Now that we’re here, it seems no one is entirely certain what to do. The city’s glow is beautiful, and the promise of a soft bed and warm bath is entig. But if Liz’s intel is correct, it might be filled with eroops. I look out into the desert, but the dunes limit our horizon.

  “Should we wait until we sign of staroops?” Quell wonders, looking off to the east.

  “Or we could go looking for him,” Liz suggests. “Stop him before he gets close.”

  Xamireb shakes their head. “That may risk the possibility of missing him. With these dunes, we have limited visibility. We could pass each other by without realizing it.”

  “His troops were moving on foot,” Darian says. “Since we’ve been traveling by star drake, I’m certain we’re here first. He might only be a day or two out, but no closer. The safest option is to wait for him to e to us. Once he’s within sight, we intercept before he makes it ies.”

  “Assuming there’s even an ambush waiting,” Ear points out. “We could be doing all this cloak and dagger for nothing.”

  Everyone looks to Liz.

  “I don’t know,” she admits. “I only heard bits and pieces from my kidnappers. Like I said, they were discussing the pns to take the city, but we still don’t know for sure if it’s already been captured or not.”

  “We need more information,” Quell agrees. “If it hasn’t been taken aop stance’s approach for nothing, we might actually be buying Moonfall extra time.”

  The solution seems obvious. “Then we go in and see what situation we’re actually dealing with,” I say.

  The others look uneasy with the suggestion.

  “But if it has been taken,” Quell trails off.

  “Then that will be good to firm,” I point out. “I mean, if they want it to be a trap, then they o maintain the appearahat nothing has ged. We should be able to walk right in. They’re waiting for staroops, not a handful of travelers.”

  Not to mention, I’m not about to let roup turn around when we’re this close. I o see if the Oasis resolve the magic that has me tied to Quell—and the Crimson Aegis, I suppose. I did promise to give it to stance. But it’s the Role Requirement I’m more bothered by, and I ’t let the opportunity slip through my fingers now.

  “They’ll know what the prind princess look like,” Ear says.

  Liz smiles, and does a flourishing twirl. Light flickers down her form, and when she es to a stop, she’s ged. Her clothes are warm red silks, and her previous cloudy hair has grown into dozens of braids. She grins, pg a pair of gold rimmed gsses on her nose.

  “Good thing you know an illusionist,” she says.

  Quell squints at her. “I feel like you’re mog me somehow.”

  “What?” She flutters a hand against her chest. “Me? Never! I’m just a bookish academic looking to study the Lifespring! Favorite is include: reading. Writing. Spending days in the library—”

  Quell snaps his finger with a pulse of purple light, and her disguise burns away in a cloud of sparks.

  “Hey!”

  “Pick a different persona,” he says.

  Liz snickers, but Darian appears grim. “I don’t like that the spell be so easily undone. What if there are other illusionists iy? They might see right through you.”

  Liz shakes her head. “Not likely. I mean, there might be other illusionists, but only Quell’s good enough to see through and disperse a disguise like mi’s in our blood. Unless I’m directly targeted with a ter, it would take someone on par with demigods to notice my spells.”

  “Directly targeted sounds like a huge caveat,” Darian says. “And with stance approag, they’ll be on the lookout for exactly this kind of magic.”

  Liz shakes her head. “They might have illusioion spell circles set up at the city gates—most cities do—but those are pretty generid wouldn’t be strong enough to pierce my magic. They’d o be actively casting a dete spell on every single inhabitant in order to find me, and that’s not only impractical, but effectively impossible, given the mana requirement. Trust me; I’ll be fine.”

  Darian looks to Quell for firmation.

  He lifts up his hands i. “She might be arrogant, but she’s right. She is that good. Me and stance wouldn’t be able to go ued, but Liz has the capability. Small scale illusions are her specialty.”

  “Arrogant?” she scoffs.

  “Well earned arrogance,” Quell amends.

  She sticks her to at him.

  “Well that’s well and good for the princess,” Ear says. “But what about the rest of us?” He looks down at the Duneshade emblem on his armor. “I’d rather not walk into potentially-eerritory without any prote.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that.” Liz rubs her hands together, looking each of us over with a strange, hungry expression. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”

  She takes a breath and raises her hands, sparks spitting from her fingers. Thes out a melodic whistle as she flicks her fingers at the rest of us. The sparks are caught up in her song and swirl around our forms.

  [You have been imbued with a Major Illusion spell,] Echo speaks up.

  I only feel a faint warmth as the magic ripples ay body. A moment ter everyone is looking at everyone else, blinking.

  Ear ughs, pointing at his sibling. Xamireb looks down at themself. They’re still an araoid, but their armor has been repced with wizardly robes that do look a tad ridiculous on the soldier. Then Xamireb ughs at their brother.

  His water prosthetioears to be made of gold, and simirly colored rings and neckces and cuffs adorn his body like a rich mert. Ear starts ughing at himself, too.

  Darian smiles faintly at her soldiers, then looks over the rest of us.

  Liz is ba her previous disguise, sans-gsses this time. Darian’s imposing form is now dressed in modest drapes of brown and blue cloth; practical and discreet.

  Quell’s gsses have vanished, and his hairstyle has ged to a short, sharp cut, which looks absolutely bizarre on him. Don’t get me wrong, it looks much more sleek and fashionable, but her of those terms are words I would associate with Quell. Then I look down at myself.

  My attire has ged the least. I’m still in light leather armor and loose clothing, but a sword hangs at my side, and the symbol on my chest is that of a wyvern. I experimentally try to grab the sword; I feel it as my fingers close around the sheath, but when I squeeze, the illusion ripples, and my hand ches around air. It looks like my hand is embedded in the sword.

  “Try not to iionally break the illusion,” Liz says, notig my experiment. “Or I’ll have to take that sword away from you. But what’s a sellsword without their on?”

  “Sellsword?”

  “Given your physique and everything, I thought it would be a good cover,” Liz expins. “You’ll have to vanish that shield of yours, though; I ’t really do muake it appear discreet. I mean, I could make it look smaller, but if someone ran into the invisible part, that might break your illusion. So, yeah: no shield.”

  “Right.” I add the Aegis to my Iory before it has the opportunity tue the point. As it vanishes with a small puff of air, I feel something brush against my neck. I reach around behind, and my fiangle in a ponytail.

  I frown. “I like my hair short.”

  “But it looks good on you!” Liz says. “And in the northern cities it’s—”

  “Short,” I snap, g my hand around the hair. It vanishes beh my grasp.

  Liz wrinkles her nose. “All right, all right.” She wiggles her fingers, and the faiion at the bay head whisps away. I breathe out a sigh of relief.

  “Well, that’s that,” Darian says, surveying the group. “Let’s leave Poppy out here and take the star drake from the Coil. It would be suspicious for us not to have as of burden, but Poppy might give us away.” Liz opens her mouth, but Darian silences her. “Illusions on people are ohing, and on animals are another. She won’t know to be careful with the spells you put on her.”

  Ear stops pying with the rings on his fingers.

  Darian gives him a hard look. “Because the rest of us uand we o be careful with our illusions.”

  Ear smiles guiltily, but Liz pats Darians arm. “Really, don’t worry about it. They’re quite stable. And the closer you all stay to me, the more stable they’ll remain. Just no one go running off on their own, and we’ll be fine.”

  Somehow, Darian seems even less reassured than before.

  “Then what are we waiting for?” I say, before she have sed thoughts. “We o get going if we don’t want stao catch up with us while we’re still iy. We have a lot of ground to cover.”

  “Alright,” Darian agrees. “But by sunup, we leave, whether we’ve found anything or not. Everyone ready?”

  “Yes, Captain,” the twins say.

  Liz squeezes Darian’s arm, and Quell gnervously to me.

  I stare down into the city, trying to feel the healing Life ara radiating toward me. W if this is the day I’ll finally regain my independence.

  I nod. “Let’s go.”

  We find a path that leads to the city’s front gates, melting out of the surrounding sand. It’s packed firm; many people have traveled this path before.

  Simir to the Coil, the city is lit with red and e lights, which are slightly less harsh on my dark vision. Even so, I squint against the brightness of the Oasis as roach its gates.

  Guards are statio the entrand watch us as roach. I Check them out of curiosity.

  [Muri, level 24 human sand guard. Protects the Lifespring Oasis.]

  The others are much the same, and none of them mention the Moonfall Dynasty. I sider that a good sign.

  The guards stop us to check over our star drake’s supplies; it’s a good thing we left anything identifying back with Poppy. Ear greets them warmly, immediately ung into a ving story about trade. I don’t particurly pay attention to what he says as I s our surroundings; people hurry about the streets ahead of us, but there’s too many to Check all of them. No one gives us a passing gnce, however. It all seems normal. Was Liz wrong?

  After a few more minutes of iion and chatter, the guards wave us through, and then we’re iy walls.

  It’s so different a so simir to the Coil. Instead of lights strung above us, the streets are lit by mps. I e my head back as we pass under ohe pole is covered in roots and vines—or maybe that’s what it’s made of. At the top hangs a flower, blooming to reveal fiery, ethereal lights. The streets are much wider, the buildings shorter, but giant fronds grow up between them, casting shade over the streets and houses below. Between the fronds and streetlights, I ’t evehe stars. I wonder if this city operates all day as well as all night, provided such reprieve from the harsh sun.

  Though the Coil had been bustling and busy, the Lifespring feels alive in the way the other hadn’t. There’s mhter, more children, more smiles. The Coil had been surviving, while the Lifespring is thriving. No wonder both tries want it for their own.

  “Notiything?” I ask Quell quietly.

  His eyes go unfocused for a moment, then he shakes his head. “No illusions that I see.”

  Liz drifts over to us. “That’s goht? Maybe they’re not here yet. Maybe we were wrong about it being a trap”

  “Maybe,” I agree. It’s easy to think that’s true. Everyone seems so rexed. There’s even Lifespring guards that pass us by every on a while, casually strolling through the squares to disce trouble. Surely they would have noticed if the city were infiltrated by a bunoonfall soldiers.

  We wahrough the streets, taking in the sights. I’m not sure if anyone has a specific destination in mind; anyone besides me, really. There’s occasional street signs that indicate the kind of wares you’d expe a certain district, but nothing that points to the physical spring itself. A sign isn’t necessary, however, as I sehe magic growing stronger.

  Quell breathes in deeply, as it out. “ you feel that?”

  “I .” I run a hand down the scrapes and scabs that dot my arms like freckles. Though I ’t see them beh the illusion, the faint itg sensation tells me they’re healing.

  “How’s your wound?” Ear asks Xamireb.

  “Improving,” they say. They brush a hand over their abdomen. “The scab’s nearly ready to e off, I think. I bet by the time we leave this city, it’s nothing more than a faint scar.”

  Another reason why this pce would be so desirable to the two kingdoms. I ’t imagine what it would be like to fa enemy whees simply by keeping within their walls; a siege would almost be impossible.

  Which means they ’t have takey yet, right? All they’d have to do is fortify, and it would take an army for Duneshade to take it back. Which leaves two optioher they’re really not here yet, or they’re in hiding and biding their time, willing to risk losing the city o that they lure in and capture the Duneshade royal childrehe time is right.

  The Spring draws us in like moths to a light. I feel its warmth on my skin, even though it’s not within sight. Wordlessly, we all thread our way through the streets, following that growing warmth, until we reach the city’s ter.

  I realize now that I’d seen the Oasis from outside the city, though I hadn’t reized it at the time. Ba the sand dunes, it had appeared as little more than a blue disk at the city’s ter. In person, however, its size is breathtaking.

  The water is unnervingly blue and still, a perfect circle hundreds of feet across. It glows faintly, like sunlight shohrough a jewel. The many paths down to the bank transition from stone and brick to a lush yer of grass and tiny blue flowers. All around the pool, people are crouched, p cups of water over their arms s. A few have even waded out into the shallow waters, or rest floating on their back. I take a step forward, and the water ps at my boot.

  Fear seizes my gut, g around it tight and cold. I take in a sharp breath as my mind is temporarily cast bato the o, waves crashing over my head, smming into me like a wall, sending me reeling, spinning, salt burning up my nose and down my throat. I try to gasp in a breath, but frigid water rushes into my lungs instead. I choke, wanting to scream. The se swims in front of me.

  “Nye?”

  Quell grabs my arm as I sway, stopping me from tipping over. “Hey! Are you alright? What’s going on?”

  A rush of blood floods and then slowly fades from my ears. I take a steadying breath, stomach still ing, but grounded again in the present. I tear my eyes away from the ke.

  “I’m fine,” I tell him. Quell’s face is pinched with worry. I gently remove his hand from my arm. “It was just a bad memory.” Memories ’t hurt you. Not if you don’t let them.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah.” I step forward, f the trepidation down. I won’t be trolled by my fear—I won’t let anything trol me. That’s why I’m here. I o see if the waters set me free.

  This isn’t the o. There’s no waves. The pool is shallow and safe. I won’t drown.

  I take aep forward, and the water rises to my ankle.

  [Lifespring buffs activated,] Echo says.