“Hold on, bigger question here,” Thayen interjected. “Replacement?”
Haldor shook his head. “You can’t stop it,” he said. “She’s been at it for months. A certain number of portals had to be opened. A certain temperature must be reached. A certain number of clones… It’s a complicated recipe.”
I’d heard something similar before. “What is this about?” I asked, the blood freezing in my veins. Putting the word “replacement” in the same pot as “clones” spoke easily of body-snatchers lore, of foreign invaders who stole the real us and sent in their mannequins to act like us in order to fool an entire world. Judging by the level of complexity of the doppelgangers’ appearances and abilities and mimicry, it was clear that Hrista had everything she needed to pull off such a feat.
What horrified me were the consequences.
“She means to replace you all,” Haldor finally said, and I heard myself breathe out. It sounded so different when it was said out loud, when it wasn’t just a theory in my head or a crazy thought. It sounded awful as the truth. “And you can’t stop her. It’s too late.”
Brandon scrunched his nose. “Then why are you here?”
“Huh?”
“Why are you here and not licking her boots?”
Haldor narrowed his glowing blue eyes at him. “That’s a dumb question. Why aren’t you with her, licking boots? I played my part from the moment she ordered me to take Hammer from you because it was the only way to keep Hammer safe. My tricks would only have worked for so long.”
“Thank you for that,” Brandon replied, suddenly more relaxed, even smiling.
“It would’ve been a shame. Hammer is a good boy,” Haldor grumbled.
“So, the entire hell you put us through, that was just for show?” Thayen blurted out, irritated and for good reason. Haldor had become the source of many nightmares for us in a short span of time. “Just to make Hrista and your Berserker buddies think you were serious?”
Haldor nodded once. “It’s a complicated situation. If I ever get the chance to explain, I’ll—” he froze as a horn sounded in the distance. It rang across the entire island, making me shiver with its ear-piercing tonality. Three times we heard it, and three times I trembled with dread. “It’s starting.”
The replacement. He’d been right. We were too late. We wouldn’t be able to stop it. Lights burst below and around the Black Heights. Shimmering portals by the dozens. I would’ve bolted toward the nearest one, but Mom caught my wrist and Brandon agreed. “I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he muttered. “This is happening for a reason.”
“We could just go through and get back home!” Richard replied, determined to climb down the ridge, but Thayen slipped an arm around his waist and pulled him away.
“No, we don’t know what this is! We don’t know where it’ll take us!” Thayen said. It took some convincing, but Richard ultimately gave up, cursing under his breath.
I understood why he was so desperate to leave but considering how insane our entire stay in the fake Shade had been, we had every reason to be skeptical of shimmering portals and anything else that came from Hrista’s magic. She’d revealed herself to us as the enemy. Why would we risk playing into her hands after we’d barely escaped with our lives?
“It’s coming,” Haldor breathed, the last of the black mist disappearing from his arms and legs. “It’s done.”
“Can’t we stop it?” Mom asked.
“We don’t even know what it is we’re trying to stop,” Myst sighed, lowering her head in defeat. It wasn’t enough, and I wasn’t pleased with this outcome. No, I wasn’t ready to quit, nor was I willing to submit to Hrista—ever.
I turned to Brandon. “How do we undo what’s about to come our way?”
The light from the portals shone brighter and brighter until the entire island was bathed in a sea of white that nearly blinded us. It dissolved every wisp of shadows on Brandon’s broad shoulders and handsome face, the warmth covering us like a summer’s day. I felt his hand catching mine and holding tightly.
“You’re a survivor, aren’t you, Pinkie?”
I wanted to reply with a resounding yes, but I ended up wrapped tightly in his arms as the light intensified and screams erupted around us. It was so strange and difficult to even describe. As if two worlds were spilling over and bleeding into one another.
In the belly of the white light that had swallowed us, I could see our Shade—the real one.
Sofia
We’d been caught off guard just outside the Great Dome.
A shimmering portal had opened while we mobilized and prepared for an incursion. And not just one portal, but hundreds at once. Kailani was ready to zap us to the nearest opening when another glowing gash burst mere feet away.
My heart stopped in that moment. Every fiber in my body told me to go through and damn every risk to hell. Derek squeezed my hand, and I was thrilled to be reminded that we were in this together and that we were both ready to get our son back. Rose and Ben were ready too, their pulverizer weapons locked and loaded. Kailani had an arsenal of white witchcraft and Word magic at her disposal, skin glowing with her patron’s power as she reacted to the portals.
Esme and Kalon were the first to step toward the newly opened shimmering portal when Kailani held them back. “Wait. There’s something fishy about this,” she said.
I was almost dizzy. We’d been waiting for this for so long. Thayen was somewhere beyond this portal. We had to go. We had to get our kids back. I wanted to move, but my mind had caught on to something that my
