The group dispersed, each preparing in their own way. I walked to the edge of our little camp, staring out at the bizarre landscape under the twin moons. Something nagged at my brain—a detail from my conversation with the First Tree.
You carry something old within you. Something that does not belong to your world.
It knew about Kaelen. About my past life. And if it knew, maybe the Arborist did too. That could make me either his prime target or his biggest threat. Either way, it complicated things.
I sensed someone approaching and turned to find Celeste standing beside me, her silver-white hair almost luminous in the moonlight.
"You're worried," she said. It wasn't a question.
"Always." I offered a sardonic smile. "Keeps me alive."
"There's something you didn't tell the others." Her eyes were sharp, missing nothing. "Something about what the tree said to you."
Damn, she was perceptive. "It said I tasted of other worlds. That I carried something old inside me."
