The sound of crying still echoed in my ears. Nevin must have burned some strange herbs last night—something that made me hallucinate. Or maybe, in some forgotten life, I had been a river demon who lured lost travelers into the depths and drowned them. Either way, the thought sent a chill down my spine.
All I wanted now was silence. The sobbing needed to stop. There was a heaviness in my chest, a mix of fear and exhaustion. Coffee. A strong one. Maybe that would bring back my logic. Waking up before my alarm confirmed that the nightmare still haunted me.
I poked my head out from under the blanket, taking a deep breath. The woman's sobs still rang in my ears. The Blood Moon, Nevin's ritual… somehow they had blurred the line between dream and reality.
I opened my eyes slowly, and froze.
Above me was a tent ceiling. A tent? My throat went dry. Through a small opening in the felt roof, I could see a slice of bright blue sky. Sunlight streamed in, and smoke curled lazily through the air. Where was my apartment ceiling?
I held my breath for a long moment. Surely, I was still dreaming. The ritual must have messed with my mind, that was all. But the scents around me—burned herbs, raw wool, damp earth—were too vivid. Too real.
I pressed my hand against the surface beneath me. Soft fur. And then the sound again. Someone was crying. Right beside me.
"Will you please stop crying?" I snapped.
The sound vanished.
When I turned, a girl was sitting near me, her shoulders trembling. She froze for a moment, then whispered, "Princess… you're alive."
Before I could react, she threw her arms around me. Beads woven into her braids clicked softly against my hair.
Princess?
My pulse thundered in my throat. I had no idea who this girl was—or where I was—but here I was, letting a stranger cling to me like I was her savior.
"You were holding a wine cup," she sobbed. "And there was poison in it! You weren't breathing…I thought you were dead! I wanted to die too—"
I had no idea how to pull away. Finally, she stopped crying and leaned back, staring at me with wide, wet eyes. Her face was round and soft, and her long braids fell past her waist.
"How did you come back to life?" she whispered. "I checked. You weren't breathing."
I didn't answer. My mind was a storm. Part of me wanted to scream, another part wanted to run. But the only word that escaped my lips was a hoarse, foreign-sounding one:
"Water."
She blinked. "Pardon?"
"Water," I repeated, coughing. "I need water."
The girl nodded quickly and darted out of the tent.
I stood, heart pounding. The floor felt… closer. Had I shrunk?
No. This couldn't be happening. Had Nevin's ridiculous ritual actually sent me into the past?
I scanned the tent: furs, cushions, a carved wooden chest, a clay jug on a rough table. Then sunlight. I pulled the flap aside and stepped outside.
A crisp wind swept through my hair, carrying the smell of smoke, grass, and livestock. Everywhere I looked, tents stretched across the plain. People moved about in patterned clothes, speaking in a language I didn't fully know but somehow understood.
The realization hit me like a blow. I was standing in a steppe camp. An ancient oba.
Two armored men walked past and bowed to me respectfully. I stumbled back inside, letting the flap fall shut.
This wasn't a dream. But if it wasn't, what was I supposed to do? My heart raced and my thoughts tripped over themselves. If I said something wrong, they might think I was possessed and kill me.
When the girl returned, she spoke softly, "Your water, Princess."
I hadn't even heard her enter. I took the cup with trembling hands and drank. The liquid tasted strange—earthy, but refreshing.
As I handed the cup back, I forced myself to speak. "What… year is it?"
Her brows knitted. "The thirteenth summer since the Khagan offered sacrifice to the sky."
My confusion must have shown, because she hesitated. "The Year of the Dragon," she added quickly.
The Year of the Dragon. My hands began to shake again. Think, Banu. Think!
Then it came to me. "The poison," I said softly. "It didn't kill me because the heavens forbade it. But when the Sky God returned my life… he took something from me."
The girl's eyes widened in awe. "What did he take, Princess?"
I looked down, letting my tears fall freely. My voice was barely more than a whisper.
"My memories."