The airship gained that forward-moving sensation as it took off. Tib easily shifted his weight against it and placed a hand against the wall to steady himself as he continued looking out the window with interest.

"What do you see?" I asked.

"We're gaining height and flying directly forward instead of sideways. Things look very different from the air."

Brielle got to her feet, stumbling slightly against the moving sensation that was fading, and went to also look out the window. I gazed at them longingly but suspected my balance wasn't quite ready to stand mid-flight, nor was I sure Citrine would let me up easily.

"We're moving pretty quickly," Brielle stammered, pulling her head back as soon as she was close enough to see the ground. Seconds later, she leaned forward again to look out, this time a bit more cautiously.

Citrine watched the duo; thankfully, she seemed more curious instead of expressing disapproval over them not sitting. Then again, I'd seen her open the airship door mid-flight when approaching us, so it mustn't be a firm rule.

Tib turned his head to the side, leaning closer to the glass to peer ahead. "There's the other ravine. Huh. That's not good."

"What is it?" Brielle asked, gingerly leaning toward the glass to try and see whatever he had spotted.

"Part of the western cliff collapsed. The top opening might be too wide to provide adequate protection from the sun. That edge doesn't look that stable."

"Do you really think the village would move into a small ravine that the Saursunes had taken us to?" Brielle muttered dryly, trying to peer ahead through the side window.

Tib calmly replied, "No, but it's something Grant will want to write down. I wonder where we're going to land. There's not much flat ground in there."

Both hunters continued gazing out the window. I leaned against the slowing sensation, and soon, cliffs appeared outside the windows as we descended straight down into the ravine. Then they stopped moving.

Citrine got to her feet and nudged my shoulder. My leg muscles protested as I got up, but they weren't shaky, just sore from hiking on sand for so long. The door slid open before Citrine reached it, although Tib and Brielle remained a few steps back.

I eyed up the loose chunks of rock as Citrine stepped cautiously outside, the rubble shifting under her weight. She glanced back and waited for me. My hand reached for her shoulder as I examined the treacherous footing. Rocks and gravel shifted underfoot as I stepped on them.

Rocks grated behind me as the hunters followed. It was a good thing it was only about ten paces to the crystal, because it would have been far too easy to twist an ankle among the loose stones. I kept my hand on Citrine's shoulder just in case the rocks tried to send me for a tumble.

Finally, I reached the crystal, faintly surprised that it had grown above the rubble. Usually they just let themselves get buried by sand and waited for the next big storm to wash the debris away.

I ran my hands along the spires—the feeling of the shimmering through my veins was wonderful—as I committed the crystal to memory, not even bothering to try and dig through the loose stones to write the name down.

"I don't think we'd be able to build here if we tried," Brielle commented.

I turned back, and now that I was farther away from the airship, I could see past its bulk. My heart sank at the sight of slabs of stone, rocks, and debris that formed a slope where a cliffside had once stood. Most were small enough for groups of villagers to move if we decided to clear it out, but plenty of pieces were larger than I was. Fire and water-shocking could break them down, but it was a slow, tedious process that took far too much firewood.

The two hunters scanned the small ravine, committing details to memory for Grant. Tib stepped toward the nearby cliff, the one still intact, and pushed against a stone surrounded by compacted sand. He skipped back as it broke loose in a shower of grit, taking several small stones with it.

He frowned at it. "I don't recall it being this unstable when I planted the shard here. I wonder if that big rainstorm four years ago weakened something."

"That's why we plant so many," I mumbled, once more staring at the collapsed cliffside on the other side of the airship. Villagers frequently had to scoop up blown sand in the ravine and toss it on the downwind side of the cliff or get a porter or group to take a bucket when they left. We'd swiftly be buried otherwise, at least until a mega storm swept in and unearthed the ravine again.

Tib sighed. "True. Shall we part ways with our friends? I suspect the villagers might have a more-than-minor meltdown if they tried to fly us back home."

I glanced at him. "What's our excuse when we arrive back a day and a half early?"

He considered it. "They would have seen the airship, so we might as well tell the truth. The patriarchs stuck you out here, so they can deal with the consequences. We can mention that porters who don't port for a few days seem to be detectable by airships, which should also prevent them from trying to keep you in the village."

"That sounds like a plan, and I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again." I covered a yawn and turned to bow at Citrine. "Thank you."

Gratitude was prominent in my voice, and I was truly grateful for her assistance. I was never going on a desert hike that would take more than a single night again. Some days I was a slow learner, but I'd definitely learned my lesson this time.

She replied with a hurr and sat down like she usually did to watch us leave. The hunters came to stand by me and rested their hands on my shoulders. I inclined my head at Citrine once more as I murmured, "Home."

Our view hazed over, and despite the weight of the two hunters not bothering me, I could feel the shift of my energy much more clearly. That could be a handy perk—definitely not worth going through the pain again—although I wondered if this event might have decreased how fast my energy regenerated or expanded my reserve levels. I'd have to keep track of my porting over the next few days to figure it out.

Something bumped into me as we appeared in the middle of a bustling group of people. Sacks of food and other essentials were rapidly being piled near the crystal—preparations for an evac—although the evacuation itself hadn't started since most of the porters sat nearby. Those nearby stared at us blankly, as if unable to fathom our very unexpected appearance.

I cupped my hands around my mouth. "Hey, Grant! We're back!"

"Natalie! You have no idea how glad I am to see you. We're just about to start an evac."

"You might as well call it off. The brown airship that flew past here was Citrine on her way to find us. She actually gave us a ride to the new crystal."

His jaw hung halfway open as he stared at me, more stunned than I'd seen him in a very long time. It wasn't often I managed to catch him by surprise like this, but I was just too tired to truly enjoy the accomplishment.

An old voice from the side hollered, "You got in an airship? What were you thinking? They could have—"

"Sir," I flatly interrupted Barrett, raising my voice, "I am way too tired for this. The Saursunes have known where most villages are for weeks. Your idea to send me across the desert is actually what made them fly by." I shook my head as I realized my temper was about to control my tongue. That usually ended with me saying something I'd regret later, so I said, "Anyway, I'm exhausted, and I'm heading to bed."

My cranky tone had him staring at me, blinking as if he was seeing me for the first time.

Grant came up from the side. "You don't look so good."

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, thanks. By the way, I'm never going on a long hike again. The inability to port was horrendous. I haven't slept a wink in the last thirty-six hours."

He glanced up at the empty blue sky. "Was that airship really Citrine? What are the odds of other airships showing up?"

"As long as no one was raiding, I'd say zero. Otherwise the big airship with blaster cannons would have headed this way instead of continuing farther south."

"You can't just go to sleep when we need to—" Barrett began shouting.

As Tib began walking toward him with purposeful steps, the patriarch cut himself off, suddenly wary of the hunter who looked less-than-impressed. Everyone paused their work to watch.

Tib stopped a mere two paces in front of him and crossed his arms. His voice was surprisingly calm and level. "If you ever try to send a strong porter on a long hike again, I'm calling for a village vote. I didn't realize it until this trip, but their bodies are so used to porting that they need to port."

"Those lizards flew close enough to see us! They know where we are now!" Barrett exclaimed.

"Excellent observation," Tib replied coolly. "Your next observation should be that we're all alive and unharmed, even after we just accepted a ride in their airship. And the next question you should think about is how they actually located us and knew where we were going."

Barrett opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. The words never came out.

I covered another yawn. "I know it all sounds crazy, but I'm heading to bed. You can pester Tib and Brielle for the story."

Grant nodded slowly, still mostly distracted by the duo, although Tib was already turning away from the speechless patriarch. My adoptive father finally tore his eyes away long enough to ask, "Do you need anything?"

"Just fresh water and bed," I said, already plodding toward one of the water urns.

The crowd parted in front of me, murmuring among themselves. After refilling my water skin, I took a long drink and began trudging up the path. I didn't care if I was dusty and probably looked like I'd rolled across half the desert. I just wanted sleep.