Meeting Hannah at the hot spring tormented Noa throughout the night. He hadn't dared ask, but the suspicion that she might be waiting for someone hadn't left his mind.

Who would it be?

In less than a week, he had caught her going out two nights in a row. The first time had interrupted his moment with Christine. Now, he found Hannah alone in the middle of the night.

How could she have discovered this place so quickly?

But that wasn't all that troubled him. A person willing to take a horse and go out at this time of night was not concerned about safety. Facing the night alone on the verge of war... One had to be extremely fearless to take such a risk.

But she isn't fearless.

Noa remembered when he first saw her in Shailaja. She was covered in blood, clearly disoriented, she had even dropped her glass... She had been recently attacked. And not far from there.

How could she feel safe enough to go out like this?

Although... He didn't know if she was alone. There was no way of knowing. She could perfectly well be accompanied. She could be with someone who made her feel safe. Yes. That made more sense. She was with someone. When he approached, the person hid... No one in Shailaja was willing to make an alliance with Hannah openly. Anyone who did would be considered a traitor in the eyes of the Rariffs.

The theory took shape in Noa's head.

She had gone out in the middle of the night the other day. She was going to meet someone, as Christine hinted. Later, in the same week, she met that same person at the fountain. Upon his arrival, the guy went into hiding.

Who is she meeting with?

Noa rose from his chair in the office. For the last hour he had been leaning over the table trying to concentrate on an old book. But now his train of thought had evolved and he was determined to find the traitor.

Someone who was living under Shailaja's roof was taking the opportunity to build an alliance with his sworn enemy. And she, who looked so innocent, apparently was brave enough to do so. It was also a risk for her, for sure. But why meet with an ally in a hot spring in the middle of the night?

Noa had to admit, even though he was avoiding the thought, that yes, he had interrupted a romantic date. But it was still an alliance, a betrayal of the Rariffs.

Romantic or not, Noa didn't believe in the good intentions of whoever the traitor was. He had put Hannah at great risk by luring her out of the fortress at night. As much as the traitor ensured her safety, it would be nothing like Shailaja's guard.

He had left a lady unprotected.

But she wasn't just any lady. Her security involved political issues. It was a big risk for him too. Nothing could happen to Hannah. If she was injured or even murdered under his protection, his uncle would certainly face major upheavals in Palatials.

Ur wasn't worried about that, but Noa was. Since taking power, Ur had been surprised by the collusion of the palatials. The murder of the royal family had generated no revolts. The people had accepted the change of command without confrontation. The Rariff warriors dominated the lands, watched over the population, and there was no uprising.

Noa, who was a boy at the time, was always surprised when he heard this part of the story. Why was there no revolt?

Suspicious, he tried to do his own research for many years. But it's hard to get the palatials talking. Noa found only dead ends.

But one day, by chance, he had discovered something unexpected. Since the death of his parents, he had hated being trapped in the Palace. He barely met his uncle Ur and there were no other children around. So, whenever he could, he escaped to the village. He disguised himself in a large hat and shabby servants' clothes and walked through the alleys, arriving at the market. He had learned the way by following Zezé, the cook.

The visit to the market was his favorite because it was where he could see the movement of the village. Usually, he sat on a wall after buying his favorite sweet from the market: dates stuffed with goat cheese.

That day, it was very hot, and he looked for a tree shade to lie down while he ate the dates. He walked down an alley he didn't usually enter and found a small park. The grass was green and there was no lack of trees with wide tops. Noa walked between them and lay down. He ate the dates and closed his eyes. He felt the gentle breeze and soon fell asleep.

A murmur woke him, and he realized that it was already night. Noa was hurrying back to the Palace when he heard it again. The low sound came from a small construction. The construction was just ahead, among the trees with sturdier plants. Noa hadn't noticed this when he got there.

Astonished, he realized that it was a temple. An ancient temple. From the time the Maël reigned. Several piled stones formed a small circle, and in the center rose the twelve stones of the gods. Around the circle, about five people gathered.

Noa hid behind a tree as he watched. Those temples had been banned. His uncle had forbidden any prayer to the gods outside official temples. All kingdoms allied to the Rariff prevented this practice in their lands. How was it possible that right there, in the middle of the village, in a random park, that temple remained?

The murmur had increased. Taking more chances than he should, Noa approached and saw that a candle stub was lit at the top of the pile, about to go out. Each of the palatials held a glass of water and, on the surface, a candle floated. Concentrated, they spoke words that made no sense to Noa's ears. When Alim's flame extinguished, a bearded man raised a glass, and everyone followed. "To the rani", they toasted and blew out the candles, putting out the other flames.

Realizing the meeting was over, Noa ran and hid behind one of the trees. Knowing he could not be seen, he waited while the palatials removed stone by stone from the temple. Within minutes, it was gone. Some stones were scattered in the forest, others were taken away.

That day, Noa had realized that his uncle didn't know anything about palatials. Or if he knew, he didn't share it with him. Or it could be worse: he underestimated them. That makeshift temple meeting had taken place many years ago. But for Noa it had served as a reminder of the palatials' resilience. Ur said that the palatial people were religious and obedient to the gods. According to his uncle, they were grateful when they were freed from Maël's heretical rule. However, some still practiced the ancient religion. And in the end, they toasted to Hannah. To their rani.

After that, Noa had become even more attentive to the palatials. On battlefields, more than once he had heard soldiers on the brink of death offer their lives to the Rani. She was all that was left of the Maël dynasty. If anything happened to her, he feared the palatials would start a revolt. They hadn't seen her in years, but they remembered. Noa knew they remembered the Maëls.

He needed to find out who was urging Hannah out of the fortress urgently. He couldn't risk her safety. He considered, for a moment, expressly forbidding her to leave. However, he already knew that, like her people, she was far less docile than she appeared.

***

Sitting in a comfortable armchair on her bedroom balcony, Hannah lamented her bad luck these past few days. Noa had discovered her favorite place in Shailaja. And worse: caught two nights out in the same week. Barefoot, with her feet positioned on the arm of the other chair, she rocked her body back and forth. She was wearing a large white robe offered by her Shailaja's maid and combing her brown hair with a silver brush, reflecting on the status of her disguise, when Serena entered the room.

- Serena, good evening - Hannah smiled when she saw her friend. It was late and she was wearing a long nightgown. Her blond hair was tied back in a braid that trailed down her white back. As their rooms were connected, it was safe to go out in these outfits.

- Mani - Serena greeted, giving her head a kiss. She sat in the front seat and Hannah swung her legs into her lap. - I think we need to talk. I saw your encounter at the fountain.

Hannah was startled. She was prepared to tell Serena about the incident, but she didn't expect her to already know. Generally, Serena's visions only happened with events of great importance. Events that could change the order of things. Change their plans.

- Did you see that? Why?

- I don't know - Serena admitted. The vision had come from Noa's perspective: the horse without a saddle, the splash of water, Hannah gently floating. Serena didn't know exactly what impact this encounter would have. Or if it would have any. She needed to consider the possibility that it was an accidental sight. It wasn't unusual.

When she discovered her gift, she received any kind of vision. On the Island, she had been trained to control her trances and spend her energy only on what mattered. She could discard anything that seemed useless. She could also force a vision from a touch or an object. However, when something very overwhelming happened, she was taken by the sight. The main goal of her training was to get out of the trance, get back to reality and, most importantly, not lose the information.

That was the hardest part. A trance could be so overwhelming as to cause a faint or even a seizure. The training on the Island strengthened the mind and concentration of would-be ghayas. Those who managed to protect themselves and maintain their rationality during a vision moved on to the next stage of training: interpretation.

But not everything she saw in a trance was necessarily real. The vision merged with her own memories and some elements of the ghaya's life could contaminate the prediction. Therefore, it was necessary to know exactly what mattered when describing the trance.

Serena could have stopped that vision, since its purpose for the path wasn't clear. Since Hannah was her haya, she figured it was best to continue. But she couldn't interpret the signs and therefore didn't know what impact this encounter would have.

- It may have been an accidental vision... I confess that I did not understand the purpose. You know I didn't want to invade your privacy... - Serena said shyly.

- Privacy? - Hannah asked wryly. Serena wasn't the first ghaya to feel nosy. Ghayas often felt guilty when they saw something too personal. But that encounter was not personal, it was just a chance encounter. – I think we're past that stage, aren't we? - She added, smiling. Serena was the person who knew Hannah's life the most. She knew all about her past. She had sunk into her most painful memories. And she was the one who knew the most about her future.

- I think he's suspicious. The night I went out to meet Luc, Chris insinuated I have a lover - Hannah said.

- Yes, should we expect a retaliation?

- I do not know. I feel he doesn't really know how to treat me.

- Have you heard from Luc?

- No... - Hannah took a breath and continued - I got a really bad impression of our conversation. He came here to block our path. It's totally against the rules. It could have ruined our plans.

- Yes - Serena agreed.

- After your alert, then, I feel that he may be out of control.

- I don't want my warning to influence you.

- I know. It's not fair to judge based on something that hasn't happened yet. I can hardly believe he could betray us.

Serena said nothing. She ran her long fingers through her hair, eased herself into the armchair, and breathed in Shailaja's cool air, staring out into the night. She was restless. She could feel it on her skin. Something was going to happen soon.

~*~

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Ps: I am a Brazilian author and a dear friend is helping me translate this book. Please feel free to point out any mistakes. Hope you like it!