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The big fat “but” he doesn’t say hangs in the air between us.

“The rocks dragged the underlaying soil with them.We have to dig.”Kian points at the foot of the mountain.“Get all the tools at your disposal and start the guards on the east side.The villagers can work from the west.”

Adrenaline floods my body.The rush is like a kick-start to my brain.I scan the environment, taking in the absence of dinosaurs and insects.As animals often do, they must’ve sensed the danger and fled.

Instead of relying on my sight, I tap into that part of my power that revealed itself earlier when I sensed the animals in and around the palace.Back then, the feeling was faint, but now, it’s pronounced.

A warm glow starts in the pit of my stomach.The heat expands until it fills every part of me.My skin begins to hum with a strange buzz.And then it all implodes from my brain outward, dunking me into a world of black.

I’m standing in the center of a dark sky, the whole planet a canvas of night dotted with stars.Each of those stars is a source of life—a dinosaur, reptile, or insect.I know exactly where and what they are, the whole of Zerra’s animal life revealed to me in a blink.

The map embeds in my brain.I can’t explain how or why it happens.I only know it’s as natural and comforting as pulling on a favorite sweater.Cozy.Familiar.

As soon as the picture has formed, the daylight returns, and I’m back on the outcrop with Kian.

The rest happens automatically, like an inborn instinct awakening from a long slumber.I don’t have to think about what to do.I simply act, focusing on a parade of pangolins that were hunting for termites on the border of the forest before the landslide hit.They took refuge in their deep burrows.

A mere thought makes them surface.Another sends them rushing to the site.They’re powerful diggers, capable of excavating circular chambers large enough for an Alit to crawl inside and stand up.Together, they can do so in record time.

Kian shoots me a questioning look as the pangolins, normally solitary animals, arrive in hordes.With their cute armor of scales, they look almost exactly like the species on Earth, except that their scales don’t cover their tails and legs.On Earth, they’ve been around for eighty million years, and now, sadly, they’re endangered due to poaching.

Instead of waiting for the Alit to clear the rocks, they start digging from the border of the enormous pile, creating underground tunnels to the houses buried beneath the rubble.

Something like surprise and approval flashes in Kian’s eyes as he glances at me.I don’t get the same looks from the people who’re digging as fast as they can.Rather than being relieved to have help, they appear frightened of the pangolins.Or maybe the fearful looks they throw over their shoulders are aimed at me.

One of the guards is splitting rocks, chopping them into smaller pieces with his bare hands like an axe falling on wood.Another Alit power?Some of the people are lifting the pieces into carts while others, who must be as strong as oxen, are pulling the carts away.

I tap into my energy source again and bring a few quetzalcoatluses around.They’re powerful enough to hook their claws into the broken tree trunks and carry them off before dumping them on the flat stretch of land next to the village to make the diggers’ work easier.

My heart leaps when Betty appears in the sky.She sweeps down low, circling over me before joining the others.They fasten their claws around the rocks and fly them away at an astounding speed, working much faster than the men on the ground.

Even little Pip and a host of his friends show up for support.Aside from cheering on the quetzalcoatluses, the anurognathuses aren’t much help, but it warms my heart that they’ve come unsummoned.Just as Pip saved me from drinking the poison all on his own.

Does that mean they feel the special bond we share?The connection between the animals and me is so much more than mind manipulation.They’re like my family.

I hold my breath as the pangolins finish the first tunnel, and the parents and children trapped in their house are brought through it to safety.Immediately, the pangolins move on to extend the tunnel to the next house.

A circle of lights appears on my right.Gaia rushes through the portal, holding Vitai’s hand.A beat later, the queen steps through a portal with her husband.Aruan arrives on his own, answering my question about his ability to create a portal.

Finally.

Thank fuck.

A host of nobles and royals, still dressed in their smart tunics and gowns, follow through portals that the queen and Gaia open, but I only have eyes for Aruan.

In the light of the tragedy, I have an inexplicable need to be near him, to assure myself that he’s safe.I haven’t realized how nervous I was until he’s standing in front of me, watching me with dark intensity that transforms his expression from disbelieving to thunderous.

“By dragons, Elsie.”He charges toward me and clamps my shoulders between his big palms.“Why aren’t you in my quarters?”He gives me a gentle shake.“What are you doing here in the midst of the danger?”

I blink up at him, surprised by the ferocity of his outburst.“Kian brought me.”

Aruan lets me go and turns on Kian with clenched fists and flaring nostrils.“You masked her distress.You endangered my mate and prevented me from sensing it.”He gets into Kian’s face.“You put a shield on her mind to hide her from me.”His voice rises steadily.“Worse, you mimicked her sentiments and deceived me into believing she was safely in my quarters.”

“Elsie was needed here,” Kian says with deceptive calm.“As you can see for yourself, she’s doing a great job in helping.”He gets in Aruan’s face.“So, brother, I advise you to let her do what’s necessary.”

The king’s voice booms through the space.“That’s enough.”He steps up and pushes them apart.“The two of you can fight it out when we’ve addressed the crisis.Elsie is here now.She’ll do what she can.She has a responsibility to our people just like the rest of the royals.”

Aruan works his jaw from side to side, but his father doesn’t give him a chance to argue.