For some reason, I was nervous. Really nervous. My stomach was fluttering like it had become infested with a nest of butterflies on speed, and my palms were clammy with anticipation. I wasn’t afraid Venan would be mad that I found out about the oasis or that I talked to Zuran about him, but I was afraid he would feel judged by me, and that was the last thing I wanted.

He was quiet as I led him until about ten minutes had passed. As we delved deeper into the desert and Ka-lik’et disappeared completely behind us, he started glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. Finally, he said lightly, “I do not know whether you are aware of this or not, but Elders have the ability to travel on the wind.”

“Oh, really?” I asked absently. I was scanning the horizon, looking for the telltale landmarks Zuran had instructed me to watch out for, the ones I remembered from my journey here yesterday. “What’s that like?”

“It can be frightening at first, but it becomes exhilarating after one grows accustomed to it,” he answered. In a pointed tone, he added, “And it is a very fast method of transport.”

I laughed aloud, my chortle carrying on the breeze to the far-off reaches of the Dhal’atian landscape. “I’m sure it is, but you’re not tricking me that way,” I chided, wagging a playfully scolding finger at him. “This is supposed to be a surprise.”

Venan shrugged his shoulders a bit and remarked idly, “I would have been foolish not to try.”

The aura between us was so comfortable, so normal, that I felt like we could have just as easily been walking through a mall together as we were across an arid, never-ending expanse of sand. An image of Venan strolling into Old Navy with me and trying on Bermuda shorts cracked a grin across my face, but I tried to turn away before he could see it and inquire.

A behemoth of a dune rose from the horizon before us a few short steps later, and my chest tightened immediately upon seeing it. We were close now, very close, and I would either be dealing with a reluctant but grateful alien or an extremely displeased one. I peered at him next to me through my peripheral vision, trying to determine what he was feeling and if he recognized the area. His mouth wasn’t stiff, his eyes weren’t narrowed, and his gait was loping and casual. He seemed at ease. If he did recognize the area, he didn’t think anything of it. So far, I was in the clear.

When we reached the top of the dune, and the oasis came into view, I halted. Venan halted at my side and looked at me quizzically. “Well? Is this what you wished to show me?”

“Sort of,” I said tentatively.

“I regret telling you this, but I have known of this place for quite a long time,” he told me ruefully. “Since I was a young A’li-uud, in fact.”

“Yeah, I know.” I wanted to avoid making eye contact with him, but I didn’t want to give him the impression I was up to something horrible, so I met his gaze. I watched it harden slightly at the edges. Quickly, I explained, “Zuran told me you used to come here when you were little. He said children swim here and jump from the rocks.”

Venan’s lips pursed marginally. “Did he? When was this conversation had?” he probed. I couldn’t tell if he was mad or not.

“Yesterday, while you were away,” I replied hastily. “He was leaving the palace when I was trying to go in.”

He nodded slowly. “Yes, Katil did mention that.”

“Yeah, so we got to talking, and he told me about this oasis and how you two used to come here together when you were young.” I was speaking so fast my words were starting to blend together into clumsy contractions, but I couldn’t stop my tongue once it started clickety-clacking. “I thought we should come here, you know, you and me because Zuran mentioned your parents always told you not to jump from the rocks but he did it anyway and you never—”

“Octavia.” He said my name so firmly it jarred me into silence, and my mouth snapped shut with a pop. “Why have you brought me here?”

He didn’t ask the question like he was angry; he just sounded matter-of-fact. If his intention was to calm me down from my frenzy, it worked. I took in a deep breath and answered much more slowly, “I want you to jump.”

His face didn’t change in the slightest, not even a flinch. It was like he hadn’t even heard me. I stared at him, waiting for any response at all, but he gave me nothing.

“Did you, um, hear me?” I asked uncertainly.

“I heard you,” he said, “but I do not believe you.”

Now, it was my turn to gaze blankly back at him. “What do you mean, you don’t believe me?”

“You brought me here to jump from the rocks because my brother told you about my coming here as a youth?” He shook his head. “Surely, you cannot expect me to believe that. You must have something very sneaky planned to tell such a tale as that.”

“Venan, I’m not joking,” I insisted. My fear of his response was starting to melt away in light of his doubt. “Zuran told me you never would jump even though he and all the rest of the kids did because your parents told you it was dangerous. He also told me you’ve lived your entire life by the book, which you’ve also alluded to. Cutting your hair was a great step in discovering what you really want for yourself without the expectations of the world around you muddling it up. But it was a big step with a lot of potential to upset a lot of people, and someone in your position probably shouldn’t be taking such a big step without taking little steps first.” I gestured toward the circle of cliffs. “This is a little step.”

There was no longer any disbelief behind his eyes, nor was there any humor either. He turned his head away from me to scan the scene at the bottom of the dune. The rocks were unoccupied by A’li-uud children, the pool of water absent of any bathers or swimmers. We were very much alone.

“Did he tell you why Mother and Father warned us not to jump from the rocks?” he asked, completely serious now. “Did he happen to mention a child died that way?”

“Yeah, he did,” I said a little sadly. “It’s terrible. And, believe me, I get why your parents would want to protect you from that risk. But it sounds to me like that time in your life was the start of…well, this. Doing what you were told to avoid any trouble and never pushing the envelope to find out what you really wanted.”

“Are you suggesting a dive into the oasis will show me all I need to know about my hidden inner desires?” he challenged dryly.

I rolled my eyes and shot back, “No, but I am suggesting it will help you understand that you don’t have to let everyone else’s expectations be your measuring stick. I mean, who would expect an Elder to do something like this?”

He canted his head to the side and sucked his lower lip into his mouth thoughtfully, squinting. I’d never seen him make that kind of expression before and didn’t know how to take it, so I just stood there and tried to look confident in what I was asserting. After a brief time, he released his lip with a snap and said decisively, “Fine, but I am only agreeing to this silly proposal on one condition.”

“What’s that?” I asked, beaming with delight.

His white irises caught a ray of sunlight, and they sparkled at me as he answered, “You must jump with me.”

I glanced back to the rocks, trying to determine how tall they actually were. Heights had never been a huge fear of mine, but I also didn’t go out of my way to leap off of tall buildings or fall from an airplane miles off the ground. Nevertheless, it was unfair of me to ask this of him if I wouldn’t do it myself, so I turned back to him and nodded firmly.

“Deal,” I agreed.

He held out a hand, palm up, and I placed mine on top of it. Then, together, we skidded down the dune and approached the perfumed lake and its guarding crags. Standing next to them, I wondered how it was even possible to climb one of the colossal formations, but Venan knew very well where to go and what to do. He pulled me around the circumference of the stones to reveal a set of shorter structures that looked like one of the masses had tumbled over and broken into pieces.

“Use them like stairs,” he instructed, “but climb carefully.”

I did as he warned making sure every place I set my foot was sturdy, and my hands always had something to grip onto. It wasn’t as difficult to traverse as it looked from the ground, but by the time we reached the top, I was out of breath and bathed in sweat.

Looking down, I realized with a jolt exactly how the poor young A’li-uud child had died. The drop seemed endless, and the water looked like just an uneven circle of stained glass. I couldn’t even see the ripples on its surface. Venan wrapped my hand in his and shook my arm encouragingly, which I found mildly amusing since I was the one who had to convince him to do this.

“Are you ready?” he asked. He didn’t sound as certain as he looked, but there was steely determination in his jaw.

I closed my eyes, swallowed hard, and nodded. “Ready.”

He tightened his hold on my hand, I reopened my eyes, and we jumped.