Varek adds, “And we need to prepare for what it’ll mean when others find out. This isn’t just a Riftborn issue. This could shift the balance of every alliance we’ve made.”
Shanae studies Kael and me, her gaze lingering. “And now that you’re bonded and it’s almost complete… you’re already at the centre of that shift. As far as we’re aware, you’re the first home species, the first Glowranth to have bonded with their fated mate.”
The table falls into a heavy silence, but it’s broken—abruptly and quietly—by Jack.
“When we find out who’s behind the rifts,” he says, voice measured but firm, “my mission is going to be about finding a way back.”
The silence deepens, thickening. My heart stutters.
Back?
Home?
I swallow hard, vision clouding for a second as the images flash unbidden—my old bed with a spring mattress that squeaked if I shifted too fast, eating green curry on the couch while watching trash TV, and blue sky so vivid and endless, it made your chest ache.
But then… Kael.
My gaze shifts to him instinctively. My chest tightens. Could I leave him? Would I even survive it? Not seeing him for almost a day had made my skin itch and my soul twist in on itself.
“I won’t leave Solan,” Jack continues, cutting through my spiralling thoughts. “But Jamie… he’s still a kid. He deserves a future where he’s not dodging blade tips and plants that want to kill him, where his life isn’t someone else’s rebellion.” He turns to Varek, and there’s steel in his voice now. “I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks about what Jamie’s ‘role’ could be. He’s not a soldier. Not a pawn. If there’s a way to get him home… we’ll take it.”
It hits the table like a thunderclap. Even Varek looks taken aback, his luminous eyes narrowing slightly—not in judgment but consideration. The mood shifts. Heavy. Complex. Real. And the possibilities stretch out like a chasm in my chest.
Kael’s hand beneath the table is gentle, grounding when he squeezes lightly. He doesn’t speak, but the unease still ripples under his skin, through our bond.
I squeeze back. Whatever he’s not saying, we’ll get there.
As the group disperses from the meeting table, it’s clear there’s no solid plan yet. No grand solution. No dramatic declarations. Just a mess of questions, tension, and theories that are way too big to untangle in one sitting.
Varek moves off with Shanae to speak in hushed tones about the rift a few days ago—the same day Kael came here. As far as I’m aware, whoever came through the rift has yet to be found. Jack and Solan glance at each other before quietly stepping back towards the exit, giving me and Kael a moment.
Kael stays silent beside me, but his emotions aren’t quiet. Not even close.
The flicker of unease he tried to hide during the meeting has thickened, curling around us like fog. I feel it thrum through our bond—a mix of wariness, shame, and something more elusive… dread?
I place a hand gently on his arm. “Walk with me?”
He nods, but his jaw’s tight. We step out of the meeting room and into the corridor that cuts through the old bowling alley’s back. The moment the door shuts behind us, I slow to a stop and turn to face him.
“You were holding something back.”
Kael doesn’t pretend otherwise. He looks away, his shoulders tense. “I felt something. When they talked about the rifts. The theories. It wasn’t just disbelief—it was recognition.”
I study him. “You’ve heard something before?”
“There are whispers in the guard,” he says slowly, carefully. “Not facts. Not anything anyone speaks about openly. But I’ve picked up fragments… suspicions.”
“About the queen?”
His mouth is a grim line. “There’s speculation that Queen Serresta has found a way to influence the rifts. To decide who gets pulled through. That she’s… curating Riftborn for their abilities. For what they can offer Terrafeara—or her rule.”
I stare at him, breath caught. “And you didn’t say anything in there because…?”
“I don’t have proof,” he says, finally meeting my gaze. “And I’m not sure how much I believe it. I have enough knowledge of the queen to believe if she can gain power, she would absolutely tear through dimensions. But pull fated mates together?” He shakes his head. “Fated mates are strong. For her, dangerously so. She would not encourage any pairings here whose strength would rival her own or could potentially break the system.”
I press my palm flat to his chest, feeling the faint echo of my own heartbeat in him. “Okay. I kind of understand why you wouldn’t want to share more theories, and I trust your decision.”
Kael’s eyes soften, but the tension doesn’t leave him.
