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My mouth parted as Chief Tral stepped forward, looking at each of his clan. “You all have the choice, here and now. I have granted permission for our Fire Reader to help our guest step into her past and remember. His service to our clan could be put at risk. Only he communes with the flames. Only he can interpret its messages. And only he can help the girl return to her trueness.”
The chief glanced at Solin, who stood with his arms wide and hands cupping fire. “Our Spirit Master is willing to share a trance with this girl, not because he wishes to gift her back her past but because the flames have spoken of a future she needs to face. A future that could affect each of you.”
His voice thickened as he continued, “He has mine and Tiptu’s permission, but he needs yours too. Why the flames speak to him about this girl is still unknown. What will happen when they slip into its embrace is a question we have no answers for. But what we do know is, this girl was found by us for a reason, and we need to learn that reason before it’s too late.”
Niya and Hyath gasped.
Solin never took his eyes off me as the fire in his hands snuffed out. He lowered his arms with finality. “If anyone has an objection, speak now.”
A faint female voice cut through the tension. “When will you do the trance?”
“Tomorrow night.”
I choked.
So soon?
“Why must you share her trance?” someone else asked. “Just let the flames take her the way they take you.”
Solin crossed his arms. “She must be taught, guided. She does not know how.”
“Why do the flames speak to you about this girl?” a man shouted.
“That is what I intend to find out,” Solin replied, his eyes tight and scanning the murmuring crowd. “Anyone else?”
Ice slipped down my spine as no one spoke and no more hands were raised. I wanted them to object. To refuse him permission. I wanted someone to stop this because I wasn’t ready. I didn’t think I’d ever be ready.
What if I wasn’t Quelis?
What if they found out I was from somewhere else and banished me?
My mind exploded with the stranger who’d tried to claim me. At the way shadows had thickened around his legs. He could create shadows like Solin could harness smoke, so perhaps he was from Quelis, after all? And if he could conjure smoke, maybe I could too?
I jumped as Solin clapped his hands, the loud noise echoing through the camp. “It’s settled then. The girl and I will find out her heritage tomorrow evening. Tiptu and Pallen will arrange the ritual to prepare her. For now, I will step into the fire on my own to ensure tomorrow is as safe as possible.”
Throwing a look at the leaders, their children, and the rest of us, Solin bowed his chin and strode through the crowd to his lupic.
He vanished inside.
The strain in the night sky vanished with him.
People returned to smoking the sweet-smelling pipe and sharing potent purple wine. They returned to life without worry, all while mine had turned into a churning, sickening mess.
“It will be okay, Girl,” Niya whispered. “You’ll see.”
“Solin won’t let anything bad happen to you,” Hyath murmured. “This time tomorrow, you might remember everything about your past, and we might have a name in which to call you.” Both women smiled, but it didn’t reach their eyes nor grant any peace to my fear-skipping heart.
Or he could find out the truth about me.
That I didn’t belong.
That I was an imposter.
I tripped backward, unable to ignore the urge to run any longer.
For the first time since I’d been found, I didn’t want to be around others.
With a quick glance at my friends, I shook my head, tried to voice an apology that stuck painfully in my throat, and then...I ran.
I ran from the fire.
From the clan.
I kept running until I could no longer hear the crackle of flames or smell its smoke, leaving behind the element that would claim me.
Chapter Twelve
. The Stranger .
I SAW HER LEAVE.
I stalked her as she ran.
She didn’t hear me as she swiped at tears and weaved through the long grass, white hair streaming behind her, shedding the orange and red glow that’d danced over her as she’d sat around the fire.
Fire.
I still didn’t understand how such a disaster was tamed.
When I first slunk my way toward the noise of people, the scent of food, and the cloying smoke of flames rich in the air, I’d fought every instinct to race in the opposite direction. If a single ember from that fire drifted into the grasslands, the dry stalks would be devoured by death in a heartbeat.
But I’d inched closer, determined to understand, desperate to know if my pack was in danger if this fire was allowed to burn. With my heart thudding sickly from my wound and my breath coming heavier than normal, I’d wrapped myself in shadows and used the same silent stealth that Salak had taught me. I’d avoided every twig and dried grass that could betray me. I’d slithered in dirt and took my time not to sway the seedheads above so those laughing and talking wouldn’t see me.
