Lola was traumatized by the image of the severely burned rebel. She had seen far more gruesome injuries—amputations, flesh-eating bacteria, decapitations. Thol’s blistered red skin looked raw and ready to slough off in places. Part of his nose hung like melted wax. A necklace of shark’s teeth he wore had been bleached by the heat, and his wetsuit pants were fused to his flesh. His bare torso glistened with angry welts. But, it wasn’t the gore that bothered her. It was that Soleis had done this.

“We were just supposed to meet with them and talk,” she mumbled accusingly.

“He attacked me, and my reflexes kicked in, Lola. It was pure instinct. It happened too quickly for me to stop it.”

Lola shook her head. The dragon’s nature was violent and irrational. A choked sob escaped as memories of his passionate embrace nudged her. This was the man who had ignited flames of pure bliss the night prior, but he was also a megaton reptile with razor sharp teeth and claws. He could kill her in a breath. How could she accept one part of him and not the other? She knew the answer. This monstrous part of him scared her.

A distraught Flev paced restlessly and gestured at the floor of the antechamber. “Should we get him to a bed? The sand is sticking to his injuries.”

“No, we shouldn’t move him again. He’s in shock,” she explained.

Now was the time to leave. To take off the ring and take her chances in her own world. It was better the devils she knew than the one she didn’t. Soleis heaved a ragged breath and turned away. His shoulders shook from silent tears. Lola wanted to go to him, but she told herself she had an obligation to her patient, not the man who had done this to him.

Yet, the thought of abandoning Soleis wrenched a hole in her heart.

She shushed the trembling rebel. “Rest now,” she murmured as she smoothed a hand over his brow where his injuries were most severe. She didn’t know why she touched him. Every nerve ending had to be screaming with pain, but he didn’t flinch. Like a mother soothing a child, she softly hummed a tuneless melody.

She pictured the rebel whole and healed, though he wouldn’t be long for this world. His eyes were swollen shut, and each breath was labored. She heard the death rattle in his chest. Under her gentle caress, however, Thol calmed. His cracked, peeling hand shook as he raised it to touch hers.

She noticed the warm, red glow of her fingertips, and her pale blond eyebrows shot skyward. It looked like someone was holding a flashlight beneath her hand, only there was no outer light. The glow emanated from within her. She tried to pull her hand away, but the rebel clutched her tightly, and Soleis and Flev leaned closer.

“Is she doing what I think she’s doing?” Flev asked.

“Guys…? What the hell is going on?”

“Don’t move,” Soleis pleaded. “Keep thinking of him. Picture him well.”

“You’re healing him,” Flev whispered in awe.

“That’s not possible.”

“You can see for yourself, Lola.”

It was true. The rebel’s next breath came easier. His swollen eyelids parted, and the mangled mess of his face began to clear. Lola couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Layer by layer, the injuries repaired themselves. At first, it was gradual, but the healing suddenly took off as she concentrated on his face. Sloughed skin tightened and rejoined, supple and healthy.

Lola hitched in a breath. Thol shifted more comfortably on the bed of sand, his eyes drifting shut as he relaxed. He was no longer in agony—that much was certain—though he still looked pink. There were faint yellow scars puckering his burned skin.

Without knowing why, she pictured the scars fading, and they did! Her gaze jerked to Soleis and he smiled for the first time since the accident. She couldn’t refute what she was seeing with her own eyes. It took minutes for the rebel to be completely healed.

“How?” she asked in amazement.

“Being in any of the worlds for long enough changes people. You can remove your hand now,” said Soleis.

Lola lifted her fingers, and a wave of dizziness overtook her. Flev lifted the sleeping rebel onto his shoulder and carried him through the door to the larger dome. But, Lola slumped forward, bracing on her palms. Her stomach heaved.

“Oh, no,” she whispered, turning away to vomit.

Soleis crouched beside her and held back her hair. She was embarrassed, but he didn’t bat an eyelash at her being sick right in front of him. She couldn’t remember her father sticking around when she hurled. In fact, John Cambridge hadn’t been there for any of her sick days. It was something she had gone through alone as far back as she could remember.

She finished puking out her insides and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Her face was flushed. When she met Soleis’ gaze, she was struck by his tender concern. There was the monster, and then there was this. And, she wasn’t sure she could give up this.

“Thank you,” she replied sheepishly.

“Using your gifts is draining,” Soleis explained as he helped her to her feet. “You’ll feel normal again once you’ve had a bite to eat and few hours of rest.”

“This just gets more and more curious the longer I’m here.” She sighed and the sound turned to a yelp of surprise when he swept her off her feet. “I can walk,” she said with a self-conscious laugh.

“Of course, you can. I’m doing this for me, not you.”

Lola smirked, but one look in his sparkling blue eyes told her he was serious. They held eye contact. She saw his fear, his hope that she wouldn’t stay lost to him forever after what she had seen. Lola dropped her gaze.

“Is all this happening because of you?”

“It’s happening because of you. You’re something special, Lola Cambridge…”

She had never been something special in her life. She didn’t think she could say goodbye to this feeling. It didn’t exist in her world.

* * *

The rebel sat across the table from the three companions. He wore a guarded scowl as he used a shell spoon to eat the protein-rich meal of fish steak and kelp. Lola delicately wiped her mouth and tried not to stare, but Thol was so different from anyone else she had seen in this world. She had gotten used to the refined ladies and gentlemen of the realm. People in designer clothes, brushed with a heavy veneer of snobbery.

This was no gentleman. His shoulder-length black hair was dyed with streaks of green and blue with small conch shells woven into thin braids. A full beard covered his lower face and hid his brooding mouth. His eyes were the color of tangerine rinds. But, his features looked human, more or less. Sharp cheeks and a hard brow. He was built like a swimmer with taut, rangy muscles beneath his tan skin.

He watched them as he mouthed another morsel of sweet, flaky fish. The silence in the room was deafening. Soleis and Flev shared a discreet look, and Lola cleared her throat.

“So, Thol, tell us more about you,” she invited.

Thol picked up his goblet and took a swig of the fine wine Flev had discovered in a cellar of the three-story house Soleis had taken. Lola waited patiently, but the rebel’s only response was to thump the cup back on the table and cross his arms when he was done.

Her tight smile materialized. So much for meeting the grateful patient whose life she had saved. “Well, I’ll start,” she stated. “I’m Dr. Lola Cambridge, and these are my friends, Soleis and Flev…Nice to meet you.”

“Let’s cut the pleasantries.” His voice was rough, and his speech was deeply accented. He turned his strange eyes to Soleis. “Did the Mad King send you?”

“We’ve fallen out of his favor. The more I learn about him, the more I need to understand the Resistance. It appears history is being made, and I want to be on the right side of it. Why were you out without your entourage? I could’ve killed you.”

Thol smiled coldly. “As I recall, you nearly did.”

“Only because you left me no choice.”

The rebel’s disarming yellow eyes moved to Lola. “Your Healer is truly gifted. The only remaining people of talent in our realm hide their abilities. The Resistance tries to keep them from the attention of the president, but this one? This one will draw notice. You should be careful with her.”

“You’re welcome, by the way,” Lola remarked flippantly. She smoothed a hand over the new wrap dress she had made from drapes as his gaze lingered on her.

“I wasn’t afraid of dying, Dr. Cambridge. You did me no favors, and I owe you none. Now, I’ll ask you one more time. Why are you people here?”

“We’re here to cure the virus.” Soleis drew his attention. “I believe you and the rebels, especially the gifted, can help. The upper-class local physicians are of no use. They’re kept completely in the dark about the disease while the lower classes are dying by the hundreds. It won’t be long before it decimates your people.”

Thol’s dark laughter began before Soleis’ statement ended. “I would never help you, Sea Demon. Others in the realm may not know what you are, but I’m familiar with your kind.”

“I’m a dragon-shifter, Mr. Thol. It’s doubtful you’re familiar with my ‘kind,’ as dragons have never been here before.”

“You’re wrong. Our creation story tells of a dark shadow flung from the heavens that crashed into the ocean, a creature with vast wings and sharp teeth that had never roamed this world before. He breathed flames.”

Lola murmured, “It’s true. I read it in the history book.”

Soleis shook his head and flashed her a rueful smile. They needed to convince the superstitious man they weren’t the enemy, and validating his mythology wasn’t helping.

Flev chimed in, “Every world has its legends and myth, and we respect yours. But, there are no dragons here besides us. Even if there were, would you judge us on the actions of another? I thought the rebels valued individualism. You can trust us.”

“He’s right. Without us working together for a cure, the advances of your civilization will be lost. What you see around you—this abandoned city—will be all that remains,” Soleis added. “I’m not sure how the president factors into this, but we’ll leave him up to you. We’re here to end the pandemic that threatens everyone, regardless of politics.”

Thol lifted a thick black brow and seemed to consider what they were saying. He wordlessly rose from the table to collect the empty dinner plates. Three pairs of eyes followed him to the kitchen where he washed and rinsed the dishes. Lola looked at Soleis and Flev.

“Do you think we’re persuading him? We need him as much as he needs us,” she whispered.

Flev placed a finger to his lips but replied, “I’d feel much more comfortable banding with the rebels. We can’t stay in this pod forever.”

“Whatever it takes, we must convince him. We need the Resistance. Shh—He’s coming back.” Soleis smiled hopefully as Thol returned to his seat, but the rebel’s glower squelched any pretense of being on one accord.

“A pretty speech,” Thol muttered. “Yet, why should I trust you when you sent the king’s men to hunt down the remaining Healers? You’ve already doomed us to death.”

“I ordered the search for the Healers to bring them in for training. I had no idea President Belzaan would take them prisoner,” Soleis explained.

“They were the only ones treating the poor. The best way to help us is to go back to where you came from, Sea Demon. Let the Resistance do our duty and end the reign of the Mad King. Now, it’s been an entertaining evening with the three of you, but…” He collected his pack, the only thing that had survived his tangle with the Water Dragon. “I really must be going.”

Thol headed toward the door. He tossed over his shoulder. “One other thing: If I see you in the open seas again, it won’t be me who needs a Healer.”

Lola blurted out, “What if I told you we can get your Healers back? Would you help us, then?”

“How?” the rebel asked suspiciously.

“Lola, what are you doing?” Soleis whispered.

She hissed back, “You asked me to care for these people, and I do. I’m a Healer. I can’t stand by and watch them die, and I can’t do this alone. We need all the help we can get, Lone Ranger.” To Thol, she said, “We’ll rescue your Healers, in exchange for protection in the rebel camp. Is that a deal?”

“What do I get if you fail?” he asked.

“We’ll, uh, go away for good,” she said. She dared not meet Soleis’ gaze. She kept her eyes trained on Thol. The rebel leader twirled a lock of his beard around is finger as he contemplated her offer.

“No deal,” he finally replied. “If you fail, they leave…You stay.”

His words left her cold with dread.

* * *

Thol showed them dry underwater tunnels that networked beneath the population centers. With nightfall, they made their move, returning the small town where Lola had seen her first patients. The fear of the president’s surveillance team led them to be cautious, but they encountered no one.

The streets were dark and empty, and the stars and moon paid them no mind as they crouched and ran from building to building. They hugged the shadows, trying not to make a sound. Soleis was in the lead, while the rebel took up the rear. Flev beckoned for Lola to follow him, and they dashed to the doors of a shopping center.

“Is it locked?” Flev whispered.

The shirtless rebel pushed past them and tried the handle of the door. When it didn’t budge, he dug into his hair and removed what looked like a slender gold twig. He positioned the tool within the lock and, within seconds, they heard a faint click. The glass double doors swung inward. They took off in different direction in search of suitable disguises.

Fifteen minutes later, Lola slipped into a black jumpsuit and drew its loose cowl over her head. It felt great to be in real clothes again. The advanced wardrobe had printed exactly what she required. She examined her reflection in the dressing room mirror. Behind her, the doorknob turned, and she hitched in a breath. It was only Soleis. He eased into the cramped space wearing a hooded jacket and dark pants.

She leaned toward the mirror and studied her face, wishing she had a touch of makeup. She pinched her cheeks and bit her lips to raise the color. It would have to do. She realized she was only trying to look good for him. That had never happened with any other man.

When she turned around, he was still staring at her intently. “What is it?” she asked. He cupped her chin and lifted her mouth to his. Butterflies skittered through her. The kiss was brief, but its impact lasted for seconds after he broke away.

“You look nice, is all,” he sighed pleasantly.

“That’s only because you’ve seen me bedraggled and wet for the past few days,” she laughed.

“Lola, about what happened to Thol…I want you to know I would never hurt anyone like that intentionally unless it was in self-defense. I know what I seem to be—”

“Same here,” she cut him off. “I know what I seem to be: Safe and boring. It’s the only side of myself I ever show. Yet, the truth is we’re made up of so much more than our better natures, Soleis.”

She smiled as she admitted, “Don’t you know? I have a wild streak as wide as the Grand Canyon just like you. Why do you think I’m here? This is the most fun I’ve ever had in my entire life, although I’m beginning to realize there’s no such thing as a safe adventure.”

“No, there’s not,” he chuckled, relieved. She stroked his lips with her fingers as they studied each other.

“I may not understand everything about what you are, but I’d be lying if I said I don’t want to get to know you.”

“You’re not afraid?” he asked.

She nodded as she bit her lower lip seductively. “Petrified, she whispered.

He ducked his head to hide a grin. They were so close, she could feel his heat through her clothes. When he raised his eyes, he pressed ever closer. Her back was against the wall. He held her there as he kissed her again, this time patiently and thoroughly. Every line of him promised more excitement. She went weak with desire, but he pulled away.

“There’s a world to save.”

“After that?” she asked lightly. She held her breath, listening to her heart pound with anticipation. She was asking him for ‘more.’ A part of her knew he couldn’t comply. He wasn’t the settle down type. She licked her lips as he chuckled nervously and shrugged.

“I just hope you know what you’re getting us into,” he whispered.

“I don’t, but what choice do we have?”

“Let me rephrase: I hope you know that, if we fail, I’m not sacrificing you. Someone will die first.”

She trembled at the lethal threat in his blue eyes. He meant it. He’d kill the rebel. And, he wasn’t afraid to show her he’d unleash his darkest nature to protect her. There were louder ways of professing one’s feelings than promising forevers. Lola looked away.

“It won’t come to that. We’ll find the Healers and win Thol’s trust,” she said as they left the dressing room.

They met with Flev and Thol in the center of the mall. Both men were similarly dressed in all black. She surveyed their surroundings, intrigued by how familiar it all looked. She might as well have been in the Mall of America. It was another clue Belzaan had to be from her world.

“Where to next?” she asked.

“When I spoke with the clinic administrator he told me there were ten Healers awaiting training at the local college. Let’s hope they’re still there. Of course, this won’t be an in and out thing. They’re under guard,” Soleis explained.

“Hmm…We need a distraction,” Thol murmured.

“I could take dragon-shape and start a controlled fire to flush everyone out of the building,” Flev suggested.

Lola shook her head. “Too risky. It’ll bring security and wake the whole city. We need something more discreet. Let’s not forget we’ll be traveling with ten more people.”

“What if we use the gondolas?” Soleis asked. “Thol, I saw the harnesses the rebels use to ride the sea monsters. Can you fashion knots strong enough to hold the weight of ten men?”

“Of course. I can do that in no time.”

“And, do you know the Healers by sight?”

Thol nodded, withdrawing lengths of rope from the pouch he wore at his hip.

“Good,” Soleis replied. “Lola, you and Thol will go into the dormitories and find the Healers. Flev, we’ll wait outside to take dragon-shape upon their signal. Once they’re ready, we’ll use the gondolas to carry everyone to safety.”

“Sounds like a plan. More adventure,” Lola grinned.

“More danger, too,” Soleis replied pointedly. “After we pull this off, Thol, we need your word that you’ll take us to the Resistance so we can investigate this mysterious illness and get to the bottom of what’s going on in this world.”

“You have my word, but I’ll be the first to warn you,” said the rebel, “you might not like what’s at the bottom.”