Sounds of the forest rose around me, and the scent of overripe fruit and
anise burned my throat. I opened my eyes as sensations of wonder and
astonishment blossomed in my heart. Trees with twisted trunks towered
overhead as the barest of light filtered in from the full canopy above.
I couldn’t tell if the trees were real or a mirage.
I stepped forward,
brushing a tendril of silver moss that hung from the
branches. Tiny glowing lights drifted through the air like dandelions floating
in the wind. I glanced down at my hands, unsure if I was dreaming or
imagining this vision, but it was so real.
Savannah.
Dread focused my mind. I spun, but the forest around me was empty.
The thread that bound us pulled in my chest, and I shoved my way
through the vines until I found her in a clearing beside a small pool that
reflected a different sky than the one that hung over our heads.
“Jaxson! I thought I lost you,” she said in a dreamlike voice as some of
the strange motes of light settle on her skin. “This place…”
“Is perilous,” I said gruffly as I took her hand and pulled her back from
the edge of the strange pool. “As alluring as all this might be, don’t let your
eyes deceive you. In the few stories I know of this place, it’s only ever
mentioned as the source of nightmares. So stay close and don’t touch
anything. We need to find Cavra.”
Before I could say a word, she raised her hands to her mouth and shouted,
“Cavra! We need to speak with you!”
“What are you doing?” I snarled as her voice continued to echo
unnaturally through the forest. “We shouldn’t draw attention to ourselves.”
“Sorsha said we only had to make our intentions known.”
I didn’t like this one bit. “Let’s go find her. Quietly.”
We left the glistening pool behind us and pushed onward, gingerly
stepping over the roots that snaked across the forest floor. The scampering