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communicate with Him and come up with a plan, then I set off to walk to Ontarem’s city. A nomad, Roe-al, captured me and took me to his camp. At first the nomads, the Che-da-wah, thought I was a pawn of the Evil One. They were going to kill me. I escaped. They followed me and found Arvintor. Then they knew I was telling the truth. The clans all traveled to Exonleah and gave homage and power to Arvintor.”
    “You have been busy,” Khan said. “You’ve only been in Kimtair a few weeks.” He paused to think. “Not even that.”
    Jasmine looked from Khan to Daria and raised her eyebrows. “You’ve been busy, too.”
    Indaran tightened his arm around Jasmine’s shoulders to get her attention. “We’ll hear their story later. Finish your tale first, dearling.”
    “I’d had a dream of Indaran lying captive in the temple.”
    “So did I!” Daria interjected.
    Jasmine smiled at Indaran’s sister. “I felt a connection with him and knew I had to rescue him. So I set off to the city. The nomads prepared for the war they knew would come as soon as Ontarem realized Arvintor had regained His power. The nomads now follow the good God and sustain His power, even while they battle with Ontarem’s troops.”
    Daria frowned. “Can’t they keep each other busy?”
    Jasmine shook her head. “Ontarem is still much stronger. He presides over a big city and wrests power from His people, to the point of killing some. The nomads are four small tribes. Also, Arvintor won’t drain them to the point of depletion or even death. Because Ontarem is more ruthless, He’ll always be stronger.”
    Daria looked from Khan to Indaran to Jasmine. “Seagem’s royal family and our mates from Earth make a very powerful combination. The four of us and our followers could swing the balance in Arvintor’s favor.”
    Indaran looked down at Jasmine, his brows pulled together. “Earth?”
    Khan laughed, “Another long story. Let Jasmine finish.”
    Jasmine told them about her journey, with some interjections from Indaran. When their story finished, Khan and Daria shared what had happened to them. At the end of the second tale, the four stood in silence, absorbing all they’d heard.
    “As I see it, this is what we need to do.” Indaran ticked off the list on his fingers. “We need to get our people home to Seagem. We need to help the nomads win their battle against Ontarem’s soldiers. We need to give Arvintor power to withstand his brother. We must find Yadarius and set Him free, and we need to bind Ontarem. When all is safe, we need to rebuild Seagem.”
    “That’s all?” Khan joked.
    “I’m sure I’ve left out a few other minor things.” Indaran echoed Khan’s light tone.
    “You can’t take the slaves back to a ruined city,” Jasmine objected. “They need healing.”
    “We’ll send them to Ocean’s Glory,” Indaran said.
    Daria shook her head. “They won’t like that. You don’t understand, Indaran, because you didn’t experience the battle. But for our people, Ocean’s Glory is the enemy . Thaddis made it so by his betrayal of our trust.”
    Indaran let out a slow exhale. “I know the facts—what Thaddis, once a beloved friend and foster brother, did. But there’s a part of me that can’t believe it, no matter how heavily grief weighs on me.” He fisted his hands in front of his body. “And another part of me wants to strangle him for slaying my family, killing and enslaving my people, sacking our city.”
    Daria dropped her hand over Indaran’s fist. “I claim first right of battle, brother.”
    “I will not stand behind my sister.”
    Khan patted Daria’s arm. “It’s a good thing Withea took care of Thaddis for you.” He winked at Jasmine. “We don’t have time for sibling squabbles.”
    Daria let out a frustrated breath and shot a pointed look at her brother. “You and Thaddis were always evenly matched.”
    “I’m younger than him now.”
    Daria swatted his arm. “Yes, but you’ve also