alena pulled her horse to a halt.
This visit marked her fifth to Cardon, but she’d never seen it so small. Jace stopped beside her. “I thought you said it was a city.”
“It was.”
Her last visit had been in response to the Lolani invasion. Clans from throughout the land had gathered. Now only a few dozen tents clustered around the main tent, a structure Alena had never before entered. None but elders and the guardian clan of Cardon were allowed entrance.
She’d never even seen the tent before today. It wasn’t taller than any other, but its length and width far surpassed the others. Sooni joined them. “Most of the clans have left. Only the guardian clan and a few of our own clan are here.”
“Why so few?” Alena asked.
“You’ll soon know for yourself,” Sooni answered. “But the elders asked me not to say more.”
This tight secrecy seemed more like the empire than the Etari. “Why not?”
“It’s a problem at the heart of Etar,” Sooni said. “The elders fear the reaction the news will bring, though it will inevitably spread. It is not a secret we keep lightly.”
Sooni urged her horse forward and Jace and Alena followed. Jace kept his horse beside hers. “Worried?”
Alena nodded. “Secrecy is unlike them. And I’ve never seen Cardon half so empty.”
They pitched their tents near the current outskirts of the city. On previous visits, such a location would have been considered an inner ring, a place of honor. Now nothing but trampled grassland stood beyond their camp.
The ground showed plenty of evidence of habitation. No grass grew around Cardon, every green plant trampled into dust by years of people walking and living in the same places.
Alena had just finished raising her shelter when a messenger entered their camp. She approached Sooni and spoke quickly. Sooni glanced their way, indication enough of a summons. Alena threw her gear haphazardly in the tent and walked to Sooni.
Jace followed, but Sooni held out a hand. “Where we go, I’m not even sure Alena will be welcome. For now, you must remain here.”
Jace gave Alena a questioning glance.
“I’ll be fine,” she said. Some part of her had worried Azaleth’s death would carry repercussions, that something would be required of her. But her actions had harmed only her relationships. If Sooni or the Etari had planned anything more, it already would have happened.
Jace acquiesced, although he didn’t seem pleased. Ligt approached, and the two young men went off to train. Alena silently thanked their grouchy guide. At least Jace would be distracted.
Alena followed Sooni deeper into Cardon. They entered a tent halfway between their camp and the center of the city. Inside sat an old woman, with long gray hair braided down her back. She welcomed them formally with a gesture and invited the two to sit.
She didn’t speak at first, instead studying Alena.
Alena didn’t shy away from the examination, instead returning the look. Etari didn’t have any compunctions about staring, and over time Alena had grown past her discomfort. The woman was clearly an elder, but she possessed a vitality many would be jealous of.
After about fifteen heartbeats, Sooni made introductions. “Alena, this is Dunne. She is the head elder of our clan. She is the one who summoned you.”
Alena bowed deeply, offering her respect.
No imperial pleasantries were exchanged here. Dunne’s voice was lower than Alena expected, and it held a tone of confident command. “Sooni tells us that you are a soulwalker. Is this true?”
Yes, she signed.
A hint of a smile played across Dunne’s lips. “How strong are you?”
“I have little to compare to,” Alena answered. She thought of the power of the two Lolani that now coursed through her blood. “But I believe I am strong. Twice now I have confronted the Lolani queen, and twice I’ve survived.”
“You are as strong as their queen?” Dunne couldn’t hide the surprise from her voice.
Or her hope.
Alena’s stomach sank. She’d expected her summons to have something to do with the queen, but knowing it to be true still frightened her. “No,” she said. “I have survived, which is all the achievement I can claim.”
“Their queen is strong?”
“Beyond imagination.”
Alena thought she saw fear lurking behind Dunne’s eyes. “That is troubling.” She looked around the tent, considering her next question. “What do you know about gates?”
“There are four known on this continent. Two imperial. One in Falar. One in Etar, I imagine within the tent at the center of Cardon. The Etari gate is shattered and is the source of all gatestones. I know little else about the shattered gate.”
That same hint of a smile played across Dunne’s lips. “Gates might be almost unknown to the imperials, thanks to Anders, but they are hardly a mystery to us.”
Alena realized her mouth was hanging open, and she felt a fool. She had puzzled over the mysteries of the gates for years, but she learned little useful. But she’d forgotten the Etari didn’t have the same break in their history the empire
