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A foxlike creature bounds to the water’s edge. It is small, only knee-height, but its two huge ears are like sails raised to the sky. Unlike any animal I’ve ever beheld, the white-tipped tail sways behind it and flattens into a broad fan rather than a tapered point.
The creature creeps by me cautiously, leaving plenty of space, but approaches Amyrah with boldness.
I watch, dumbstruck, as she crouches low and holds out a hand. The fox sniffs tentatively, and Amyrah’s mouth falls open. She reaches out with both hands, and it doesn’t flinch when her fingers graze its silky fur.
In an instant, the stream bed fills with light and heat. The animal completely transforms at Amyrah’s touch.
Of course, it is a sola. I should have known.
As I should have realized, she has the power to awaken them.
Wonderment claims Amyrah’s face, but only for a moment. She gathers her wits and leans toward the golden thing, her mouth issuing words I cannot hear.
With an impressive bound, the fox clears the stream bank and dashes out of sight.
“What—” I stop and lick my lips, trying to make sense of what I saw. “What did you say?”
She turns her lamp-like eyes on me. Her chin trembles.
“I sent her,” a breath shudders from her chest, “to be with him.”
I don’t need to ask who she’s talking about.
The cottage would be a lovely place, if it wasn’t crawling with darkness and memory.
I hang back and let Amyrah approach it at her own pace. I am well acquainted with the unpredictable beast grief can be.
But she is not like me. Her footsteps never falter, and she only pauses briefly to rest her hand against the lintel before unlatching the door and ducking inside.
Exhaling slowly, I follow.
Her light fills the small room. My eyes take in the humble furnishings and the beauty infused into every corner.
I take it back. This cottage absolutely overflows with loveliness, and I am an intruder within. It is too raw, too sacred. But Amyrah turns around, and though she doesn’t exactly smile, her face communicates a welcome that sets my mind at ease.
Instinctively, I set to making a fire. It might be a risk to settle into the cottage like this, but I’m hopeful this is the last place anyone would look for her. It’s too illogical. Besides that, I am fairly certain no one will want to be wandering through the woods after the display they just witnessed.
Amyrah stands over me. She makes a quick motion, but when I glance at her, she’s simply running her fingers across the smooth stones of the fireplace. The flames catch, and heat blooms. She sighs softly.
Straightening and dusting off my hands, I lead Amyrah to sit on one of the narrow beds.
She may not be falling apart at the seams, but the far-off look in her eyes proves she is nowhere close to fine.
I crouch and gather her hands together between mine. My thumb runs across her knuckles, and my eyes search her face until she sees me.
“You can’t stay here,” I say.
A breath whistles sharply into her lungs. “I know.” She slips a hand out of mine and flicks a rogue tear off her cheek.
“Any idea where we can go?”
She blinks at the word ‘we’ as if it alarms her.
Yes, I think.You heard me right.Because there is no other option for me now. A strange providence has been twining us together for long enough. I can’t ignore it any longer.
“Uh, well,” she says, recovering herself, “there’s always the Grovesha.”
“The Outlands?” I lean back slightly and rest my hands on my knees.
