I don’t stop chasing, and Declan doesn’t let go.
But it’s not enough.
We reach the edge of camp just as she blurs into the dunes, her figure warping in the rising heat.
And then she’s gone again.
I slam to a halt, breath coming hard and uneven. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
Declan sucks in a breath and scans the horizon, free hand braced on his hip. “Did she just—”
“Disappear? Yes.” I stalk forward, crumpling the scroll in my fist. “Because apparently two people trapped in a whole other dimension doesn’t warrant a proper conversation.”
Declan exhales slowly. “This probably doesn’t help, but I don’t think she’s ignoring you on purpose.”
“You’re right. That’s not at all helpful.” With a groan, I let my head fall back. “What do I have to do? What am I missing? I’ve played along. I’ve said the words. I’ve lit the candles. I’ve been patient and polite and open to signs and metaphors. I’ve tried to be a teacher and a mentor, and all it got me was—”
The thought spikes sharp in my chest. I suck in a breath, shoving it down. I can’t go back there. Not to Nessa. Not if I want any hope of moving forward and fixing what I’ve broken.
“I’ve done everything I’m supposed to!” My voice rises with every word, until I’m screaming at the endless dunes. “And you still can’t manage to have a real fucking conversation?”
The desert stays quiet, frozen.
“Help me!”The plea rips from me like a wound torn open. A cry not just for rescue, but for acknowledgment.
The air shivers and swells with the scents of smoke and ozone. The ground pulses beneath my feet. Heat blooms, heavy and sudden, curling around me like steam.
Fortune steps from the shimmer where she vanished, her silhouette pulsing gold at the edges, her eyes flickering like twin torches.
Declan angles himself in front of me, a shield of quietstrength. His shoulders are squared, tense, ready to fight if he has to. Ready to protect me, even from something he doesn’t understand.
I press my free hand to his chest.
He doesn’t move. But he doesn’t stop me when I step closer.
“I need help,” I tell her. “That’s why you keep reappearing, right? That’s what you do. You help.”
Fortune tilts her head. The copper strands in her hair click together like bones.
“So help me now.”
“I did not bring you here.” Her voice crackles like wind through embers. “The Tower brought you to this realm. And when you are ready, you will heal it.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. What does that even mean?” I shake my head, panic rising like smoke. “There’s real magick here. I’ve tried to use it to get us home, to help…” I shake my head. “It keeps blowing up in my face. Literally. I just want to reopen the portal that brought us here. I want to fix what I broke, here and back there. I want to get us home.”
“I’ve worn that look before.” Fortune tilts her head and takes one slow step forward. “When you are ready—”
“I heard you.” The words slice out of me. “But I’m not ready. Not for what you’re talking about. I can’t heal this place.” My fingers squeeze tighter around Declan’s. “I don’t even know how to heal myself.”
Fortune’s gaze shifts to my injured hand, still red and tender from the spell that backfired.
Before I can pull away, she reaches out and gently cradles my hand in both of hers. Her touch is searing. I suck in a sharp breath, shoulders jerking as Declan tenses.
“I was once the balm on the blistered seams of our kingdom. You will be again.” Her jeweled thumb glides over the reddened skin, and the pain in my hand vanishes. My skin cools beneath her touch, the angry flush fading as if it had never been there at all.
She looks at me then.Intome. Every secret, every splinter, every carefully constructed layer I’ve ever used to hold myself together.
“The Kingdom of Wands was forged in sacred flame. Its fires once stripped away illusion, burning for truth—for what was real, and only that.” Her gaze sharpens, her eyes like twin flares. “Now their flames dance for spectacle. They leap not to cleanse but to please. Monarchs emerged and have bartered authenticity for applause and meaning for the polish of performance.
