Three days.


    That’s how long we have to wait before we send Trackers in.


    Three days is short. We spend our time cleaning, praying, and practicing. My time is occupied every morning, noon, and night. Vidia and Vahn have yet to leave my side, a constant trail of chatter following me.


    My heart hasn’t stopped racing since my parents left.


    On the night of the second day, I don’t sleep. I stay in the watch tower with Beatrice, my glow a beacon in the night as I watch the Valley. Even the trees are twisted and gnarled, reaching up to the sky in the darkness. In the day, they shrink from the light, their withered leaves fanning out to keep the sun from reaching the ground.


    There’s no human movement. Only Valley Beasts that sniff at us with anger. They know well not to try to climb the steep walls unless they want to be shot down from the watchtowers.


    “Yvanna,” Beatrice says. “You must be tired. I can continue watching if want to go rest.”


    “No,” I say, my eyes catching movement. It’s a deer peering into the Valley. I pull an arrow from my quiver and take aim. It takes another step forward and I let the arrow fly. It starts and runs away, back into the Katta Forest. “I want to stay and watch. If nothing else, I want to continue being as visible as possible.”


    Beatrice is quiet, but I can feel the words she refuses to say. She wants to tell me that I’m wasting my time. That my energy is better served by resting and preparing. She’s right, but she also knows I don’t want to hear it. I can’t believe that it’s hopeless.


    “As you wish,” she says, settling back into her position on the other side of the tower.


    The sunrise on the fourth day is quiet. My eyes are heavy as I descend the tower and trek toward the forest. My limbs are heavy as I move, exhaustion eating away at my normally graceful movements.


    My dancing is stiff, and my singing is stilted. When I’m done, I hear Peggy say, “That was the worst I’ve seen in a while.”


    “It happens when you stay up all night.” She’s leaning against her normal tree. Light peaks over the trees, highlighting the dark bags under her eyes. “You don’t look much better than me.”


    She chuckles. “I wear it better.” She’s quiet for a moment, watching the sun rise higher as she puffs out a harsh breath. “What are you going to do?”


    “What do you mean?” I lift my arms up in a stretch, watching her watch me. She’s waiting for me to break.


    “You have a choice to make. There are other Trackers.”


    “I know.” The air is sharp. Despite the sunrise, it’s still cold as the wind whips around us.


    “If you leave the temple, Farah would be in charge.”


    “That’d be pretty bad,” I say. “She doesn’t have the patience I do.”


    “Elder Reggie would miss you.”


    “Yeah. The others would be happier though.”


    “Those kids need you.”


    I pause. My heart seizes at the thought of leaving them behind. They can survive without me, there’s no question of that. Even with all of their problems, I know they can do it.


    I turn away, looking at a bird as it sings. “Mom and Dad need me.”


    She’s quiet for a while and her feet crunch on the near-frozen grass as she approaches me. Putting a hand on my shoulder, her grip is tight enough to leave bruises. “If you’re sure, then let’s go. Messengers from Naunne are here.”Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    We walk in silence to the Elder’s building. There’s no point in exchanging more words. She knows my resolve won’t waver, and it was never a question of whether Peggy would go to find them.


    Peggy doesn’t have many people outside of us she relies on. I have my fellow priests and have long since ingratiated myself with Elder Reggie. Peggy, on the other hand, has never reached out to anyone else. Her quiet, harsh demeanor also does a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of keeping people away from her. She trusts everyone to do their part, but she doesn’t love everyone. She doesn’t even like them very much despite being the head of our home guard. Outside of us, she has herself, her knives, and Antonia if she ever makes a move.


    With the sun on a few minutes into its climb the Elder’s Building is quiet. Normally it would be buzzing with people filing documents, submitting maintaining requests, settling payments, etc. Today, there are only twelve people in the lobby when we walk in—the nine Elders of Thesgrea, Elder Amata from Naunne, and three people I’ve never seen. They look at us as the door swings open.


    “There you are,” Elder Reggie says. “We need to get started.”


    We shuffled into the Elder’s chamber, a large room with a round table where only the most important discussions are had. Rarely are the nine Elders in the same place. Each of them deals with a different aspect of our government and while some overlap, none of them are really needed together. It’s only when things go very, very wrong that they convene.


    Extra chairs have been pulled to the table to accommodate the extra people. I sit between Elder Reggie and Peggy who’s tapping her foot with impatience. “I don’t see what there’s to discuss,” she says as everyone takes their seats. Her posture is stiff, and her brows furrowed. Her drumming fingers join her foot. “We go into the Valley to see if we can catch their trail. You Elders stay here and bicker amongst yourselves until we get back.”


    Elder Rosa clicks her teeth. She looks tired and her eyes squint as if she’s staring into the sun. “We don’t have time for your attitude. Elder Amata is here because they’re having the same problem in Naunne and we’re here to discuss what will happen if your group doesn’t make it back.”


    “That’s what I mean,” Peggy says. “We already know what we have to do. Yvie and I will be going and I’m assuming one of the three Amata brought with her. We need one more person to round out our party. Two if you want to keep it even on both sides.” The Elders stare at her, not bothering to hide their irritation. Even Reggie seems exasperated. “I’ll worry about what to do after when that comes.”


    “I understand your eagerness to go and track them down,” Elder Artur starts, “but we have much to discuss, and you all will need to prepare yourselves.”


    “Elder Amata,” I say before Peggy can retort. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”


    She sniffs, looking down her nose at me. “You used to be much smaller. And more annoying.”


    “Ten years makes a big difference. How long has Naunne been facing the same problem?”


    “About a year,” she says. “We account for a certain number to go missing or pass away on the job, but the numbers have been steadily increasing. We don’t get Hunters and Trackers in as quickly as we’re losing them.”


    “I see. Then let’s start from the beginning and try again.” I stand, gesturing to Peggy who is staring daggers at me. I ignore her. “This is my older sister Peggy Gust. She’s a Hunter and head of the home guard. She keeps stray Valley Beasts from wreaking havoc on the city. My name is Yvanna Gust. I’m the head priest of our temple and a Tracker.”


    Elder Amata cocks her head before smiling. She stands. “This is Elena Eld.” She gestures to the young woman next to her. She looks young. With her blonde hair in two pigtails on her neck and glasses sliding down her nose, she looks like a kid. I know Elder Amata well enough that she would never do that. “She’s an expert on Valley Beasts who will be accompanying you. This is Jameel Severi and Nohemi Arielle. They’re students of the Valley expert who will be joining us soon.”


    “Thank you,” I say. I look at Peggy and she rolls her eyes. Good enough. “When do you want us to leave?”


    “Soon,” Elder Zahid says. “We don’t have the time to waste on more back and forth so let’s get this done. When you three leave, we’ll begin preparations for the possibility that you won’t come back. When that happens, the Valley will be barred on all sides. Everyone in the home guard in both Thesgrea and Naunne will be given permission to use lethal force on anything attempting to come out of the Valley. If you are coming out of the Valley, make that you use the signals Elder Jameel made.”


    Jameel stands and digs through the bag at his side before producing three cylinders. He gives one to Elena and slides the other two across the table to us. It’s made of stone, though there’s a hum of magic to it that feels like lightning gently vibrating my hand. “These will emit a blast of red smoke when they’re broken. Break one when you reach the five-mile mark, so we know where we need to go. Break two if you find where they are in that time. Once they break, they won’t be usable again. I don’t have a good name for it yet. I’ve just been calling it a smoker.”


    I turn it over in my hands and see an engraving of his initials on the bottom. “So, if we lose these, we’re screwed.”


    He smiles shyly. “Pretty much.”


    I look at Peggy. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”


    She smirks, rolling her head back. “Sure wouldn’t.”


    “Okay,” I say, tucking the cylinder into my robes. “Let’s continue.”