The king waved a hand. “From what the commander tells me, we have no need to worry about your ability to defend yourself. We’re moving the rest of the Mercurian courtiers back home to avoid clashing with the Plutonians. Luxuros will escort you and I’ll meet you there.”
“Oh, no, that’s okay,” she protested. “I’m sure I can figure it out?—”
“You’ve never taken the Rift out of your own court,” the commander cut her off. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Fine,” she huffed. “Let’s go.”
Chapter
Thirty-Two
“You just have to do it,” Luxuros growled, his patience wearing thin as they teetered on the edge of the Lunar Gate, the Rift’s mystic waves rippling beneath them.
He’d hit his limit three “just jumps” ago.
“It’s easy for you. You practically lived in it,” she said.
He was not amused. “Astra, it’s not as complicated as you think. You did it before with Riverion!”
“You did it before with Riverion. I was just along for the ride.” She rolled onto the balls of her feet, trying to summon the courage to tip forward. The maidens guarding the gate wondered if the gold coins Astra slipped into their palms were really worth their silence.
“Okay,” Luxuros breathed. “We’re already late. I’m going to count to three.”
Astra frowned. “It’s not going to work.”
“One.”
“I will not jump into an unknown void just because you’re a big boy who knows his numbers!”
Lux scoffed, the slightest hint of amusement at his lips. “Two.”
“You can count to one hundred, Commander. It does not matter!”
“Three.”
“And I’m still not ready?—”
She didn’t get to finish the rest of her argument as Lux hauled himself in her direction and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, throwing them both into the Rift.
The freefall only lasted for a split second, but it took her breath away all the same as her body landed amongst streaks of brilliant pinks, yellows, reds, and blues, each buzzing with its own specific frequency. The vibrations gently cradled them as they slipped along the blurred river.
White lights sparkled around them, blinding her. “Are those stars?”
Lux didn’t answer. He was too busy searching through the haze of color and light, his eyes fixed on a pale green thread, glowing like the stone on her hand. He released the arm around her back and looped his fingers around the thread, their speed accelerating as she buried herself closer into him.
“Why is it so fast?”
“Stop asking questions and look around,” the commander laughed. “You’re missing it.”
She absorbed as much as she could, but everything whizzed by at such a fast clip she could hardly keep her wits about her. They passed a portal of gleaming blues and purples swirling into space, veering off from the rest of the colors.
“That goes to the Outer Courts,” Lux explained.
Another lightning-white streak flashed by them, the heat of it warming her face. “Where does the white go?”
Lux glanced down at her. “Solaris.” He looked over his shoulder. “Brace yourself, we’re coming up on the Mercurian Gate.”
“Brace myself?”
