“Yes, all right. I get it.” Willow huffed the hair from his eyes. “No fun allowed in the Dark.”

Marrow and Ivory looked ready to let it go, but Mercury was still seething. Golden eyes flashed, and the air cracked like quiet thunder. Suddenly the teleporter was eye to eye with Willow, who stumbled back in surprise.

“Maybe it’s easy for you to take this so lightly,” he snapped, “but it isn’t for us.” A silvery iridescence leaked though his eyes, exposing his anger. “You’ll get everyone here killed because you were just trying to have some fun.”

Willow’s mouth closed into a straight line, and his face pale with guilt. Sharp was quick to step in between them.

“It was an honest mistake. Why do you insist on treating him like your enemy?” She had a devastating glare, and I was grateful not to be at the end of it. “Don’t forget, we’re trapped here just like you.”

Mercury shrank for half a second, but his resolve made him stand straighter to face her. “I’m not treating him like the enemy, actually,” he argued.

Ivory was keeping a watchful eye on her son, but not stopping him, curious to see his point. Mercury struck me as a person with a gentle nature, forced to be tougher due to unfortunate circumstances.

“Yes, you are, and it’s not just Willow.” Piranha leapt into the scene on silent feet, startling the others who weren’t used to this behavior. Sometimes Pir had such a silent presence, it was easy to forget they were there. “When you look at me, I sense something like fear, or maybe disgust.”

Mercury clenched his teeth and shook his head. “No, none of you understand. You think I’m afraid of you? Never. I’m afraid for you.” His breath hitched, like he was on the verge of tears.

His father stepped in, reaching out. “Mercury, there’s no need⁠—”

“No. Let me speak.” His breath shook but his volume was strong. “You all are trying to be welcoming hosts, I see that. I know we need their help, but I don’t want it if they don’t know the extent of our pain.” He looked at Piranha. “Do you know the last time I saw the outside of this forest, wildcat?”

Pir just blinked.

“Trick question. I’ve never seen it,” he spat. The anger in his voice rang out everywhere, but it wasn’t directed at anyone in particular. “Uncertainty and fear are similar. I don’t find you fearful, I’ve just never seen anyone like you in my life.”

This shouldn’t have been surprising, and yet I never considered such a possibility. A single path connected the Valley villages together and led all the way south to the entrance of the Jungle. Because of this, I grew up around many Jungle immigrants, including my grandfather on Puma’s side.

Mercury took a deep breath, attempting to soften his frustration. “And as for Wind people, the first ones I met were the refugees that fled to the dark twelve years ago. We accepted them, learned from them, and allowed them into our clans. They were my friends and my teachers. My parents were swept up in the politics of this, so by the time I was of age to leave during the exploration season, the border was already too fraught. And then, five years ago, Wind Scouts forced their way in. Some refugees escaped, but most were killed.”

It was silent, and just like his mother, Mercury had all the power in the room. All eyes on him.

“You aren’t my enemy Willow,” he said apologetically, “but Melodia doesn’t see it that way. She’ll just see you as another one of Wyvern’s cronies.”

He gave his mother a look, and she took up the baton, saying, “Everything dies, even the immortals. Wyvern maintained peace in the north for centuries, a peace that spread all the way to the southern Jungle. But your lives in the bright Valley have blinded you to the darkness just at the periphery. He is not the hero he used to be.”

“I am not blind to it,” Willow stated, eyes fixed and honest. Sharp nodded, sharing the same confidence, but I shared a different look with Piranha. We both thought Ivory was right. We had known peace all our lives, the two of us, having not trained as extensively as Sharp nor traveled so far like Willow. The worst thing that had ever happened to me was finding myself trapped in the Wilds. The second worse thing was the time I’d cut my hand on a thorn bush. We were blind to it.

Mercury inhaled deeply. “Sorry, I may have gotten carried away. I haven’t really dealt with all this anger.”

Willow shook his head. “No, I shouldn’t have been so flippant. I thrive in the open air…but I didn’t consider the stakes. Truce?”

Mercury grinned and shook his hand, but a tension still lingered in the air. I decided to ask the question that was bouncing around my head.

“Speaking of being trapped, have you made any progress getting through the border?”

A concerned shadow appeared on Ivory’s porcelain face. Bags under her eyes hinted at a restless night. “No. Given his state of decay, Obsidian’s power shouldn’t be strong enough to close it off to everyone, but with Melodia at the helm, the energy patterns are unpredictable.”

“What about the plan for infiltrating the palace?” Sharp changed the subject, sensing my dismay at this information. “Have you had any luck?”

Ivory beamed, happy to deliver some positive news. “It’s almost complete. As soon as we locate one of the God Tree’s secret entrances, we’ll be ready to move. Want to skip training and join us tomorrow, Warrior girl?”

“You want me to help plan the coup?” Her eyes sparkled as she ran a finger over the engraved sun in the center of her armor. “Sounds like a dream.”

Piranha flung a friendly punch at her shoulder. “Sharp used to make us read battle strategy books so we could play more realistic games of tag. You don't want our help though. We never read them.”

None of us denied it. I could never get past the first chapter.

Willow gripped a comforting hand around my forearm. "Don’t worry too much. I suspect your parents knew there might be trouble. Try not to let it get to you.”

Unable to stop myself, I placed my hand on top of his for a moment. “Yeah, I know.”

We held this touch for only a few more seconds until the intimacy became unbearable, and we had to let go.

After another day of practice, I could hold other people across dimensions for fifteen minutes. In addition to my endurance, constant sparring started to strengthen my body and wits. Mercury and I kept coming to a draw, but I beat Piranha easily. Sharp always got the upper hand somehow, but I didn’t let it bruise my ego. Willow didn’t fight anyone.

On the fifth day, the doctor’s expertise was needed to help Ivory discover a weakness in Obsidian’s power, so he left us to ourselves on the bottom floor, declaring Sharp to be in charge. Willow’s curiosity about my power outweighed the desire to leave his soul untouched, so he finally gave in.

“You aren't going to be able to read my thoughts or anything, right?” he mumbled, holding his arms close to his body. The diamond sun-lamps lighting the room washed out the yellow in his hair, making it look stark white.

I raised an eyebrow and smirked. “What's wrong Mountain Boy? Don't you trust me?”

“Of course, but that doesn't mean I want you all up in my subconscious.”

Piranha, shuffling cards at a short game table, made a kissy face. “Most people wait until marriage before doing that.”

My face heated. “Don’t make it weird, Fangs.”

“No promises.”

I pinched between my eyes and took a deep breath. “Look, I'm just going to go for it. Stay still and try not to be resistant.”

“If you would,” added Sharp, sitting cross-legged on the cushioned ground, “verbally process your feelings and any memories that come to mind.”

Willow saluted. “Right-o!”

I knew what to expect, but what I saw in the Unseen Dimension still took my breath away. His blue and gold soul hung suspended in the air like a small sun. The doctor theorized this mass was because Willow was well-traveled and social, creating a soul bright enough to affect the hue of everyone else. The misty light invoked a sudden urge to sing or dance or laugh. Basking in it, I forgot I was supposed to be influencing him.

I could have stayed there forever, but when I got closer to the center…something changed. I passed through something hot, untouchable, and guarded. A cacophonous mess of negative emotions assaulted me: fear, anger, pain, hatred.

An image came to mind, seen through Willow's eyes. A great cliffside overlooking a field of endless clouds under a cerulean sky. I could almost breathe the crisp mountain air. The sun was just rising. I took a step, to see it closer.

And then I was falling, falling towards a certain death, flooded now with thoughts that were not my own, but Willow’s. Why did I get so close to the edge? I can’t use my power yet. I’m going to die…

In the next instant, I was safe on a heap of fresh snow, eyes struggling to open after blacking out. In front of me, the face of a girl, flushed with fear and relief. She was fourteen, maybe fifteen, with cloud-white hair tied in two intricate braids.

Yousavedmylife.