The ground rumbled again, but I didn’t look back at the peak. I knew what was happening—I could smell the smoke in the air. The disquiet of the mountain upset everyone—me included. It was hard to think when the mountain was angry, but I hurried along the path, my steps more rapid now. I didn’t have much time, and I needed to head back soon. The wind gusted up, and it bit right through my clothes.

I pulled my cloak more tightly around me as I strode along. I was closing in on the Shadow Veil now. The darkness stretched out in front of me, and I slowed my step. The ancient trees of the forest had grown unnaturally close together, creating an ever-present gloom no matter the weather or time of day. As I drew closer, I could smell the deep, iron-rich soil of the Veil. I’d often wondered if the soil here would be better for planting, but there was no sunlight to allow anything to grow. And no one wanted to venture inside to cart soil away. Everyone avoided the Shadow Veil.

A line of skinny, ashen hazel trees marked the entrance to the Veil. It acted as a fence of sorts—one side safe for travelers, the other a forbidden and foreboding wood.

Pausing for a moment, I looked around, making sure I hadn’t been followed.

The thought almost made me laugh. If only. If I had been followed, that would mean someone was actually interested in me and in what I did. But I was alone on the path, as I always was.

I trembled slightly as I looked into the Veil and wondered—was it my imagination, or had the shadows of the Veil darkened? It was still morning, so why did the light within the Veil look nearly impenetrable?

The Shadow Veil was a strange place. So much of the forest that my father told me once stretched across the valley was now gone. Some of it decimated by clear cutting, the rest gone because the seasons had grown increasingly severe. Hotter in the summer, colder in the winter. Dry in both seasons. Spring and fall were short, lasting only a day or a week before the harsh weather set in. The conditions had made it so much harder for plants and creatures to survive.

I might not be as old as my father, but even I had seen change within my lifetime.

But the Shadow Veil remained. The ancient trees were scraggly, some completely bare, but they remained, and the Veil stretched out before me.

I squinted into the distance, wishing—as I always did—that I could see through the Veil. Because through it—somewhere beyond it—lay New Helio. Short of climbing the Northern Peak, passing through the Veil was the only way to get a glimpse of the city, which was why I’d never seen it. The Veil stood there, dark and sinister, as a barrier between the village and the bright, hopeful city.

The wind gusted again, blowing up my cloak and making me shiver. I shook my head and gripped my basket. This was why my father always called me dreamy—my head was too often in the clouds. I had not come all this way to think of a place I’d never seen and could not go. Today was my brother’s birthday, and I was looking for ice berries.

I glanced around, looking into the underbrush for the elusive ice berry plants. They were hard to find because they grew close to the ground and hid under their rounded leaves. Leaves that looked very similar to the fluxroot, which didn’t have any berries but had tiny, very sharp thorns hidden just where the berries would be on the ice berry plant.

The berries ripened only after the first freeze, so now was the time to look for them. In another week they would be gone, dropped to the ground and scavenged by the tiny creatures who made what was left of the woods their home.

I’d found the ice berries before, but it seemed that each year, the plants became more and more elusive.

Something glittered in the corner of my vision, and I looked quickly over to see a patch of sunshine on the ground. The day had clouded over as I’d walked, but there was a narrow shaft of light shining onto the ground. And just behind it, I thought I saw something frostily blue glinting in the shadows of the Veil.

I knew I was alone, but I looked around again, making sure no one was there to stop me. Then, with a steadying breath, I took a step . . . right into the Veil.