The statue stood in front of the sink, her hands clasped over her heart as if she was hoping hard and her eyes squeezed shut as if she was afraid to see.
Calisa wondered if Thomas knew she was alive and awareand—
“Evela.” His voice was an exhale.
“She was the one who helped us find you,” Jack said. “We wouldn’t have even known which portal to try. In fact, we thought she meant—”
“Close your eyes,” Thomas ordered Jack and Calisa.
Calisa obeyed. She waited for him to tell them to open their eyes, but he said nothing. She heard the soft murmuring of Thomas’s voice, too quiet for her to make out the words. He fell silent, and she peeked one eye open.
The statue, motionless, had her arms around Thomas, and his were wrapped around her in a tight embrace. Her head was inclined against his shoulder.
“Your eyes are open,” Thomas accused.
It wasn’t a question. “Sorry. I didn’t—”
The floor suddenly tilted oddly, and her knees felt flimsy, as if her joints were watery. She put her hand out against the kitchen wall.
“Calisa?” She heard concern in Jack’s voice. She tried to turn her head to look at him, and her knees buckled. Steve squawked in alarm. She felt the brush of his wings on her cheek.
And then she saw Jack moving toward her, but he was tilted.
A pool of darkness was rising up from the bottom of her vision. “Jack—”
She felt the dragon’s talons pierce her shoulders as he squawked wildly. The floor loomed sideways, filling her vision, and the wooden birds on the kitchen clock all turned their heads to look at her…and then everything was soft darkness.
—
Calisa woke in Jack’s arms, which was lovely, but why? She stared up at the kitchen rafters, admired the lack of cobwebs, and thought that this was a strange place for a nap.
“It worked,” Jack said. “She’s awake.”
She blinked as Thomas’s face came into view behind Jack’s. He peered down at her. “Luckily, she only needed a drop. You wore yourself out, couldn’t you tell?”
“I…what? Did I faint?”
“Worse,” Thomas said grimly. “You drained your power. Only one way to restore it, and you apparently haven’t been taught how. Well, only one wayasidefrom the extremely rare flower that I went in search of…. You’re lucky that I found it, and you, in turn, found me.” He shook his head before she could speak. “Auntie Zee will explain everything. For now,don’topen any more portals until you know how to heal yourself magically.”
“Heal myself?” None of this made sense. Her head was throbbing, and she had a faint taste of cinnamon in her mouth. She licked her lips. It wasn’t quite cinnamon. It was sharper. “What did you give me?” Her throat felt scratched, and her voice sounded as if the syllables had been rubbed over a cheese grater. She swallowed and then winced. Whatever it was hadnotgone down smoothly.
“Felitris juice,” Thomas said. “It’s what I went into that realm for. Very rare. Extracted from a flower that only grows under ridiculously specific conditions that no one’s been able to replicate. It’s the only known substance that can restore an equally rare power like yours.”
“But what happened to Calisa?” Jack said. “Why did she collapse like that?” His arms were still around her, solid and comforting and warm and nice.
Exactly what I want to ask.Her tongue felt thick, though, and she felt as if her thoughts were swimming in goo. Her left shoulder ached, and she wondered where Steve had gone. He’d been on her when she’d collapsed. She hoped she hadn’t fallenon him. Tilting her head back, Calisa scanned the kitchen—ah, there. Steve was perched on one of the rafters above the sink, looking down at her with worried eyes. His wings were spread wide, and smoke seeped out of his mouth. She smiled so he’d know she was okay.
The smoke dissipated.
She wondered how hot his flame was and if he could control it yet.If he could, I could toast s’mores.A little giggle escaped her lips, and then she wondered if she’d hit her head. It was so difficult to focus.Ooh, or make a real crème brûlée with the crispy caramel top. Yum.
Thomas was talking. “It’s draining to open portals. Literally, it drains you. The farther the realm from ours, the more tiring it is to maintain a doorway. I wasn’t running errands for the inn all those times I left. I was looking for felitris juice, to help Auntie Zee replenish her power faster. She’s weaker than she used to be. It’s age. Comes for us all, and Auntie Zee has handled it better than most, but even she with her boundless energy isn’t immune to it.”
Her eyes blurred, and his words faded into a fuzzy murmur.
His voice became crisp again: “…She told me that she could only hold it open for two days while I searched. It should have been plenty of time—I knew precisely where to find the flower, and she’d deliberately opened the portal close to its location—but it was raining when I emerged, and the path down to the shore was slick with mud. I slipped. Over the cliff. I broke my leg and knocked myself out. By the timethe villagers had nursed me back to health, the portal had closed. She must have been too weak to reopen it. It’s a very distant realm.”
“I opened it,” Calisa said, her words slow as she tried to form them with her gummy-feeling mouth. She touched her left shoulder. There were holes in the fabric, and she felt wetness. She pulled her fingers back and saw blood. Startled, Steve had dug his talons into her when she’d fainted. She remembered that. “Ow.”
