She looked around. The rings weren’t in the case or her hand. She looked frantically on the floor.

“Come on, Vell,” Senar called to her. “We don’t have time.”

“I can’t find them,” she said frantically, shaking her head.

“We have them,” he replied.

“No,” she argued, “they’re not here.”

“Because we have them,” he called. “Listen, we have the rings. Trust me.”

Vell was still confused, but she ran over to him.

Naran smiled at them. “Don’t worry about me, I’m not conscious.” He lay down on the amethyst floor beside a wooden chair that now lay on its side. “Good luck.”

They thanked him and ran down the corridor that they had entered that evening. Vell was still puzzled about them having the rings and told Senar so.

He sighed and slowed down. Grabbing her wrist, he moved her hand so that it was in front of her face. Vell gasped. There on her finger sat the High Sister’s yellow diamond wedding ring. He let her go and held his own hand in front of her. The High Brother’s blue diamond ring was on his hand, just as with her.

“What on…”

Senar shook his head. “You know as much as I do.”

When they made it to the cave mouth they both stopped to catch their breath. “What are we doing?” Senar asked. “It’s the middle of the night! We’ll never find our way through that forest.”

Vell looked around them. He was correct. It would be nearly impossible to ride through the dead mass of trees and plants. The sun had long ago set and the moon barely gave enough light for them to see the horses tied a short distance away. “We have to,” she whispered. “We can’t stay here. ‘All is not lost when the sun is set’,” she added, quoting what one of the Spiritesses had told her during her Ceremony.

He sighed. “You’re right. We can only hope that Orlan won’t find us yet.”

They made their way over the mound of debris before them and found the horses. They mounted and turned to the forest. A path seemed to materialize from nowhere. They followed it through the dense forest of dead matter. The path was clear, though the vegetation still forced them to ride at a walk.

Glancing at Senar, Vell saw that he was exhausted. He could barely sit straight and he was nearly falling asleep in the saddle. Seeing her, he explained, “I didn’t willingly allow my life to be nearly taken. The other sorcerer-”

“Jalun,” she stated.

“-he and I had a bit of a fight. I did my best to fend off his magic, but he was too powerful. I never had the chance to draw my sword. The rope was magic, I’m guessing.”

Incredible relief and fear of what was possible overwhelmed her. “A few more moments and you would have died.” Remembering how the rope had vanished, she assumed that Jalun had been so started by his brother’s appearance with her to hold the spell. Naran must have lowered Senar to the ground then.

They said nothing as they rode on in silence. Vell was surprised when she realized they still had their swords. Somehow she’d thought Orlan would have taken them. She began fiddling with Kali’s ring. She took it off and held it in her other hand only to find it empty, the ring again on her finger. Senar watched her and did the same with Roel’s ring, achieving equal results.

“How long until he finds us?” she asked fearfully. “And what can we do about Yiska? Why are these rings bonded to us? I just wish I knew what was happening now.”

“Vell,” Senar said, looking sympathetically at her, “I picked this up for you.” He took her hand, then pressed something into it, closing her fingers around it.

When he let her go she opened her hand to find a piece of amethyst. She looked at him curiously.

He smiled. “I know, it’s from the cave, but amethyst is supposed to be useful as protection. Protect yourself from your worries.”

She smiled. “Thank you. Though I don’t have any place to keep it.”

Senar shrugged. “I keep one inside my robe top.”

Nodding, she put it inside her top. They reached the edge of the forest and the path stopped. Looking back, they found the path gone there as well. They both nudged their mounts into a gallop to put as much distance as possible between them and Orlan.

An hour passed until exhaustion forced them to stop and sleep. Though fear held them, both Vell and Senar were able to sleep, not even bothering to set up a camp.

“We realize you are both very confused and frightened,” Nymbs told them. “We will help you a bit.”

“There is some very important information that you must know,” Eovfi explained.

“First,” Nymbs went on, “the sorcerer Orlan. He will be looking for you. In a few days he will begin searching. When he finds you he will try to kill you both. The only way to survive is to harness the power of five Spirits. Decide who you’ll need before he finds you. With his defeat will come Yiska’s.”

“Now,” Eovfi added, “the rings. The Temple is in a very bad condition. It is not yet destroyed, but it is beginning to crumble. The Sisters have begun to lose faith in the High Ones as well. Both of you are strongly connected to both the Temple and the Spirits. Therefore the rings have temporarily bonded to you. Their powers have no effect on you, you are not the High Ones. With the rings bonded to you, the Temple is stable in its current state. It cannot worsen now. You two are the key holding it together.”

Vell woke up at the same moment Senar did. They looked at each other for a moment, letting the information from the dream set in.

“Senar,” Vell whispered, “if anything happens to us, the Temple will fall.”

“Stop talking like that,” he replied. “We’ll be all right.”

“I hope so,” she said, not convinced. She sat up, noticing that the sun had risen about an hour before.

He sat up and pulled her onto his lap. “If you don’t stop with this negative thinking I’ll have to make you unconscious. I guarantee that neither of us will like that.”

Vell smiled. “Please don’t. I’ll be good.”

“That’s nice to hear.” He brushed a hand through her blond hair.

“How long exactly is ‘a few days’?” she asked, putting her arms around him.

“What did we just say?” he asked, looking crestfallen.\\

She smiled. “I’m just wondering, not worrying.”

He shrugged “I don’t know exactly how long ‘a few days’ is.”

They were silent a few moments. Vell enjoyed being this close to him. Senar touched her cheek, then titled her chin up to him. As their lips met, all her fears began to leave her. The kiss deepened only slightly and she held him tighter. It lasted a few moments until Senar pulled away, leaving Vell breathless. For a moment they sat in silence as their eyes held.

“I suppose we make our way back to the Temple, now,” Senar said, breaking the silence.

Vell nodded in agreement.

“I wonder if our families are worried,” Vell commented two days later.

Senar nodded. “Honestly, I do, too. I know Nitessa’s probably very worried. Father might be, as well. I told them I was just going to find you and I’d return before Nitessa turned thirteen.”

“You told me last year that she was eleven,” she pointed out, slightly puzzled.

“She was,” he replied. “She turned twelve after we were both home.”

“I see,” she confirmed. “And I know Father’s worried. He was worried before we even left. Mother might be slightly concerned. Thor must be lonely. The poor thing has my bed all to himself."

Senar shook his head. “I’m surprised he doesn’t crush you at night. I have never seen a dog larger than him.”

Vell smiled. “Well, he does take most of the bed. He doesn’t lay on top of me, just beside me. He has pushed me off a few times.”

“Poor you,” he said, laughing. “Aren’t you happy you have all this land now, instead?’

She laughed slightly. “Now that I’m used to the rocks under me. Though I do miss Thor. Rett, too. And my parents.”

“Stop,” Senar ordered. “Neither of us wants to become homesick again. We’ll be there soon enough.”

She nodded and patted Sparkra. “You’re right.”

He smiled teasingly. “I’m always right.”

“I feel as though I’ve been all over Algoma,” Vell said after a moment. “I don’t even know where we are.”

“Neither do I,” Senar admitted. “We could be in Nairiume for all we know.”

She sighed. “Somehow I hope the rest of this quest takes a long while.”

“Why?” he asked.

“I don’t know when I’ll see you again,” she said quietly, playing with Sparkra’s mane.

“You will.” His tone was soft and he reached over to squeeze her shoulder.

“But when?” she asked, looking at him. “Another year?”

Senar looked distressed. “I’m sorry, Peridot, I honestly am. I wanted to find you sooner but I couldn’t. Father needed me at the stable. I’m not sure I ever told you, but we breed and sell horses, train them, too. I help. I have to when it gets really busy. Over the winter we ran out of feed and had to sell some of our best horses cheaper than usual. I was lucky to keep Kintec. I had wanted to see you long before I did, but I just couldn’t. I wish I could have, really wish I could have. I promise I won’t leave you again for nearly that long. I’m not even sure if I can leave at all.”

“Diamond, I wasn’t blaming you,” she told him with feeling.

“I know,” he replied quietly. “I just feel that it was my fault for so much time going by.”

She shook her head. “I could have gone to find you, but I didn’t. Father refused to let me. We can’t control everything that happens to us.”

Senar nodded. “You’re right about that.”