I nod, heat creeping up my neck. Kael shifts beside me like he’s preparing for backlash. Like he still expects to be punished for something he never understood.
“It’s not complete,” I say quickly. “But yeah… the bond’s started.”
Shanae doesn’t comment, but the look she gives us is full of questions. The room shifts, a new kind of awareness settling in.
“But not every Riftborn has bonded,” I say, grounding us again. “Not all of us have someone. Right?”
“Yet,” Jack says firmly. “That’s what I keep coming back to. What if they’re here? What if they just haven’t found each other yet? Like you. Or more likely, the humans have yet to be pulled into the rift yet.”
Solan folds his arms. “It would make sense. The bonding doesn’t just link two people—it changes them. Strengthens them. I’m stronger with Jack. Physically. Mentally. Energetically.”
Shanae nods slowly. “Same with me and Ril. It’s like we balance each other out, but more than that, I have their special skill set, and they are definitely stronger since we completed our bond.”
Varek hums thoughtfully. “Which brings us back to the rifts. We know that humans are the common denominator, since every single human here that we know of has bonded. And if your presence catalyses bonding that hasn’t happened in generations, it does sound like more than happy coincidence or simply fate.”
Kael shifts beside me. “But why would someone control the rifts? What would they gain?”
Jack leans forwards. “That’s what we want to find out. If someone is manipulating the rifts, choosing who gets pulled through and when… they’re playing God… or fate maybe. And if they have a goal or an angle? We need to know what it is.”
I glance around the table, the gravity of it all settling like lead in my chest. “This isn’t just about our freedom anymore,” I murmur. “Or equality. It’s about control. About power. And about who’s behind it.”
Varek’s expression hardens with a slow nod. “We need more information. Proof. But you’re right. If this theory is true, then everything we thought we knew about the rifts… about it being a natural phenomenon… was wrong.”
Kael stays quiet beside me, but his hand brushes mine beneath the table. I don’t say anything. I just hold it.
The meeting stretches on, the weight of revelations growing heavier with every passing minute. As Jack, Solan, and Varek dive deeper into their theories about the rifts—about the possibility that they’re not natural phenomena but intentionally created—I notice Kael stills beside me.
At first, it’s subtle. A shift in his posture, a tension in his jaw. But I feel it through our bond, like a current humming under my skin. His disbelief spikes, not just as an intellectual reaction but emotionally—like he’s been dreading this exact conversation.
Jack leans forwards, his voice urgent. “If someone’s behind the rifts—if they’re being controlled—then we’re talking about targeted abductions, not accidents.”
Solan nods solemnly. “And based on what we know about fated bonds, maybe there’s a reason. Maybe humans are being brought here to restore what was lost. That or to provide the current rulers with more power.”
“Or maybe it’s nothing to do with the rulers or strengthening their forces. Maybe it’s someone pulling the strings to overpower and weaken them. To change society,” Shanae adds, her brow pulled down in thought.
What’s clear is we have no idea of the purpose or who’s behind it. It could be a million different things or explanations.
“Hell, maybe we’re wrong and—what was it that you called it, Varek? A nexus, right?” Jack prods.
Varek’s nod is slow, his gaze assessing. “Yes. I said Terrafeara, this dimension, is the centre, the nexus. A hive pulling threads from countless worlds into one chaotic web.”
“Well, itcouldjust be that, but still the questions remain. Thewhyand thehowremain the same,” Jack says.
Varek listens, eyes narrowed, but when I glance at Kael, I catch something flicker in his expression. A ripple of guilt. And then… shame.
He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t fidget. But his emotions speak volumes. I don’t call him out. Not here. Not now. Not with all eyes on us.
Instead, I gently nudge reassurance his way through our bond, offering comfort. I don’t know what he’s hiding—or if he’s just processing something—but I trust he’ll tell me when he’s ready.
Varek leans back, fingers steepled. “If these rifts are being manipulated, it changes everything. Not just for us.”
Shanae’s voice cuts through. “But for the worlds people are being torn from.”
I wince. I have no idea what was left behind when I came here. Something I need to talk to Jack about. But based on Shanae and the other humans here, we’ve all said the same: There’ve been no news reports of “monsters” roaming Earth, no abductions reported, no discussions about new slivers of world popping up.
So either there are some pretty phenomenal hush jobs from our respective governments, or something else is going on that we’ll never know.
Jack nods, grim. “We need to find out who—or what—is behind it. And what they want.”
