Not touching. Just... there.
Her shoulders relaxed slightly, and I wondered if she could feel the same draw I did. The same inexplicable need to just be close that felt like it was getting stronger every day.
?? ?? ???. This is insane.
Judy watched me cross the room, as did Killian and everyone else.
No one said anything.
After a moment, Killian cleared his throat. "The djinn power doesn't make ye dangerous," Killian said, addressing Alice directly. "Alex saved Kenya's life with that magic. And he's been learning to control it. Ye can, too."
"What if she can't?" Angel demanded. "We don't have anyone here who understands djinn magic."
"Neither did Alex, and he could teach her," Talin said. "If we can get him back."
"Which brings us back to the original problem," Judy said. "How do we reach Alex when he's trapped in a—what did you call it? a pocket dimension?—that only djinn magic or a young witch can access? A witch, I might add, who's only recently discovered these powers and has no idea how to use them."
"Perhaps she would by now if you'd helped her instead of dismissing her when she tried to tell you what was going on with her," Elias growled.
"Elias." Talin scolded.
"It's true," he told her. "Don't try to protect her."
Judy clenched her jaw and didn't respond.
I felt, more than saw, Alice tense in front of me. Felt the decision forming before she spoke it aloud.
"I could try to help Talin," she said. "If the djinn power is in me too, maybe I can use it to find him. To reach him where witch magic can't."
"Absolutely not." Judy's voice cracked like a whip. "Nothing has manifested in you yet. And you have no training with that kind of power if it did. It could consume you, twist you into something you wouldn't be able to find your way back from."
"Or it could save my brother." Alice stood, and I had to step back to give her room. Her white aura was pulsing now, bright and fierce, blinding me. Was I the only one who saw it?
"I'm not going to sit here doing nothing while Alex suffers and Talin risks her life to save him."
"You won't be doing nothing," Judy said. "You'll be staying safe while we find another way."
"There is no other way!" Alice's magic flared, and I felt the temperature in the room spike. "Talin can see the threads but can't travel them safely. Regular magic can't pierce Marcus's realm. The only thing that can reach Alex is djinn power, and I'm the only one here who has it."
"Except you don't know how to access it," Angel pointed out.
Alice's jaw set, reminding me that she might look soft, but she was pure steel underneath. "Then I'll learn."
"I can follow the threads," Talin said loudly. "When I have Elias there to anchor me to this world, I can follow them. And I can bring Alex home."
Judy opened her mouth to argue, but Killian held up a hand. "Ye need to let her try. I've watched her travel the threads. Every day she gets stronger."
"No. There has to be another solution that doesn't risk losing another member of the Moss family to that monster," Judy snapped.
"There isn't time for another solution." Talin moved to stand beside Alice in a show of solidarity that made my chest tight. "Every day Alex is trapped there, Marcus gets stronger. Every day we wait, we lose ground. We need to act now." She turned to her cousin. "I will get your brother back, Alice. I swear it to you."
I watched Alice's face, saw the gratitude and determination warring with her fear. She was terrified. Of course, she was. And she wanted to argue with her. I could see it in her eyes.
Beautiful and brave and completely insane.
In the end, she wrapped her arms around Talin and pulled her in tight. "Please get my brother back."
"I will," Talin whispered. "I swear it."
