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Then he looked back at me.

"First deployment?"

I tried to look less pleased about it.

"Yes."

His smile widened. "About time."

The portal chamber occupied a circular section at the Menagerie's rear, separated from the animal enclosures by two reinforced doors and a broad arch of dark stone stood against the far wall, crystal channels running through it in branching lines that remained dull until activated.

A Portal Master waited beside the control plinth.

Everyone began moving equipment into the marked departure area while Alex floated three crates through the doorway and announced that he was saving everyone's backs. One of the researchers immediately asked whether he'd mind taking four more.

His expression changed.

I laughed.

The Portal Master waited until all eleven of us and the equipment were inside the marked boundary, then pressed both hands against the crystal array.

Magic moved through the arch.

The channels filled from the base upwards, first a pale blue and then white, brightness spilling across the black stone until the center of the arch distorted. The wall behind it blurred, stretched and vanished beneath a sheet of rippling light.

My stomach tightened.

Not fear.

Excitement.

Dannian noticed.

"Ready?"

I looked at the portal.

For years every Rift had existed in lessons, reports, preserved specimens, maps and creatures brought back behind Menagerie walls. Now one waited on the other side.

"Yes."

Corian stepped through first.

I followed, Ashter close against my leg. The first thing I noticed about the Aqua Garrison was the air. Warm, damp and heavy enough that my skin noticed it before my eyes adjusted to the brightness. The portal chamber opened into a broad stone building with enormous archways on three sides, every one of them revealing sunlight so intense after the Menagerie's dark interior that I had to blink.

Then I saw blue.

Everywhere.

Estarith Bay. The name Corian had used the night before was finally more than a place on a map.

Water stretched beyond the garrison in several directions, impossibly bright beneath the morning sky and broken by islands covered in dense green vegetation. Some were little more than rocky outcrops wrapped in vines and low trees, while others rose high enough that jungle covered entire slopes before disappearing into mist.

The Aqua Garrison occupied the largest island I could see.

It was less a single fortress than a sprawling complex built across the edge of the jungle. Pale stone buildings climbed in staggered levels above the harbor, joined by covered walkways and open training areas. Watchtowers rose along the outer walls, while docks extended into clear water on the northern and eastern sides. Boats sat moored between narrow military vessels and broad supply craft, their hulls moving gently against the docks.

People were everywhere.