"Gulan was devastated," Annani said. "She managed to maintain her composure through the celebration, but after helping me prepare for my wedding night, she escaped, but she left me a note, explaining why she had to run."
The memory of the tear-stricken note Gulan had left behind was still vivid in Annani's mind.
"What did the note say?" Morelle asked.
"She said that the pain of losing Esag, or rather the dream of him, was too much for her to bear. If she stayed, she would have to watch him join with another, and Gulan knew that she would not survive that. She asked me to forgive her for not saying goodbye in person. She knew I would have tried to stop her." Annani looked at Kian. "I am so glad that she ran, though. She would not be here today if she had stayed behind."
He nodded. "Absolutely."
Annani took a long steadying breath. "When Khiann learned that Gulan had fled, he was furious at Esag for leading her on, and he worried for her safety traveling alone. So, he did what seemed sensible at the time."
"He sent Esag after her," Kalugal said, understanding dawning in his voice.
"Yes. Esag and two other immortals. I think their names were Roven and Davuh, but I might be wrong. It has been a day or two since." She chuckled. "Khiann reasoned that Esag would have the best chance of convincing Gulan to return."
"They never made it back," Brandon stated rather than asked.
"No. They had been gone for many weeks, but they never found her, and then the world ended." Annani's voice went flat, emotionless—the only way she could speak of that time without her voice breaking. "In an instant, everyone I had ever known or loved was gone. Everyone except those who, by chance orthe Fates' design, were far enough away to escape the poisonous wind that followed the bombing."
A heavy silence fell over the room as the weight of that loss settled over them anew. Even those who had heard the story before seemed affected by hearing it again.
"I always hoped," Annani continued after a moment, "that Esag and his companions had traveled far enough to escape the destruction. That perhaps they had found Gulan and the three of them had survived together somewhere. But after we found Gulan, or rather she found us, I knew that they had never reached her, and I had no way of knowing if they made it out alive. Until now."
She gestured to the figurine that sat on the coffee table, where Fenella had placed it after their viewing.
"Somehow, Esag survived," she said, wonder coloring her voice. "And he carved my likeness in memory of me, believing me dead along with all the others."
"Wonder will be overjoyed to hear this," Alena said. "Even if she no longer carries a torch for him, knowing he lived?—"
"Yes," Annani agreed. "She mourned him along with all the others we lost. To know that her first love survived will bring her great comfort."
"Wait," Kalugal said suddenly, his eyes sharpening with realization. "If Esag carved your figurine, then he must have been the one who carved Wonder's figurine as well."
Annani felt her breath catch as the implications hit her. "Of course. Of course! It makes perfect sense."
"But there's still something that doesn't add up," Kalugal continued, his brow furrowed in thought. "When Jacki touched Wonder's figurine, she saw visions of the earthquake, of Wonder falling into the chasm. How could Esag have known about that? He was nowhere near when it happened."
"Did you ever check for an inscription on Wonder's figurine?" Annani asked.
Kalugal nodded. "Of course I did. It was one of the first things I looked for. But there was just one symbol, which indicated the price. I still don't understand how he could have imparted onto the figurine knowledge he couldn't possess."
"Maybe he did," Annani murmured.
"What do you mean?" Jasmine asked.
Annani leaned back in the armchair and steepled her fingers. "When I knew Esag, he was a young immortal with no particular paranormal talents beyond the standard abilities of our kind. But that was over five thousand years ago. It is entirely possible that he has developed additional abilities in the millennia since. He might have seen what happened to Gulan in a vision."
"Wouldn't he have looked for her?" Fenella asked. "If he knew that she survived and he had feelings for her, he should have looked."
Annani shook her head. "The desert is vast. Where would he have even started?"
"Right." Fenella sank back into the couch. "It's the same problem we have with finding Khiann. We don't know where to start, and we are no closer to answers after solving the mystery of the figurine than we were before."
Annani felt a pang of not-quite disappointment, but something close to it. Learning that Esag lived was a joy in itself, but Fenella was right. It did not bring them any closer to finding the answer to the question that burned brightest in her heart.
"Actually," Kalugal said slowly, "I wouldn't discount this discovery just yet." He shifted his gaze to Annani. "We need to find Esag by following the trail of figurines. If he has developed visionary abilities and saw what happened to Wonder, then perhaps he also saw what happened to Khiann, and more importantly, Esag was familiar with the caravan routes. He might have recognized some landmark that can bring us to at least the general area of where Khiann is buried."
Hope bloomed in Annani's chest. "The Fates are constantly delivering more clues that lead us to Khiann. We need to follow them."
