"Jace." I didn't know what to say beyond his name, so it took me a moment to pause and collect my thoughts. I shook my head. "I…what is…" I shook it again, deep creases marring my brow as I stared at the metal that stuck out from the mage's sleeve. I can't believe this. "What…what in the nine damn hells is that thing? What did you do?"

"Huh. It's some kind of alloy even I've never seen before," Venser remarked, bending down a little so as to get a closer look. He tapped the metal with one knuckle, and it let out a soft hollow ring. He straightened and blinked in surprise. "And for Windgrace's sake, I'm a planeswalking artificer!" He scowled, fingers ruffling through his hair. "Knowing about these types of things is supposed to be my job…"

"That's not the point, Ven," I snapped. "It doesn't matter what it is! What matters is where his arm--"

"It's etherium," Jace interrupted then. I stared at him in shock, but he didn't so much as spare me a glance when he bent his arm at the elbow, letting it flex for Venser to see. In fact, it almost looked like he was avoiding my gaze on purpose. Anger bubbled in my chest. "Common on Esper. Almost every one of the higher-ups has a body part made out of it, and they pretty much use it as a type of currency, too."

"Hmmm." Venser couldn't seem to make up his mind as to whether or not he liked what he saw. When he straightened up fully and began to stroke the faint brush of beard on his chin, though, his eyes were narrowed. He didn't look pleased. "It's not Phyrexian, then? It almost looks it…"

"No." Jace spoke quickly, shaking his head hard enough to toss his dark hair about. "Not at all. I know it looks a little…" he wiggled his fingertips again, eyes falling down to their tapered points, "…menacing, but I promise you, it's fine."

"Fine?" That was it. I had had it. I needed answers, now. Growling, I took a hard step forward, and ignored the resulting pain that shot up my legs and made me wince. Venser saw and reached out with a hand to try and steady me, but I angrily brushed him away. "You call this fine, Jace?" I reached out to grab the metal limb and hold it up in front of him, my reflexes quicker than he had anticipated. I felt my fingers close around his wrist. "You're bloody delusional! For the spirits' sakes, your whole damn arm is gone!" I shook the limb forcefully, and to my surprise he just…let me. The thing felt strangely warm in my hand, but yet it hung limp as a dead fish. I only barely noticed the wisps of black that had begun to curl from beneath my fingertips, and wind around his. "You're going to tell me what happened to you, and you're going to tell me now, Beleren!"

Jace flinched visibly at the sound of his name. "I…uh." He swallowed hard, and with my grip still tight around him, he turned to look at Venser. When I did the same, I was surprised to see the artificer's face twisted with a sudden guilt. My heart did something strange in my chest as I felt confusion take hold of me. "Well, I…"

"Jace," Venser sighed, "just tell her."

Now it was my stomach's turn to act up. "What are you two talking about?" My voice had lost some of its sharpness, however much I tried to keep it in there. My eyes widened against my will. "What's going on?"

Jace took advantage of my moment of confusion to gently extricate himself from my grasp. I frowned when I realized this, but I didn't make a move to seize him again. There was no need. The mage let out a sigh too, now, long and deep and far too burdened for my liking. "I'm, uh…not quite sure how to say this to you, Rana. I'm afraid you're going to panic on me."

I almost laughed, and would have had Jace not just used my nickname again. Damn him, I thought. I strained to keep from getting visibly flustered. How can one stupid little word have so much power over me? Spirits damn him. "Well, I'm already on the verge of panic," I spat, caustically, "so I think it would be in your best interest to just tell me before things get any worse."

Jace looked to Venser again. The artificer shrugged helplessly, and Jace pressed the fingertips of his left hand – his flesh hand – between his eyebrows.

"Ugh," he groaned. "Alright, alright." He took a deep, slow breath. I held mine, whether or not that was a good idea.

"Rana…I lost my arm in the battle. When I summoned Akroma. She told me that was the price her first summoner paid to bring her into existence, and, well…that was the price I had to pay, too."

I could almost hear the anger rushing out of me in a hiss. My breath went with it. "Jace…" My heart dropped all the way down to my knees, and suddenly I felt like I wanted to collapse, to just go to sleep and pretend none of this damn business with Alanor had ever happened. I felt just a little sick. "You…lost your..." My shoulders slumped, and I couldn't bring myself to finish whatever disjointed sentence had been forming in my throat. I swallowed back the lump there, and a well of tears with it. "Spirits…I'm so sorry. I didn't know." I looked up into Jace's eyes, fixed firmly on the floor, and then slid my gaze to the left, to Venser. He was looking away too, and shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably. Just then, something in me clicked.

"You knew," I whispered. Hurt blossomed in me as I stared intently at the artificer. My eyes narrowed. "You knew about this the entire time, and you didn't tell me."

Venser's eyes widened as hurt spread across his own face, and he opened his mouth to say something before Jace held up a silencing hand. Venser and I both turned to look at him, and the mage shook his head. "He didn't know that I was going to be attaching this arm," he said quietly, "and I made him promise not to say anything to you until you were better. You were in bad shape. I didn't want to cause you any more stress than you were already under. So if you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me, not him."

My face fell. I wanted to be mad, to be angry or upset or anything that involved harsh, negative emotions right now, but…I couldn't. I had no reason to be – the men had kept what had happened a secret out of a desire to protect, not to hurt. How could I fault them for that?

Still though, this was not a pleasant piece of news. I could at least be upset in that regard.

I shuffled my way over to a couch and sat down heavily, not even bothering to ask Jace or Venser if I could be excused. I didn't really care what they thought about it, at the moment. My legs hurt like hells. "So tell me then," I said, once I had arranged myself into a comfortable position with my head against one arm of the couch and my legs propped up atop the other, "how did you get ahold of that metal…thing? That arm?" I waved my own arm in a dismissive gesture. Surprisingly, I wasn't panicking – If anything, I felt an odd sense of numbness, though I knew that it would fade away after a couple more minutes or so. I supposed I could work with it while it lasted. "Did you just conveniently have one lying around at the back of your closet or something?"

Jace and Venser were in the process of crossing the room to meet me, and as they sat themselves down on the couch opposite mine, the mage sighed. There was a soft chuckle hidden somewhere in that sound. "Actually," he said, as he settled back to rest his elbow on his knee and his chin in his left hand, "I did."

That I hadn't been expecting. Even Venser turned to fix his companion with a look of puzzlement, then. My face must have mirrored his. "Wait, what?"

Now Jace really chuckled, though there was something dark hidden within his tone that made me shiver. "You sure you want to hear it?" He smiled. The bitterness in that smile gave me a start, and I wondered what he could possibly be about to say that could color his face with such an emotion. "This isn't going to make me sound like a good guy."

"Well, now you have to tell me." I rolled over onto my side so that I was facing him, and idly attempted to rub the soreness out of the leg that held more weight. It didn't work.

Jace shrugged. "If you say so." There was a brief pause in which he looked down at his etherium right arm, with his usual inscrutable expression – only this time, his handsome blue eyes were cold as ice. I felt another chill course its way through my body, as if their glare had become tangible and reached out to stab me. I'm not going to like this, am I?

"This arm," he continued finally, deliberately, "once belonged to my oldest enemy, Tezzeret."

Venser's eyes shot wide as saucers, and though I didn't understand the strength of his reaction, I did feel a knot of hesitant disgust twisting in my stomach at Jace's words. No. He can't mean…

"Tezzeret? You mean the Tezzeret we found in the depths of Ish Sah? That Tezzeret?"

Jace turned to look at Venser, and the expression of utter shock that he found when he did sent the mage's own eyes widening. Apparently he hadn't expected Venser' reaction, either.

"Glowy etherium arm?" he asked. "White hair, nasty scars on his face?"

"Yeah," Venser breathed.

Jace nodded, slowly. "That's the one."

"How did you even get that arm?" Venser beat me to the punch before I had the time to open my mouth, or before Jace had the time to elaborate. The artificer's expression had now morphed to one of mingled amazement and disbelief. "The one he had when I saw him was completely fused to his shoulder – If you wanted it, you would've had to-"

"Cut it off," Jace finished – and his tone was quiet and sharp, leaving no room for argument. "With a manablade." He paused for breath, and his fists, fallen to his lap, clenched so tightly that the knuckles on his left hand turned a stark white. "I did it, but we were in a fight to the death at the time, if that makes any difference. The arm has a hell of a lot of power, and I didn't want it to remain in his possession."

Venser could only shake his head. His gaze fell to Jace's – Tezzeret's? – arm, and he drank in the sight of it as long as he dared before at last looking away. When he did, he shook his head again.

"You shouldn't have been able to do that," he said. His eyes unfocused as they stared out the window across from the couch, and his voice turned as soft as I had ever heard it. "Your body should've gone into shock from just trying to attach it. Even master artificers die fitting themselves with non-organic parts, and you're…not even a novice. I don't understand."

Jace smiled thinly, but he didn't look at Venser either. "Well, that was the fun part about accidentally gaining all of Tezzeret's memories when I mind-wiped him." His left hand traced paths across the smooth, dull surfaces of his metal arm, and his gaze softened. "Learned everything there is to know about etherium, since he considers himself an expert. So at least that's something good." He shrugged languidly, taking the moment to roll his shoulders and test their range of motion. Everything seemed to be in working order, from what I could tell. "I went to Emmara's because I knew it would be a dangerous process, even with all that knowledge. She helped stave off the shock and the worst of the sickness, so…" He finally turned to Venser and the artificer to him, and he shrugged again. "Does that explain everything properly?"

Venser hesitated, but after a moment he nodded. Strangely enough, he looked a little defeated. The expression was only there for a moment, though, and it disappeared as quickly as it had come. "Yeah. I guess that's the best answer I'm gonna get, so I'll take it." He smile, too, was hesitant. "Well, I'm glad you're alive, Jace. You really pushed yourself through a mire of shit, didn't you?"

"We're both glad," I said quietly. Both men turned to look at me when I spoke, and I simply shrugged in response. "It's the truth."

Jace's smile widened. I almost blushed at the sight of it – almost, but not quite. I'm getting better at this.

"So, Rana." Venser's voice came as a surprise, and I turned my head almost jerkily in an attempt to change direction and look at him, partially out of reflex. He had folded his hands together in front of him, and was now resting his chin on the tips of his fingers. "Now that the three of us are here, we should probably discuss…" His gaze shifted from one end of the room to the other, and when he was apparently satisfied with his search, he leaned in closer. "…you know."

My brow furrowed. "Know what?" Then, during the brief silence, I became aware of my pulse throbbing in my neck, and abruptly I understood. "Oh!" Alongside understanding, dread rose up like a wave in the pit of my stomach. "Oh, you mean…Sorin. Right."

Venser nodded. Next to him, I noticed that Jace's lips had hardened into a tight line.

"Well…what about him do you want to know?"

"You don't have to tell us the details," Jace responded immediately, words clipped, "just the most important things. What he did to you."

Without even thinking, I shook my head. I remembered Sorin's words of veiled threat, and the bitterness behind them that had taken me by surprise. The memory of them gave me pause, and I found myself searching for someone's gaze – something solid to hold onto, even as I floundered mentally. I found Venser's first, alert and bright, and his brown eyes latched onto mine as naturally as if they belonged there. Fear knifed at my insides. It must have reflected in my expression, because, to my immense relief, he understood. I praised the spirits.

"Jace," he said softly, "I don't think she feels like it's safe to tell us. Maybe we should-"

"No." The mage's voice was firm, harsh, and I saw a hint of the cold steel from before creep its way into his eyes. Both the artificer and I flinched back as one. "Venser, we have to know. I'm not going to let Sorin have his way with her, no matter how important he may be to what we're doing. Even if we have to keep him with us, I have to know what he's trying to do. It's the only way we can keep her safe."

Keep me safe? My head spun foolishly at the thought of Jace wanting to protect me, straying then to my memory of the rescue that had been our first meeting. He had used the word "we" just now, granted, but still…

"Well then, why don't you just ask if you can read her mind? That's what you do, isn't it? Then you can pin it on yourself if she's under threat not to tell, and Sorin finds out."

At the mention of his magic, Jace froze. His expression, on the other hand, melted like a snowdrift in spring, and a note of supreme worry found its way into his eyes quicker than I could comprehend.

"Rana," he said haltingly, "I…could do that, but…"

"But what?" My heart suddenly started to beat faster at the prospect of Jace rummaging through my thoughts, laying the innermost recesses of my mind as bare as they could ever be. I didn't fear the intrusion – not from him, I trusted him – but the thought of him finding out about my stupid, childish feelings for him…

He probably already knows, idiot. And they're not childish – You're an adult. You're allowed to feel whatever the hells you want.

I swore near-silently, under my breath. What a perfect time to start arguing with myself.

"Rana, it's really not a pleasant process. I'll be gentle, of course, but still, it's-"

I shook my head. Screw everything. I'm already in enough trouble. "No, Jace, it's…it's fine. Don't worry about it. I'll just tell you."

The mage tilted his head to the side in confusion at my sudden reversal, but he didn't argue. "You're sure? That's, uh…really what you want to do?"

I forced a smile and nodded. "Yeah. It's okay, really. I trust you both. If I end up getting in any sort of trouble I can't handle, I know I can come to you. It's fine."

Jace nodded, and beside him Venser smiled. I smiled back – though this time, it was a little more sincere. At least that's a start.

The smile didn't last for long, however. As warm and encouraging as Venser and Jace both seemed, sitting perfectly still and patient as they waited for me to say something, the memories I dredged up of my fight with Sorin in Urborg were…distressing, to say the least. My heart skittered, and I found it hard to pull words from my throat.

"He…" I swallowed, and braced myself for the cracking in my voice that was sure to come. I knew it would. It was a guarantee. "He challenged me to a fight when I asked him if he could tell me more about the Eldrazi, and I was stupid enough to accept. We planeswalked to Urborg." I could see Venser's brow arch at the mention of his home plane, but he said nothing. He simply listened. So I continued. "He completely overwhelmed me, and then…" I could feel my hands starting to shake. "…he…stabbed me. Through the shoulder. Threw me down on the ground, and made me drink his blood if I wanted to live. I didn't really have a choice." And there it was – the inevitable crack. I knew it would happen. "He told me to sleep, then, and I passed out. I…I couldn't not. It wasn't under my control." I shook my head, slowly, not meeting the gaze of either man for a moment as I sucked in a deep breath and let it out with a whoosh. Somehow, it made me feel a bit better. "When I woke up, I was lying on this couch like you found me. And…that's that."

There was a long stretch of silence. When I finally did have the courage to look up, my eyes instantly went to Jace – and I regretted the decision, for his were blazing with hellsfire. His fists were clenched so tightly at his knees that I worried they might snap, and his face was flushed a hot red with anger. I turned to Venser instead, not wanting to see Jace like that, and I found him to be staring at me with a similar expression of shock from before. He shook his head when my eyes found his.

"Damn it," Jace hissed. "Damn it, damn it, damn it. That goddamn bastard did something that can be taken a million different ways!"

Venser and I both turned to face the mage. I felt my stomach churn at the frustration in Jace's voice, knowing that it couldn't mean anything good. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he growled, "drinking a vampire's blood is almost always a bad idea, but Sorin's a damn planeswalker – and he's probably older than all of us combined. There's no telling what that could've done to you. Literally. He could've instilled a sort of latent vampirism in you, or he could've taken some small control over your mind, or he could've just healed you with black magic. I don't know. I can't know."

My heart dropped like a stone. "But…how can I find out? Is there any way?" Desperation and panic fought for dominance as they clawed their way through my veins, shredding my insides in their wake. I turned to Venser, wide-eyed. "Come on, Ven, you have to know something! Please, I…" My voice trailed off. There was nothing I could say with words that I hadn't already said with every other part of me that could speak – I was shaking, and even though I still lay on my side on the couch, I had drawn my knees up tight to my chest. I was suddenly very cold, and the heat of this position offered some small comfort.

Venser, though, shook his head. He looked utterly pained to have to do so, but his anguish didn't make me feel any better. In fact, it made me feel worse. Shit. Shit. This can't be happening, it can't…

"Believe me," Jace snarled, and I found my eyes abruptly drawn to his even in my state of near-to-erupting panic, "I'll get it out of him one way or another." He stared directly at me, his gaze searing with heat. I felt my breath catch in my throat. "I promise, Rana."

It was…well, really, it was all I had. It was the best I could get, even. I nodded, and gave Jace the most genuine smile I could muster as I forced myself to keep calm. My lips trembled, but I held the expression long enough for him to notice, and to relax a little. The sight of his shoulders sagging was a welcome relief – I didn't think I could handle a minute more of that rage in his eyes, or the way I could nearly hear his teeth grinding against one another as he glared at me. It struck something in me. And that something was more than I cared to feel right now.

"I'm so sick of this," I blurted out suddenly. It was odd, not only because I was still in the middle of trying to hold my smile, but also because I was barely even conscious of that thought existing in my mind – but nevertheless, a moment later my face cracked in half to send the pieces tumbling down around me. A grimace spread across my lips, and I found my hands covering my face, and my fingers digging into my skin as the most overwhelming sense of frustration surged through me. It all happened before I had a moment's chance to process what was going on.

"I just…" The words poured forth from my lips, unbidden. Why am I…? "I hate being the liability in this group. I hate it. I hate losing. I hate having to make people take care of me." Tears strained against the corners of my eyes, but I pushed them back. My fingers dug deeper. No, damn it. "I'm my tribe's hunter, for the spirits' sakes – I'm not some kind of pushover! I'm not weak, I swear to everything that's out there-!"

"Rana." There was a soft rustling sound, and then an instant later a hand was covering mine, and gently peeling it away from where it clung to my face. A second hand did the same with my other, and when I was forced to look ahead, I saw Venser kneeling beside where I lay on the couch. Jace had moved to the edge of his own seat, and for a moment I caught a flicker of irritation as it passed across his face, but…no, it wasn't there. I must have imagined it.

"Rana," Venser said again, gently, "we know you're not weak. You're just not used to fighting in the big leagues, that's all."

From behind Venser, Jace nodded. His smile was a little strained, but it was no less warm. "You just need a bit of an edge," he added. "Some training, or maybe a-"

He stopped midsentence. Venser turned to look at him, and the both of us saw Jace's eyes slowly widen as an expression of comprehension dawned across his face. He clapped his left fist in his etherium palm, making the metal ring out ever so slightly.

"I've got it," he crowed. His eyes were alight with triumph as he leaned forward over his knees, grinning. The sudden force of his emotion was startling, and I found myself taken aback. "Rana, remember how I said that planeswalkers can become ageless, so long as they find their own way of doing it that works?"

I wasn't quite sure where he was going with this, but his mention of the word "ageless" had my full attention already, and had washed away any notions of hesitance in a fraction of a second. I nodded, enthusiastically. "Of course I do!" was all I could think to say.

Jace chuckled. "Well." Even Venser was staring at him now, rapt, and I found myself breathless as the mage's expression of pure and utter victory swept me away. "Tell me – Which of those trees you summon in battle would you say is your favorite? Which one have you bonded with the most?"

I smiled. "That's easy. The one with the really thick arms and legs, and roots for a beard. I summoned it back when we were fighting Alanor's cult, remember?"

I hadn't thought it possible, but Jace's grin managed to broaden itself even further. "Yes, I remember. His name is Doran. I've met him before. And that's exactly the answer I was looking for."

I blinked. There was far too much information in that statement for me to process at once. "You…know it? Him? How?"

Jace tilted his head to the side a little and crossed his arms over his chest. He leaned back against the cushions of the couch. "He's a great sage in Lorwyn." He sounded calm on the surface now, but I could hear the excitement boiling just beneath his veneer. "One of their revered treefolk. I talked to him for a little while when I was visiting that plane, and he told me all sorts of things – One of which might pertain to you, if I've got it right."

Now I was the one who could barely contain my excitement. "And what would that be?"

"An ancient ritual. Any Lorwyn arboromancer with enough power can bind a portion of their soul to a specific tree, which will grant them even more power and will extend their lifespan so long as that tree lives." Jace's eyes positively gleamed as he leaned forward again, then stood to pace back and forth in front of his couch. He kept his gaze fixed on me all the while. "If that's just what happens when a mage does it, then imagine what could happen if a planeswalker like you did it, Rana! That could very well be exactly what you need!"

My heart could have soared straight out of my chest. I could have run over to Jace and tackled him in a hug, had my legs been willing. Venser turned to smile at me, and I found myself beaming at him in return, breathlessly. Something warmed inside me at the sight of the expression that crossed his face when I did, but I was too excited about what Jace had said to concern myself with it for long. I looked up at the mage, who looked right back down at me with equal fervor.

"So we're going to Lorwyn, then," I said. It was most certainly not a question.

Jace picked up on that fact, and grinned again. "Looks like it. As soon as your legs finish healing, we can set right out."

"It'll be another week or so before I would risk any travel, let alone planeswalking," Venser said, hauling himself to his feet and then holding out a hand to help me up. I took it, and gingerly the artificer assisted me in putting the right amount of weight on the right feet as I struggled into a standing position. "I can keep the essentials of my lab with me when we go, just in case something happens. Better safe than sorry." Eventually I balanced myself – and this time, I didn't need to lean on Venser's shoulder near as much as before. I felt massively buoyant. If I didn't hold tight to him, I was sure that I would float away right then and there.

But then Venser's words registered in my head, and I turned swiftly to look up at him. He met my gaze with equal parts confusion and concern, seeing the worry that I could feel in my own expression.

"You haven't been sleeping at all, Ven," I said, softly. "Are you sure you can handle a trip like that, in your condition?"

The artificer blinked. Clearly, he hadn't thought about that part.

"You don't need to feel compelled to go with us," Jace chimed in. His arms were folded over his chest again, and he was smiling as bright as before. "You've done a hell of a lot for us already. We've been keeping you from Vincenius, and your work." His eyes glimmered now with something I couldn't quite discern, but his tone was as friendly as ever, so I didn't bother to push deeper. "I know Lorwyn fairly well, and I can assure you it'll be an easy trip. I know which places are safe and which aren't. We'll be fine."

Venser looked down at me again, hesitant. I returned his look with a kind smile, and rested my head on his shoulder for a brief moment.

"Go home and rest." The moment passed, and I lifted my head to fix him with a firm, unwavering stare. "Please. I've been worried about you for awhile now, and it's been driving me crazy." I held my stare for a moment longer before I finally faltered – No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't help but smile. "I promise I'll come and visit to tell you how it went when we get back, alright?"

There was a long pause. Then, finally, with a deep sigh, Venser relented. A smile crept across his face too, as he looked at me. "Alright…fair enough, Rana. You win. But you know which potions to take at what time by now, right?"

I nodded. "Yep!"

"And you promise you'll let me know if you run out of anything, or if there's any problems?"

I grinned. "Yep!"

"Promise you'll take it easy for awhile, alright?"

I giggled and rolled my eyes. "Ven, come on."

"I'm serious!"

I sighed, resisting the urge to laugh. "Okay, fine, fine, I promise. I'll take it easy." I rested my free hand on my hip, and cocked an eyebrow at the artificer. But only if you go straight back and get some sleep, okay?"

"You've got a deal." Before I could say anything more, Venser reached into one of the satchels at his belt and pulled out a little glass ball, small enough to fit in my closed fist. It was ringed around the edge in gold, and the air inside the glass was a shimmering milky color, swirling about itself like a heavy mist. He handed the thing to me, and I took it carefully. I looked up at the artificer in wonderment.

"What is this?" I asked. The trinket felt cool and smooth in my hands, and it was a little heavier than it looked. Still though, it was a comfortable weight.

Venser winked at me. To my surprise, I felt a hint of a blush creep involuntarily into my cheeks. "It's a little device I've been using for awhile. Break it, and I'll get a message that tells me your location. I'll come right to you." He chuckled, giving me a playful nudge with the shoulder I still rested against. "So you better only use it if you really need me, got it?"

I curved my fingers around the orb. I didn't quite know why, but as I held the little thing, I couldn't seem to stop myself from smiling. "Got it."

"You're sure you don't want to come along, Akroma?"

The angel stood beatifically in the glow of the sunrise that poured through the common room's windows, her wings bathed in a beautiful mix of pink and yellow. I couldn't help but look past her, at what sky was visible between the towering buildings of Ravnica – Red. Already, the clouds were fully tinged with the color, and I found myself reminded of an old merfolk saying back on Zendikar – Red sky in morning, sailors take warning. Too bad the human shipmasters they directed had always tended to ignore the little tidbit of wisdom. Ah well. Their loss. Of life, that is.

Before I had time to wonder whether or not the sky would prove to be a good omen or a bad omen for the start of our trip, Akroma shook her head. Her violet hair was as flawless as ever as it brushed the sides of her face, and she smiled at me radiantly. "No. I wish I could accompany the two of you, but I am not yet certain of whether or not I possess planeswalking powers, let alone how I might harness them. Venser's hypothesis is sound, but it is simply that – a hypothesis. It needs testing." She shrugged, the motion as fluid as only an angel could manage. "Perhaps by the time you return, I shall have come to a conclusion."

I nodded, returning the angel's smile. "I hope so. I'd really like to travel with you, Akroma."

Her eyes softened. "And I you. Until then, the speed of the gods be with you on your journey, both of you. And do not strain yourself, Lady Ranewen – Your legs have only recently healed. I fear that you will cause yourself further injury by pushing yourself too hard."

Beside me, Jace chuckled. "No need to worry. If she tries, I'll make sure to stop her."

I mock-scowled. Akroma nodded, obviously pleased. "Indeed. I should hope so, Jace Beleren. Take care, the both of you."

"And you as well," Jace said. He and I both bowed our heads respectfully to the angel, and then we stepped one after the other into Jace's ready-made portal to the Blind Eternities.

As was the norm now, my time – or lack thereof – in that place passed by in a blur, a mad rush of chaos that failed both description and comprehension alike. By the time I thought I had some sort of hold on it, it was simply over, and tangible mana tugged at my inner being while the sensations of physical reality buffeted my outer one.

Unfortunately – and much to my dismay – the only sensation I felt as I came to in our newest destination was the press of water all around me, and the choking burn it made as it flooded into my lungs.

Definitely a bad omen, was my only thought.