Like the Faulfenza’s Preserve planet, Escutcheon eschewed outdoor lighting, and Qora ventured into the night guided only by the warmth beneath his breastbone that assured him he was not only where he should be, but heading in the right direction. In that way, and trusting to Faulza’s quixotic sense of humor, Qora located the Voice on a bench that overlooked the sea, though only the starglow on its surface hinted at the divide between water and horizon.
“I should have brought a candle,” he said as he slid onto the seat alongside Daqan.
“And yet you found me anyway.”
Qora glanced at the Voice, even knowing he wouldn’t see anything but the flame-colored eyes. That was enough, though, especially because: “You sound… happy.”
“Are you surprised?”
“A little, yes.” The darkness made it safe to say things he might have hesitated to say otherwise. “You were weighed down by your burdens before. I am guessing those burdens are lighter now.”
“Have you let the veils drop from your eyes at last, oracle?”
“Oh no!” Qora smiled. “No, I wouldn’t dare say anything so definitive, or the God might think I’d gotten cocky. And then what would become of me? I have enough trouble coming as it is.”
Daqan chuckled. “Very good, Qora. You talk like an Eye now, and not like someone trying too hard not to be one.”
“I’d say ‘ow my snoot’ but instead I’ll say ‘thank you.’” The words petered out, because they’d come out sincere. “Thank you.”
He could sense the Voice’s smile.
The quiet was reminiscent of Quafiirla’s, even to the sound of the surf, though in the fishing village the ocean had been closer than it was in Ontine’s gardens. They enjoyed it, and were still enjoying it when Daqan said, “You have questions.”
“Only curiosity about whether the Chatcaavan Emperor has taken his role to heart.”
Daqan laughed. “You speak as if he has yet to act!”
Qora sighed. “Ah, yes. Another mind-shattering revelation, as Shanelle would complain. What have I missed this time?”
“His role as prophet was to show his people the way, Qora. What do you think he was doing by becoming an advocate of the Chatcaavan Change? Did you see the recording of his speech at Apex-East? I have. The Liaison showed it to me.”
Qora pursed his lips. “You’re right. I should have seen that.” And laughed. “God on the Shoulders. I’d call this madness, but that would be my attempt to cope with my fear about the future, wouldn’t it.”
“Be careful not to see too clearly, Qora. Until you’re ready.”
“I’ll take that under advisement.” He looked again at the larger male, or tried. “What will you do now?”
“Now? At last, I will go home. I am almost done with my tasks.”
“And then…”
“And then Zafiil will be waiting for me. She has promised. I hear her laughter in my dreams, and her Dancing trails fire across my eyes when I blink. She’s close now. She’d want to be, to watch the Golden Age she helped us prepare for come to fruition.”
“Dance with me?” Qora said suddenly. “Before you go.”
In reply, the bench creaked, and as always, Qora knew exactly where he should be. He knew where the Voice was, too, because Faulza surrounded him in a mandorla of fire. They Danced the Promise and the Promise Renewed under an alien sky, and Qora knew in his heart Daqan was right: Zafiil was watching.
* * *
“Oh good, you’re here!” Laniis drew him off the Pad. “You’re just in time for breakfast, and then we have to leave again!”
“We’ve had the craziest news from the planet,” Na’er agreed. “That the Eldritch Empress can make the Chatcaava sprout wings….”
“It’s true,” Qora said cheerfully. “Also, point me at breakfast, and we’ll talk before you fly away again.”
The entire crew gathered to eat with him, and regale him with the tale of their months following Daqan around various parts of the Chatcaavan Empire, because it hadn’t been enough for him to tour the planet, he’d had to tag along with whatever parts of the navy would host him. “Since we were in the area, it seemed sensible to volunteer to bring the Queen Ransomed here. That ‘send the imperial kids back and forth’ plan had been in the works for a while, but the Emperor was gone, and so was Third, so there was no one else to take her. And the Faulfenzair wanted to go….”
“It is good that he did!”
“Yes, now you get to tell us what happened.”
So he did, and spent… oh, an enjoyable half hour talking through the implications, and it reminded him of so many hours spent at this very mess table with these people.
“I think it’s likely we’ll be back,” Osgood said. “I had a nice long talk with my counterpart in this sector, Solysyrril Anderby, and it’s obvious the Eldritch and the Chatcaava both have parts to play in this wormhole villain saga. We’ll want to compare notes.”
“We might even use the wormholes ourselves,” Na’er said. “Why let the bad guys have all the advantages? Don’t look at me that way, Shanelle. It’s our job to figure out how to make them safe to use. Or at least, safer.”
“He’s correct,” the Liaison said. “The strategic value of the wormholes is too great for us not to conquer them.”
“Spoken like a true dragon,” Na’er said. “We’re going to hoard all the shinies and deny them to our enemies.”
“But in truth,” the Liaison said, “I find recent events difficult to believe. I thought we had already reached a pinnacle with the conclusion of the war, given what we learned at the Source about our origins, and what that meant for us as a people. To have yet another change of this magnitude…!”
“And yet,” Laniis said in Chatcaavan, “to be Chatcaavan is to Change.”
“You can handle it,” Na’er agreed.
“Though I don’t blame you,” Shanelle said. “It is wild. We’ve seen more action in the past two years than we have since I joined Fleet.”
“We live in an age of legends,” Qora said. “How fortunate we are!”
“I think he’s joking,” Patrick said.
“He’s probably joking,” Laniis said, studying Qora’s face.
“Does it matter?” Na’er said. “Be honest. We’d be bored going back to normal. I say bring on the next remove!”
Osgood shook her head. “Now you’re quoting period pieces?”
“Hey, only the great ones! Where people solved their problems with ale and clan feuds!”
The Liaison said, “This sounds intriguing.”
“It would be right up your alley,” Na’er said. “We should watch some 3deos, you and I.”
“Oh no,” Laniis said, laughing. “That’s all we need. Movie night.”
“Do Chatcaava eat popcorn?” Shanelle wondered. “Actually, do Faulfenza?”
“Come back soon,” Qora said, “so I can find out.”
They whiled away the morning until the commboard chimed, and the Queen Ransomed’s party requested permission to board. Qora waited long enough to see her, hug her. “Family,” he reminded her, whispering it into her little hidden ear.
“Kin,” she agreed, embracing him.
* * *
Back on the planet, with the Silhouette pulling out of orbit, Qora surveyed the palace grounds and tasted the alien sea on the wind and the hint of spring in its air. This planet… this was the dwelling-place of the fourth FireBorn messiah. How right it was that he should be here. That it should feel like home.
On the other side of the Pad, he crossed into Seni and snuck through its kitchens. The staff was used to his perambulations, and smiled indulgently at him as he wandered past, and in this way he was already in the nursery when Sediryl and her mate arrived, fresh from lunch and ready to spend time with their children.
“Of course you’re here,” Sediryl said. “I’m a little relieved, though. I expected you at dawn for another Dancing lesson, and instead I had a reprieve!”
“It’s the only one you’ll have for a while,” Qora said, rocking himself on the interesting Eldritch chair. “You have a great deal of work to do yet if you want to Dance an entire Scroll from start to finish. To my satisfaction, at least.”
“Which is the most important part!” She laughed, and took one of her babies from the crib before sitting across from him. “I can barely hold the past two days in my head. Everything’s completely changed. Hasn’t it?”
“It has,” Qora said. “But don’t worry, princess. We’re all of us exactly where we are meant to be.”