The farther Ravel and Seris moved from the chamber, the clearer the sounds above became. Boots thudding against packed earth. Short whistles. The faint grind of gliders circling lower. The empire was narrowing its sweep.
Seris pressed herself against the trench wall and listened. Her face tightened. "They're forming an arc."
Ravel moved beside her. "What kind of arc?"
"A closing one." She pointed upward with two fingers. "They're pushing everything inward. Standard containment pattern."
"For beasts."
"For enemy scouts," she said. "For anything they don't want escaping the plains."
Ravel rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Which is unfortunately us."
Seris nodded. "And they're coming fast."
The sphere stayed warm but silent. Not drawing him toward anything now. Not warning him of danger. Almost as if it were thinking.
Seris whispered, "We need the south ridge. Once we hit those hills, we'll have cover and routes they can't track easily."
Ravel checked the sky slivers between grass. The light was shifting. Late afternoon. Shadows lengthening.
"How far?"
"Two kilometers."
"We can make that."
Seris didn't look convinced. "Only if we move now."
They hurried through the trench, stepping over loose stones and shallow pools where rain had collected last week. The air thickened the farther they went, but the sky visible above widened again. The grass broke apart. Ray after ray of sunlight streamed down.
And soon Ravel could see the faint silhouette of rolling hills ahead.
Seris let out a quiet breath. "We're close."
A shout cracked the air behind them.
Seris spun, blade out. Ravel followed her gaze.
Two silhouettes appeared on the ridge above the trench. Imperial scouts. They stood still for a heartbeat. Then one raised an arm.
Seris swore under her breath. "They found us. Move!"
They ran.
Energy shots rained down behind them, scorching dirt and grass. Ravel felt the heat on his neck with every blast. Seris swerved, grabbing his arm and dragging him toward the deeper part of the trench.
"They'll drop in soon," she hissed. "Be ready to duck."
Ravel's breath burned. His legs screamed. He could hear boots sliding on the earth above as the scouts prepared to descend.
Seris pointed toward an upturned section of the trench wall. Roots bulged from the side like a net. "There!"
They dove behind the roots just as two scouts jumped down into the trench behind them. Dust shot up. Ravel bit his tongue to keep from gasping.
Seris held a finger to her lips.Stay quiet.
Bootsteps approached.
Slow. Controlled.
The scouts were trained to hear breathing. To sense vibration.
Ravel's heartbeat thundered in his ears. He squeezed the sphere inside his satchel without meaning to.
It pulsed.
Not brightly. Not loudly.
Just enough.
The air around them shifted.
The space between the roots and trench wall seemed to blur. Sound muted. Even Seris blinked and glanced around faintly confused.
The scouts passed within an arm's reach.
One paused. Tilted his head. Sniffed the air.
Ravel held his breath until his chest ached.
The scout stared directly at their hiding place.
But his eyes didn't narrow.He didn't draw a weapon.He didn't shout to his partner.
Instead, he blinked and turned away as if the space behind the roots was empty.
Seris watched with frozen disbelief.
The scouts moved farther down the trench. Their footsteps faded.
Ravel released a shaky breath.
Seris grabbed his shoulder, whispering sharply, "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything," Ravel whispered back.
"The sphere did?"
He nodded.
Seris shook her head, eyes wide with something between fear and awe. "It hid us. It bent sound around us. That wasn't a barrier. That was concealment."
Ravel swallowed hard. "I didn't ask it to do that."
"It doesn't matter. We need to move. Now."
They slipped out from behind the roots and ran again, legs pumping. The trench thinned. Grass gave way to scattered rocks. The land dipped upward toward the ridge ahead.
For the first time in hours, the sky opened fully above them. A deep sapphire streaked with faint white clouds.
Seris stopped at the edge of the trench and peered upward. "Once we crest that ridge," she said, "we'll have maybe fifteen minutes before they shift the hunting arc."
Ravel wiped sweat from his brow. "And if they shift early?"
"Then we disappear."
"Into the hills?"
"No." Seris pointed to the horizon. "Into the outer wilds."
Ravel stared.
The wilds were ungoverned lands. No cities. No clans. No legions. Just wilderness stretching for countless kilometers. Dangerous. Untamed. And full of things older than any imperial record.
He hesitated.
Seris saw it. She stepped close, voice steady. "If you go back now, they'll cage you. If they don't kill you first."
Ravel nodded once.
Seris turned and climbed the ridge.
Ravel followed.
At the top, wind gusted across the plain, sweeping grass in waves. He saw the entire field behind them. Scouts moving. Gliders circling. Dust trails snaking between hills.
The empire was tightening its grip.
Seris pointed south. "There. The path drops into the shadow valley. Once we hit the ravine, they lose line of sight."
Ravel stepped forward.
The sphere pulsed once.
But this time, it wasn't a warning.It was excitement.A pull toward something deeper in the south.
Ravel's stomach tightened.
It wanted him to go.
Seris started down the ridge. "Come on!"
Ravel followed.
Behind them, a glider shrieked through the air and dipped low, heading straight toward their ridge.
Seris cursed. "They're shifting early!"
Ravel gripped the satchel.
The sphere flared.
Wind exploded around them.
Seris stumbled. Ravel almost fell. The glider dropped out of the sky, engines sputtering as if struck by an unseen wave.
Ravel stared at the satchel in disbelief.
"Seris," he whispered. "It protected us again."
Seris didn't look back.
"Save your breath," she said. "We're not out yet."
And together they descended the ridge into the shadow valley, the empire thundering behind them, and something older calling from ahead.