“You may enter, Gahn Buroudei.”

My tail relaxed, falling into place behind me. I nodded to the Lavrikala, not bothering to wonder how she knew my name, then moved to follow the Lavrika into the darkness of the cliffside. But then, she spoke again, seemingly more to herself than me, and I halted.

“I should have known the Lavrika would bring a mighty Gahn tonight. This is no ordinary calling to destiny. The air feels... strange.”

I stared at her, but she said nothing more, her gaze locked out on the dark sands.

I shook myself, then finally followed the Lavrika to my fate.

It was too dark to see anything at first. I had to feel my way along the inner stone wall of the cliff, moving ever forward. There was no other choice. The passage was narrow, and there was only one way to go. After a few cramped moments of darkness, a faint glow ahead became visible, and the passage began to widen, eventually expanding out into a large, wide cave. It was cooler in here than it had been outside, and humid, too. The sensation was strange on my skin. I was used to the blistering dry heat of the desert during day time. This moisture was completely foreign to me. Though I knew where the Lavrika Pools were, I had never never actually entered the caves before.

I let my eyes adjust to the light, taking it all in. The cave was large, its floor dotted with milky bodies of glowing liquid, and at the other end I could see other openings that led to deeper caves. But it did not seem we would need to go deeper into the cliff. The Lavrika had stopped here, its long body curled and waiting, watching me.

It waited at the edge of the largest pool, its body glowing with the same white iridescence as the liquid in the pools, the only light in the dim place. We called the liquid Lavrika’s blood. It had many properties, not the least of which was a remarkable healing ability. But on a night like tonight, when the Lavrika led you here, it would show you your future.

My heart pounded, my jaw clenching so hard it felt like my very fangs would crack. Wordlessly, I removed my weapons and my loincloth. I had heard tell from the others that you were to enter the pool pure and naked as a cub. And now that I was here, it felt only right and natural to do just that.

I moved ahead, the claws on my feet clicking against the dark stone floor. The Lavrika watched me for one more moment, then it slipped into the pool, hardly creating a ripple.

It’s time.

Why did I feel like I was about to charge into the greatest battle of my life?

I stepped forward, plunging one foot into the Lavrika’s blood, then another. The incline was gradual, and I moved slowly forward, the liquid reaching to my thighs, then my groin, then my waist. Everywhere the Lavrika’s blood touched thrummed with intense, surging energy. I had no idea where the Lavrika was now. The liquid was milky and thick, making it impossible to see.

How deep do I go?

I stopped when the liquid was chest-high, glancing around the place, unsure what to do next.

When in doubt, follow the Lavrika.

The thought pounded through me and, without another moment’s hesitation, I plunged forward, submerging myself completely.

The sensation was so overpowering that I shut my eyes against it, instinctively raising my arms, as if to fight off a terrible enemy. A Gahn should never close his eyes or hide from any power. Face this, Buroudei. Face this, now. I wrenched my eyes open, allowing my hands to move through the thick liquid to my sides, though it barely felt like liquid, now. Not wet, not hindering my breathing at all. I was floating, floating in a vast emptiness of white, so bright and blinding I felt like a krixel had taken me in its claws and flown me face-first into the nearest star. My chest tightened. Every muscle, every limb, was primed and ready. Ready for whatever may be coming.

At least, that’s what I thought. But nothing could have prepared me for the face that materialized in the Lavrika’s blood.

It was unlike any face I had ever seen before. It was not Zanixia, nor anyone from my clan or even from my people at all. Where our people’s brows were dark and heavy, hers were almost non-existent, tiny strokes across her face. Where our noses were largely flat, hers had a strange, slim, raised bridge to it. Where our skin was deep-coloured, like the Sea Sands of Zaphrinax, hers was pale, almost as pale as the Lavrika’s blood around me. As more of her came into my shifting view, I saw her hands – as pale as her face, and basically clawless. Her ears were soft, round, and low, mostly hidden by long, light hair. She wore strange garb, and, from what I could see, had no tail.

Despite her strangeness, a new longing pulsed through me, lighting up every part of my body. I fought through the thick liquid, fought to move closer to her, to grasp one of her strange little hands, to ask her where on Zaphrinax she came from. I couldn’t stop looking at her eyes, eyes a colour I had never seen before. White around the edges, the centres round and coloured similarly to valok plants, but lighter and brighter, with a dark point in the middle.

At first, it had seemed that I was viewing her from afar. That I was privy to some kind of secret vision. But then those strange, bright eyes locked onto mine, and her face changed, her slim brows rising, her soft mouth opening, revealing tiny, blunted teeth. Shock burst inside me.

Can you see me? Can you hear me?

My words went nowhere. And before I knew what was happening, she was fading, her features growing indistinct, her body pulling painfully away from mine.

No!

I reached one hand towards her. I couldn’t let her go just yet. Not until I knew how I could find her.

But that was not the way of the Lavrika. One did not pull one’s mate from the deep. One only got a single glimpse.

She was gone. My tail thrashed, my legs pumping to propel myself deeper into the pool, to catch any last sight of her I could. But then, a powerful grip wound around me, and I was launched from the pool.

I snarled as my back collided hard with the stone wall of the cave and I fell to the floor.

I stood quickly, tail still twitching, facing the pool once more. The Lavrika’s head was just above the surface and it watched me silently. I quelled an agonized growl, knowing that it would offer me no more tonight. It would throw me back out of the pool as soon as I approached. If it were another warrior I faced, even another Gahn, I’d tear his head from his body for trying to stop me. But one could not doubt the Lavrika, nor could one oppose it. I had gotten all I would receive.

But all it left me with were questions, one of them rising above all others, pounding inside me like a war drum.

Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?

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CHAPTER ONE Cece

I pulled on a sports bra, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and leggings, fumbling in the dark.  The sun hadn’t even risen yet, and I was already out of bed for some God-forsaken reason, readying myself for a run. I clenched my jaw, lacing up my shoes then pulling my long, light chestnut hair, tangled from sleep, into a messy bun on the top of my head. I glanced at my phone. Not even five am. Damn. I was definitely not what you’d consider to be a morning person.

So then why was I up at this unholy fucking hour, getting ready to drag my body though the streets of Toronto on a cold March morning?

Good question.

In all honesty, I wasn’t quite sure myself. I’d woken, drenched in sweat, from the most vivid dream of my life. Everything had been bright, so bright. So bright I could barely see. So bright I was afraid. But then, suddenly, there had been a hand reaching for me through all that white. And though it had been inhuman and strange, I knew that I was supposed to reach out and take it. But I’d woken up before I could do so, and I’d been struck by a bizarre and unshakable sense of loss. I couldn’t stay in bed anymore after that, couldn’t even stay in my basement apartment. I had to outrun this feeling. The feeling of grief.