Cross stretched his hands towards mine, silently asking me to hold them.
I stared at his hand for a moment before forcing a little smile.
After everything Buttins had said, even something as simple as holding Cross’s hand suddenly felt dangerous.
“We don’t have to hold hands every single second Cross. I’m not a kid, I won’t get lost.” I said, trying to sound normal.
Cross didn’t say a word.
He simply lowered his hand.
I knew he had noticed the change in me.
I crouched beside the fire and gathered some snow in my hands.
The flames were still burning between the rocks, their light reflecting against the snow around us.
I leaned forward and poured the snow over them, expecting the fire to die quietly.
For a second, nothing happened, then the fire hissed.
I frowned.
The flames suddenly shrank, then rose again.
A strange gust of wind rushed through the mountain, making the fire bend sideways instead of dying.
I quickly pulled my hand back as the flames stretched toward me.
“Imogen!”
Before I could move, Cross grabbed me around the waist and yanked me backward.
His body slammed against mine as he turned, placing himself between me and the fire.
The flames burst upward and heat rushed across my face.
I heard a sharp crackle, followed by the smell of burning cloth.
Cross grunted.
The fire caught the edge of his sleeve before the wind suddenly changed again and the flames died beneath the snow.
I froze.
Cross immediately pushed himself away from me and looked over my body.
“Are you okay?” We both chorused at the same time.
I ignored myself and grabbed his arm, checking his sleeve and the skin underneath it.
“I’m fine.” I muttered.
“Why would the fire flare that way?” I asked.
Cross looked toward the dead flames.
His expression became thoughtful.
“It must have been the strange air from the red forest.” He said.
I swallowed hard.
Even the fire behaved differently here.
“Let’s just find the barrier.” I said.
I gently pushed myself up.
Cross reached out to help me, but I moved his hand aside and stood on my own.
“I can stand.” I said sharply.
His hand slowly dropped, and he didn’t argue.
I walked ahead for a few steps before realizing he wasn’t following.
“Are you coming?” I asked. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
He gave me a small look before walking toward me.
“Let’s go.” He replied.
Immediately, we moved deeper into the mountain.
I deliberately left space between us.
Every few steps, I could feel Cross looking at me, but he said nothing.
For a while, I thought he would continue ignoring it.
Then his voice finally broke the silence.
“Why are you avoiding me Imogen? Minutes ago we were hugging and right now you won’t even let me touch you and you flinch anytime I come near.” He said.
I stopped.
Slowly, I turned toward him.
The pain in his eyes made my chest tighten, but Buttins’s words immediately returned to my mind.
“Replacement.”
“I’m not avoiding you Cross.” I said.
“You are.”
His answer was quiet, but it left no room for argument.
I looked away.
He wasn’t angry and that almost made it worse.
There was something wounded in his eyes, something I hadn’t expected to see.
I swallowed hard.
For a moment, I wanted to tell him everything.
I wanted to tell him again that I wasn’t Imogen, that I was afraid of what would happen when he discovered the truth, and that every time he touched me, I forgot I was supposed to leave, but I couldn’t.
“Cross can we just have this conversation later and focus on finding the barrier.” I said.
He stared at me for several seconds, then he looked away.
“Okay.” He replied.
That simple word hurt more than I expected.
I wanted him to argue.
I wanted him to ask me to stay.
Instead, he accepted my distance.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and kept walking.
The farther we climbed, the stronger the wind became.
Snow swept across the mountain in thin white streams, disappearing over the edge of the rock.
Not long after, I saw something ahead.
A huge wave of light stretched across the sky.
It was an aurora.
It moved slowly above the mountain, green, blue and violet light twisting together like ribbons.
The colors reflected against the snow, turning the entire mountain into something unreal.
I stopped to admire its beauty.
“I think we are closer to the barrier.” I said.
Cross looked up.
“Yes.”
Finally, home sweet home.
We continued toward the light.
The closer we got, the louder the strange vibration became.
The air itself seemed to hum around us, and I could feel the vibration beneath my feet.
A massive barrier stood between the mountains.
It looked almost like the surface of a giant mirror, except nothing was reflected in it.
Light moved beneath its transparent surface, twisting like clouds trapped inside glass.
Ancient symbols appeared and disappeared across it, glowing faintly before vanishing again.
I stared at it in silence..Earth was on the other side..My old life was there.
For days, I had imagined this moment.
I had imagined stepping through it and seeing Earth again, my phone, apartment and Alex.
Everything I had been forced to leave behind.
But now that the way home was standing in front of me, my chest felt strangely tight.
I glanced at Cross.
He was still holding out his hand.
For some reason, letting go of him suddenly felt harder than leaving Larvana.
“I don’t know where the barrier would take us so you need to be by my side.” He said and stretched his hands towards me.
I stared at his hand, then at his face.
I wanted to refuse, but the thought of being separated from him inside that strange barrier scared me more than I wanted to admit.
I slowly placed my hand in his.
Cross immediately closed his fingers around mine..This time, I didn’t pull away and together, we stepped into the barrier.
The moment we crossed it, the world disappeared.
A powerful force grabbed my body and pulled me forward.
I screamed as the ground vanished beneath my feet.
I couldn’t feel it anymore.
I looked down, but there was nothing.
“Cross?”
Instantly , we were falling into a huge abyss.
My hair whipped across my face as the strange force twisted my body through darkness filled with flashes of light.
I couldn’t tell which way was up anymore.
My stomach turned as the force dragged us through what felt like an endless tunnel.
“Imogen, hold my hands tighter.”Cross screamed.
I tightened my grip until my fingers hurt.
“Don’t let go!” I screamed.
Cross reached for me too, but the force between us became stronger.
His fingers slipped from mine.
One finger, then another.
Until there was nothing left between us.
“Imogen!”
“Cross!” I screamed so loudly that my voice disappeared into the rushing wind.