Melody took herself farther from Akashingo than she'd been in many weeks, thinking all the while of Makono. She didn't look back. It seemed terribly unfair to her that Pharaoh was gone, still. Melody had wanted nothing but to be near her when she'd agreed to join Akashingo. Her fixation on the Erpa-ha felt more like a placeholder; something to want, something to think about, like a pipe dream of sprouting wings or curing all diseases.

It was driving her a little mad.

She was a priestess, meant to be devoted to the Gods she'd promised to study and serve. Makono's Gods, she reminded herself. Why not hers?

Plagued by Pharaoh's continued absence and the coldness she felt where devotion should have warmed her, Melody did not stop to eat nor drink. She traveled day and night through the desert. She weakened rapidly. By the time the Hemet breached the basin under fading evening light, she was exhausted; delirious. She'd thought there might be water here.

She found only bones.

Melody eventually allowed herself to collapse beside the partial skeleton of a wolf, worn by time and weather. She leaned back to look at the stars, drifting. It was beautiful here.

You want to be seen by men and not Gods?

Maybe I want all eyes on me.

All the way out here, no one saw her at all. No one thought of her. But she could see the stars so perfectly.

Melody stirred at the scent of blood. She looked up, blinking a few times to bring her vision into focus, and sighed. Barely, But she was shifting, drawing on what remained of her strength to pull herself upright.

Is there any - any water around here? Her mouth felt dry, cracking as she spoke. Had Melody ever been so miserable? She wasn't even certain she had the energy to make the journey to the nearest source of water. It surely wasn't anywhere close.