I don’t fully understand how things work for shifters. The mechanics seem simple enough, but Luca isn’t big on talking about his basilisk. For all I know, I could be trying to reason with a reptile right now. My gut says otherwise.
I think the basilisk is smart like Luca and just as stubborn. I’m pretty sure he understands exactly what I’m saying, and if I can convince him to give control back, he will. This creature is part of Luca, and Luca is the most considerate, loyal person I know.
His basilisk must be the same, right?
“Please,” I whisper, dropping my forehead to his scales.
I feel the creature’s eyes on me, then he shudders, his big body trembling wildly as a raspy wheeze escapes his mouth. I frown.He’s in pain. Luca’s in pain.Gently, I run my fingers along his side, trying to offer comfort. One second, I’m petting a snake, and the next I’m touching skin. Naked skin.
“Shit!” I grab Luca’s arms as he wobbles on his newly restored feet. “Are you okay?”
His pupils are horizontal slits—tiny black rectangles surrounded by yellow-tinged hazel. I focus on the bridge of his nose, avoiding direct eye contact as he sags against me and groans.
A backpack unzips, then Alistair is beside us, tossing me a soft, warm sweatshirt before carefully helping Luca step into jeans and sneakers. I press the fabric to my face. It’s worn and faded from countless cycles through the wash, and it smells like my detergent—proof Luca’s been embedded in my life long enough to become part of it.
My stomach flips.
We need to get home.
Yanking the hoodie over Luca’s head, I cup his cold cheeks. “You’re okay,” I tell him. “We’re okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”
I brace for a sting. Relief rolls over me, first when Luca’s hazel eyes focus on mine, and again when my magic doesn’t call me a liar.
“W-what h-happened?” Luca asks. He lifts his hands in front of his face, wiggling his fingers before balling them into fists.
“You shifted into your basilisk,” I say. “Do you remember anything from... during?”
Malach rocks back on his heels, crunching pellets of ice under his boots. His impatience is tangible. I don’t exactly want to stick around either, but Luca shifted into his biggest fear. We can spare a second to make sure he’s okay.
“It’s fuzzy.” He furrows his brow. “Everything was yellow.”
Ciprian steps in close, raking his fingers through his white-blond hair until it stands on end. “I’m sorry for hiding Celine from you,” he says. “I panicked because—fuck, dude—your snake ishuge.”
He waggles his eyebrows, and Luca cracks a crooked smile. It’s gone as quickly as it appeared, but I’m relieved to see him return to normal, even for a second.
“We’ve got to hide,” Luca says. “And find shelter. I’m not sure what time it is, but the orbit is stupid fast here. If we don’t find cover, you’ll all freeze to death.”
I frown. “Not you?”
“Cold blooded, baby.”
“Are the days shorter?” Malach studies the sky, planting his big hands on his hips.
Luca shrugs. “I can’t explain the science. Mom and Dad don’t love talking about their past, but they drilled into me what to do in case someone found me and brought me back here as a kid.”
“That’s the shifter realm.” Luca points up, and I squintthrough the clouds of rubble, not willing to present another clear shot for a wad of sleet to pelt me in the eye.
There in the sky—suspended far behind the floating junk—is a much larger planet. It looms, and even without the perspective of distance, I can tell we’re standing on something smaller. Something leashed to the other planet’s larger mass.
The horizon curves dramatically no matter which way I turn, and I rub my hands together, unnerved by the strangeness. Even the mountains in the distance are molded around a sphere, slanted and squatty on the sides as they cling to the ground while reaching for the sky.
I feel... Damn, I feel like we’re in an enclosure—mice in a pet store, boxed in by panes of smudged glass, waiting on some divine being to reach in, pull us out, and feed us to something bigger.
“The monster realm is more like a moon, really,” Luca says. “It orbits the shifter realm, which orbits that sun, causing eclipses every few hours. Whenever the shifter realm blots out the sun, the temperature drops fast. Put on the warmest stuff you brought.”
Shit.We didn’t pack for a frozen wasteland. We packed for the celestial realm: a temperature-controlled environment that’s maintained year-round by magically powered technology.
I grab a crewneck sweatshirt from my backpack. It’s the only long-sleeved piece of clothing I brought, and the gaping hole in the left elbow isn’t the only one. I tossed it in my backpack because I love to sleep in it. I’m glad I did.
