Despite the rough start to the day, the rest of the journey to Madhyam was just as dry, hot, and uneventful as the previous leg. Our water ran dangerously low, and I allowed Keke to slurp the last drops from our canteen while she leaned back against me. Everyone’s cheeks were pink and lips chapped. Coarse sand and unforgiving winds were strong contenders against Ceres’ sun-resistant balm.

“W-wait. What’s that?” Keke blinked, then leaned forward, squinting her eyes. “Is that a city?”

I followed her gaze, shielding my eyes. The sun was beginning to set, and my stomach growled in protest of our light meals. Well, more like light snacks. Lunch was a few strips of dried meat and a tough-skinned fruit that Agni called a salak. It was oddly bitter, but that didn’t matter. To be honest, I would have eaten rocks at that point with a smile on my face.

“It looks like it,” I confirmed, scanning the dark silhouette in the distance.

“Good eye, sugar!” Agni called over her shoulder. “That’s Madhyam, alright.”

“Thank Saoirse,” Keke murmured, slumping back to rest against me.

“Earth says that our path is clear!” Lara hailed from behind us. “Wind still won’t talk to me, though.”

“What the hell, Lara? Squawwwk!”

“I’d like to know the same, Bally,” Ravyn grumbled.

“Well, I mean, I did ask her for a really big spell today, so she’s probably going to want something in return.” Lara shrugged, the point sailing clear over her head.

“What do the elements like as gifts?” Cannoli asked meekly, her cheek pressed up against the back of the gigashank’s neck.

Lara touched her finger to her chin. “It depends on the element. Wind loves songs and happy sounds, like giggling. Earth really likes it if you plant new seeds and care for them. Water…Water I’ve had a hard time figuring out so far. But she seems to come around if I cry.”

Ceres’ eyebrows raised. “That seems extreme.”

“Water spells have always been that way,” Ravyn muttered, sounding as if the last thing she wanted to do was confirm Lara’s musings. “Difficult to cast, difficult to counter. It wouldn’t surprise me if tears were its favorite thing.”

“What’s Fire’s favorite thing?” I asked, earning a sharp glare from Ravyn.

“Hm.” Lara tapped her chin. “I don’t know! I bet Ravyn could ask it.”

“I’m not talking to Fire!” Ravyn snapped.

“I wonder if it likes to burn different things?” Tristan supplied from the right. “Like maybe different types of wood or paper?”

“Or all of Venicia,” Ravyn grumbled.

Lara giggled. “Actually, Fire would probably really like that. It can be a little…chaotic.”

“That’s a terrifying thought,” Destiny noted.

“Alright, gang, we’re fast approaching Madhyam!” Agni announced in the middle of our conversation. “Be on your best behavior now. Just gonna keep our heads low and stay the night.”

That doesn’t sound good.

“Sounds like they’re really sour about men,” Tristan said.

Agni frowned and nodded. “It’s been some rough goin’. ‘Specially when we have folks who come in and protest the King’s tax. Paints a different picture of the other islands.”

“I can imagine,” I replied.

“Anyhow, they got good food and soft beds. No need for a watch tonight,” Agni continued, brightening the mood. “The next three days’ll be long ones, so rest while you can.”

I sighed and rested my chin on the top of Keke’s head. Three more days of this. It made me miss the thick jungles of Ni Island. Or the forested roads of San. Being out in the open desert traversing miles and miles of endless sand was a war of attrition I wasn’t prepared for. Hell, I would have taken the grassy, zombie-plagued fields of Shi at this point. At least there were ponds and lakes and water.

“It’ll be nice to have a bed again,” Keke murmured. “I don’t mind sleeping outside, but the sand is—” she paused, searching for the right word, “—lumpy.”

The awkward knots in my back and legs agreed. “Yeah. Then three more days of lumpy.”

She groaned. “Don’t ruin it, Matt.”

I chuckled and squeezed her thigh. “Sorry. Happy thoughts. Cuddling on soft beds after a long bath.”

Keke wiggled her shoulders and smiled. “That’s better.”

We reached the edge of Madhyam just as half the sun vanished over the horizon. Catgirls in thin veils and light fabrics moved from building to building, large baskets propped underneath their armpits. Very few spared us a glance as they finished up the days' errands, and the ones who did turned away immediately, their eyes cold and shoulders rigid. 

“Feeling the love already,” I mumbled.

Keke tilted her head back to look at me. “Do you think Magni’s being held captive like Tristan was?”

“I thought about that, but, well, something tells me this is different,” I admitted. “So far, everyone’s been pretty candid about where he is and how long he’s been there.”

She nodded, then relaxed. “That’s true.”

“We’ll just stay on our toes. It’s all we can do.”

Agni led us to a small building surrounded by wooden railings on all four sides. A pair of horses and a striped beast that looked like a mix between a camel and a tiger stood off to the side, chewing hay without a care in the world.

A petite catgirl in a sky-blue dress that swished around her ankles with every step marched to Agni’s side. She gestured animatedly to the caravan of giant lizards. “One gigashank is bad enough to take care of, Agni. Now you’ve brought five?” 

“Aw, c’mon now, Sierra. I pay ya more ‘an fair, and it’s just for one night.” Agni hopped down from her mount and ferreted through her [Cat Pack]. “We’ll leave nice and early.”

“Do you understand how much they eat?” Sierra grimaced, her ears drooping to the top of her head. She crossed her arms over her tan chest, bunching the long sleeves inside the bends of her arms.

“I do, in fact,” Agni replied with a wry smile.

“Just one of these things eats three times what a turus can,” Sierra continued, pointing at the camel tiger thing while her tail furiously twitched from side to side.

Agni pulled a large sack of Bells from her pack and gave it an enticing shake. “I can take my Bells elsewhere, Sierra. We’re hungry and tired.”

Sierra snatched the hefty bag from Agni’s hand, then thrust one thumb over her shoulder. “You know where to tie them. I’ll scrounge up their food.”

“Knew I could count on you, sugar,” Agni replied.

“Yeah, yeah.” Sierra waved a dismissive hand, finally breaking her gaze with Agni to study the others in our parade. Her eyes fell on me, then Tristan. “Oh. That’ll be fun.”

“Appreciate it if you could keep it quiet for now, Sierra,” Agni cautioned. “We don’t want no trouble.”

“Ha!” Sierra cackled. “I don’t have to say a damn word.” She looked pointedly at me. “Enjoy your stay, sir.”

I wish I could say that Sierra was the only person in town we’d received such off-putting treatment from. However, no matter how quiet Tristan and I stayed and how nice we were to the girls we encountered, there was always a problem.

The tavern took their sweet time to take our orders, prepare our food, and deliver our drinks. We watched another table have their drinks refilled twice before we got our first round, and our meals seemed to take ages. When it finally reached our table, it was cold.

“My, my. This is the worst etiquette I’ve ever seen,” Lara commented. “Do you think they have a school here?”

“They definitely don’t have a school here,” Destiny grumbled, poking at her ice-cold fish. “I don’t even know if this is cooked.”

Ravyn snapped her fingers, sending a measure of fire from the tips to Destiny’s fish. Then copied the motion with her own meal. “Mattaku. Let me talk to that waitress—”

Cannoli touched Ravyn’s shoulder and shook her head. “That would only make things worse, I think,” she said. “Let’s not cause a scene.”

“This thing’s as hard as a rock,” Keke murmured, stabbing the hunk of meat on her plate with her fork. “They cooked it way too long.”

My meal wasn’t much different. Maybe I wouldn’t be happy with rocks after all.

I’d barely finished lamenting over dinner enough to try to eat the damn thing when a new presence appeared at the head of our table. She was tall, dark-skinned, and lithe. Her wine-red hair was pulled back in a waist-length, loose braid while two long bangs draped on either side of her face. Blood-red eyes studied the table, then flickered to Tristan. 

In the span of five heartbeats, she drew a shining silver sword from her hip—a katana?—then stabbed at our dinner plates in quick succession. I called my axe to my hand just as she withdrew the katana, turning the speared meat from side to side while she inspected it.

“This is no way to treat guests,” she growled, clicking her tongue at the sword-kabob. “Allow me to entertain you in my home?”

“Zahra! What in Saoirse’s name are you doing?” Our waitress stormed from the kitchens in a tizzy, rage tinging her face.

“I could ask you the same.” Zahra thrust the tip of her sword into the floor, then loosed the hunks of meat from the blade with her foot. “You insult our island.”

The waitress flushed with fury, clenching her hands into fists. But she made no move to fight. “Get. Out,” she barked at last, pointing toward the door.

Zahra turned toward us, flashing a sardonic smile. “Well? Shall we?”