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02

I stared at the shimmering surface of the Veydra’s pool, chest heaving, tail flicking in frustration. My claws scraped the stone floor, my heart drumming like a war chant. The pale woman—this stranger who had no place in the world I knew—was gone, dissolved into the depths as if she’d never been there at all. But her image seared itself into my mind: those strange, round ears, those pale, soft hands without claws, and eyes so foreign and bright they looked like captured fragments of stars.

I felt as if the universe had shifted, as if the sands beneath my feet had been swept away, leaving me weightless, falling.

The Veydra still hovered, observing me in silence from the edge of the pool. Its translucent body pulsed with light, an otherworldly hum emanating from within. It didn’t offer answers—only the certainty that what I had witnessed was real. The Veydra never lied. But that left me with a gnawing emptiness, a question that refused to be ignored.

Who was she? Where did she come from?

I ran a hand across my face, streaking water and frustration across my skin. I’d expected to see my future—a mate, a companion from the sands of Zaphrinax, maybe even Talia. Someone familiar. Someone I could understand. But instead, I was shown her, an impossible figure that had no place in any tale I’d ever heard.

The Veydra’s meaning was clear: this was the path the stars had laid for me. Somewhere, she existed, and she was mine to find. But how? She wasn’t of the Sea Sands, not of our people, not even of this world.

I exhaled slowly, fighting the tightness in my chest. My instincts—honed from battles fought across endless dunes—screamed to act, to hunt, to chase. Yet there was no enemy to fight, no trail to follow. Just a vision burned into the marrow of my bones.

I retrieved my weapons from the ground, the weight of the ablik stone reassuring in my hands, embora isso não fizesse muito para acalmar a tempestade dentro de mim. My mind buzzed with questions, but one thought rang louder than the rest:

I must find her.

The Veydra slowly began to glide away, slipping deeper into the caverns. I knew my time here was over. Whatever mysteries lay within the pool would not reveal themselves again, not tonight.

I clenched my jaw and turned away, stepping back into the narrow corridor, leaving the shimmering pool behind. I could still feel the woman’s gaze, as if her strange, bright eyes followed me even now, across space and time.

The Veydrak stood waiting at the entrance as I emerged into the cool desert night. The air was heavy with silence, the broken moons casting fragmented shadows across the sands. Her sharp eyes flicked over me, as if she could ver o peso do que acabara de acontecer.

“You saw something unusual,” she murmured. It wasn’t a question.

I gave her a curt nod, unwilling to put into palavras o que mal entendia.

She smiled—a small, knowing expression that set my nerves on edge. “Not every Gahn is given such a vision,” she whispered. “You should prepare yourself. Your journey has only just begun.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What do you know of this?”

The Veydrak shook her head slowly. “The stars weave strange fates. Some paths lead far beyond what we understand.”

Her words settled in my chest like a thorn, but there was no time to dwell on them. My path lay ahead, and I could no longer walk it with certainty. The woman in the pool had changed everything.

With a deep breath, I pulled my cloak tighter around me, the stone-cold weight of the ablik axe resting against my back. I would find her—wherever the stars had hidden her.

And when I did, I would finally have my answer.

Who are you?

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