Page 383

It was like that at every stop. From underground caverns to wind-swept islets, they leapfrogged across the island. Not every riftway was in pristine condition—the amulet with a wyrm opened a portal that let out on the side of a tower absent a landing platform. To get to the wave, they had to swim.

Eventually, they came to the last jump.

The riftway stood at the edge of a clearing, nestled among the gnarled roots of ancient trees. Once a perfect ring of glass-smooth stone, it now lay in ruins. The interior metal band, dulled with age, gleamed faintly from within a nest of overgrown vines they’d hacked away to clear the frame.

“Last chance,” Skye said. “We all know Taly brought a change of armor.”

Ivain’s fingers moved with practiced precision, snapping the last piece of the console into place. A dull click. A rising hum. Then, all at once, the lights flared to life, circuits reigniting in a cascading wave. “As much as she deserves to be here, she’s in no condition to fight.”

He wasn’t wrong. Skye saw it in the way her movements still hesitated, in every wince she didn’t mean to let slip. Still, leaving her behind didn’t sit right. It wasn’t a question of logic or morality—it was something deeper, an unease he couldn’t shake.

Then again, that uneasiness might’ve also been due in part to the crate ofbombsin his arms. Every rattle of the contents inside made him wince.

“Don’t worry,” Kato said, coming up behind him. “I’m sure the damsel will be fine for one day without supervision.”

Ivain slotted the key into the console, and with it, a crackle of energy raced across the arch of the riftway. The air shimmered, the fabric of reality twisting and bending as the portal awakened from its long slumber with a groan of metal.

“Alright, remember, people,” Eula said. “Glamours go on as soon as we’re on the other side. Be quick, be quiet, be ruthless. With a little luck, we’ll be back in time for dinner.”

Even then, it sounded too good to be true.

Taly was pacing a hole in the carpet. Back and forth, back and forth, her steps sharp and restless. Aiden couldn’t tell if she was more worried about Skye or furious at being left behind.

He wasn’t sure she knew either.

Even the riftway couldn’t pull her out of her funk—she’d barely spared it a glance, a quick once-over before asking to be brought home. The hike had taken more out of her than she’dadmit, enough that Aiden had half-expected her to collapse the moment they made it back.

Instead, here she was, wearing down the rug like she had energy to burn—or like stopping would mean falling apart.

When a maid entered to announce a visitor requesting to speak to him, Aiden hopped up a bit too eagerly.

Aimee, seated beside the window in the middle of a game of Solitaire, glared at him as he all but skipped out of the room and away from that weird energy.

They weren’t babysitting. Sarina had stayed behind at the riftway to wait, and in her absence, she’d just happened to ask them to make sure Taly didn’t do anything reckless while she was still half-broken and healing.

Totally different thing.

Mina was waiting for him outside the pedestrian gate. Aiden grinned and took it as a good omen.

“Hey,” he said and kissed her. Her hands wrapped around his shoulders, and memories of those same hands scratching lines down his back played in his mind like a sweet melody. “Did I tell you how amazing last night was—I think I may have forgotten to tell you.”

She laughed lightly into the kiss. “You told me.”

“Oh. Good,” he said, smiling as he kissed her again. “Sorry. As much as I’ve been hoping you would materialize in front of me all morning, we’re in a bit of a tense situation here. I’m afraid I can’t let you in.”

“Oh. Right. Well, this won’t take long.” Something was off. The smile was there, but it felt forced, her body too stiff beneath it.

“You okay?” he asked.

Mina hesitated. Her eyes found his, uncertain—maybe even a little sad.

For a second, it looked like she might say something else. But then her resolve hardened.

Softly, like she already regretted it, she said, “I’m sorry, Aiden. I didn’t think I would like you so much.”

He saw a flash of silver but not the knife until it embedded in his shoulder. Not a deep wound, not even a serious one. But it cut straight through the newly-inked tattoo his uncle had insisted on for all of them.

Two concentric circles with a line dividing them.