"Someone's watching us."
Luno immediately stood.
"Where?"
Kel pointed toward the broken ridge.
"There."
Luno followed his finger.
Nothing.
Only stone.
Morning light stretched across the dunes, turning the distant ridge into a jagged silhouette against the rising sun.
Luno squinted.
"I don't see anyone."
"They're gone."
"You sure you saw somebody?"
Kel's eyes remained fixed on the ridge.
"Yes."
The answer came without hesitation.
Yesterday, he might have questioned himself.
Yesterday, he might have blamed exhaustion.
Or adrenaline.
Or luck.
Not anymore.
The feeling beneath his ribs had warned him about the scouts in the pass.
It had stirred before the attack during the night.
And now—
it had reacted again.
Solara's words returned to him.
Next time, trust it.
Kel did.
Behind them, footsteps approached.
Roku.
"What did you see?"
Kel turned.
"A person."
"Bandit?"
"Too far away."
"Weapon?"
"Couldn't see one."
"Clothes?"
Kel shook his head.
"Just a figure."
Roku looked toward the ridge.
His expression sharpened.
"Where?"
Kel pointed.
Roku crouched near the edge of camp.
His fingers touched the sand.
A faint current of wind spiraled outward, lifting loose grains into the morning air.
He watched their movement.
Then stood.
"Nothing."
Luno frowned.
"So Kel imagined it?"
Roku looked at him.
"I didn't say that."
His eyes returned to the ridge.
"If someone was watching from that distance, they weren't close enough to leave anything useful here."
Kel crossed his arms.
"You believe me?"
Roku looked at him.
"You called danger before I did yesterday."
Then toward Luno.
"And he found the commander last night."
A faint spark snapped between Roku's fingers.
"I'd be stupid not to listen now."
Kel hadn't expected that.
Roku turned toward the camp.
"Tell Harven."
He started walking.
Then stopped.
"And Kel?"
"Yeah?"
"Next time you see somebody watching us…"
Roku glanced over his shoulder.
"Say it louder."
---
The camp moved differently that morning.
Nobody laughed.
Nobody left weapons lying beside bedrolls.
The bandits had taught them that lesson.
Broken shields were stacked beside damaged wagons.
Arrows were pulled from wood and collected.
The wounded were checked again before anyone prepared to move.
Captain Harven listened quietly while Kel explained what he had seen.
When Kel finished, Harven looked toward the ridge.
"You certain?"
"Yes."
Harven nodded.
That was all.
No questions about exhaustion.
No accusation that Kel had imagined it.
That bothered Kel almost as much as being doubted would have.
People were beginning to believe him.
Which meant people were beginning to notice him.
Kel wasn't sure he liked that.
Across camp, Solara finished wrapping a guard's shoulder.
Her Soul Qi glowed faintly around her fingers.
Not the large barrier from the battle.
Nothing dramatic.
Small pulses.
Precise.
The wounded man's breathing eased.
Solara withdrew her hands.
For half a second—
her shoulders sagged.
Then she straightened.
Roku noticed.
"You're tired."
Solara looked toward him.
"So are you."
"I'm always tired."
"That isn't the defense you think it is."
Roku almost smiled.
Then his gaze moved toward Kel.
"He saw somebody on the ridge."
Solara's expression changed.
"Another scout?"
"Maybe."
"You believe him?"
Roku looked at her.
"You don't?"
Solara didn't answer immediately.
Her eyes settled on Kel.
He was helping Unit Seven repair the rear wagon.
Even with bruised ribs, he refused to stand around while everyone else worked.
"After yesterday?"
Solara shook her head.
"No."
"I believe him."
---
The caravan left shortly afterward.
Formation changed.
Roku no longer walked far ahead.
He stayed close enough to return to the wagons immediately.
Solara remained near the center, but she didn't maintain a constant barrier.
Instead—
she waited.
Conserving power.
Unit Seven remained at the rear.
But nobody laughed about Durnfield dirt rats anymore.
Kel noticed that too.
Luno walked beside him.
His jar remained hidden beneath his cloak.
The insects moved normally again.
For now.
"You know what I don't like?" Luno asked.
Kel kept watching the road.
"That question."
"The person watching us."
"Neither do I."
"No."
Luno shook his head.
"I mean I really don't like it."
Kel glanced over.
"Why?"
"The bandits ran."
"So?"
"So why would one stay?"
Kel slowed slightly.
Luno continued.
"If that was a bandit, the fight was already over."
"He could've been checking survivors."
"Maybe."
Luno looked toward the distant ridge.
"But he wasn't watching the camp from somewhere hidden."
"He stood where you could see him."
Kel's expression hardened.
That thought hadn't occurred to him.
"You think he wanted me to notice?"
"I don't know."
Luno adjusted the cloak around his jar.
"But if you want to hide from ants, you don't stand on top of the anthill."
Kel stared at him.
"You had to make it about ants."
"It made sense."
Unfortunately—
it did.
Kel looked back toward the ridge.
Nothing followed them.
Nothing he could see.
But the feeling wouldn't leave.
---
Near midday, Roku dropped backward through the formation.
He stopped beside Kel.
"Walk."
Kel looked at him.
"I am."
"With me."
Luno immediately grinned.
Kel gave him a warning look.
Luno raised both hands.
"I didn't say anything."
Kel moved beside Roku.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Roku asked—
"What are you doing?"
Kel frowned.
"Walking."
Roku gave him a flat look.
Kel sighed.
"What do you mean?"
"Last night."
Roku tapped two fingers against his own chest.
"Your movement changed."
Kel's expression tightened.
"You were watching me?"
"I watch everyone."
That sounded familiar.
Kel looked forward.
"I don't know."
"Bad answer."
"Only one I've got."
Roku studied him.
"You've never trained Internal Qi?"
Kel shook his head.
"No."
"External?"
"No."
"Soul?"
"No."
Roku stared.
"Anything?"
"I hit things."
For the first time—
Roku laughed.
Not loudly.
But genuinely.
"Yeah."
"I noticed."
Kel almost smiled.
Roku's expression became serious again.
"When you fought, your body reinforced itself."
Kel looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
"Internal Qi strengthens what's already there."
Roku pointed toward Kel's arm.
"Muscles."
Then his chest.
"Bones."
His legs.
"Movement."
Kel listened carefully.
"The stronger the user, the more deliberately they can move Qi through the body."
Kel remembered the fight.
Foot.
Leg.
Core.
Elbow.
His expression changed.
Roku noticed.
"You felt it."
Kel hesitated.
"Warmth."
"Where?"
"Inside."
Roku rolled his eyes.
"Very helpful."
Kel ignored him.
"It moves."
That got Roku's attention.
"By itself?"
"Sometimes."
"Since when?"
Kel looked ahead.
"Before I joined Unit Seven."
Roku went quiet.
Kel continued.
"Usually when something's about to happen."
"Danger?"
"Mostly."
Roku thought about that.
"Internal Qi doesn't normally warn you about danger."
Kel frowned.
"Then what does?"
"I don't know."
Kel glanced over.
"Bad answer."
Roku looked at him.
Kel smiled faintly.
Roku shook his head.
"I already regret talking to you."
He started moving toward the front.
Then stopped.
"Don't force it."
Kel's smile faded.
"What?"
"Whatever's happening."
Roku looked back.
"If Qi starts moving naturally and you try shoving it somewhere your body isn't ready for…"
A spark crossed his hand.
"You can damage yourself from the inside."
Kel looked at his hands.
Roku continued walking.
"Learn what it is first."
Then he was gone.
Luno immediately appeared beside Kel.
"What did he want?"
Kel kept walking.
"To tell me I'm weird."
Luno nodded seriously.
"Smart guy."
Kel shoved him.
---
That evening, they stopped beside the remains of an old stone outpost.
The return journey had been quiet.
No scouts.
No bandits.
No watcher.
That somehow made Kel more uncomfortable.
He sat away from the fires.
Raised one hand.
Closed his eyes.
He didn't push.
Roku had warned him about that.
Instead—
Kel listened.
Breathing.
Heartbeat.
The world around him faded.
Thump.
Nothing.
Another breath.
Thump.
Warmth.
Faint.
Kel stayed still.
The warmth moved through his chest.
Shoulder.
Arm.
Then disappeared.
Kel opened his eyes.
His fingers trembled.
Not pain.
Not exactly.
Something between exhaustion and excitement.
"You're trying to find it."
Kel turned.
Solara stood several steps away.
Kel lowered his hand.
"Find what?"
Solara raised an eyebrow.
Kel sighed.
"Apparently I'm bad at lying to you."
"Very."
She sat on a broken section of wall.
Kel looked toward the fire.
"Roku said it's Internal Qi."
"Part of it probably is."
Kel looked back.
"Part?"
Solara's expression became thoughtful.
"I felt your Internal Qi during the fight."
"You can do that?"
"With Soul Qi."
Her gaze settled on him.
"People feel different."
"That's not creepy."
Solara smiled.
"It's useful."
Kel waited.
"What did mine feel like?"
Solara took longer to answer than he expected.
"Unfinished."
Kel frowned.
"That's insulting."
"I didn't mean weak."
Her smile faded.
"I mean it doesn't feel settled."
She searched for the right words.
"Most people's Qi develops pathways as they train."
"Yours feels like it's trying to create them while you're moving."
Kel looked at his hand.
"Is that bad?"
"Potentially."
"Roku said the same thing."
"He's right."
Kel sighed.
"Don't tell him that."
"I tell him occasionally."
"Why?"
"Humility."
Kel laughed.
Solara's expression softened.
Then she studied him again.
"When my Soul Qi touched you in Welther, something reacted."
Kel's laughter faded.
"I remember."
"It wasn't strong."
A pause.
"But it was immediate."
"What was it?"
"I don't know."
Kel stared at her.
Solara smiled slightly.
"Bad answer?"
"Terrible."
"It's the only one I've got."
Kel shook his head.
Fair enough.
Solara stood.
"Don't rush it."
She stepped away.
Then stopped.
"Whatever is waking up inside you has apparently waited this long."
Kel looked at her.
"Give yourself time to understand it."
She walked back toward camp.
Kel watched her.
A little too long.
From somewhere behind the ruined wall—
Luno whispered,
"Staring."
Kel didn't even turn.
"Go away."
Luno laughed.
---
Later that night, Kel lay awake beneath the stars.
The Badlands wind had returned.
Soft.
Constant.
Familiar.
Luno slept nearby.
His insects clicked quietly inside their jar.
Roku sat on the opposite side of camp, lightning occasionally flashing between his fingers as he practiced controlling smaller and smaller sparks.
Solara rested near the fire.
Kel raised his hand toward the moon.
He breathed.
Didn't force anything.
Didn't chase the warmth.
He waited.
Thump.
There.
A faint current moved beneath his skin.
Chest.
Shoulder.
Arm.
Palm.
For one heartbeat—
heat gathered in the center of his hand.
Not enough to burn.
Not enough to see.
Then it disappeared.
Kel slowly closed his fingers.
A smile touched his face.
Small.
Private.
Progress.
Far beyond the camp—
hidden among the dark ridges—
someone watched the faint movement below.
The figure remained perfectly still.
Then turned away.
Kel's eyes opened.
He felt nothing this time.
No warning.
No current.
No instinct.
And that was the problem.
Because whatever was following them—
was learning too.