A giggle rang out behind her.
Startled, Adaline spun around and caught Droplet pointing… at her feet.
Adaline’s heart jumped to her throat when she looked down and realized—her boots were gone.
No—not gone.
Her feet were translucent, her legs rippling like smoke drifting across the ground. And she wasn’t walking anymore. She was floating.
“Oh no,” she gasped. “No, no, no?—”
Her stomach twisted as panic surged. She didn’t know how to undo it. She didn’t even know how it had started!
“Adaline?” Breeze’s voice was gentle, calm. A cool hand touched her arm. “Are you okay?”
Adaline blinked—and just like that, her feet were solid again.
She looked down, her heart thundering. Her boots were back. Her legs firm beneath her. The ground didn’t feel like it was humming anymore.
“I…” She nodded, though her throat was too tight to speak.
Spree let out a joyful squeal. “Mama!” she shouted, waving wildly.
Adaline followed her gaze and saw a tall, elegant woman with translucent skin and hair like drifting rain. She stood at the edge of a small courtyard, watching them with a smile that was kind and serene, though her pale eyes flicked to Adaline with unmistakable interest.
“Mama can help,” Breeze said, threading her arm through Adaline’s and tugging her forward. “She knows all about the mist. If anyone can help you find your friend—and figure out what’s happening—it’s her.”
Adaline clung to that fragile hope like a lifeline.
Adaline smiled when the woman bent and gave Spree a sweeping hug before standing and offering Adaline a graceful nod. “Welcome. I’m Dew.”
“I’m Adaline. Breeze said you might be able to help me. I-I’m lost,” she said.
“Mama, you should have seen Adaline!”
Dew listened as Breeze launched into an excited explanation, with Mud chiming in enthusiastically, about how they’d seen a ‘hole in the sky,’ and how Adaline had appeared like a ‘falling sunbeam,’ and how she’d glowed even when she was asleep. Dew’s brows drew together in concern.
“Let’s go inside,” Dew instructed. “It will be more comfortable.”
Adaline silently followed the excited group along a path to a cottage set along the lake’s shore. The cottage was just as magical inside as it was out. Sunlight streamed through crystal-paneled windows, catching flecks of mist that drifted lazily along the wooden beams.
The walls were decorated with paintings that moved as if the images inside them were alive. Depictions of forests, waterfalls, and swirling fog moved the longer she stared at them. She blinked, her eyes wide as wonder curled through her. With a soft shake of her head, she turned to take in the rest of the cottage.
A cozy fireplace crackled with lavender-blue flames, and a gentle breeze stirred the embroidered curtains, though the windows remained closed.
Dew moved with a quiet, practiced grace as she set out simple bowls and platters—fresh bread, thick wedges of white cheese, strips of dried fish wrapped in leaves, and bowls of golden fruit that smelled like honey and citrus.
“My husband is out fishing,” she said. “He won’t return until evening. For now, we eat. Then… we talk.”
She sent the children to wash and soon the five of them were seated around a low, circular table. Adaline sat stiffly, her back straight, trying not to fidget as she nibbled at a piece of bread.
“So,” Dew said gently, pouring a sweet-smelling tea into earthen cups. “Where are you from, Adaline?”
She hesitated. “Earth. Originally.”
That earned a brief pause and a raised brow. “Earth? Yes… I’ve heard of it. Princess Gem’s mate, Prince Ross, hails from this faraway kingdom. He helped save our people. It is an honor to meet you; it's not every day one encounters another person from a faraway kingdom. You mentioned that you were from there originally. Are you also from a different isle here?
Adaline shook her head and swallowed. “No. I-I live on another world—far away from here. It’s called Ceran-Pax. It’s the Curizan homeworld. My father took me and my mother there when I was seven. We… we’ve lived there since. I’m a hybrid—half human, half Curizan.”
