Miko was growing increasingly frustrated with the heat, fretting over her hair drying out and turning frizzy.

  “Miko, why don’t you go ahead since you’re faster,” Tee suggested. Miko lifted her head, walking with more determination. “I bet you’ll be back in two minutes—maybe less.”

  Miko’s dark brown eyes widened. “Alone?”

  “Negative. No one goes alone,” Kie interjected, striding forward without looking back.

  Tee refused to meet his gaze. She saw straight through his false concern and almost enjoyed imagining the moment his act would crumble.

  “What is that smell?” Miko asked, wrinkling her nose and fanning the air.

  “Yeah,” Saeda added, grimacing. “It’s like death passed through here and forgot to take the stench with it.”

  “How does that even make sense?” Zod teased with a grin.

  But when the odor reached Tee, she understood exactly what Saeda meant.

  “It’s a metaphor,” Saeda explained with a shrug. “I don’t really get it either. My dad used to say it whenever our cat left something awful in the litter box—” She stopped abruptly, her body tensing. “Did you feel that?” she asked, rubbing her arms.

  “Feel what?” Zod asked.

  “A chill,” Saeda murmured.

  Zod’s voice rose in disbelief. “A chill? In this heat?” He plucked a broad leaf and held it over her head. “Seda, the sun’s frying your senses. Stay in the shade before you cook.”

  Before long, they reached the last building marking the boundary of the center. The breathtaking views were far behind them, and Tee was eager to leave the place behind.

  The smooth orange floor gleamed with a golden sheen, reflecting like glass. Combined with the light orange walls, the hall gave off a vibrant glow. The high ceiling reminded them of Primus, stirring old memories.

  “Hey, Zod, is it true there are evil Vergants out there?” Miko’s high-pitched voice echoed along the archway.

  Tee quickly tugged her by the arm. “Why would you ask him that? Don’t encourage him.”

  “Oops,” Miko muttered, frowning at the ground, unsure what she had done wrong.

  Zod plucked a broad leaf from the wall, held it before his mouth, and began walking backward at Kie’s pace. Tee released Miko the instant his dark green eyes turned her way. His voice, muffled by the leaf and bouncing off the walls, still couldn’t drown out the growl in her head.

  “Several years after the Reign of Severin, when humanity had begun to recover, documents were leaked proving Vergants were the cause of the eons of darkness,” Zod began. “That led to the Vergant Cleansing. One by one, every record of sorcery was destroyed, every Vergant village wiped out. Sorcery itself was outlawed, and those who refused to abandon it…”

  He lowered the leaf, drew a finger across his throat, and stuck out his tongue. “Executed.”

  The leaf went back up. “Some gave up and blended in with the world. But there’s evidence—and an old saying—that others are still among us. Vergants hiding in plain sight, waiting for the day they can take revenge.” His eyes peeked over the leaf, darting as if searching for unseen shadows.

  “It’s sorcery, Zod,” Miko corrected, stressing the word.

  Zod tapped the leaf against his forehead. “Yes, sorcery.” He finally dropped the leaf and turned around.

  Relieved, Tee let her gaze slip past his broad frame to their destination ahead.

  “I still can’t believe it,” Zod pressed on, to Tee’s annoyance. “Veil mythology, Vergant existence—all the things we thought were just stories. They were so detailed they could’ve been real… and it turns out they were. Everything we thought we knew was wrong. It’s mind-boggling.”

  Zod fell silent as they emerged from the long archway into a spacious circular chamber lined with statues of humans. Some stood tall, others sat cross-legged, so lifelike they seemed ready to move at any moment.

  With five hallways branching into the chamber, it was clear they had reached the heart of the village. Yet, despite all the bridges and pathways converging there, there was no sign of the large diamond they were meant to retrieve.

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  “Where is it?” Tee asked, her voice echoing off the walls. A gnawing thought tugged at her—had Varrak and his troops already taken it? They had wasted precious time traveling on foot, and she regretted it.

  “Hey, there’s a staircase!” Miko’s shrill voice rang out. She was half-hidden by the cylindrical wall at the center of the room, as wide as two doors.

  Tee followed the curve of statues to the right until she spotted Miko through two adjacent openings in the cylinder wall. Miko had already stepped inside, climbing the spiral staircase that wound upward toward the lofty ceiling. The others rushed to join her, and Tee quickly followed.

  Crash!

  She slammed into something solid and unmoving, halting her in her tracks. Stumbling back, she rubbed her throbbing forehead and blinked at the empty air in front of her.

  “What the…?” she muttered, pressing her palms against an invisible barrier.

  “Wow!” Zod exclaimed, turning to stare at her. “How are you doing that?”

  “I’m not doing anything,” Tee snapped, her frustration sharp in her voice.

  Zod wondered if Tee had triggered some kind of Vergant security system.

  Tee tried moving sideways, but the barrier wrapped completely around the stairway, cutting off every path forward. Frustrated, she shoved against it harder, her boots scraping the floor as their spikes shifted out of place.

  Finally, she balled her fist and slammed it into the invisible wall. It didn’t move, but the sharp, distinct sound it made proved something solid was there.

  Saeda, catching the noise, turned from the stairway entrance. She saw Tee with her palms pressed against nothing, Zod crouched beside her.

  “We’ve got a problem,” Saeda called to Kie and Miko, who were already climbing.

  Kie groaned. “What now?” Only Miko descended to rejoin them.

  “It’s Tee,” Saeda said, concern lacing her voice.

  At Tee’s name, Kie immediately hurried back down the steps.

  Zod rose after inspecting the barrier. With the others gathering around him, he announced, “Interesting. Looks like a magical barrier… or more likely, a sorcery-based enchantment.”

  They turned to Tee, who stood with her hands braced against the unseen wall.

  “I can’t pass through,” she said, her brows drawn in frustration and confusion.

  Saeda stepped closer and pressed her palm forward. To Tee’s shock, Saeda’s hand passed through the air unhindered. She let it drop back to her side, her gaze fixed on Tee.

  “Or maybe,” Saeda said coldly, “it’s some kind of sick joke.”

  A sinking dread settled in Tee’s chest.

  Zod gasped as Saeda’s hand slipped effortlessly through the invisible wall Tee had been straining against. Intrigued, he tried it himself—only to find his hand cutting through nothing but air.

  Tee’s heart plummeted, her stomach twisting with unease.

  Shaking his head, Zod frowned. Had Tee tricked him? Maybe that was payback for what he and Kie had pulled earlier. But no—he distinctly remembered the sound when she punched it. His confusion deepened, scratching at his thoughts as he rubbed the back of his head.

  Tee couldn’t bring herself to speak. The weight of their stares pressed down on her, burning against her silence. She dropped her gaze to the floor. Only her toes remained braced against the barrier—the front of her boots stuck through, but she herself could not pass.

  It was clear. The barrier was reacting to her specifically. And she had a terrible suspicion why.

  She was Ultramite—yet within her lingered a darker side, powerful enough to wrest control of her body at any moment. A force capable of global ruin, just like Severin. If they learned the truth, would they still see her as a comrade? Or would they shift the end they had planned for Varrak… to her? The thought hollowed her out, and she bit her lip anxiously, wishing the ordeal would end.

  Then Kie descended. His feet crossed the barrier without resistance, stopping right behind her. Tee froze, her mind a blank slate of dread. What was he thinking?

  She had lied to them before. He could only pray she wasn’t lying again.

  His hand pressed firmly against her back. And then, without warning, he shoved her—harder than she had ever been shoved. Tee’s face smashed into the unseen wall, a wave of blinding pain exploding through her skull. The force of his palm remained against her back, driving the agony deeper.

  “Crap,” Kie muttered as Tee smacked into the barrier, her cheeks squashed against the invisible wall. The others froze, stepping back in shock.

  “Tee, are you alright?” Kie blurted, his voice heavy with regret.

  Pain burned through her head and chest. She turned toward him, blood trickling from her nose. The urge to grab him by the shirt and lash out faded when his hand settled gently on her shoulder—when those piercing red eyes locked with hers.

  “I’m so sorry. I thought…” His words trailed off.

  Tee pulled away from his grip, her voice sharp. “Forget it. Whatever this thing is, I can’t pass through it.”

  “Fine,” Kie snapped, masking guilt with command. “Then stay behind. We’re wasting time. Keep watch for Varrak.” He brushed past her, and the others followed him up the stairs without a word.

  Tee stayed silent, waiting until their footsteps faded. The pain in her skull throbbed, the room spinning around her. She knew she couldn’t face Varrak like that. With a sigh, she leaned back against the barrier and slid down until she was sitting on the floor, desperate for even a moment’s relief.

  An itch flared along the cursed mark on her neck. She brushed at it, as always, pretending it was nothing—hoping it would fade. But deep down, she knew it was connected to whatever kept her trapped. She just prayed the others wouldn’t start asking the elders questions.

  Her thoughts drifted back to the Commander. Was that a setup? A subtle warning, just like the one he’d given before they entered the vortex?

  Her fist clenched. She slammed it against the ground, a low curse slipping from her lips.

  Were things only going to get worse from here?