EZRA  I closed my eyes as John let loose another scream of pain that ripped through the room and my soul with raw agony. "How long will this take?" I asked, looking over that Amna. She'd come out of the room shortly after the chanting started, trading places with the older monk who'd questioned us. "As long as it does," Amneh said gravely. "You are welcome to wait here, near your friend. I can show you where you may bathe if any of you would like to wash the long journey from your skin while you wait." Avery gave my hand a quick squeeze. "I like the idea of a bath." "I'm not leaving," Hunter said quickly, with his hands wrapped tightly across his chest. He'd started to pace outside the archway, getting as close as he could to John, without actually being in the room with him. "I'll send food and drink up here while you wait," Amna said before lea

JOHN  I was floating in a sea of darkness. Nothing but the ghost of pain lingering faintly in the distance. Shifting cloth and the shuffling of feet came and went. The whispering of voices that I couldn't quite hear. I couldn't move, even to turn my head to the side. I fought against the weight that seemed to hold me in place, but nothing came of it.Was this it? Would I be trapped like this forever? I swallowed, my body beginning to shake with panic. This couldn't be it.A hand pressed into one shoulder, then a face came into my vision. But I had to be dreaming, he couldn't have been here. Poe's dark hair fell forward as he leaned across me to place his other hand against my far shoulder. The pressure was calming, but I couldn't stop the tremors."John," Poe's voice was almost the same, the difference was that it was kinder, softer than he usually spoke to me. His face wavered in my vision, and I closed my eyes against the tear

JOHN  I had the sensation of someone sitting very close to me, with a hand wrapped around one of my own. I didn't want to wake up just yet. A heaviness had filled my body and there was no resisting the exhaustion that threatened to pull me under.Whispers drifted across the room and I forced my eyes open. Poe and Ezra stood in the doorway across the room, but I couldn't catch what they were saying to each other.The hand around mine tightened. "John?"Hunter was perched on the edge of the bed, leaning over. I felt a smile pull at my lips as I struggled to keep my eyes open. "Hey.""How are you feeling?" His voice sounded as tired as I felt."Sleepy," I mumbled. I pulled at his hand weakly. "Lay down with me."As Hunter stretched out beside me, the thin wooden bed protesting our combined weight, I felt whole. More so than I had before I fell through that first portal with Ezra last year. More than when I left

JOHN  My whole body ached by the time I reached the little room that Hunter and I shared. I grabbed the edge of the door as the world swam around me. It'd already been a long day, and I needed to be at the top of my game tonight. But I wasn't really sure I could be. Gaining my balance again, I was conflicted. I needed to be there for Ezra but the big question was, could I?"John?"I turned to see Hunter walking down the hall towards me, two bowls of fruit in his hands. His hair was wet, the ends dripping on a fresh linen shirt that he must have borrowed from the monks. He looked sure and strong, and the exact opposite of everything I was feeling."Are you okay?" he asked me, slowing to a stop."Yeah, just a little winded." I walked into our room and took a seat on the edge of the bed, trying not to look like I almost passed out.Hunter passed over one of the wooden bowls and sat next to me. "How did the meeting go

EZRA  I could barely make out the village through the trees. Anissa and I followed Suon, keeping the village on our left. Kastem was a like shadow, another part of the jungle's quiet presence. The sounds from the group of warriors in the village were anything but silent. It was obvious the war-band hadn't left yet. A big fire blazed in the village center and the sounds of the men talking and laughing in rowdy bouts echoed off into the trees with the smoke.We paused behind one of the outer huts and Suon and I peered around its edge as Anissa kept an eye out behind us. I could see clearly through to the heart of the village, where Nako's hut sat nestled in with the others. The only thing that stood out definitely between the Chief's hut and the others in the village was that it was slightly larger. Tamner had told me that was for all the meetings with village elders, but otherwise, the Chief was treated the same as any of the village elders.