“I’m not going back until we know for sure what happened to Envy, or until we bring him back,” Gavin said, his voice more resolute now. Kire nodded. “We might need blood magic,” he muttered, thinking aloud to himself. “Could you take me to where Ruli is now?”
Kire nodded. “Ruli’s…not really thinking about solutions at the moment. Not yet, anyway. He’s still in shock. Understandably. I’m not conceding, either.” 

“Is there anything I can do? That we can do?” Narda asked. Kire could see the giantess was disturbed, not just because this was Envy they were talking about, but because this was a crisis that needed more than a warrior’s skill to face. Her friend’s question gave Kire pause. She looked over her shoulder at the direction of the forest. She needed to search that whole forest. For Envy, or for any sign of him, or for any clue as to why the Goddess chose this place, out of all the places in this world or the other, to have her newfound worshippers build their temple. For that, she needed more people. But unlike Ikegai and Akuma, she wasn’t just tracking one powerful mortal, and unlike the retaking of the Capital, despite the magic element the blood mages brought, war was still familiar. She couldn’t very well just send the next few people into the forest to search, then lose them too. How do you stop a god? 

“The town. Where you found Lyta. I want to know what happened to it. If finding more people with magic is something I need to be concerned about in the coming days, I need to know now. Especially if it has links to Solaralai. And later, I want to talk to this Lyta.”
“She is a very nervous girl,” Narda warned. “Her power is volatile, tied to her emotional state. Ysaryn here seems to be the one that gives her the most comfort.”
“I’ll take nerves over a deity any day.” Kire looked to Ysaryn. “I want to know anything that has to do with gods. Solaralai, the moon god, any god. On this side and on the other side,” she added, looking to Daryll. Then, to Gavin. “Envy was talking about you and Ruli wearing charms to block out the visions. I know Ruli refused it, and I don’t know how he’ll feel about that now more than ever, but I want to see the limitations of this god’s power. I know that sounds like a contradiction, but just humor me.”

Gavin nodded. “Okay. A way to track Envy, and a way to keep her visions out.”
“It’s not just for the visions. You know how you and Ruli kept us invisible during the siege? I want to know if Solaralai can’t see us while we’re in there, or while we’re in close proximity, until we take the charms off.”
Gavin rubbed his nape. “Against a god? I—we’ll try.”
“But first we have to get Ruli to help.” Kire frowned, her mind on the way he looked, rooted to the spot where she had left him. “Something tells me it’ll be difficult to make him move.”