“Nalan and Alara gave me the knowledge on how to walk between dimensions,” I explained. “That was how I was able to make it back to Recca. I only have the exact instructions on how to get from the Tua realm to our world, but I assume the process could be used to walk between any two dimensions, if only we can figure out the way. However, it takes a huge amount of power, and I was completely drained the last time. And since I’m not sure where we are, I’m worried that we might accidentally end up in a different world instead of back home. If it’s not one that we can find food and water on, we’ll die before we can tryagain.”
“It will be dangerous,” Iannis agreed, his brow furrowed. “But we don’t have any alternative, do we? At least with our combined power we should be able to travel without drainingyou.”
“I hope so. Once we leave here, Ta’sradala may not be able to find us again,” I said. “She’s probably watching us gleefully as we struggle. Do you think she’d bring us back before we die of thirst or hunger? I know she hates me, but she might save you, atleast.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Iannis said. “And if she brought me back after I’d watched you perish, I’d rather not return at all. Anything, any risk, is better thanthat.”
I bit my lip. “Do you think we should try it now?” I asked, sittingup.
Iannis shrugged. “Why wait? The longer we stay here, the more we will suffer in this heat anyway. Now, while we are still strong and well-fed, we have the best chance ofsuccess.”
We quickly packed up our sleeping bags and canteens in our magical sleeves, then joined hands. Anxiety welled up inside me, and I leaned in to kiss Iannisagain.
“If we don’t come out in one piece on the other end,” I murmured against his lips, “please know that I love you, and that I have noregrets.”
“I do know,” he said, nuzzling my cheek. “As certainly as I know that the sun rises and sets. Or at least it does in our world. And I love you just as much, if not more. Now let’sbegin.”
Iannis put a protective bubble around us, enclosing a supply of the hot but breathable air in case we got stuck in the void, or someplace else that was inhospitable. Once I was certain the bubble was secure, I reached for the knowledge the Tua had given me and pulled out the dimension-walking spell. As I studied the directions again, Iannis began to pour some of his power into me, filling me up with sizzling hot magic. I took a deep breath as it flowed in my veins and let the map of the dimensions fall open into my mind again. I could see where Recca was, and the Tua realm, but I had no idea which square of the quilt we were on, and another tremor of fear went through me. What if I fucked thisup?
“Relax,”Iannis said to me in mindspeak.“Let your instincts guideyou.”
Nodding, I zeroed in on the square that was Recca, and spoke the spell, willing it to take us back home. The world shifted and tilted around me, and I clutched Iannis’s hands tightly as I felt my magic pour out of me once again. Opening my eyes, I saw a swirl of colors, and my heart leapt. Was it working this time? Would we actually make itback?
Our feet slammed into the ground, and I stumbled into Iannis. He caught me before I fell, and I sucked in a deep breath of the hot air in our bubble. My heart sank—we were in the middle of a prairie. But not just any prairie. The tall grass, which nearly came up to my knees, was a deep indigo color, and the sky above us was bright orange. Off in the distance a herd of what looked like bison was grazing, but they seemed to be a dark green, the color of evergreen trees, and something was off about theirshape.
“I’m afraid this isn’t Recca,” Iannis said, voicing the obvious. “But at least there is life in this world. Better than what we hadbefore.”
“There is that,” I said, letting out a gusty sigh. “Let me test the air, see if it’sbreathable.”
Iannis protested, but I had already taken a few steps forward, leaving the bubble. Cool air wafted against my skin, and I took in a deep breath, then let it out in a sigh of relief when nothing bad happened. The air seemed to be just fine here, and with a tang of grass and moisture, it was ten times better than that hot desert air we’d been breathingbefore.
I signaled to Iannis to drop the air bubble, then raked a hand through my hair, trying to ground myself. I felt woozy from using all that magic, and I pulled another piece of beef jerky from my sleeve and munched on it as I lookedaround.
“I guess we can hunt those things, whatever they are,” I said, pointing at the herd off in thedistance.
“I’d rather find something smaller,” Iannis said as he came to stand by my side. “There are probably rabbits and deer, or something like themanyway.”
I bit my lip, fighting back the surge of disappointment that threatened to overwhelm me. “I guess we need to replenish our energy before we try the spell again,” I saidforlornly.
Iannis put an arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head. “Don’t despair,” he murmured against my scalp. “We’ll figure this out. And just look how far you’ve come as a mage. Did you ever think you would end up traveling to differentworlds?”
“No,” I admitted, leaning into his embrace. “If we ever get out of this, we’ll have some great stories to tell ourchildren.”
Iannis hugged me a little tighter at that. “Yes, we will. And our grandchildren too, though I doubt they’ll believe us when they get older. Now let’s find something to eat, and someshelter.”
I shifted quickly into panther form, then took off through the grass at a trot, intent on exploring while Iannis set off to find a place to camp. At this level, it was easy to pick up the various scent trails, and in no time, I caught a scent very similar to rabbit, though there was an appetizing clover-like odor mixed in it. My mood picked up as I followed it for a good half mile, then soured as I found its burrow. I didn’t need to dig into it to scent the litter huddled beneath it, or the tiny animals’ fear. No matter how hungry I was, I wasn’t going to kill a mother and leave her babies tostarve.
The next scent trail I picked up was more promising—a small group of deer, just two miles south of the weird bison herd I’d seen earlier. The bison themselves were tempting, but I didn’t think I could take them down without the help of magic, and the deer were much easier. I killed a young, yellow-furred male with very little effort, then used a levitation spell to bring it back toIannis.
Thankfully, our serapha charms were working once again, and I was able to find Iannis quickly. He’d made camp at the top of a hill, not too far from the forest, and already had a good firegoing.
“That was fast,” Iannis said as I changed back into human form. “You were gone for little over anhour.”
“I was motivated,” I said with a smile as I set to helping him skin and gut the animal for dinner. “After being separated against our will, I have no intention of letting you out of my sight any longer thannecessary.”
“The feeling is entirely mutual,” he said with a tender smile that made my stomach flip-flop.
We roasted the deer over the fire, then used the pile of large branches and leaves Iannis had gathered to build a shelter for the evening. The meat was juicier than I expected—the deer in this world were fattier than the ones on Recca. Soon enough, we were lying back on our sleeping bags in the tent, listening to the fire crackle as wesnuggled.
