I glanced at Cyleena, whose eyes were large and dark, her cheeks pale from holding the air around me.
“Let me go. I can swim. I can hold my breath. It’s not far.”
Chandra nodded at her.
I took a breath and held it.
The bubble around me burst. I was drenched in a heartbeat, and in the next, Chandra’s arm was around my waist. We hurtled down toward the portway. The massive stone ring glowing gold and blue got larger and larger. My heart swelled, hope and possibility surging through me.
Araz. I’m coming. I’m?—
The water vibrated, and the portway shuddered, fractures forming across its surface. Chandra halted, angling us away from the doorway and kicking out to take us back up.
No, this couldn’t be happening.
The portway shattered, stone pieces floating away, lights dimming until the sea below us was nothing but viscous darkness.
The portway was gone.
Bhartina poured tea for everyone,a strong herbal brew that warmed the bones. I’d dried and changed clothes, but the chill inside me had nothing to do with our sea excursion and everything to do with the fact that our only way into the sky city had been taken from us.
“I didn’t know,” Chandra said softly again. “I didn’t realize that freeing Ilyapani would destroy the portway.”
“It’s not your fault,” C’ael said. He was pale and drawn but recovering nicely. Either he was getting stronger, or the flame he carried for Araz was loaning him power. Either way, without him, I’d be dead.
I met Chandra’s eyes across the table. “I’m glad you’re here. We’ll figure out the rest.”
“There is one other way in,” Chandra said. “A vortex. It’s dormant, but I can activate it.” His throat bobbed. “I created it during the wars. A temporary pathway…” He looked away.
I was about to ask why he’d needed the temporary pathway, but then it hit me.
“You smuggled people in and out of the royal domain?”
He nodded. “I saved as many as I could.”
“Rebels?” Bhartina’s eyes lit up. “You helped them?”
“I did what I could. The vortex from land opens in a pocket reality.”
Wait…Silas could create pocket realities, but he’d been a child during the war. Chandra must have seen the revelation and the confusion on my face because he smiled.
“Silas inherited his skill from his father. The pocket realm was locked away by its creator to prevent any Asura everdiscovering a path to the vortex. I have no idea where it is in Aakash Sansaar now, or I would have used it to get to land.”
“Just as well you didn’t,” Ramashi said. “You would have been in the wrong place.”
“True. I found myself where I needed to be.” His pale gaze bore into mine, and warmth unfurled in my chest.
He was my friend, had been Vayelle’s friend too if what Zarael had told me was true. We had so much to talk about. But not now. Not yet.
“The vortex remains,” Chandra continued. “We can use it to get to the pocket realm and find a way out from there. My signature will open a doorway.”
“How do we get to the mainland?” C’ael asked.
“Vairanya will take you,” Bhartina said. “She awoke when you arrived and is aware of all that has happened.”
The Kaalmukha who had brought us to this Isle the first time we’d come here would certainly get us to the mainland safely, but it would take time. Time we were running out of.
“Still, the journey will take a week,” Ramashi said, echoing my concern. “Is there time?”
