We fall and fall. We fall so long it feels like we’ll never reach the portal in the water below us. God I hope Lahyr was right about this magic stuff. He has to be right. Right?

Finally, we hit the water, or the portal? I’m not sure if it’s one or the other or both at the same time, but whatever it is, we hit it. As soon as I hit it my body feels warm, then cold, and I feel electricity zing my skin. It feels as if I can feel everything, and yet nothing at the same time. Like I’m flying through space without a spaceship, but floating effortlessly still. It’s so disorienting that it takes me a few seconds to realize my hand is empty, and I can’t feel Jess. When I open my eyes, everything glows with colors I don’t think I’ve ever seen before, and somehow pulses with the absence of color. I can’t see Jess anywhere so I decide to just close my eyes, the other experiences more than enough for me.

“Jess!” I call out, floundering what I think is my arms but I can’t quite be sure.

“Jamie! Where are you?” Jess answers, sounding like she’s yelling from the other end of a tunnel.

“I don’t know! Are you okay?”

Is there even a way to tell where you are in here? How long did this damn portal last? I had wrongly assumed it would be like the sci-fi movies where you jumped through and ended up on the other side in a second. It felt like we’ve been in here forever.

“I’m fine-“ Jess’s voice cut out as I was spit onto a hard surface.

Reaching out, I feel dirt underneath my hands. The ground then. When I open my eyes, the world spins, like when I was a kid and spun myself around too fast in a wheely chair. I groan and close my eyes again, waiting out the dreadful feeling.

Feeling it pass, I open my eyes and drag myself to a sitting position. It feels like I got run over by a bus. I had severely underestimated the power of a portal.

I look around then, trying to spot Jess. Only to see a forest so vast and dense it seemed to consume the whole world. Woah, Lahyr was not kidding. This must be the magical woods he was telling us about. They had a special name, but I hadn’t bothered to remember it. That seems like a mistake on my part now.

I landed on a patch of dirt in a small clearing, maybe 15 feet around me. Jess though, did not, it seems. I pull myself to my feet and dust my clothes off. Turning around in a circle, I start scanning the forest ground for my twin. Her fair blonde hair should be easy to spot here, but I don’t see her anywhere. That’s not good. Maybe the portal spit her out a little farther out. I hope.

“Jess!”

No response. Shit.

“Jess! Can you hear me?” I call again.

Nothing.

This is not good. What if the portal spit her out somewhere else entirely? What if it didn’t spit her out at all? I don’t know how those things work, Lahyr is the one who set it up. What if she smacked her head against a rock when she got thrown out and she’s bleeding out with a cracked skull? Fuck. Focus. That’s what Jess would tell me. Stop playing the what if game and focus.

Pushing a hand through my forehead length brown hair, I turn around and start walking. I don’t know where I’m going, but I have to start somewhere.

I walk and walk, not seeing her anywhere, and every moment without her my anxiety grows. Where the hell is Lahyr? He’s supposed to be here. We don’t know this place, at all. He said he would help us get new clothes and guide us so we don’t stick out like a sore thumb with our modern selves.

Suddenly, I hear a sound behind me. Like if someone had fallen out of a tree and landed on their feet. Turning around quickly, I see Lahyr standing there in all his glory, a portal of wild hues closing behind him.

Broad shoulders and a proud chest, likely covered in a thin and respectable patch of black hair that matched his long, straight, beautiful locks. Not that I would know. Or would be finding out. He is wearing a hunter green cloak, pulled up over his head and encasing his face in shadow like in some fantasy movie. I could tell it was him, telling myself it wasn’t because I’d memorized the exact shape of his body and would never be able to forget. I would have to forget.

He pulls his cloak back from his head, revealing a brown cloth tunic and brown leather pants, outfitted with belts carrying things I didn’t know the names of. His face, which I definitely didn’t avoid looking at for as long as possible, wears a lopsided and sharp grin with relaxed eyes. It pulls the scar that runs across his lips on the left side of his face taught, and I wonder if that feels uncomfortable.

“Jaime, you are well.” He says, sounding relieved.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine. But Jess is missing.” I tell him quickly.

His brows furrow, black and full and perfectly formed. He turns and looks around quickly, narrowing his eyes. As he moves, his long hair shifts to reveal a pointed ear. I should find it weird or off putting. I don’t.

“Is this where you appeared?”

“No, I got spat out in a clearing behind me, I think. When I couldn’t find Jess I just started walking. How come she didn’t get spit out with me?” I ask, taking a step closer.

“I don’t know. Portals can be unpredictable, especially if you’re going somewhere you don’t know.” He says, his eyes locking with mine again.

“That would have been nice to know. How did you find me so easily?”

“My magic knows how to find yours, I will always find you.” He says, taking a step towards me.

Oh Jesus. He knows just what to say to make a man blush.

“I don’t know what that means.” I admit, with a warm face, not even mentioning the last part of his statement.

“We’ll get to magic lessons, first we must find your sister.” He says, leaning forward and brushing a strand of my hair out of my face.

I lean forward without noticing, my far less muscled chest brushing his. His eyes seem to burn as his nose comes closer to mine.

“Jamie!” Jess’ voice snaps the moment as fast a thread being cut, and I back away quickly seeing disappointment in Lahyr’s eyes before I look in the direction I heard Jess.

“Over here!” I yell, finally spotting her about 30 yards away.

She turns her had in my direction and smiles, I think, before pushing up her glasses and crossing the distance between us quickly.

“Thank god, I thought I was gonna be lost in this forest searching for my little brother forever.” She says when she reaches me, pulling me into her arms.

“2 minutes is really not big enough of a difference to call me little.” I tell her, putting my arms around her shoulders.

“2 minutes with me born and you not makes you my little brother.”

I roll my eyes at her as we pull apart, the same eyes she has. Green with flakes of brown strewn about. Finally I can breathe. As I step back, Lahyr comes to stand next to me.

“Hello, Jess. I am Lahyr, I have heard of you from my mate. It is nice to finally meet you.” He says, bowing his head in respect as if he didn’t say something entirely deranged.

Jess’ eyes eyes bulge and she glances at me quickly with her eyebrows up to her hairline. I hadn’t told her anything about Lahyr’s crazy idea that I am his mate, because it doesn’t matter. He is willing to help her, even if it’s to help me. Once we go back to the real world, it won’t matter. It can’t matter. Luckily she’s stunned into silence, and I take my opportunity to move this on.

“Right, Jess, Lahyr. Lahyr, Jess. Let’s get going so we can get this over with.” I say after shaking my head at Jess, telling her to not ask any questions. I motion between them like when I say their names, pretending like Lahyr hadn’t introduced himself or said anything at all. Especially us being mates.

Lahyr glances at me and our eyes lock, and I get the feeling he knows what I’m doing. I don’t make any expression, feigning innocence.

“Right, yes. Let us go. First we should get you two some proper attire.” Lahyr says after a tense moment, turning and striding behind him. Me and Jess share a glance before following him.

Time to go down the yellow brick road.

Teris jostled suddenly, turning from the ancient trees that their ancestors had traveled among to see something unexpected. It was grey and rough, almost like stone, but more straight and organized than any stone Teris had ever seen. Closest thing would have been a cobblestone road, but that was only once. They only had those in the cities, which Teris had mostly only seen from a distance. Expect that once.

Upon further inspection, there was a cobblestone road next to it. But black in color and smoother than they had ever thought possible. With a yellow line going through the center? What need would a city have of that on a cobblestone road? And how did they get here in the city, when a second ago they were only a handful of steps away from their cottage, hidden and secluded in the wild woods far enough that most wouldn’t dare find them.

Now they were here, seemingly in a big city, if the roads were so well kept. Had they been transported by a spell? Teri’s was sure there had been no one near them to do such a spell, which would have been noisy and surrounded by elements that would be hard to miss. That doesn’t mean someone didn’t cast one in another location, though that would take a great amount of concentration, plus a very good knowledge of Teris.

Had the kings guard finally got ahold of them? Was this Umberlin? They had heard it was beautiful, and nothing like anything that has come before it. But where was the castle? Where were the people, the shops and dwellings leading up to the wall that protected the castle from lesser folk like Teris?

All they could see was the cobblestone road, as well as the path next to it with the smoothed stone. Around that there was only forest. And yet it was silent. How odd. The forest always spoke to Teris, even the less magical or wild has whispers or hums. But here it was silent.

The road seemed to go on forever, so far Teris couldn’t even see the end. How had Cumberlin managed a feat like this? It would have taken years just to lay the foundation, and there would need to be constant maintenance. How did they have the resources if they were so crippled by the resistance group that was supposedly tearing their way through the kingdom?

Teris started walking, what else was there to do? They walked and walked and walked until they could feel the sun burning a whole in their head. Sometimes they wished they could curse the gods for giving them black locks, they harnessed the sun’s warmth like nothing else. Making Teris the worlds hottest wildling. Though Teris wouldn’t mind being called that.

Most wildings had coloring that helped them blend into the wood. Browns light like the trunks of great oaks and deep like rich soil, greens resembling leaves that brush the sky and moss so hardy that it will grow on any surface. Sometimes even red like the clay mud in some creeks, or yellow so fair and soft you would think it was picked from a dandelion. Never black like Teris’.

Teris used to pretend their hair was for the glimmering and shining obsidian stones they had seen put up on shelves in their mom’s workshop, even though they had never seen them scattered through the forest like some other stones. When they tried to tell the other wilding kids that, they laughed and said of course it was for that, since it didn’t belong in the wild, just like them.

Suddenly, a sound caught Teris’ attention. Whirring and rumbling almost like a carriage but quieter.

Then they saw it. A large carriage like contraption, with no horses or donkeys to pull it. It seemed to be made entirely of metal, yet it glinted with red so bright it looked like a Ruby. What kind of contraption was this? It looked like a carriage, but how was it moving without anything pulling it? A spell? Teris had seen contractions that could be moved by wind magic, even on land, but this thing had no sails.
It raced past them with an unnatural speed, and Teris stood still in shock.

Something was wrong. This did not even seem like their world. Teris had not seen much, but none of it was familiar, not even the trees. This did not bode well.

The sun was setting as I walked with Jeremy down the street to my apartment. The street was packed with cars, as it always was, and you could hear honks and music through peoples windows. It was warm out, with a nice cool breeze. The sunset was beautiful, and I took a second be grateful of living in Southern California.

“So, when are you going?” Jeremy asked, stealing my attention from our surroundings.

“Oh, uhh, about 2 weeks.”

He nodded his head once slowly in response, and stayed quiet. I looks at him as we kept walking. 2 weeks and I’d be gone to college in Seattle. 2 weeks and I’d be farther from Jeremy than I ever have been before. The thought terrified me, and the thought of college excited me. Photography gives me a high in life I’d never really found anywhere else. Maybe with Jeremy.

“I’m gonna miss you, you know.” He finally said.

“I’m gonna miss you too.” I responded, as we reached the sidewalk outside my apartment.

Jeremy smiled the funny, beautiful smile that’s been burned in my mind my whole life. He reached forward and tucks a piece of my cropped hair behind my ear. He stared into my eyes, green and freckles with pieces of brown like the lakes and rocks we would visit in the summer when we were 10. I stared back and thought about how every happy memory I could remember, he was there. And how I couldn’t stand to be apart from him for even 2 weeks when he had gotten strep throat. I thought about how absolutely stupid it was of me to think I could pick up and leave without him.

“I don’t want to be away from you.” I said, and as I said it, I knew it wasn’t what I really wanted to say.

“I don’t want to be away from you either.”

His eyes became watery, making the green in his eyes glow like sun shining through trees in a forest. I glanced down at his lips, they were a pastel pink but brighter in the sunset. There were a few hairs on his chin from his testosterone her started last year. I was so jealous when he grew them, even though I had started it a month before him. I remember when his voice dropped too, and while I was still jealous, I remember how my face would heat up as I got used to him talk with it at first.

“What are you looking at?”

My eyes snapped back to his, and then away fast. I felt my cheeks grow red. I was totally staring at his lips and thinking about how in love with him I am. Fuck I’m in love with him.

“If you wanted to kiss me you just had to ask,”

I looked back to him, seeing him smile again. God I did want him to kiss me. Then all of a sudden, I leaned in. He took the hint and leaned in too, and our lips met in the middle.

Our mouths meshed together in a way I didn’t think was possible. Somehow every second it was better, and I never wanted it to end.

Then a car honked and we broke apart, looking to the road. The car drove past, as it was only honking at traffic. We looked back to each other and couldn’t help but laugh.

Jeremy walked my all the way to my door, and I thought he would walk away. But instead he grabbed my by the lapels of my coat and pulled me in to kiss him again. This time just as amazing but even steamier. He ruffled my hair after he pulled away, smiling at me.

I let out a small squeal after the door was closed behind me, and stared at myself in the mirror across from my door. I was a flustered mess. Whatever happened next I knew one thing. I was in love with Jeremy and I didn’t want to be away from him.

Leif lagged, clearly flagging. He knew he would have to pick up the pace, they were no where near where they decided was their next checkpoint. The sun was about to set, which would help, but for this moment it held onto its time left in the sky, to Leif’s chagrin. He looked over at Mason, and frowned when he saw that he was unfazed by their traveling.

Leif pushed on, and eventually they saw the old broken down gas station that was to be their rest stop of the night. The sun had set about an hour ago, and after a full day (and weeks before that) of walking in the sun, Leif was ready to set up their camp and get a good nights sleep.

Mason pushed open the door, on which the glass was shattered on the left side and cracked on the right. He entered right in, as Leif waited outside. He could see him walking around, checking around the building for anyone like us who might be trying to crash here. Leif felt his face glow in embarrassment. Even if this had happened tons of times by now, he couldn’t help but feel self conscious that he needed a big strong man to look out for him. Though he couldn’t say it didn’t make him feel safer.

Mason came back out and held the door open for him, saying a quick “all clear, we’re good.” In his gruff and deep voice.

Leif rushed through the door so that Mason wouldn’t have to hold the door for longer, Bowing his head a bit in thanks. Mason let if fall behind him and went to a room in the back of the store, propping the door open so Leif would know that’s where he intended they sleep.

Though he was tired, Leif couldn’t help but want to look around first. He couldn’t help it at every gas station, or grocery store, or department store, or really any store they stopped at. He couldn’t imagine a world before the pulse. A world where there were stores on every corner that had everything you could ever need. Not that it mattered, he wouldn’t ever live in a world like that. Closest place to that were villages or military bases, but they were still only ever scraping by.

He strolled along the shelves, mostly picked clean over a decade ago. There were some things left, mostly useless or broken, and some trash from opened food. Leif saw something poking out from under the bottom of the shelf, so he crouched down and tried to pull it out. It was white and looked to be plastic. He eventually got a grip on it after a few tries and pulled it free of the shelf. His eyes widened in surprise as he read the label. It was rubbing alcohol.

“Mason! Look what I found!” He found himself yelling before he could think about it.

Mason came around from the back room fast, his face worried. His look of concern dropped when he saw Leif standing there, okay, holding his find.

“It’s rubbing alcohol!”

“Holy shit,”

Mason grabbed the bottle and tried to turn the cap a little, finding the resistance he was hoping for. A wide smile spread across his lips.

“It’s unopened, safe.” He said, handing it back to Leif.

Leif smiled brighter than Mason had ever seen, and he felt his heart beat a second faster.

“Good find,” Mason said, ruffling Leif’s short hair for a second.

Leif laughed and pushed his hand off, his cheeks turning pink again. He pulled his pack around his shoulder and put it away between things to keep it safe.

He couldn’t believe it, this was the score of a lifetime. To get rubbing alcohol at a military base would be very difficult, and likely take a months worth of rations, out here? The chances were nearly impossible.

He continued to follow Mason back to the back room, pulling his sleeping bag out of his bad as he did. When he stepped through the door, Mason kicked the random box he was using for a doorstop out of the way. As the door closed Leif looked up at Mason. He had already set up the lamp on low so there was some light.

It painted Mason’s auburn hair even more fiery, and made the stubble on his cheeks and chin show in more contrast to his pale face. Leif couldn’t help but stare. Ever since he saw Mason, he thought he was beautiful.

“What is it?” Mason said, stunning Leif from his ogling.

“You’re beautiful.” Leif responded.

He felt his heart stop beating in his chest. Mason stared back at him for a moment, his face bare of any expression Leif could read.

“That’s funny coming from you,” he said after what felt like forever.

Leif just smiled and sat down in his sleeping bag. He slid in and tuned away from Mason, so that he wouldn’t see the blush he’s been hiding from him for weeks now. It was worsened by the fact that he could still feel Mason’s stare on him as he settled down into his version of a bed. After a few moments her heard Mason get down into his own sleeping bag and the unmistakable sound the the lamp being turned off.

Leif couldn’t believe he had said that.

Mason couldn’t believe he had said that.

He watched Leif for a while after he became still. Lying awake, his eyes had adjusted to the dark. He thought it was ironic the most beautiful person he’d ever seen was the one to tell him he was beautiful. He almost choked when he heard him say it. He didn’t think Leif wanted him that way, and maybe he didn’t. But he could’ve sworn he saw a pinkish blush settle on his face as he waited for his response. How cute.

“Broken.. breath..” he said through coughs, his speech slurred.

My blood ran cold. The gash in his shoulder had a green tint I didn’t notice before.

Stupid, so stupid.

His breathing rasped as whatever poison that was on the mercenaries weapons invaded his lungs. My vision became blurry as I reached for my pack in a hurry.

Please please let this work.

As I got the med-shot out Tykel reached out and put his hand on my face.

“Tikarri, ka tikarri” he strained out the words in his people’s language as he rubbed my tears away.

“Don’t strain yourself, you’ll be okay. This is gonna work” I told him, even though I knew he couldn’t really understand me. I wish I believed it.

Tykel’s breathing started to become more labored, his eyes closed as he struggled to get any air. I pushed the med-shot into his chest, hopefully close to his heart. Tykel flinched in response. I pulled my arms around myself as a waited.

Fuck please please let this work.

I slumped in relief when he gasped a large breath as if he’d come out of a swimming pool. He continued breathing intensely but did not open his eyes yet.

At least he’s breathing.

Just as I was getting nervous, Tykel opened his eyes and looked around confused. He sat up when he saw me and kept looking at me.

“All-right?” He asked with an accent.

It was so ridiculous he was asking ME if I was alright I started laughing, my hand covering my mouth. He smiled at me as I did, his big blue hand came to pet my hair affectionately.

“Yes I’m alright, you big freak” I said after a moment.

Then I reached for his face and pulled his face to mine. Our lips crashed together roughly, yet somehow it was impossibly soft. Tykel’s lips were impossibly soft.

I was completely fucked.

I feel the blade pierce my stomach a second later than it did. Only when my world starts turning do I truly feel the burn though. And when my world finally settles all I can see was him standing there with a small smile. A sick feeling brews so strongly in my stomach I must be green. It was him, he stabbed me.

“How could you?” I sputtered, too tired to shout.

“It was easy really, you practically melted in the palm of my hand” he responded coyly.

“I trusted you!” I shouted, anger and betrayal replacing the emptiness I had felt before.

“And that’s why it was easy,”

I watched in horror as a cruel smile overtook his face. I couldn’t fathom how this was the man that held me when I cried over my fathers body. This couldn’t be the man that told me he would look after me to honor my dad, his best friend. Something had to have happened to him. Draken must have gotten to him. But when? We’ve been together almost every second.

“Did you even know my father?”

“Yes I knew him very well, and I hated him since we were children” his lip coiled in disgust as he spoke.

“Why? Why pretend?”

“Oh sweet innocent child, I pretended because it got me what I wanted. Simple as that.”

I realized then the wetness on my cheeks. How pathetic? I’m crying. He tricked and betrayed me so well and all I can do is cry. My father would pull the knife from his stomach and use it to gut him. All I have the energy to do is cry.

“Why would you side with Draken? Why would you turn on my dad? Why choose to be a traitor?” I would at least like to know before dying.

“I’m not a traitor. I was never on your side.”

That’s great. That’s a great response. That’s a great ending to me. I failed my father, and the world. And I didn’t even get a real answer to my question.