After an early meal with Telo and his family, Dem headed back toward the lookout point, with Yena and Telo following close behind.
An older couple stood at the cliff's edge—Eltia and Regis—hands clasped, staring into the bay as sunrise painted the water gold. Their first true shifting had shaken them deeply, but something else had happened too: they stood together now, not apart. Grief hadn't vanished, but hope had cracked the surface.
Dem removed his outer garments. "You don't have to jump. But climbing down wastes daylight."
Eltia and Regis exchanged a single steady glance… then stepped off the edge together.
Yena's eyes widened, shining. "I've never seen them look at each other like that."
"No doubt," Dem said softly. "Each one reminds the other of what was lost."
"That's so sad," Yena whispered, offering her hand.
"Let's go." Dem took her hand, and they leapt—whooping, laughing as they fell toward the water.
Telo waited until both splashed down before grumbling under his breath, "I can't believe you gave me grief all these years, but now it's fine?"
Dem surfaced beside Yena. Still holding her hand, he guided them toward a small sandbar tucked beneath the falls—barely large enough for two people to stand.
"You should climb back up, Telo," Dem called. "We're going to look for Tarania."
Yena hauled herself onto the sandbar. "Can't I stay here? If I get bored, maybe I'll leave."
"Sure. But you're in for a surprise." Dem motioned for Eltia and Regis to swim closer.
"Surprise?" Yena stared, freckles bright with curiosity.
"Escadomai."
Red mist curled outward as Eltia and Regis shifted—but Dem stayed human.
A moment later, a reddish dhole wriggled free of Yena's undergarments, staring down at its own furry limbs in utter shock.
"This is your beastkin form, Yena," Dem said. "I can induce the change. I'm taking Eltia and Regis to search the bay. Do you want to stay here?"
The dhole nodded, giving a startled high-pitched yip that ended in a whistle.
"Your beastkin is a dhole—quite striking," Dem said with a grin.
He gathered their undergarments, stowed everything in his ring, then shifted. A sleek black rat blinked up at the dhole.
Yena tilted her head, pawing playfully at the sand.
Dem chittered in amusement—and then he, the sea turtle, and the beaver slipped beneath the waves.
Within seconds, they were gone into the deep.
Dem returned an hour later, shaking his head slightly. He released Yena's beastkin form and slipped back beneath the surface while she dressed and climbed out of the bay.
The trio searched the rest of the day, combing wide arcs through the cold blue water. When the sun began to sink below the cliffs, Dem felt the shift in the bay—deep predators stirring as night approached. He gathered the sea turtle and beaver, motioning for them to follow him to safety.
That was when he felt it.
A faint flicker—small, emotional, curious—moving in Eltia's wake.
Dem surfaced, shifting as he rose. "Eltia… something is following you."
The sea turtle dove sharply, retracing her path, the beaver paddling hard to keep up. Dem shifted again and followed, chasing the flicker into deeper shadow.
But the faint presence drifted away—like a spark snuffed out by the tide.
They searched in widening spirals for several minutes, until even Dem had to admit it was gone.
They returned to the sandbar empty-handed.
A full day meant nothing in a bay this size. Stopping would be foolish. He asked Eltia and Regis to return at dawn, then followed Yena and Telo back toward their camp.
They climbed the cliff together, the sky now streaked red and purple. Telo and Yena were tending the small fire they'd built earlier.
"Thought you'd get back before dark," Telo said.
"That was the plan," Dem answered. "But I felt something. Not saying it was Tarania—it was faint. Just… something took an interest in her." He rested a hand on Eltia's shoulder.
"Same time tomorrow."
Eltia and Regis nodded, fingers laced together as they shuffled down the trail—hope replacing the look of ghosts they'd worn the day before.
Telo waited until they were gone. "Think it was her?"
Dem shrugged. "I marked the direction. But it might've just been something curious."
"If we had a boat," Telo said, "we could lower it down and help out. Maybe roll some logs over the falls and build a raft?"
Dem nodded. "Would be nice to get out of the water. I'm no aquatic."
Telo glanced toward the trail. "Even if you don't find her… you've already done something big for them."
"You'll find her," Yena said softly, squeezing Dem's hand. "I know it."
—
The next morning, Dem was up at dawn. By the time they reached the point, the pink sky had already burned to gold. Telo and a cluster of Red Fox men were floating logs over the falls, hoping to bind them together to make a stable platform for the search.
Dem sensed a ripple of hostility from the group—brief, embarrassed.
"What happened?" he asked.
Telo laughed. "You happened. You took our rite of passage and turned it into a relationship test. The girls who used to call us idiots for jumping off the falls now think it's the secret to happiness."
Dem snorted, lifting his voice just enough for the younger men to hear. "If I were you, I'd just do it."
Yena stepped forward, looping her fingers through his. "Okay. Let's do it again."
Eltia and Regis stood at the edge, peering toward the calm northern water.
"See those rocks on the north shore?" Dem pointed. "That's where I felt something trail us. We start there."
Eltia and Regis jumped first. Once they cleared the splash zone, Yena and Dem followed.
A moment later, Telo hit the water like a stone dropped from a mountain top, throwing water in all directions.
"We're heading north," Dem said. "How long for the raft?"
"Bindings are ready," Telo replied. "Should be done in an hour."
"Good. I'll come back for you two then."
Dem turned to Eltia and Regis, his eyes shifting to crimson. "Escadomai."
A sea turtle, a beaver, and a black rat slipped beneath the waves and headed toward the north shore.
Dem took it as a good sign when he spotted several sea turtles gliding through the clear depths near the north shore. They avoided him—but showed a distinct curiosity toward Eltia, drifting close before slipping away again.
Regis hugged the shoreline while Dem pushed farther out toward open sea.
Sunlight speared into the aquamarine depths, illuminating coral shelves and reef clusters that erupted in brilliant reds, purples, and yellows. In his beastkin form, Dem felt the water differently—its texture, its taste, the subtle threads of presence woven through the currents.
Ribbons of color drifted around him, swirling like painted currents, each carrying its own faint flavor.
One ribbon shone brighter than the rest—sharp and citrus-like.
Without hesitation, he followed it.
The trail twisted like an ancient, half-forgotten path, weaving through kelp forests before slipping into a narrow cave mouth hidden beneath the fronds. Dem darted after it.
The cave dropped abruptly, then angled up again.
A moment later, the black rat surfaced into a vast, hidden air pocket.
He climbed out—and froze.
The surface beneath his claws wasn't stone.
It was marble.
Smooth. Cold. Worked by hands, not water.
Dem shifted back to human. The tile beneath his feet pulsed faintly with light. Across the chamber, a torch flared to life—blue flame hissing into being. Then another ignited a few strides away. Then another.
One by one, torches awakened around the circular chamber until a ring of mage flame cast the entire room in an eerie sapphire glow.
"Mage flame," Dem murmured. He'd seen its like in Thaigmaal—used to light the upper districts at night. Expensive. Controlled. Ancient.
His gaze fixed on the far wall. A door stood there—if it could be called that. No hinges. No handle. Just a smooth outline. Beside it, a small dais rested against the stone.
He approached.
Even with age and water damage, the carved image on the dais was unmistakable:
A red fox.
"Is this… an entry room?"
Dem pressed his palm to the door. Solid as a mountain. No give at all.
He stepped back, frowning.
What was this place?
Why was it here?
And why did it bear the fox sigil?
He sifted through what he knew. Centuries ago, the Four Kingdoms had repelled the Beast Empire, driving them back to their homeland. After that, all records insisted the Empire had never again set foot in these lands.
But…
"How long were they actually here?" Dem whispered. "And why was the Rat King's tomb in the Four Kingdoms at all?"
He stiffened at another thought.
"Telo is the only fox I've seen among the tribals so far."
The coincidence tasted wrong.
He moved back toward the pool and shifted.
Too many questions. Too many implications.
But first—
He needed to find Tarania.