Page 51 of Autumn L.A.W

Sahara ignored that. Mostly. “Ezra’s wards complement the glyphs. It’s stable. For now.”

“And you?” Bas asked. “Any tugging? Voices? Unwanted guests in your head?”

There it was. Sahara resisted the urge to rub at the back of her neck, where phantom pressure had faded hours ago, but the memory lingered. “Nothing beyond the usual background hum,” she said. “Like listening to Lioness’s radio through a wall. I know it’s there. It doesn’t know what station to tune to yet.”

Bas nodded once, slowly. “Good. The distance will help. Seas and sky make blunt instruments of many things.”

“Speaking of Lioness,” Joell began.

Sahara pinched the bridge of her nose. “Oh, no. What has she done now?”

“Don’t worry. She’s just sharing remote viewing sketches of your journey. She said it was almost as if she were there with you.”

“Thank the Goddess for the word, ‘almost’,” Sahara said.

Bas smiled. “She cares about you. It’s nice to see sketches, but that doesn’t tell us what you feel and think. Stay in touch as much as you can.”

“I will.”

Rayna blew out a breath. “I still hate that you’re the one on that ship.”

“I’m the one it keyed on,” Sahara said. “I was always going to be on this ship.”

“That doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Rayna said. “Just… if the crate starts chanting in hieroglyphs, call. I don’t care if you have to stand on tiptoes under the moon to get a signal.”

“I’ll add ‘sacrifice my dignity for bandwidth’ to the contingency list,” Sahara said.

Joell rested her chin on Rayna’s shoulder, crowding her more. “When you get back,” Joell said, “we’re doing brunch. Real food. No emergency snacks. I’m making a reservation and everything. That’s non-negotiable.”

“Do not promise brunch lightly,” Sahara said. “That’s a sacred oath.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Joell said. “That’s how I lure you home.”

It was ridiculous how much that simple future-tense promise unclenched something in Sahara’s chest. Home. Brunch. Not just getting through this crossing, but the assumption that she would still exist at the other end in a state that could enjoy Eggs Benedict.

Ezra must have seen something flicker across the room, because he shifted closer beside her, not touching, just a solid presence at her shoulder.

Rayna’s gaze cut to him again. “Ezra Vale. A word.”

He accepted it like a summons. “Of course.”

“If she comes back even slightly haunted,” Rayna said, “we are going to have a long talk about your future.”

“Rayna,” Sahara said warningly.

“That’s not really fair,” Ezra said. “But understood.”

He could have stopped there. Most people would have. Instead, he added, “She’s not my responsibility. We are each other’s backup. That’s the only arrangement I agreed to.”

Bas’s mouth curved, just a hint. “A mutual ward, then.”

“Yes,” Ezra said. “Exactly.”

Rayna folded her arms, not quite hiding the way her shoulders relaxed. “Fine. But if anything tries to drag her overboard, I expect you to fight the ocean.”

“I’ll do my best,” Ezra said. “Though I have heard it’s a bit temperamental.”

Joell snorted. “You’ll find a way.”