As soon as the castle was out of sight, Elurra dismounted and unloaded her saddlebags into her pack.

“Snow, what are you doing?” Terrin asked in exasperation.

“Tipet is three or four weeks away. Neither of us needs to waste any more of our lives on this quest when we could get there much faster,” she said curtly. He rolled his eyes and grudgingly hopped off his mount.

“You have a knack for getting us into near-death situations. What are you planning?”

“Remember when Nitiri took you to the Lur Alava?”

Terrin’s mouth fell open.

“Please tell me you aren’t planning on copying her,” he demanded.

“Relax; I have done it before. I followed you the last time, but I was too late to save you.”

He felt the color drain from his cheeks.

“Isn’t Tipet too far away?”

“It is about the same distance as Unérith to Tor’ac Roh.”

“This sounds dangerous.”

“Relax. I only passed out for a little bit last time, so it should be fine. Are you ready?”

Absolutely not, he thought as he tried to come up with an excuse. “Snow, you might get hurt.”

“Terrin, when has that ever stopped me?” she asked, raising one eyebrow.

“Never,” he groaned.

She grabbed his hand in hers and closed her eyes. “Ťo nobi maş!”

“No wait!” Terrin cried out, but it was too late.

The world around him faded, and darkness flooded his vision. He couldn’t feel anything but Elurra’s hand squeezing his. Light and color shifted like a waterfall. The swirling surroundings made him dizzy, and his stomach churned. He looked down at his body and saw it was translucent. He watched in sick fascination as his organs and bones pierced themselves together inside his skin.

I think I’m going to be sick, he thought woozily. He looked up to find the world had stopped spinning and a room was coming into focus around him, although it was blurry. Abruptly, the room snapped into focus. Heat rolled over Terrin in waves, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He glanced around to find that he was facing a set of balcony doors overlooking a large city and flat grassy plains. Distant mountains dotted the horizon, but the most prominent landmark was a towering volcano in the far distance. Smoke rose from its top, but that was the only sign that it was active. Terrin glanced over at Elurra just in time to watch her eyes roll back into her head as she collapsed.

“Snow?” he cried in alarm as he caught her. She was drenched in perspiration and twitching sporadically. He called her name softly as he gently shook her. Her breathing was shallow, and her skin was as pale as parchment. He was so focused on her condition that he almost didn’t notice the cool blade digging into his neck.

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“What is the meaning of this?” a sharp, female voice demanded.

Terrin froze, unsure what to do.

“Who is this girl?” she asked, her voice rising a few octaves.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” he tried to explain, although he couldn’t even imagine what it looked like to her.

He gently lowered Elurra to the stone ground and raised his hands above his head. The woman knelt beside the princess and checked her pulse with her free hand. The knife never moved from Terrin’s throat.

“What did you do to her? Are you trying to kill her? Who are you?” she asked rapidly, her eyes never leaving Elurra.

Terrin turned his head slightly and saw the mysterious woman had flowing black hair that accentuated her caramel complexion.

“I didn’t do anything. She transported us here with magic, and she collapsed when we arrived.”

The woman looked at him sharply. “Preposterous! No one can teleport into my room! I have put layers upon layers of protection so that—” She stopped speaking, and her face relaxed in disbelief. Her sea blue eyes widened, and she startled Terrin by taking his face between her hands.

He lurched backward in shock, still fully aware of the knife in her hand.

“What are you doing?”

She tilted his head up, and her eyes flashed.

“Your eyes…this is a deception. I demand you tell me who you are at once.” There was a hard edge to her voice.

“My name is Terrin,” he choked out, trying not to move too much. To his alarm, she put pressure on the blade, causing it to cut into his flesh. A trickle of blood ran down his cheek.

“Stop insulting me, you insolent swine! Who are you, and what do you want to achieve with this charade? You did not even get his age right. He is thirteen. They both are, and she is not as pale or as blonde. Explain what you are trying to accomplish!” She was panting hard. She glared daggers at Terrin, who felt like he was sinking. He had no idea what was happening. Before he had a chance to respond, a door creaked open.

“Mother? Are you—who are they?”

Terrin turned toward the door and took in a sharp breath. He couldn’t believe his eyes. A young girl was standing in the doorway. The large windows bathed her in soft, yellow light. Her eyes were wide and curious. She had creamy skin, long blonde hair, and inquisitive blue eyes. She looked exactly like Elurra. The little girl tentatively entered the room and approached him, stepping out of the intense sunlight.

Terrin blinked rapidly and studied her with more scrutiny. She was a lot like Elurra, but there were clear differences. Her face was rounder than Elurra’s, and her hair was not as blonde as he’d originally thought. In the sunlight it glowed, but it was more of a light brown. Although her skin was not nearly as dark as the woman’s, she was clearly a good deal tanner than Elurra would ever be.

Put together what you know. Snow had a vision about Lira, so this woman is most likely Lira. She obviously thinks I’m impersonating her son, and Elurra is impersonating this little girl, who calls her mother, so does that mean…He let the thought trail off unfinished as the little girl approached him, curiosity in her eyes.

“Mother, who is he?” she asked, tilting her head as she examined the scene.

“Raeya, stay away from him!”

The young girl ignored her wishes and reached out to touch Terrin’s face. He gasped as an unexplainable connection rushed through him, like he was tethered to her. Lira yanked the young girl away with her free hand, but the strange emotion lingered.

“Mother, we are related. I could sense it. Is he my brother? You always said he had our father’s eyes.”

He wished Elurra would wake up and explain what was happening, but she was still lying on the floor, looking worse by the second.

“No, he is trying to trick me. His eyes cannot really be that color,” Lira snapped.

“Then why are his eyes still purple?” she asked innocently. Her question was met with heavy silence. “Illusions do not work in your room because of the dampening field, so why are his eyes still purple?” she asked again, her small voice slightly louder.

He glanced over at Lira, whose face was furrowed in deep thought. She was clearly aware what her daughter said was true. Long moments ticked by in slow motion. Every second felt like a year. Finally, Lira came to a decision, and the pressure on Terrin’s cheek lessened. Terrin realized he was holding his breath and gently let it out. Lira glared at him, clearly shaken by her daughter’s words.

“I will attend to your friend, but you have a lot of explaining to do, and you had better do it quickly.”