She frowned, but hurried herself through until she emerged on the other side, finding Shim playing with Errol, his hairy-legged spider, which was walking from hand to hand before retracing his path. Like he was pacing. “Nice of you to join me.”

“Sorry, my father can be overprotective.”

“It was a joke. You’re lucky to have him, just as he’s fortunate to have a capable daughter such as you.”

“I’ve never left the Rocklands. How can you be sure I’m ‘capable’?”

“Because the Goddess of the Wood chose you, and She is never wrong.”

Soraya chewed on this for a moment, before nodding. Her hand naturally went to her satchel, which was bucking wildly as Morg tried to escape. Was her father right? Was bringing him a mistake? “The walls in the tunnel are coated in godsblood,” she said, trying to take her mind off her worries.

Shim nodded. “We relied on the stone perimeter for years, even centuries, to prevent leaks. But it seems the godsblood has found a way to penetrate even rock. It is the most potent substance ever created, so I’m not surprised. The only surprising thing is that it took this long to escape its bounds.”

Soraya thought about that for a few seconds. Logically, it made sense. If not, Guardians wouldn’t be needed, only Protectors. They could continue to hunker down inside the Rocklands and only act if some unsuspecting explorer happened to stumble upon their territory. A hundred years ago that was pretty much the way things were. Now Guardians like them were sent out with regularity to investigate potential leaks before they became a problem. She thought about their current mission, which was as vague on details as a child’s lie about how a precious vase had been broken, all while trying to hide a rock behind her back. People are dying in the city of Seer, Cintra had told them. Go have a look. Last Soraya checked, people were dying everywhere. That was the nature of life, except for those like the Forsworn, who had access to a significant supply of godsblood. Or for the godlings of Sonaria, whose natural lifespans were so long they were practically immortal. There were other long-lived races, too, of course—the Orians of Ferria sprang to mind—but even they died eventually. Of course, she hadn’t questioned Cintra on the matter. Questioning one of the Sightless was much the same as arguing with the goddess Herself, and as impulsive as she could be at times, Soraya was no fool. No, if Cintra was worried about the people of Seer, she must have a good reason.

“Then how do we stop it?” she finally asked.

“I’m not certain that we can, or that the goddess wants us to.”

“What? Then how are we supposed to do our job?”

“All we can do is prevent as much destruction as possible. Regulate use of the godsblood. Prevent bloodshed.”