Our exit from the realm of the dead had been more difficult than I expected.

The current was fierce, and the small bruises on my skin were evidence of the rough treatment. My throat burned long after the water released me, and I had landed in a small forest clearing.

I lay in one place for a full minute trying to get my bearings. Without the sound of the wind, my surroundings were eerily quiet.

I sat up and glanced around, searching for Ainsley and James. The towering trees above provided shade, but the air was much warmer than the chilly realm of the dead. There was no question I was a long way from there.

“Ainsley? James?” I called quietly.

No one replied. I moved to my feet and took a better look around. There were tall, towering trees on all sides of the clearing, and it looked as though they went on forever. From my initial look, I did not recognize the forest. Likely there was a reason I ended up there, but technically it may have merely been the closest safe location.

“Ainsley?” I called a bit louder this time. “James? You here?”

I quietly waited, straining my ears for any sound that suggested I was something other than alone.

Aside from a faint rustle in the trees above, the forest was silent.

“Ainsley?” I tried one more time before settling down against one of the trees. I was afraid to yell any louder. Just because I believed I was alone did not mean danger did not lurk.

Something was wrong. Was it my fault? Was I supposed to have kept physical contact to leave? For the first time I could remember I had no clear path ahead. Returning was out of the question, and that left me with almost no options. Did I go back in time and start over yet again? It would cost me more time off my life, but it would be worth it. But what of the James and Ainsley of this timeline? It might do more harm than good.

I decided to give it a few hours. Maybe they were late. Time was a flexible thing.

I closed my eyes and let myself relax into my thoughts. I needed to wait before I made any more decisions.

Any chance at relaxation was gone as one hour became two. What if they never showed up? What if they had never left the realm of the dead? Maybe Ainsley struggled to compel herself to leave her father. Still, James should have been able to leave, but it was possible they were so connected he was stuck too.

I needed help, and I did not like the place I might have to go for it. Turning to my mother would mean admitting my mistakes to my father. I would not go that route unless it was the only one left.

I felt panic slowly ooze into me, when suddenly I heard a howling noise. Seconds later there was a rustling in the trees above, and James and Ainsley came falling down.

I tried to break Ainsley’s fall, but she still hit the dirt with a thud.

“Finally!” Relief flooded me. I held out my hand to help Ainsley up, but James beat me to it. He helped Ainsley to her feet immediately.

She wiped dirt off her pants. “What do you mean finally? Have you been here long?”

“Hours.” I was so relieved I no longer cared about the wait.

“Oh. So you came right here?” Ainsley touched the tree nearest her. She ran her hand over the bark as if checking whether it was real or not.

“Where did you go?” I waited with bated breath.

“A beach that seemed to go on and on forever,” James answered.

“You were on Endless Beach?” I hadn’t thought of that.

“It has a name?” The corner of Ainsley’s mouth lifted. “At least it is an appropriate one.”

“You went there for a reason.” You always went for a reason.

“Because we were destined for boredom?”

“No, because you needed the stop off. The endless beach exists for those who need a pit stop between realms.” A horrible thought dawned on me. “You two. You did not…”

“Didn’t what?” Ainsley crossed her arms.

James frowned. “What is it that you want to ask us?”

Despite how angry the question would make James, I needed the answer. “Did you have intimate relations?”

“That is private, Elron.” James’s frown deepened.

“After what I told you… the poison.”

“The poison was back already.” Ainsley looked down at the ground. “Everything came back. All the memories and the needs.”

“She is telling the truth.” James put an arm around Ainsley. “None of this is her fault.”

“I never insinuated it was. We all know Ainsley is innocent in this.” Which is why it made it all the more important I protect her from the end she was destined for. “And the mark?” I already knew the answer.

“It’s there.” Ainsley reached back and touched the spot. “James found it earlier.”

“Then all of this was for nothing?” I no longer cared about my lost time. I worried about everyone else I had ever known.

“No. You said yourself I wouldn’t have made it to the realm of the dead in the condition I was in before. And James—well it would have been too late you said.” Ainsley’s jaw went slack. “The poison is at the early stage I think.”

“If the poison is back…” I did not want to finish the thought out loud.

“You are asking if the darkness is back too?” James rubbed Ainsley’s shoulder. He was always touching her now.

I nodded.

“Not fully.” He took a seat on the ground where Ainsley had just seated herself. They moved together as one.

“Then we still have time.” I held onto that one positive thought. I had made enough mistakes already. I thought I knew everything about time travel. I thought I understood the risks and possible outcomes, but I never anticipated what the kindred bond could do. I was nearly positive the bond was why everything was a mess. It was so strong it could connect the different timelines.

But no amount of knowledge could alleviate the disappointment. After all of that work, Ainsley was still poisoned. On the bright side, she had been strong enough to speak with Monty, but our journey was nowhere near over, and she was losing her strength by the minute. Just as frightening was the realization that the darkness would grow in James. Was there anything we could do to destroy the darkness without destroying him? Would Ainsley agree to an outcome where he perished? Or would the kindred bond make that impossible?

There were few times in my life where I felt at such a loss. But this was not the time to sit and pontificate on the difficulties of life. We had a plan. We needed to reach Mount Majest and hope Monty knew what he was doing by sending us there.

Ainsley leaned back on one of her hands. “Where are we, and how do we get where we need to go?”

I waited a few seconds before giving her an answer. “I do not know.”

“You don’t know where we are, or how to get where we need to go?” She pursed her lips.

“Both.”

“Fantastic.” James’ lips fell back into a frown.

“At least we are reunited.” Not long ago my greatest worry was that I would not be able to find them again.

“Yes.” Ainsley appeared to be straining to stay composed. “That is one problem solved.”

“How about we move to the next one.” James leaned back on his hand in the same way Ainsley did. “Or maybe we can combine them, as it does not matter where we are if we can get where we need to be.”

“We are in a forest—” I started.

“Really? That’s where you are going to start?” Ainsley interrupted.

“If you would let me continue.” I choked back my annoyance at being interrupted. “A forest of Morave trees. Those only exist in a handful of places. So that narrows the location down.” The trees thick and complex tree-roots had a unique set of needs that were hard to meet.

“I still am confused about how you don’t know. Didn’t you select the destination?” Ainsley’s forehead furrowed.

“No. I focused my thoughts on leaving.” Exactly the way I had instructed them to do.

“Then how did we all end up together here in the end?”

“We arrived together in the last realm. That was enough to have us leave to the same place. Of course aside from your detour.”

“Just to be clear, we did not ask for that detour.” James voice held a warning. He was changing, there was no doubt the darkness was brewing inside him.

“I never implied you did.” I met his gaze. “I am not a threat to you. Do not make a fight where it does not need to exist.”

Ainsley put her hand on James arm, and his expression softened. “Ok. Enough of that. How much more info do you need before you can get us to that mountain?”

At least she was able to calm him, for now. “I need to know who controls this forest.”

“Why?” She moved her hand to his leg.

“Because I cannot use ‘tree transport,’ as you call it, in all places.”

“Why not? There are limits?” She seemed genuinely curious.

In another time or place I would have taken the time to explain in detail, but I couldn’t afford to now. “Yes. There are political rules, for a lack of a better term.”

“It’s always politics.” She looked up at the sky. “Ok, so how do we figure it out? You said the trees narrow down where we could be.”

“This place is foreign to me, so it cannot be in Energo.” James rose to his feet.

“You know all the forests of Energo?” Ainsley narrowed her eyes.

“Yes.” James lifted his chin. “It is my job to know the land.”

“Impressive.” She stood up as well.

“Not really, but thank you.” James circled the clearing.

“Ok. So not Energo, and I assume you would know if this was where you are from.” Ainsley looked at me.

“By the height of these moraves, the positon of the sun, and this dry soil,” I dug into the dirt, “My guess is we’re in Kenset.”

“Yes.” James nodded. “That would make sense.”

“And can you travel from trees in Kenset?”

“With permission.”

“And how are you going to get permission?” Ainsley asked.

“We are not.” We lacked the time necessary for anything like that. We had wasted enough time already.

“Um…” Ainsley wrinkled her forehead.

“That would take far more time than we have,” I explained.

“Then what are we going to do?” She put a hand on her hip. “We can’t just sit here.”

“This land is also home to other creatures.” I met James’ gaze. “I can call one.”

“What are you calling exactly?” Ainsley eyed me skeptically. “Not a dragon or anything. Please.”

“You think you can call a Dragon like that?” I chuckled. “Not a chance.”

“Oh. Then what are you calling?” Her shoulders relaxed.

“You will see.” With all the stress we were facing, a little surprise might be enjoyable for her.

“Great.” She rolled her eyes. “Let’s hope this is a better surprise.”

“It will not be a tiki bar.” James nudged her shoulder.

“A tiki bar?” I looked between them. “Do I want to know?”

“No. Nothing you need to know.” Ainsley shot James a look.

“I need you both to stay completely quiet while I do this.”

“Ok.” Ainsley nodded. “But this creature you are calling isn’t dangerous, is it?”

“It is,” I admitted. “But only if you approach it the wrong way.”

“And what is the right way to approach it?” She clasped her hands in front of her.

“Follow my lead,” I instructed. “But only when I tell you. The calling has to be left to me. We do not want to confuse it.”

“Ok.” Ainsley backed away from me. “I’ll leave this to you.”

I began with a low whistle. It was barely audible, but it would be heard by a pelagorn. That was all that mattered. I stopped for a moment and started the whistle again, this time adding in an extra note at the end. I heard the rustle of the tree leaves. We had gotten lucky there was a pelagorn close by. I whistled again and waited.

“What happens—” Ainsley started to ask.

I gave her a stern look. We needed to do this right. Pelagorn were wonderful creatures, but they were dangerous if you weren’t careful. I knew of an Elf who made the mistake of approaching one without notice. He took years to recover. We could not go down that path.

There was another rustle of leaves and an intense wind before the glistening red feathers of a pelagorn came into view.

In my peripheral I noticed Ainsley jumped back behind James, but I focused on the pelagorn. It was all about eye contact.

The pelagorn was male. I could tell by the iridescent quality of his feathers. He flapped his wings at me, his expression anything but friendly.

“Calm. I called you for help.” I took a few tentative steps toward him. He raised his beak. I bowed my head to let him know I had no interest in challenging him.

I took a step closer, and he flapped his enormous wings. It created such a burst of wind, the trees rattled.

I fell down to my knees. Maybe I needed to show even more deference to this magnificent creature. I bent my head low, waiting a few moments before making eye contact with the bird again.

He stopped flapping and lowered his beak to the ground.

I stood up. “We mean no harm.”

He looked up.

“We need a ride. Would you do that for us?” I needed the pelagorn to agree. I had no other plan.

The pelagorn did nothing, so I stepped closer. He lifted his beak and pointed it up. I expected him to start flapping but he did not. He did let out a long low whimper, and he inched forward toward me.

“Are you hurt?”

He made a noise and pointed his beak up behind me again.

I looked behind me. Ainsley had stepped out around James.

I considered my options. “Ainsley, come here please.”

She frowned. “Why?”

“Please, come here.” I kept my voice even and calm. Yelling might startle the pelagorn and cause even more problems.

“Ok.” She took a few tiny steps in my direction.

“You are going to have to do better than that.” I could not keep the pelagorn waiting forever.

“Oh.” She looked at the bird. “Fine.” She walked slowly and then ran over to me.

The pelagorn put his head down pointed in our direction.

“He wants you,” I explained.

“Me?” She put a hand to her chest. “Why?”

“I cannot know for sure. Maybe he likes your appearance. Or he prefers females?” I understood. I preferred females too.

“So what am I supposed to do exactly?” She eyed the pelagorn nervously.

“Walk over and pat his head.” The instruction was simple, but that did not mean it was easy. She needed to trust the bird. That was the only way this was going to work.

“Pat his head?” her jaw dropped.

“Yes. He has his head down because he wants you to pat it.”

“Me specifically?” She touched her chest again.

“Yes, Ainsley.” I was losing patience, but I tried not to show it.

“And it isn’t going to eat me or anything like that?” Fear crossed her face.

“Pelagorn do not eat people.”

“Then why did you warn us to stay calm and everything?” She crossed her arms.

“Because they can hurt you. Not eat you.”

“Great. So I’m supposed to go up to something that can hurt me.” Her lips pressed into a firm line.

“Everything in this world can hurt you.” James walked toward us slowly. The pelagorn raised his beak.

James noticed and stopped. “You can do this, Ainsley. I know you can.”

“Ok.” She nodded.

I tried not to mind that she was willing to do it once James told her to, but when I said it she had ignored me. We had bigger problems than whether a human girl trusted me as much as another. Plus, it was only natural with the kind of bond they shared.

She took tiny steps toward the bird.

The pelagorn let out a low whimpering sound again. Ainsley startled and glanced at me.

I nodded in encouragement.

She moved closer and tentatively reached out to pat its head. He let out another little whimper, but it was a happy sound.

“I think he likes you,” James called.

As if to prove his point, the pelagorn rolled over onto his side.

Ainsley couched over so she could pet his side. “Good boy.”

He let out another whimper. I had never seen a pelagorn act this way.

“He’s kind of cute.” She continued to pet him.

“See, he is not eating you.” It was nice to see her relax with the bird. I felt bad making her approach him when she was clearly nervous, but it was our only ticket to Mount Majest.

“What now?” She continued to pet him.

“Now you ask him to take us where we need to go.” And hope his like for her was enough to get him to fly to such a dangerous place.

“And he will understand me?”

“Yes.” I smiled. “Make eye contact when you ask him.”

She patted his side again and looked into his eyes. “Would you please take us to Mount Majest?”

The bird sat up and straightened its back. Ainsley stepped back.

“I will take that as a yes.” James headed toward the pelagorn.

“So now what?” Ainsley stood frozen in place.

“Follow his lead.” I pointed at where the bird was positioning himself to make it easier for her to climb on.

She tentatively tried to climb, but even crouched down he was too tall.

James hurried over and helped her up. He hopped up behind her.

I sat behind James.

“How do I do this?” Ainsley called back.

“You do nothing but sit and wait. He does everything.”

“Oh.” She rested her hands behind the pelagorn’s head.

“But hold on,” I said just in time before he took off.

He shot straight up through the trees so fast I thought we might get thrown off by the branches, but the pelagorn cleared the trees with all three of us clinging on.

He ascended slower once we were in the sky, but It wasn’t long before the trees disappeared below us. He headed north and dove down toward a winding river.

Ainsley screamed, but the scream turned to delight when his wings touched the river just enough to send a cascade of water over us. He returned to the sky, and I realized he was showing off for her.

The rest of the flight was less eventful, and I allowed myself a few moments of contemplation. We would survive this, and in the end the lost time would be completely worth it.

An hour or so later, the pelagorn landed in a valley below a snow-capped mountain with its peak shrouded in the clouds. He had saved us days worth of travel over rough, largely impassable terrain. I eyed the peak of Mount Majest with reluctance. I had never planned to journey here to begin with, let alone with a request. But it was not to be helped. I was part of this whether I wanted to be or not.

“Why did he stop here?” Ainsley asked.

“My guess is he wants to be sure this is where we want to go. The Elders are dangerous. Even pelagorn know that.”

“I would rather fly with him all day.” Ainsley rubbed the pelagorn’s neck.

“I am sure he would prefer that too, but if Monty is right, this is our only chance.” I was nervous about what they would have to say, but I did not worry about Ainsley’s safety. Monty would have never sent her into harm’s way.

“I know.” Ainsley rested her head on the bird and then lifted her head again. “Ok, take us up there.”

The pelagorn took off again, soaring up higher into the clouds. I thought about our situation as the ground disappeared below. It was hard to believe James could ever turn evil when watching the way he was with Ainsley. Even compared to the last time—or the future time. I no longer really knew what time line we were on. What I did know was we had to get rid of the darkness, and if seeing the Elders was a required step in that process, then I was all in.