Page 55 of Requiem of Silence

Ulani threw her arms around her mother and squeezed. “Mama, you can speak like us now!”

Ella swallowed, blinking rapidly. “Yes, darling, I guess I can.”

Begrudgingly, Kyara acknowledged that the Cavefolk had given the woman a gift—to be able to speak to her children in their native language—in addition to understanding the Cavefolk. The visions didn’t appear to have frightened either of them, which was a blessing.

“Thank you,” Kyara said to Murmur. The others all repeated their thanks and then they were off.

Mooriah guided them through tunnels embedded with sparkling stones, which reflected back the moonlight from an opening somewhere far above.

“Did the Cavefolk create the caves? Did they dig them out of the mountain?” Ella asked as they ascended a gentle incline. Now that her daughter was back with her, she spoke to Mooriah with tight civility.

“No, the Mother provided. Blood magic was used to call upon her when the population grew and more dwellings were needed. They are created by her hand.”

The wondrous views around them could not have been a natural occurrence. Kyara supposed the cave citycouldhave been man-made, over hundreds of years of mining and digging…perhaps. It was an incredible feat no matter how it had been achieved.

After nearly an hour, they ascended a gentle incline and emerged in the crisp night air, on a wide ledge high on the mountain. The space was ringed with a natural rock border that offered limited protection to the unfortunate or clumsy. Darvyn sat before a small ball of fire hovering just off the ground. He stood, grinning as they approached, then hurried over to embrace Kyara. Tension and worry she didn’t know she carried melted away with his touch. Her eyes closed and she lived inside his hold for as long as she could.

When he pulled away to greet the others, she opened her eyes and nearly swooned due to the height. The ledge overlooked the Elsiran countryside, where distant trees were losing their clinging leaves. A lustrous moon illuminated the land.

Behind them, hidden by the gnarled peak, was Lagrimar. A pang actually went through her at the thought of her homeland. A cold winter would be descending on the desert, not as frigid as the temperatures promised on this side of the mountain, but bad enough. Who had stayed there and what would become of the refugees headed back?

She retreated from the edge and the steep drop down. “Be careful where you step,” she called out to the children. Ella kept her daughters close.

Kyara turned back to Darvyn and went to sit beside him at the fire. “How have you been holding up? Sorry you insisted on coming along?”

“Never sorry, not when I get to see you. Even if it is just once a day.” He grinned again and pulled her near, kissing her all too briefly.

Sadness clung to her where his hands wrapped around herwaist. “Well, now I know the way. We also wanted to see if you can unbind Tana. The Cavefolk are unable to unlock her magic, but they say it was done by a Bright One. You’re the closest thing we have.”

Darvyn turned to Tana, who looked up at him shyly. “I can’t sense her with my Song. I’ll try again, but Nethersingers are invisible to my power.”

The girls took a seat around the fire and Darvyn inhaled deeply, staring in Tana’s direction, brow furrowed and eyes soft. Then he shook his head, eyes clearing. “I see nothing. No binding, no Tana, nothing. I’m sorry, I wish there was something I could do.”

Tana looked dejected but just nodded, appearing used to accepting whatever hand fate dealt her. Kyara’s heart broke. She squeezed Darvyn’s hand, knowing he hated to disappoint the girl as much as she did.

“We’ll try—” but whatever she had been going to say was interrupted by a ringing sound, as if the temple bells in the city were chiming. Everyone jumped up in alarm. She and Darvyn stood protectively in front of Ella and the girls, backing them toward the cave entrance.

The already bright moonlight rose to a blinding level as a glimmering, golden ripple tore the air. The radiant disturbance became a hole—a portal—through which daylight was visible. The thought of wraiths was foremost in her mind.Not yet! We’re not ready!

The ringing sound grew louder and more intense. Then it was gone and the night was as quiet and dark as ever with only the flickering firelight and the glow of the moon to see by. The sudden change in brightness made Kyara blink rapidly to clear the searing impression the portal had left on the backs of her eyelids. When her vision settled, a gently glowing figure stood at the edge of theledge, balanced on the short rock barrier. He rapidly dimmed, revealing the form of a man.

“Fenix?” Mooriah said from somewhere behind them. Darvyn sucked in a breath.

The strange man they’d met inside the Physicks’ stronghold stood before them. He wore a light-colored tunic and loose-fitting trousers made of a strange, shimmery material. His skin was the color of sunset in a dust storm, no longer illuminated from within but a shade unlike she’d ever seen. His eyes were a shiny, bright gold, full of swirling colors.

He nodded in greeting at her and Darvyn, giving a slight smile. Then his gaze passed over Ella and the girls and appeared to get stuck on Mooriah. His expression teetered and Kyara could not define the emotions she saw on his face. He quickly muted them and stood still as Mooriah made her way toward him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice accusatory.

He gracefully leapt from the rocky border onto the ground, but still stood two heads above her, forcing her to look up. “It is today. The first frost.”

She gasped.

“You’d forgotten.” His smile was rueful. “I came every decade as promised. Well, every decade I was able.” His gaze shot to Kyara before he swallowed and lowered his head. “Even when I was too late and you were gone.”

Mooriah’s jaw worked, shifting from side to side. “You were always a fool.” But her tone held no malice. She reached up to touch his cheek, tentative, fingers quivering. She stroked him once then dropped her hand, curling her fingers.

“How are you here now?” Fenix whispered. He took a step closer to her and she stiffened, then relaxed a fraction.

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