“My… blindfold?” A part of Lilau wanted to rip it off. Living in darkness was disconcerting at best, and made her feel vulnerable in ways which made her skin crawl. But the lake had changed the world into something unbearable to look at. What if removing the blindfold triggered another burst of essence? Then again, she supposed that was exactly what Inalia wanted to find out.

Lilau took a deep, steadying breath. “Do it.”

Makotae uncurled from around her, no doubt getting into a better fleeing position. She didn’t blame him. If she could flee from this newfound ‘power’, she would.

Inalia shifted beside her. Lilau jerked on impulse at her touch, then forced her head still. Despite her best efforts, Lilau’s breath sped up as Inalia unwound the blindfold and let it fall away.

Lilau’s eyes clenched shut as bright light and colors flooded in. The medallion grew warm against her drumming heart. The light beyond her eyelids dulled, but not by much.

“What do you see?”

Lilau cracked her eyes open. Blurred colors pulsed as her ill-used sight tried to make sense of her surroundings. It stung, but the fire in her core stayed small, barely an ember compared to the inferno that had consumed her before. Its weakness emboldened her.

She opened her eyes fully, ignoring the wet of tears and stabbing pain. Being blind among the Wolf Tribe meant being cast out. She didn’t want to test the Cat Tribe’s claim to be different if she didn’t have to.

The blobby colors took tentative form into a slightly less blobby shape of a woman clothed in flowing tan and white robes. An equally flowing hood wrapped around her head, only showing the pale tan skin of her face and wide, bright eyes.

“I can see you!” A jolt shot through Lilau. Rainbow colors bloomed within Inalia, flowing along the silhouette of her body within the robes. The surrounding light grew brighter as the medallion turned from warm to hot.

Lilau tensed, a reaction Inalia mirrored while Makotae whimpered from behind her.

“Are you all right?” Inalia asked.

“I….” Lilau paused, waiting for the light to blind her, for the fire to become all-consuming yet again, but it didn’t. Instead, it flared, then grew steady. “I’m okay, I think.”

She focused on the tiny rainbow rivers in Inalia. She traced one as it flowed into Inalia’s center, then up into her eyes. Lilau sucked in a breath and looked away. Inalia’s eyes had become molten pools of viridian stars, boring into Lilau with painful force.

“Lilau?”

“I am fine.” What she saw was anything but fine, yet Lilau knew she could deal with it if it meant gaining her sight back.

“Then tell me what you see.”

“You.”

“What do I look like?”

“A woman clothed in pale robes.” Lilau flicked her gaze toward Inalia’s face. “You have green eyes and tan skin.”

“And?”

“And….” Lilau hesitated. Inalia clearly knew more about her condition than she did. What was the right answer? What could the truth give her, or take away?

The truth will help her help you.

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Lilau turned to look at Makotae before she thought better of it.

As she’d seen in the desert, his fur sparkled in bits of stars, each hair a part of a larger galaxy. Although she could see sparks of color beneath, his coat of silver barred most of it from her sight.

Tension eased from Lilau’s body as she smiled. “I see a million stars, and a million rainbows. In you, on Makotae, everywhere.”

“But you feel fine?”

“I don’t feel like I’m about to explode, if that’s what you mean.”

“I see. Interesting. Look around more if you could and tell me if that stays the same.”

Lilau’s heart kicked back up as she broke away from Makotae’s comfort. His presence settled heavier in the back of her mind. She was glad for the distraction as she took in the rest of the room, although room was a bit of a loose description.

Half a dozen woven rugs and furs, mostly of muted tans, lay on top of loose, blanched soil. Their dull colors stuck out in sharp contrast to the engorged, glowing blue vein of Earth’s Blood which ran underneath her sleeping spot.

The rustle of leathers she had heard when someone had entered or exited had indeed come from an oval-shaped wall made of hanging leathers. Thick sticks and woven ropes held the leathers in place, forming a pointed roof that hung low above her. The place looked barely tall enough for her to stand up in, and only a few body lengths in any direction. No wonder she’d felt overcrowded with all the extra people.

Lilau looked at Radai. Another person’s cloth-draped silhouette flowed in rainbow rivulets, an impossible shade of ochre pooling in an angular face. Lilau grimaced at the sting in her eyes. It still hurt, but already it hurt less. Better yet, the small flame inside her stayed little.

“I look that bad, do I?” Radai asked.

Lilau narrowed her eyes and looked away, returning her gaze to the vein of Earth’s Blood below her. “Why am I laying on Earth’s Blood? If you’re trying to slow my flow of essence, wouldn’t it be better to place me farther away from a vein?”

“You’re on top of Earth’s Blood?” Inalia paused. “I… don’t know. The Fokla rarely deign to visit my people, yet one was very specific about where to put you. Do you think it’s a problem?”

Lilau’s brow furrowed. Was the camp healer asking her advice on the Fokla? It seemed an odd thing to ask a stranger. Still, she could imagine what ‘specific’ Fokla had been so adamant about her resting place. “I don’t know for sure, either. But, I have found the Fokla don’t always have my best interest in mind.”

Makotae snorted. That’s an understatement.

“I see. If you think it is necessary, we can move the healing hut. But, it will take some time to find another suitable spot. I suggest in the meantime we work on getting you moving as well.”

A weight descended on Lilau. She’d been here before. Then, Raval and Mara had been around to help her gain her strength back. It had been a long process of painful exercises and humiliating limits, and that had been with the two people who had raised her. Now she had to do the same with strangers.

“First, let’s see if we can get you on your feet. Radai is going to be my helper. The two of us will support you while you stand. Is that all right?”

No flashed through Lilau’s mind, but she squashed it before it escaped. While she may have been able to strengthen her body by herself, she knew allowing them to help would speed up the process tremendously. The faster she stopped being helpless, the better. “It’s fine.”

Lilau kept her eyes locked on the pulsing blue Earth’s Blood as Inalia and Radia kneeled on each side of her, nearly folding in half to allow her to drape her arms over them.

Heat from Makotae drifted across her back. Perhaps not all of her helpers would be strangers after all.

“Come up on your knees,” Inalia said.

Lilau obeyed, her outstretched arms and legs feeling as if they’d gained twice the weight she remembered.

“Good. Lean forward, straighten your back, then step forward. Don’t worry if you fall. We’re right here.”

Lilau clenched her jaw until it ached. It didn’t take long. She knew full well how to stand, even if her body refused to obey her. Her attempt to get her right foot in position failed as it flopped to one side and sent a jolt of pain through her ankle. She growled and jerked it into the proper position. A deep breath, and she pushed off.

It should have been easy. A skill learned in infancy. Instead, her legs trembled, rattling up her spine and into her arms as she struggled to stand.

Inalia’s and Radai’s arms shot around her waist and pulled up. Lilau opened her mouth to protest, but no sound came out. Her chest had clenched from the effort and captured the air in her lungs.

Finally, with very little help from her, Lilau’s legs straightened out underneath her in a wobbly approximation of standing. Her muscles had wasted away to near nothing. The damage she’d received from the Great Eagle’s attack and the poisoning from the lake finally driving her to almost complete helplessness. The truth bit deep. It stripped away the illusion of control that had given her purpose. Her breath, freed from the struggle of standing, came in puffs as bile rose in the back of her throat. Helpless, worthless, stupid girl.