At last they emerged into a huge courtyard that was oddly shaped—it took Sera a moment to recognize the many-pointed star, various prongs of stone shooting out from the open center. The tether was stuck into a fountain of frozen water that curled and arched and glittered in the sunlight, as if it had once been bright and bubbling and was caught by a sudden frost. The fountain itself was made of pale pink stone, three tiers with carvings along their edges. The beauty of the tether would have struck her dumb if not for the other, more surprising feature of this courtyard.

Kneeling by the temple was a woman. Not just any woman—a Cerulean. Her blue hair was streaked with silver and when she looked up, Sera saw there were deep wrinkles around her mouth and eyes. Her irises were dim and milky, a blue as pale as the sky at dawn. She struggled to her feet, leaning heavily on the fountain for support, her gaze fixed on Sera.

“Elysse?” she whispered.

Sera’s feet felt cemented to the stone floor. “I am Sera Lighthaven,” she said in a quavering voice. “Who are you?”

“I am Wyllin Moonseer,” the woman replied. Sera’s rib cage seemed to collapse, her head spinning as Leo grabbed her arm to steady her.

“But . . . you are dead,” she gasped. “You died when you created this tether.”

The lines around Wyllin’s mouth deepened. “I should have died many, many years ago, Sera Lighthaven. Have you come to break the tether and set me free to live in Mother Sun’s eternal embrace at last?”

“I have come to go home,” Sera said. “I was hoping the tether could help me get back to the City Above the Sky.”

“The tether cannot do that,” Wyllin replied. “Only moonstone can.” She frowned. “You must have some, if you are here at all.”

Sera took the pendant from beneath her dress and held it out for Wyllin to see. “My best friend gave this to me before . . . before I fell. I was supposed to break the tether, but . . .” She trailed off.

“So,” Wyllin murmured. “She decided it was finally time to leave.” She stepped toward Sera and cupped the stone gently in her hands. “This was mine,” she said. “I sent it to the City months ago, before the fountain froze. The tether can take things, as it nourishes the City, and I hoped . . .” She pressed her thumb to the pendant. “I do not know what I hoped. That someone would find it, and read my heart contained within it. That it would make a difference. I did not think to see it back on this planet again.”

All this was a bit more information than Sera felt herself able to handle. “How are you alive?” she asked. “How is this possible?”

“Elysse is still the High Priestess, is she not?”

Sera had never known the High Priestess’s name. “Yes.”