Head thrown back, arms wide open, Rebecca just breathed. All the stress that had built up since getting back from their adventure started melting away the moment the city was out of sight. The walks with Flint and Leander had kept her from going crazy, but the open skies and untamed land was fueling her soul, giving her something she hadn’t fully realized had been missing. Her breaths came easier, and a few times in the last day she’d realized she was grinning wide for no reason.

  They reached a stretch of forest around mid morning, and Rebecca plunged in without a pause, Helene close behind her. She was carrying her staff, slung over one shoulder but she wasn’t worried. There was nothing nearby that would cause them trouble. And if something did sneak up on them, she would be able to defend herself. Since getting back to Verilia, Laurel had found some exercises for her to practice in order to compensate for the missing fingers. That thought dimmed her smile. She was still getting used to the loss. Every so often she would try to grab for something and realize she couldn’t grip it in the way she meant to. Worse were the times she would swear she could feel the fingers still there, or when a phantom of the pain from when they were sliced off would rip through her mind.

  A noise from Flint broke her out of the spiral and brought her back to the present. The sun was shining through the treetops, full of buds and promises of new growth. The pair stopped to watch as a bird tended to its nest on a nearby branch before moving on.

  Rebecca let her feet wander without direction until they came up on a cluster of orange flowers, growing in a small clearing. The four pointed petals glistened with the remnants of morning dew and shimmered in her mana-sight.

  “We need to take one of those,” she announced.

  Kneeling, Rebecca carefully pushed her hands into the dirt, feeling for nodules on the roots and easing the whole plant out of the ground without breaking it. As gently as she could, she brushed off the remaining dirt, and placed the flower into one of the silk bags Laurel had sent them out with, placing it with the others in her pack. Before she stood she pressed a tiny strand of mana into the earth where she’d pulled the flower from.

  “How are you finding these, and how did you know about the things on the roots?” Helene asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I didn’t know those flowers were there. And I would have just plucked a stem if we had stumbled across them.”

  “Oh.” Rebecca wasn’t sure what to say. “I could just tell they were there. I think it's because of the mana aspect. We’re in the wild so I can tell what’s around more.”

  “That makes sense.”

  This was more conversation than they’d had in the two days since leaving the sect and Rebecca was gripped with the desire to keep it going.

  “Umm, have you aspected your mana yet?”

  “Not yet. Almost though. We got a bunch of contribution points for the hidden realm, and defending the city during the beast wave. Enough for one of the more common elemental aspecting items. I want to start with water so there are a few to choose from. I would have already done it but it kind of got delayed with all the challenges.”

  “Oh.”

  The flash of sunlight they walked through highlighted Helene’s red hair as she shook her head at Rebecca’s half-formed apology.

  “It’s worked out for the best. Laurel’s doing that class when we get back, and said everyone could schedule some time to talk it through.”

  “Why water then?”

  Helene didn’t answer right away and Rebecca felt nervous she’d overstepped. Eventually, when they were almost out of their little patch of forest, the other girl spoke up again.

  “My family moved to Verilia from a midsize town called Colmare. It’s way in the interior, totally landlocked. My brother and sister were so angry about the move but I didn’t mind. My mom would always tell me I was her little fish because I always went with the flow.

  “Then we got here and I saw the ocean for the first time. It was incredible. I would beg my mom every chance we got to go to the shore. I met Gabrielle a while after that and we became friends. Finished school, got a job, normal you know?

  “But I guess I never stopped being the little fish. I just let life push me along. I hated my job, I didn’t really like the guy I was seeing. I barely realized how unhappy I was becoming. Gabrielle noticed, kept telling me to get rid of the guy or find a new job. It’s hard to change what you’re doing, especially when there’s nothing exactly wrong with your life, even if nothing is exactly right either.

  “We heard about the sect. Well, I mean, everyone heard about the sect, but Gabrielle showed up one day and said she was applying, and that if I was a good friend I would go with her. And you know the rest.”

  “Did it work? Are you happy now?”

  Helene looked surprised at the question, then a wry grin spread across her face. “I’m fucking fantastic now. I love being in the sect. Stars above, I can do real-life magic.

  “But that’s why I picked water. Because it’s easy for me to coast along, but I want to be able to change things up as well. Plus watching the ocean is still one of my favorite things to do.”

  They stopped one more time for Rebecca to harvest a stalk of mana-infused grass before the conversation started up again.

  “I’m glad you’re happy in the sect,” she said.

  “Me too.”

  They reached an open area and decided to stop for lunch, eating some travel bread and dried meat and fruit Esther had packed for them.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “You know, you and Gabrielle are a lot alike. I bet you’ll be friends once you’ve gotten past this whole thing.”

  Rebecca glared. Some things were just too far.

  **********

  “We’ll keep going this way. There should be another waystation to stop at for the evening, then we’ll swing along the connecting road back to the Via Merista and then back to the sect from there.”

  Leander nodded along with the plan. Laurel’s instructions made it clear he was supposed to listen to what Gabrielle wanted to do, so he would. He thought they might find more stuff away from the road but his traveling companion had told him as they left that she “hated camping with a passion”, so they were sticking to the major routes with waystations for the trade caravans or towns with inns they could sleep in. Neither of them was particularly confident leading the other out into the wilderness. They trudged along, spiritual senses extended.

  Just before they stopped for the day, a tiny fluctuation in mana led them into the trees on the side of the North Road. A few meters in they came across a patch of mushrooms. Leander tensed and pulled out a knife. He grabbed Gabrielle before she could get closer and pulled her behind him.

  “What is it, what’s wrong?” she asked, looking around frantically.

  Pulling his shirt up to cover his nose, he eased closer to the mushroom and poked it with the knife. Nothing. He tried again, slashing harder and then jumping back. When nothing happened again he waved Gabrielle forward and fished out his speaking stone.

  “Mushrooms can be treacherous.”

  “Okaaay? You good if I take one?”

  Leander nodded and relaxed, resheathing the knife. Gabrielle sliced off a mushroom and put it in one of their foraging bags, then they were on their way again.

  He felt vaguely like he should be talking but couldn’t figure out what to say. That had been the feeling for the entire trip so far. A cultivator didn’t give up though so he pulled his necklace back out. He may as well get answers to questions that had been nagging at him for weeks.

  “Why are you and Rebecca fighting?”

  His companion gaped at him. Maybe he should have started with something else. No, cultivators weren’t afraid of asking hard questions. They walked on in silence for another half a kilometer before Gabrielle decided to answer.

  “You both, she, it’s just, ugh. Look, you both got in early, so you got to go on this pre-packaged adventure. With private cultivation lessons, and Rebecca even got a rare natural treasure to aspect her mana, and you made powerful connections, and there were prizes from that dungeon.

  “It’s a lot. And then you get back and Rebecca is walking around like she’s better than the rest of us. Hmph.

  They sped up for a while after that. Gabrielle’s agitation was coming out in their speed and Leander decided not to respond. After all, there wasn’t much to say. He didn’t agree, but he wasn’t going to be able to explain it right. Rebecca was just figuring out how to exist when she wasn’t stuck under someone’s thumb, and still processing the effects of the Heart. Maybe the competitions would help with that.

  ************

  Annette couldn’t be more thrilled to be at the turnoff for the hidden realm. She had slept outside for the night before, the fact that there were technically walls in that waystation didn’t negate that they were in the woods. There were bugs, and too much silence, and two awkward men stomping around. She had briefly considered that it was some sort of convoluted punishment Laurel came up with, but discarded the idea. Laurel probably hadn’t had an uncomfortable sleep since she started being able to carry a full bedroom set anywhere she wanted in that cursedly useful tattoo. Or she would have just meditated all night if she didn’t want to sleep. The fact that it was horrible for Annette wouldn’t even have crossed the sectmasters’ mind.

  Her companions weren’t helping matters. Annette was ultimately thankful they were both there, but George still seemed slightly afraid to speak and John was quiet at the best of times. At least when it came to the politics and social sparring that Annette was interested in. It didn’t matter, they were almost there. The old village site was only a few kilometers off the main road, a distance they would cover soon enough and then, blessedly, more people.

  They rounded a bend and came upon the military encampment. A dozen tents in a pair of neat rows, and a couple of buildings, the wooden sides unweathered, populated the clearing, no sign of the village that had previously existed. Soldiers in uniform milled about on breaks or walked purposefully towards their assigned tasks. She nodded at the display of efficient organization. Their small group had been noticed, but not stopped, on the way in. She may have slacked in her cultivation but she was still able to feel the sentries stationed along the path. A young soldier approached at a light jog, and Annette stepped forward to greet them.

  “Ma’am, sirs, how can I help you?”

  “We’re representatives from the Eternal Archive. I have here a permit from the commanders at Fort Sarken to allow exploration of the hidden realm.”

  The young woman took the paper and gave it a cursory read. “You’d better talk to Captain Hunter, follow me.”

  They were led to one of the few solid buildings, the scent of fresh cut wood still lingering in the entryway. A middle-aged woman with eyes sharp enough to cut stood at a roughly assembled wooden table, flanked by other officers as they looked down at a half-finished map.

  “Captain, representatives of the Eternal Archive, here to study the transliminal space.”

  “Thank you, private. Dismissed.”

  Their escort hustled out of the room, leaving Annette, George, and John facing the captain. Not clear on the etiquette, Annette went for universally polite and bowed her head. “Good afternoon, Captain.”

  The other woman didn’t feel the need to adhere to pleasantries. “Last time we had some of you come down it was children, flailing in the dark and getting lucky enough to find a lantern.”

  Annette kept her bristling to a minimum as she responded, though privately she thought their initiates had performed better than the soldiers under Captain Hunter’s command. “Our sect members walked into an unknown situation and got everyone out of danger. It is our intent to explore further now that a safe egress point has been established.”

  She caught a wry smile flitting across the captain’s face before she schooled her expression. “Very well. We’ve been cautious in exploring so far, but I’m sure the esteemed members of the Eternal Archive are more than up to the challenge.”

  “Ahem. Thank you for your consideration. Though if you have information you would be willing to share, we would be willing to collaborate when we return.”

  The captain snorted. “Private, give them a copy of the map we have so far.”

  One of the silent aides complied, handing over a rolled sheet of thick, sturdy paper. Annette unrolled it and angled it up so her companions could see. It was a mess. Arrows and dotted lines covered the entire thing, with no discernible pattern.

  “I see, thank you.”

  That finally got a full smile from Captain Hunter. Her posture loosened and she clasped her hands behind her back in an unconscious mimicry of a parade rest. “You’ll see when you get in there. Something is still messing around with distances, and sometimes space still wraps around on itself. We haven’t had anyone get stuck again but it’s not just a jaunt in some pretty woods.”

  “I’m sure we appreciate the warning,” Annette said.

  As they turned to leave, John spoke up for the first time. “What happened to all the people that lived here? Are they inside the space now?”

  Captain Hunter’s face gentled, just a fraction but it made the woman look fifteen years younger. “No. We’ve provided relocation funds for the former residents but it was decided that until an access system and full mapping of the transliminal space can be established, civilians won’t be permitted permanent residence in the vicinity.”

  After a few more pleasantries they left and found their guide from earlier waiting outside to lead them to the portal. It was one thing to hear the kids describe it and quite another to see it in person. The creamy jade stone was lit from within by streams of gold dust, swirling up and down the posts. A veil of the same gold dust blocked the view of the other side.

  She took a deep breath, then another. All she had to do was walk through, but her feet remained firmly planted. Laurel and Martin both assured her it would be fine. Even the mundane soldiers had gone in and out without getting stuck. There was no need to worry. She still didn’t step forward.

  “Alright Annie?” she heard her brother whisper from behind her. Her brother, who had come on this trip to protect her because no one believed she could handle herself. A fire ignited deep in her gut.

  “Let’s go.”

  She took a step forward and passed through the veil.

  The other side was breathtaking. The lush greenery she’d heard of was there, with the mist above the treetops making the space feel like walking through a dream. It was even more stunning than the others had described. Miniature waterfalls started midair and fell onto floating chunks of moss-clad stone before splashing into a network of rills and streams swirling around the forest floor. Floating specks of light merged with the water, a colorful glow pulsing like heartbeats. Flowers in every shade glittered like gemstones, while birds called from the treetops. The only interruption to the fairy tale were the remains of Salgrove.

  The homes and shops of a prospering, if tiny, village were spread around the portal, abandoned. A testament to hopes and stability ripped away without warning, from a world that was changing around them.

  Two guards flanked the portal on this side. They watched Annette and the boys with hands on weapons, but made no move to confront them.

  “We’re magic-users visiting from the Eternal Archive in the capital, here to explore with permission from Fort Sarken and Captain Hunter,” Annette told them, once more showing their papers.

  The soldier on the left grunted. “You can use the houses if you want, though most folks feel weird sleeping in here. Guard rotations every 8 hours.”

  She thanked them and led her brother and sect mate into the ruined village and their new temporary home.