“I don’t know, Erik. But when we get there, I’d like to be able to find my way back.”
“And my watching these three stars will help you do that?” He tilted his head with a curious expression.
“That’s the plan.”
“You have a plan?” His voice would’ve sounded mocking if it weren’t so hopelessly empty, like Erik was too tired to summon the inflection to convey sarcasm.
“Can you just do it for me? Please? I really need to get some sleep.”
“Sure.” He jerked a shoulder, then listlessly leaned his head against the bars of the cage.
He looked like the camels could turn one-eighty or even take off in a flight, and he wouldn’t notice. Could I even trust him to be vigilant?
I had no choice. Exhaustion had already muffled my senses, stifling them like a thick, heavy blanket. If I didn’t let my mind rest, I feared it’d just shut down on its own soon.
“Thanks,” I said to Erik. “Wake me up if there's any change in direction.”
He hummed something unintelligible in reply.
I tipped to the side of the cage that was closer to the camel. The animal’s body radiated heat. Its long, black fur was thick but soft, not like any camels back on Earth.
The air had cooled off significantly through the night. Fortunately, I’d been holding on to my sweater ever since the shadow fae had taken us from Dawn’s basement. I snuggled into my sweater and leaned into the warmth of the camel. The moment I closed my eyes, my mind went blank.
It was a heavy sleep with no dreams, as if someone had flipped off a switch and then flipped it back on, yanking me back to reality.
“Where are we?” I muttered, trying to sit up.
How long had I slept?
My back and legs were stiff after staying in the same position for way too long. I wished I could stretch, but there was barely enough space for me to even spread out my fingers. I glanced at my hand and…couldn't see it.
Waves of black smoke flooded the cage. Its filaments curled around my hands, obscuring them from view. I couldn’t see my legs either. The black fur of the camel merged with darkness that swallowed even the bars of the cage. I couldn’t see a thing, and I had a feeling my glasses wouldn’t have helped even if I still had them.
“Erik?” I screamed into the darkness.
His legs still pressed against mine, but I couldn’t see him. Jamming a hand between the bar cages, I felt the warm side ofthe camel. The animal was still there. It just blended with the dark fog so thick, it seemed almost tangible.
Then…the smoke receded. The tide of darkness ebbed.
“What happened?” I twisted around as much as the cage would allow me. “What’s going on?”
The pitch-black fog rolled back into a wide churning circle behind us. Magic sparkled inside it with gold shimmer.
A portal.
“Close the shadow tunnel!” Piara yelled to someone.
“A shadow tunnel?” I stared back as the circle of black smoke and golden magic grew smaller and eventually disappeared into the night.
Why had it appeared in the first place?
Oh, no…
Had we just gone through it?
This couldn’t be a portal back to my old world. The glow inside it lacked the pink hue, which would’ve been the sign of the River of Mists connected to it. This one was just black, with the typical golden sparks of the shadow fae magic.
Were we still in the Alveari Kingdom then? Just in some different part of it?