Page 2

TEN YEARS AGO

Don’t be suspicious. Don’t be suspicious .

Faint confusion flitted across her face. Merda . I shouldn’t have said anything .

I’d been watching closely over the last three days to get a feel for their schedule. It was right around shift change, so it shouldn’t be strange that I was strolling around unarmed. On the outside, I would appear like a fellow guard heading to my post. Nothing to worry about.

After a beat, Lee returned the greeting, any suspicion forgotten in favor of getting the night over with. “Hey, Cummings.”

I nodded and kept walking, releasing a breath that had stagnated in my lungs. I’ll be all right. My training prepared me for this. It was laughable that my captors never expected I’d use it against them. I smothered a victorious grin at the thought .

The soldiers were here to protect the area against human fanatics and creatures from the other world, keeping each to their respective sides.

That’s what made my disguise so perfect.

It had taken half a thought to turn my body into an adult stranger in an Army uniform.

Who would suspect that one of them was a sixteen-year-old girl with shapeshifting powers, much less the “upstart” from Fortaleza who’d vanished some 800 kilometers away two weeks ago?

Salty? Who, me? Besteira.

Recalling that day, the day I left, my heart squeezed in my chest. I shouldn’t have ditched my friend, Avery, like that.

She was probably worried sick. Knowing her, she ran back to the safety of the White House as soon as she lost sight of me and told them everything.

It was the perfect plan, really. The escape would be pinned on me, she’d be accepted back into the fold as the American darling, and I would be across The Rift where they’d never find me.

Still… I regretted leaving things that way.

Agora é tarde, Inês é morta. What’s done is done, as they say.

My chin jerked down in acknowledgment as I passed a group of mixed Canadian and American soldiers.

Funny how interdimensional portals brought nations together.

They nodded back and kept chatting, unconcerned.

My breaths came short, and my heart clamored in my rib cage.

Is it really going to be this easy? That would be a relief after the past two weeks.

The path of paving stones and manufactured landscaping ended up ahead, abruptly giving way to rogue nature.

Niagara Falls used to be a hot spot for tourists.

Now, a chain-link fence some two and a half meters high topped with barbed wire wrapped around the perimeter of the waterfall.

No more idiots throwing themselves over the edge in barrels; instead, this section of The Rift was another Area 51, spoken about in hushed whispers alongside anecdotes about what things were like before and assertions that the government was controlled by shapeshifting fae .

Lizard people weren’t creative enough, I supposed.

The thunder of the falls and faint glow from below lured me in closer, bolstering my resolve.

My steps quickened. Almost there. Almost free.

When I reached the fence, I paused, taking in rapid lungfuls of moist, fragrant air as I examined the length of it.

I gripped a handful of links, testing for weaknesses.

It barely wobbled. Secure enough to climb, but the barbed wire would be a bitch.

And I’d have to be quick—once I was noticed, I was out of time.

I surreptitiously checked if anyone was looking my way.

After the fence sat several meters—twenty feet or so—of overgrown vegetation before the edge of the falls.

The Rift was somewhere below, out of sight.

I could make a run for it. After that part…

I had no boat or plane, no rappelling gear.

There was a bridge, but it was the most heavily guarded area.

I’d already thought it through. The best option was to jump from this spot. If I didn’t think about it too much, it wasn’t too bad. I couldn’t afford to hesitate anyway.

Steeling myself for a fight, I gripped the fence with both hands and pulled myself up.

My attention was zeroed in on the rushing water before me, my heartbeat in my ears, and the rattle of cold, hard metal under my palms. It was tempting to drop my disguise in favor of my smaller, lighter natural form, but no.

If they knew I was one of the Golden Children they expended so much effort to exploit, they might come after me.

Better that they think I’m a random deserter.

“Oi!” A shout broke my focus. “Hey! What are you doing?!”

Cover blown, I poured everything I had into scrambling up the chain link.

When I reached the section of barbed wire, I gritted my teeth and sent energy from my center to magically harden my skin as best I could before pulling myself over.

Metal thorns snagged clothing and flesh without care.

I bit back a curse as my hands, abdomen, and thighs took the brunt of it.

Tears welled, turning the landscape before me into a blurry canvas of color.

Soldiers shouted orders to each other and into their radios behind me. Boots thumped against the stone path. It was tempting, but I couldn’t afford to look back. My landing wasn’t pretty—I hit the ground and stumbled, falling onto my hands and knees.

“Stop!” Someone screamed as I surged to my feet. “Stop or we’ll shoot!”

Oh, sure, I’ll throw away all my hard work and let you take me into custody . Idiots.

Failure was not an option. If I got caught here, they’d never leave me alone. I’d be eating, sleeping, even going to the bathroom under constant guard. No, thank you. I raced to the edge, the roar of water amplifying as I neared, only to stop short at the view that awaited me.

“Merda,” I hissed through my teeth.

The waterfall was an impressive sight in and of itself, but The Rift was… something else. When an abundance of magic tore gaps in the fabric of space between our world and the fae realm before I was born, people had been terrified. Seeing this, it was easy to understand why.

Equal parts intimidating and seductive, like the call of the void given physical form, The Rift was a depthless chasm filled with shattered pieces of midnight-purple space in a pattern resembling crystal growth.

Mist writhed in undulating tendrils inside and around it, converging with the spray of the waterfall to hide the river underneath.

Anticipation curled in my belly. “Okay,” I breathed, nodding to myself. “This is it.”

Gunshots rang out in rapid succession, sending clods of dirt spraying into the air and piercing through The Rift’s mesmerizing effect. They’re mad. My time’s up. No more doubts—a moment of courage now, and I’d earn the life of freedom that awaited me.

I retreated one step, then two, digging the toe of my boot into the ground in preparation for the leap.

Muscles bunched. Launching into motion, I sprinted for the edge.

Another, more desperate volley of bullets chased me.

Heat seared across my thigh as one hit home, leaving a stinging sensation in its wake, but it didn’t matter.

I was already airborne and falling toward the open maw of The Rift, any sound I might have made stolen by the wind.