She took my hand, her fingers warm against my cold skin. "What you did with the barrier... that wasn't normal rift ability, was it?"
I shook my head.
"Are you scared?"
"Not of the power itself. More of what it means." I looked at her. "What if I can't control it? What if I hurt someone I care about?"
"I won't let that happen," she said firmly. "And I'm the boss, remember?"
I smiled. "You never let me forget it."
The next morning I felt it, a thinning in the Gallery's fabric, a portal was nearby. "There!" I pointed to a spot that, to anyone else, would look like empty darkness. "There's a portal there, but the realm is dead."
Cypher guided the ship toward it, his hands steady on the helm. "Everyone prepare for transition," he shouted. "Could be rough. This portal hasn't been used in years."
The transition wasn't just rough, it was violent. The ship shuddered and groaned, wood creaking ominously as we passed through. For a terrifying moment, I thought we might break apart, scattered through the void like the skiff I'd destroyed.
Then we were through, emerging into a sky the color of steel. Below us stretched a landscape that might once have been beautiful but was now empty. Vast plains of gray dust, broken only by the skeletal remains of what might have been forests. In the distance were massive mountain ranges.
"Welcome to a dead realm," Cypher murmured.
We found a place to moor near what had once been a city port. Only ruins remained now—crumbling stone structures, half-buried in dust. The air was breathable but thin, carrying a metallic tang that coated the tongue.
"What happened here?" Kora asked as we docked, leaning over the railing.
"It's just old," Vic said, coming to stand next to Kora. "The portal hasn't collapsed like Nytheris. The realm is just dead. Eventually it happens to all realms, depending on where their star is in its lifespan."
"Cheery," Knives muttered.
The realm was noticeably colder, but not to the point of freezing. But it was enough that whoever had lived here many centuries ago, was long gone and likely settled elsewhere.
Dinner was a quiet affair of dried rations and water that tasted faintly of metal despite our best efforts to purify it. Even Zoya and Knives' usual banter was subdued. Jask sat with his back against a wall while Kora hovered nearby.
I found myself sitting next to Cypher, our shoulders almost touching. Neither of us spoke, but the silence felt comfortable rather than awkward. Click curled in my lap, sleeping.
"We should be safe here," Cypher said, breaking the silence. "At least for a while."
I nodded, watching the strange, muted sunset paint the ruins in shades of purple and gray.
Over a week into our stay,I found myself keeping watch at the helm with Zoya. It was well past midnight, the strange constellations of this dead realm glittering overhead like scattered diamonds on black velvet. The ship creaked softly beneath us, settled on the dusty ground near the ruined port.
"You ever wonder what this place looked like before?" Zoya asked, pouring steaming tea from a battered metal pot into two chipped mugs. The scent of mint and something spicier rose with the steam.
I accepted the mug gratefully, wrapping my cold fingers around its warmth. "I keep trying to imagine people walking those streets, ships docking at that harbor."
"Depressing, isn't it?" She leaned against the railing, her dark eyes scanning the horizon. "Knowing every realm has an expiration date."
"Unless someone terraforms it," I said, thinking of Cypher's plans. "Brings it back to life."
Zoya gave me a sideways glance, a small smile playing at her lips. "Is that what you're planning to do? Help our illustrious captain breathe life back into a realm?"
I stared into my tea, watching ripples form as the ship settled. "I don't know what I'm planning anymore. Everything's happened so fast."
"That's the Gallery for you. Changes you before you even realize it's happening." She took a long sip of her tea. "Before I joined the crew, I was just another dockhand in Portsmith. Now look at me—fugitive, void-sailor, possible realm-builder." She chuckled softly. "Life's funny that way."
"Do you ever regret it? Joining the crew?"
"Not for a second." Her answer came without hesitation. "Found my purpose here. My people." Her eyes flicked to where Knives was sleeping below deck. "Myperson."
