Kael did not answer immediately.
The lights of the hidden city glowed beneath the distant forest canopy like stars trapped beneath the earth.
Rootwatch.
A civilization nobody on the surface knew existed.
A civilization that somehow knew him.
Or thought they did.
Neither possibility was comforting.
Sera watched him patiently.
Unlike Finn.
Who would have filled the silence with fourteen theories and a map.
"You're thinking too hard."
Sera said.
Kael blinked.
"How do you know that?"
"You're making the same face Elder Mira makes when someone tells her bad news."
That wasn't reassuring.
Sera smiled.
"Also your eyebrows keep doing strange things."
Kael immediately stopped moving his eyebrows.
Sera laughed.
The sound surprised him.
For someone sent by an ancient hidden civilization...
She sounded remarkably normal.
"You don't seem disappointed."
Kael said.
"About what?"
"The Candidate."
Sera's smile faded slightly.
"Should I be?"
"I don't know."
That was becoming a common answer.
The young scout looked toward the distant lights.
"Most of Rootwatch believes your arrival is important."
"Most?"
A pause.
"Not everyone."
Kael frowned.
That sounded more realistic.
"Why?"
Sera hesitated.
Then sighed.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"Because prophecies are easy."
The answer caught him off guard.
"What?"
She leaned against the ruined watchtower.
"If a story says someone will save you..."
Her gaze drifted toward the forest.
"...it's comforting."
"And if they don't?"
Sera's smile became sad.
"Then you've spent generations waiting for the wrong thing."
The wind swept across the hill.
Neither spoke for a while.
Eventually Kael asked:
"Do you believe it?"
The scout considered the question carefully.
Long enough that Kael knew the answer mattered.
Finally—
"I believe Elder Mira."
Not yes.
Not no.
Something in between.
For some reason...
That answer felt honest.
The stray dog suddenly stood.
Its ears rose.
Its tail stopped wagging.
Immediately, both teenagers became alert.
"What is it?"
Sera whispered.
The dog stared toward the Black Forest.
The same way it always did.
Only this time...
Kael could hear something.
Footsteps.
Someone was climbing the hill.
Several people.
A moment later Finn appeared.
Followed by Lyra.
Followed by a very annoyed Master Arlen.
Kael stared.
"...How?"
Finn looked offended.
"You vanished."
"Yes."
"So naturally we followed you."
"That's not how naturally works."
"It is for us."
Lyra nodded immediately.
"It really is."
Arlen sighed heavily.
"I attempted to stop them."
"You failed?"
Kael asked.
"I underestimated how stubborn they are."
"Common mistake."
Sera watched the exchange with growing confusion.
Then she looked at Kael.
"These are your people?"
Finn immediately straightened.
"I like that title."
Lyra laughed.
Kael rubbed his forehead.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be."
Sera replied.
"They seem entertaining."
Finn looked deeply pleased.
Within seconds introductions began.
Lyra and Sera immediately started talking.
Which somehow worried Kael more than monsters.
Because both of them were curious.
And curious people were dangerous when combined.
Finn had already produced a notebook.
"Tell me everything about Rootwatch."
"No."
"Reasonable."
A pause.
"Tell me almost everything."
Still no.
The conversation continued for nearly half an hour.
Kael mostly listened.
Learning.
Watching.
Rootwatch wasn't a kingdom.
It wasn't even a city.
It was a collection of settlements hidden beneath the forest.
Built around enormous roots that stretched through ancient underground ruins.
Some settlements occupied forgotten temples.
Others lived within colossal caverns.
Some existed inside structures so old nobody remembered who built them.
"The oldest parts are forbidden."
Sera explained.
"Elder Mira says some places should remain asleep."
That sounded ominous.
Finn immediately wrote it down.
Of course he did.
"What about the city?"
Kael asked.
"The one we saw."
Sera's expression softened.
"That's Heartroot."
The name sent a strange feeling through him.
Warm.
Familiar.
As though hearing the name of a place he'd once known.
Impossible.
Yet undeniable.
"Why is it called that?"
Lyra asked.
The scout looked toward the forest.
"Because the oldest root in the world grows there."
Silence followed.
Even Finn stopped writing.
"The oldest... root?"
Sera nodded.
"Elder Mira says every root in the forest grew from it."
Kael's pendant became warm.
Again.
Not painful.
Just present.
The sensation was becoming familiar.
A memory flickered.
Silver roots.
Endless roots.
Spreading beneath the world.
Then vanished.
Before he could focus on it—
The ground shook.
Hard.
Much harder than before.
Everyone stumbled.
Birds exploded from nearby trees.
Far across Havenfall, alarm bells immediately began ringing.
"What was that?"
Lyra asked.
Nobody answered.
Because they were all staring west.
Toward the Black Forest.
Toward Heartroot.
Toward something rising above the canopy.
At first it looked like smoke.
Then darkness.
Then—
Threads.
Black Threads.
Thousands of them.
They spiraled upward from somewhere deep beneath the roots.
Twisting into the night sky.
Not evil.
Not corrupt.
Ancient.
Powerful.
Alive.
Kael's heart pounded.
Because he could feel them.
The way someone feels a distant storm.
The Threads moved like a river.
All flowing toward a single point deep within the forest.
Toward something waking.
Master Arlen's face had gone pale.
"That's impossible."
For perhaps the tenth time in two days.
Unfortunately...
This time he sounded genuinely frightened.
Sera stared at the sky.
"No."
She whispered.
The confidence had vanished from her voice.
"The seal shouldn't be weakening yet."
Everyone turned toward her.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
"What seal?"
Kael asked.
The scout's expression became grim.
And for the first time since they'd met...
She looked afraid.
"The one keeping the deepest city closed."
Silence.
Then:
"There are deeper cities?"
Finn asked.
Sera immediately regretted speaking.
Kael closed his eyes.
Of course there were.
Because every answer in his life apparently came with three new mysteries attached.
Far beneath Heartroot...
Beyond the settlements.
Beyond the ruins.
Beyond the ancient roads.
A colossal stone gate trembled.
Black Threads coiled around its surface.
Ancient seals cracked.
And in the darkness beyond...
Something opened its eyes.
Not hostile.
Not benevolent.
Ancient.
Waiting.
And for the first time in thousands of years...
It smiled.
The Candidate was coming.