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"How did you guys get here?" I ask. "And how did I get here?"
Sarah clasps my hand. "We needed a safe place to talk about our plans, and we needed you to be here with us. Since we couldn't risk Sefton hearing what we say, the five of us managed to create a bubble of magic that exists outside the realm of reality."
"Uh, sure, whatever you say." I must be hallucinating. Magic bubbles? Come on.
"I know it sounds crazy." Sarah leans against me, lifting her head to meet my gaze. "But you know what I can do. I teleported myself straight into the castle from Earth. And with four friends to help, it shouldn't be a surprise that we could create this bubble. We're more powerful together."
"You're right, I know. So just tell me what this is all about."
"It's happened. Sefton's quantum remnant has restarted the alchemy of worlds. We need to stop it, once and for all, so neither world will be subject to a mad man's whims ever again."
"Okay, good plan. But how do we implement it?"
Dax steps forward. "We are going to tap into the power of the Tria Prima."
"I thought the Tria Prima was you, Allison, and Sefton."
"Yes, it was. Sarah pointed out that we have a new version of the Tria Prima that may prove even stronger than the original." He hooks an arm around Allison, tugging her close. "The six of us represent the new Tria Prima, the power that can stop the alchemy of worlds. This was all Sarah's idea, and we believe she's right."
"Six of us?"
"That's right," Sarah says. "Three couples whose undying love and strength might be the key to ending the apocalypse forever—Dax and Allison, Grant and Erin, and you and me."
A chill rushes over my skin, but I'm not afraid. This is a shiver of excitement. When Sarah spoke those words, telling me about the New Tria Prima, I felt something indescribable, something so deep and immutable that I know everything she said is true. Three couples. Of course the way to end the apocalypse is for the six of us to flip Sefton's idea on its head. Not one group of three, but three distinct groups that together possess more power than even the original Sefton Stainthorpe.
This might just work.
"How do we do this?" I ask. "You said you have a plan."
Sarah ducks under my arm to slide hers around my waist, and I instinctively wrap my arm around her. "It begins with the two of us seizing control of the machine to shut down the alchemy of worlds."
"How, exactly?"
"Through the power of the Tria Prima. Dax and Allison will go to Fort Worth, which is the epicenter of the apocalypse. Then Erin and Grant will travel to a spot on the other side of the world that's equidistant from Fort Worth. At the same time, you and I will be inside the castle in the Echo, since that seems to be the epicenter of everything in that world."
She really has thought about this. The journal ignited something inside her, and she is no longer just a girl with amnesia. Sarah has become a powerful woman.
I could kiss her right now.
"How do we shut down the apocalypse?" I ask. "I've tried to stop the machine, but the most I could do was shut it down for a while. I can feel it ramping up again even now."
"You haven't been able to shut it down completely because you didn't have me. We're one corner of the Tria Prima triangle, remember? You and I need to stop the machine together."
"Have you found a way to get me out of the machine? Can't see any other way that we can both shut it down."
"I think it's best if I show you what I mean."
Dax chuckles. "Why be shy about it now? We had a group discussion on the subject back in the tent, before everything went to hell—again."
I squint at Sarah. "What is he talking about?"
"The alchemy of worlds has started up again."
"Yeah, I know that. But Dax just said you guys had a group discussion about something that you don't want to tell me."
"I was going to tell you. Just not in front of the others."
Dax is smirking. Allison seems amused. Grant wears a calm expression, while Erin seems to be trying not to smile.
