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“They block blue light.”
Logan said, “And the green?”
“Those help with migraines and light sensitivity.”
Travis said, “The red ones would probably be good for Atlas.”
Lace smirked. “You’d never catch him wearing those.”
Tamika gestured to the armchairs and long, deep-buttoned couch. “Have a seat, if you’d like.”
Travis and Logan stayed standing. Tamika, too. Lace claimed an armchair and crossed her legs, one arm slung across the back of the chair, while Jewels and Sabrine took the couch.
Tamika was silent for a few moments, as if searching for the right words. “I rented that book after everything that happened during the Blood Moon,” she began. “Like I told you before, my dad was obsessed with the legends of Spirit Terra and how our worlds were split. I never took him seriously as an adult, which is something I deeply regret now that he’s gone, but as a child I was a dreamer. I had a fascination for the fantastical.” Her quick smile was wistful. “I guess I still sort of do. When the Veil nearly fell, my interest was piqued for the first time since I was a teenager. The first time since my dad died. I wanted to familiarize myself with the old legends in case it ever happened again.”
“And what did you find?” Sabrine prompted.
“Well, for one, that symbol in the library. It’s the Scarlet Star. I put the book there so I’d remember where to go once I talked to you guys.”
Travis said, “We were just down there last night. It’s a bunch of old tunnels the Phoenix Head Society used to use.”
Lace asked her, “You know what the Phoenix Head Society is, right?”
“I do. I also found old charts and maps in that book.” She pointed at the tome in Sabrine’s lap. “Maybe even the same ones Arthur found. I remembered what he did with the color wheel, so I created my own to study.”
She strode over to the mahogany desk, scrubs swishing, and rolled down a world map that was secured to the wall behind it. Overtop of the map, she had stapled a transparent color wheel the same size as the map.
“When our worlds were separated,” she began, “the goddess who’d completed the act had to create sealing points to hold the Veil in place, kind of like staples.” She dragged a light brown finger down a row of staples in the map. “Or thread holes. She couldn’t do it all in one go, so creating these areas to affix her power made the act less of a strain on her body. There are six, I think.” She pointed to each on the map. Major capital cities sprinkled clear across the globe.
Travis crossed the room. the others soon following. “Why’d you put a star over Yveswich?” he asked.
“Because it’s the most important one. It was the first sealing point.” Her swallow was audible. Travis could feel her sudden fear as if it were a jacket he’d shrugged on when she added quietly, “The city is also directly on top of the Void.”
Travis could have sworn the room dropped several degrees.
Roman. Roman was living directly overtop the Void. Paxton. And now Darien was there too. Ivy, Jack, Tanner—they were all there, and they had no fucking idea—
“Why didn’t you come tell us this sooner?” Logan asked.
“Because…” Tamika’s eyes flicked about. “I feel like I’m being watched.”
40
The Desert
STATE OF WITHEREDGE
The desert felt infinite.
They’d been driving this one stretch of road for hours and had found nothing. Roman was a speed demon, so Shay had to keep reminding him to slow the hell down so she could get a good look at the surrounding land.
His foot crept onto the accelerator again—
“Shadows,” Shay growled with a heavy blink. “Slow. Down.”
He let off the pedal. “I hate driving slow.” He gripped the steering wheel with restraint and twisted, his tattooed skin—wisps of shadow on one hand, ancient numerals on the other—pulling across his knuckles. “It’s torture.”
“Yeah, well, if you keep speeding, we’re never going to find anything, and I’m not about to have you ruin my five days out here.”
