Kull brushed a kiss over my lips, and I tried to soak in everything. His scent, like sandalwood and spruce. The feel of his hands on my face, callused but warm, and with a gentle strength. The beating of his heart under my fingertips.
“I’ll miss you,” I whispered.
I thought he would give me another quip about how he was a difficult man to leave behind. Instead, he cupped my chin. The moonlight reflected in his eyes, making them a clear, icy blue. “And I will miss you. More than you know.”
The intensity in his voice made it impossible for me to argue. He ran a finger across my lips, as if trying to remember every detail of my face. How would I let him go?
I didn’t want to, but I pushed away from Kull and removed my laptop case, opening it with a click. Blue Faythander light usually glowed from the screen, and not seeing it came as a shock.
“Can you cross without the magic?” Kull asked.
“Fan’twar told me to use my Earth magic. But I’m not sure how. I feel like I’m going in half blind.”
“Are you sure it is wise to travel without the magic?”
“No. But I don’t have any other choice.”
He exhaled a lengthy sigh. “I do not like this.”
“I don’t either. But if I want to find the Everblossom’s magic, I have to try.”
I gave him one last glance before pressing my hand to the glass. He gave me a slight smile, though I saw the worry in his eyes.
I let my palm and fingers connect with the glass. The mirror’s smooth surface chilled my hand, making a shiver run down my spine as I closed my eyes. Using the magic had become second nature. Usually, the magic warmed the screen and fed into my energy. But now, the magic’s absence was unnatural, an emptiness that I felt in the pit of my stomach.
Searching deep within, I called on the ancient magic of Earth. Earth magic conjured images of deserts and sunsets. It smelled of rain during a thunderstorm. It was the color of liquid amber. Earth magic had a simple, subtle power—harder to find, but just as powerful as Faythander magic if used in the right way.
After concentrating for several intense minutes, the magic finally flowed through me and into the glass—the opposite of how I would usually travel—but the glass warmed, and I felt the crisp scents of the dragons’ forest begin to fade.
The whirlwind of magic caught me in its grip. My stomach churned and my ears popped as my body soared between worlds and experienced a change in pressure. The magic grew stronger. Glowing amber enveloped me until I lost all sense of direction. My thoughts became a blur. The light blinded me until I felt I would be torn apart, right before the world went black.
A sandpaper tongue licked my cheek. Focusing, I found a pair of large, round eyes looming over me. My cat, Han Solo, bounded onto my chest. The sound of his purring slowly brought me back to reality.
Sitting up slowly, dizziness disoriented me, making my apartment spin in my vision. I pushed down the urge to vomit while Han’s furry gray tail tickled my nose.
“Hey, buddy.” I spoke with a weak voice that I almost didn’t recognize as my own. How long had I been out? I scratched Han’s ears, and he ate it up. Poor cat. I’d been gone several weeks. If I hadn’t had my neighbor checking in on him, I was sure he would have turned feral.
I sat on the floor for several minutes, inhaling deep breaths and trying to keep the dizziness from making me black out again. My thoughts turned to the overly-confident, madly handsome brute I’d left behind. Already I missed him. But he needed to rescue his sister, and pining over him would bring me nothing but misery.
As soon as my head cleared, I stood and took stock of my situation. My apartment looked how I’d left it. My mother called the place a dump, but I prided myself on the seven-hundred-square feet I called my own. I’d never decorated—it just wasn’t in me to hang pictures or display knickknacks. Maybe someday, if I had a place to share with someone, I’d give it a try. But for now, I made do. I had a bed, dresser, matching couches, even a coffee table. I’d bought it all myself, and it gave me a sense of pride, even if I had bought them at a secondhand store.
I crossed into the kitchen and took inventory of the fridge. Not much. The salad, grapes, and strawberries needed to be thrown out. The lunch meat was expired, as was the milk, and the cheese was beginning to mold.
After closing the fridge, I found my phone. Bringing up my checking account app always made me cringe, and this time was no different. I had enough cash for a few groceries, but if I intended to pay the utilities and the rent, I’d have to scrounge.
I hated scrounging.
My phone’s screen showed that I had a few messages. The first couple of messages were from Jeremiah, my godson. Smiling, I called him back quickly.
After returning to Earth, he and his sister, Sissy, had found a new home in Kansas. I made sure to check up on them religiously every week. After their last experience, I wasn’t about to let something happen to them again.
I spoke to Jeremiah and Sissy, who filled me in on all the latest. They lived on a farm and told me about their garden, where they were growing sunflowers and pumpkins. Jer had gotten a golden retriever whom he’d named Fan’twar. I thought it a fitting name, although the mention of my stepfather made my heart sink. The sky king had allowed Jeremiah to keep some of his memories. He’d said it would help with the healing.
Before hanging up, I told them both
