sides.
Muscles.
He did have muscles, this boy. Not so obvious, but definitely there. Not like… someone. Who was it that had a perfect body?
Fen couldn’t remember, didn’t care.
Something was happening. Did she mind? Did it matter?
Her legs were dropping. That was wrong. And there was something, something she should do.
Or not do.
Not…
Fen breathed and it was air, not water.
She dragged in a gasping breath. Two, three, four, five—all she wanted to do was lie on the floor and breathe, breathe, breathe, grateful that she could.
She opened her eyes.
It was dark.
No, it was beyond dark. It was darker than dark. It was a blackness so absolute it made every dark Fen had ever experienced seem radiant with light in comparison.
“This better not be what dead is like,” Fen said.
Wonderland
“One moment,” Luke said.
Slowly, the floor started to glow. Fen sat up, fascinated, as the light spread outward from Luke’s hands, streaking across the floor and up the walls until it enveloped them. “Okay, that is cool.”
“Come.” Luke jumped to his feet. “We must fly. We need to get to my mother’s house and quickly.”
“Your mom’s house?” Fen looked down at her sopping dress and imagined meeting Luke and Kaio’s mother. If she was like Gaelith, okay. But if she was like Kaio… “Um, how about I just wait here?”
Luke grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the featureless wall. “We must hurry. Eladio does not have enough men to hold the island if the Val Kyr determine to kill, but reinforcements might dissuade them. Or at the least, avenge my cousin.”
“Wait, Eladio’s your cousin?”
The wall in front of them swirled and turned foggy. Luke didn’t wait for the fog to clear, pushing straight through it.
“One of them, yes. I told you I have many.” Luke tossed the words over his shoulder as Fen followed him through the fog. The short hallway ahead of them lit up like the room, only faster, light spreading out before them. Fen wanted to ask more questions but before she could, they passed through another foggy wall and her feet stopped moving.
Luke pulled at her arm. Fen pulled back.
She wasn’t breathing, she realized in a back part of her brain. Probably she should start doing that again.
“What is this?” They stood on a wide ledge, high above a city unlike anything she’d ever seen, a surreal mélange of colors and lights and life.
Under an early evening sky sprinkled with pale stars, water flowed everywhere, falls splashing down, fountains shooting up and out, pools full and serene, streams running from one to the next. Buildings flowed, too, climbing out of the ground as if they’d grown, their lines fluid, their curves sweeping, their towers and turrets stretching toward the sky. Arched walkways of lacy copper and silver connected them, crisscrossing through the air, covered with sparkling lights strung in delicate lines, in colors more vivid than rainbows. Plants flourished in every nook and cranny, ivy crawling up the sides of buildings, trees and flowers growing on roofs, in corners, on balconies and ledges.
Luke whistled, short and sharp, two fingers in his mouth.
“You’re an elf,” Fen said, accusation in her voice.
“A what?” He laughed without looking at her, his eyes searching the sky.
“This is faerie land. This is… this is where the elves live. You’re not an alien, you’re an elf.”
“I’m not an elf.” Luke waved, one arm up and crossing his entire body, a wide gesture meant to be spotted. “That’s ridiculous.”
Fen breathed.
Air out, air in.
It felt harder than it should.
The ledge glowed with the same light as the hallway they’d left behind. Next to them, stone stairs clung to the wall, leading down and out of sight. Fen touched a tentative foot to the first step while Luke scanned the sky. The step lit up.
“All right,” she said. “Okay. Not elves. Atlantis. That’s cool. I get that. This is Atlantis.”
“Don’t
Muscles.
He did have muscles, this boy. Not so obvious, but definitely there. Not like… someone. Who was it that had a perfect body?
Fen couldn’t remember, didn’t care.
Something was happening. Did she mind? Did it matter?
Her legs were dropping. That was wrong. And there was something, something she should do.
Or not do.
Not…
Fen breathed and it was air, not water.
She dragged in a gasping breath. Two, three, four, five—all she wanted to do was lie on the floor and breathe, breathe, breathe, grateful that she could.
She opened her eyes.
It was dark.
No, it was beyond dark. It was darker than dark. It was a blackness so absolute it made every dark Fen had ever experienced seem radiant with light in comparison.
“This better not be what dead is like,” Fen said.
Wonderland
“One moment,” Luke said.
Slowly, the floor started to glow. Fen sat up, fascinated, as the light spread outward from Luke’s hands, streaking across the floor and up the walls until it enveloped them. “Okay, that is cool.”
“Come.” Luke jumped to his feet. “We must fly. We need to get to my mother’s house and quickly.”
“Your mom’s house?” Fen looked down at her sopping dress and imagined meeting Luke and Kaio’s mother. If she was like Gaelith, okay. But if she was like Kaio… “Um, how about I just wait here?”
Luke grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the featureless wall. “We must hurry. Eladio does not have enough men to hold the island if the Val Kyr determine to kill, but reinforcements might dissuade them. Or at the least, avenge my cousin.”
“Wait, Eladio’s your cousin?”
The wall in front of them swirled and turned foggy. Luke didn’t wait for the fog to clear, pushing straight through it.
“One of them, yes. I told you I have many.” Luke tossed the words over his shoulder as Fen followed him through the fog. The short hallway ahead of them lit up like the room, only faster, light spreading out before them. Fen wanted to ask more questions but before she could, they passed through another foggy wall and her feet stopped moving.
Luke pulled at her arm. Fen pulled back.
She wasn’t breathing, she realized in a back part of her brain. Probably she should start doing that again.
“What is this?” They stood on a wide ledge, high above a city unlike anything she’d ever seen, a surreal mélange of colors and lights and life.
Under an early evening sky sprinkled with pale stars, water flowed everywhere, falls splashing down, fountains shooting up and out, pools full and serene, streams running from one to the next. Buildings flowed, too, climbing out of the ground as if they’d grown, their lines fluid, their curves sweeping, their towers and turrets stretching toward the sky. Arched walkways of lacy copper and silver connected them, crisscrossing through the air, covered with sparkling lights strung in delicate lines, in colors more vivid than rainbows. Plants flourished in every nook and cranny, ivy crawling up the sides of buildings, trees and flowers growing on roofs, in corners, on balconies and ledges.
Luke whistled, short and sharp, two fingers in his mouth.
“You’re an elf,” Fen said, accusation in her voice.
“A what?” He laughed without looking at her, his eyes searching the sky.
“This is faerie land. This is… this is where the elves live. You’re not an alien, you’re an elf.”
“I’m not an elf.” Luke waved, one arm up and crossing his entire body, a wide gesture meant to be spotted. “That’s ridiculous.”
Fen breathed.
Air out, air in.
It felt harder than it should.
The ledge glowed with the same light as the hallway they’d left behind. Next to them, stone stairs clung to the wall, leading down and out of sight. Fen touched a tentative foot to the first step while Luke scanned the sky. The step lit up.
“All right,” she said. “Okay. Not elves. Atlantis. That’s cool. I get that. This is Atlantis.”
“Don’t
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