You were left behind? There was shock in Bayla’s voice.

You didn’t come. Liyana tried not to let the pain of the memory seep into her thought. Her clan had done what they’d believed was best. They thought you’d rejected me and that you’d forgive them if they exiled me.

I would never—

How were they to know? You didn’t come. She tried not to sound as if she blamed Bayla.

She felt Bayla churn inside her. The traitor Mulaf must be stopped.

I want the same, Liyana said.

You are suggesting a truce between us.

Yes.

Bayla was silent. At last she said, Tell me about our clan. It has been many years since I was one of you.

As they rode, Liyana told stories about her childhood, about Jidali and Aunt Sabisa, about her cousins and her parents, about Talu and the chief and chieftess, about the master weaver, about the goatkeepers and the herds. Bayla continued to prod her for more and more, and so Liyana fed her memory after memory.

When she was midstory about the time she and Jidali had raced the weaver’s boys up the date palm trees, Raan woke with a jerk. She sat bolt upright, and the startled mare reared back. Raan was tossed forward into the horse’s neck. Korbyn slid off his horse and grabbed the reins of Raan’s horse. He steadied her.

Sitting upright with ease, Raan dusted the horsehairs off her robes—or more accurately, Maara did. Raan hadn’t had much physical control in days. This had to be Maara. “I hate horses,” Maara commented.

“Did you speak to your vessel?” Korbyn asked.

Maara sighed. “She is alarmingly like me.” The goddess did not meet Liyana’s eyes. Instead she focused on her horse’s ears. “Tonight she and I will attempt to reach the other clans together.”

At dusk they pitched the tent and tended to the horses. Once all was set, Maara lay down inside the tent, and Liyana and Korbyn joined her.

“You two aren’t going to stare at me the whole time, are you?” Maara asked. “Because that might make it difficult to focus.”

Maara, you should allow the vessel to have primary control of the body while you draw power from the lake. Channel it to the vessel. Surprisingly, this allows you to draw more power with less fatigue since you do not have to hold the body simultaneously.

It does? Liyana asked. She knew she was more powerful with Bayla, but for Bayla to be more powerful with her . . .

Bayla’s voice was so soft that Liyana could barely sense it. It has been my observation that we are more effective together than not. Quit wallowing in self-satisfaction, and repeat my instructions.

Liyana obeyed, and Maara closed her eyes. Her back arched and then spasmed, and then her eyes popped open. “Oh, oh, I can feel my legs! And my fingers and toes!” Raan.

Liyana squeezed her hand. “Welcome back, Raan.”

Raan smiled at both of them. “Walk me through what I’m supposed to do.”

“Maara will fill you with magic,” Liyana said, “and you use that to spread yourself. You don’t even need to enter a trance! You’re going to love it. It’s a tremendous feeling.”

Raan rolled her eyes. “Korbyn, explain it, please. Clearly.”

Korbyn talked her through what she should envision. She’d be expanding her consciousness exactly as Liyana had done to locate the Goat Clan.

“You can do it,” Liyana said. “Just make sure you maintain awareness of your body.” She tucked blankets around Raan and propped up her head so she’d be comfortable. “Do you want to eat first? Cactus? Baked rat? Tuber cakes?”

“As mouthwateringly tempting as all that sounds, no,” Raan said. “I want to get this over with. I’m not supposed to be mentally wandering the desert. It’s unnatural.”

“You sound like Pia,” Liyana said. She meant to say it lightly, but she couldn’t say Pia’s name without her voice cracking. Oyri never had the chance to speak with Pia and know how amazing her vessel truly was.

“Let’s do this,” Raan said. She closed her eyes.

Liyana watched Raan’s chest rise and fall in a slow, even rhythm. Korbyn leaned back and rested his eyes. Liyana supposed he had the right idea. There was nothing for them to do but wait. Bayla?

Yes, vessel?

I told you about me and my clan. What about you?

There was a pause. I do not know what you mean.

Tell me about yourself.

She felt Bayla’s reaction: startled at first and then a rush of pleasure. I have so many memories, the goddess mused.

Pick your favorite.

Bayla told her of the time she saved a chief and chieftess’s son over a thousand years ago. One week before he should have been born, his heart quit. It had not formed properly. And so Bayla used magic to finish its growth, but because his body had died, there was no soul in his tiny, unborn body. So she reached into the Dreaming and retrieved a soul for him. With his reincarnated soul, he became the very first magician.

She followed this with another tale of divine heroism, and then another.

Korbyn said he makes you laugh, Liyana said. Tell me about a time that you laughed.

Once, Korbyn masqueraded as a donkey. He attended an assembly of the deities with an ass’s head on his shoulders. Such a gathering is a rare, solemn event. We create a vast amphitheatre in the Dreaming made of stone steps with cascades of desert flowers and the music of hundreds of birds. Speeches traditionally wax poetic. Every time one of us said something he considered untrue or arrogant, he brayed. I laughed until my sides hurt. It also became one of the most productive gatherings we have ever had.

Raan’s eyes popped open. “I lost her.”

“Raan?” Liyana asked.

She sat up. Liyana felt her heart constrict. She’s not Raan.

“I lost her,” Maara repeated.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Maara buried her face in her hands.

Liyana couldn’t move. She felt as if her blood had frozen in her body. She tried to speak, but her vocal cords wouldn’t respond. She licked her lips and tried again. “She’s gone?”

“Believe me, it was not my intent, and if you suggest—”

“Liyana suggested nothing,” Korbyn said. He placed his hands on Maara’s shoulders. “I am to blame for not preparing her better. She had never successfully touched the lake. I thought if we removed that element . . .”

“She spread across the desert, and she didn’t stop. I felt her . . . dissolve.”

Liyana crossed her legs and closed her eyes. Feed me magic, Bayla. I am going to find her.

You could lose yourself as well.

I didn’t before. Besides, then you’d get what you want, right? Everybody wins. Feed me as much magic as you can. Please.

As you wish.

The magic roared inside her like a wall of water crashing over her and filling her mind and her body with its sweet touch. She anchored herself inside her body and then she let the magic stretch her.

Tethered to her body, she skimmed over the desert. She knew what she had felt earlier in the day, so she was looking for anything different. A whisper maybe. A wind that blew in the wrong direction. She didn’t know what a lost soul would feel like— or worse, lost pieces of a soul.

She headed southwest toward the Dog Clan. In the distance, she felt an oasis. She aimed for it. Closer, she could feel that it was filled with the souls of people. She spread herself throughout the clan.

Listening, she heard a voice, the familiar tone of Raan’s voice. She wrapped herself around it. Now that she knew the feel of Raan’s soul, she spotted its pieces more easily. She gathered them together like pulling droplets of water out of the earth. The pieces adhered to each other. Soon there was a swirling vortex.

Come back with me, Liyana thought at the swirl that was Raan.