KIERAN'S POV:
[EXPLAINING 2025]
"So this... rectangle... lets you talk to people far away?"
Ravion is holding my dead iPhone like it might explode. Turning it over in his hands. Examining it from every angle with the intense focus of someone studying ancient artifacts.
Which, I guess from his perspective, it kind of is.
We're in the library—a massive room filled with books that smell like leather and old secrets. I'm sitting cross-legged on a plush rug. Ravion is beside me, closer than necessary, our knees almost touching.
The bond hums contentedly.
Traitor.
"It's called a smartphone," I explain for the third time. "And yeah, you can call people. But you can also text, take pictures, play games, watch videos—"
"Videos?"
"Moving pictures. With sound. Like... magic portraits but better."
His eyes light up. "Magic?"
"No—well, kind of? It's technology. Science. Not magic." I pause. "Although honestly it might as well be magic because I don't understand how it works either."
"Then how do you use it?"
"You just... do. Everyone in my time has one."
"Everyone?"
"Pretty much. Even kids."
He looks scandalized. "Children have access to devices that can reach anyone in the world?"
"I mean, when you put it like that it sounds bad—"
"It sounds dangerous."
"It's normal!" I'm trying not to laugh at his horrified expression. "Look, it's fine. We have... okay we have a lot of problems with it actually. But it's useful!"
"For what?"
"Everything! Communication, information, entertainment—" I stop. "Wait. How do I explain Google to someone from 1811?"
"What's Google?"
"It's... okay imagine if you could ask a question—any question—and instantly get an answer."
He leans closer, interested. "From who?"
"From... the internet. Which is like... a giant collection of all human knowledge connected through..." I gesture vaguely. "...magic lightning in the sky?"
"You just said it wasn't magic."
"It's NOT! It's—it's complicated!"
He's trying not to smile. "You're not very good at explaining your own world."
"Because it's weird when I try to explain it! In 2025 you just know these things! Nobody asks 'what's the internet' because EVERYONE KNOWS!"
"I don't know."
"EXACTLY! That's the problem!" I'm gesturing wildly now. "How do I explain Wi-Fi to someone who doesn't have electricity?!"
"What's electricity?"
"LIGHTNING IN WALLS!"
"That sounds extremely dangerous."
"It IS! But also it powers everything! Lights, heat, computers, phones—"
"What's a computer?"
I make a strangled sound.
Ravion is definitely smiling now. "You're very animated when you're frustrated."
"I'm animated because this is impossible!" I flop backward on the rug, staring at the ceiling. "How do I explain the modern world when literally nothing here is even close?!"
He lies down beside me. Too close. Our shoulders touching.
"Tell me about something simple," he says. "From your life. Not the devices. Just... you."
I turn my head to look at him. "Like what?"
"What did you do on a normal day? Before the portal."
"Oh. Um." I think. "Wake up late. Skip breakfast. Go to classes—that's school, learning stuff. Come home. Play video games—" His confused expression makes me smile. "Games on screens. With stories and challenges. Then I'd order food—"
"Order?"
"Yeah, you call a restaurant and they bring food to your door."
He looks amazed. "You have servants?"
"No! Well, technically yes? But they're not servants. They're delivery drivers. You pay them."
"Fascinating." He's watching my face, not even pretending to look away. "What else?"
"Um. Hang out with friends. Watch Netflix—"
"Another magic rectangle thing?"
"YES! It's—okay imagine a theater but in your home and you can watch any story you want, whenever you want."
"Incredible," he murmurs. And I don't think he's talking about Netflix anymore.
My face heats. "It's not that special."
"It is to me." His hand finds mine on the rug between us. "Your world sounds... Soo fast Full of possibilities."
"It's also loud. Expensive & stressful." I squeeze his hand without thinking. "Sometimes I felt like I was drowning in it. Everything moving too fast. Everyone expecting things."
"You ran from your world," he says quietly. "I ran from mine."
"We both jumped through that portal."
"Yes." His thumb traces circles on my palm. "And ended up here.."
The bond surges between us, warm and insistent.
"I should teach you about memes next," I say quickly, because this moment is getting too intense.
"What are memes?"
"Jokes. But pictures. With text. That everyone shares." I'm babbling now. "They're stupid but funny and—okay I'm not explaining this well either."
He laughs— genuine laughter. "You're terrible at teaching."
"HEY!"
"But I like listening to you try." He's still holding my hand. Still too close. "Tell me more. About anything. I want to know everything about your world."
"Everything?"
"Everything." His red eyes hold mine. "Because it made you. And I find... I'm very interested in understanding you."
My heart does something complicated.
"Okay," I whisper. "But you're not allowed to laugh when I explain TikTok."
"What's TikTok?"
"OH GOD WHERE DO I EVEN START—"
KAELIS POV:
[MAGIC LESSONS]
"No."
"Kaelis—"
"No."
"You need to learn how to—"
"I don't need to learn anything! I'm fine!"
Nyx pinches the bridge of his nose. We're standing in a training chamber—basically a big empty room with pools of water and suspicious-looking crystals.
He wants to teach me water magic.
I want to literally anything else.
"The Tidelands respond to intention," Nyx explains with infinite patience. "You simply need to focus your will and—"
"Magic is stupid."
"You're standing in an underwater realm breathing air that shouldn't exist."
"STILL STUPID."
"Just try." He gestures to a small pool of water. "Focus on the water. Imagine it rising. Will it to move."
"This is going to go badly."
"It won't if you focus."
"You don't know me very well."
"I've known you for twenty-two years."
"You watched me. That's different." I glare at the water. "Fine. I'll try. But when this goes wrong, I'm saying 'I told you so.'"
"Noted."
I stare at the pool.
Move, I think. Rise. Do the thing.
Nothing happens.
"You need to focus," Nyx says.
"I AM focusing!"
"You're glaring. That's not the same."
"Maybe the water responds to glaring!"
"It doesn't."
I glare harder.
The water... bubbles slightly.
"Oh!" Nyx sounds excited. "You're doing it! Keep going!"
"I'm doing it?" I stare at the bubbling water. "I'M DOING IT!"
The water starts to rise.
"Yes! Just like that! Steady now—"
"I'M DOING MAGIC!" I'm so excited I lose focus.
The water explodes.
Not a little splash.
EXPLODES.
Like a geyser. Straight up. Hits the ceiling. Rains down on both of us.
We're soaked.
I'm standing there, dripping, staring at the chaos I've created.
Nyx is also dripping. Also staring.
"I told you so," I say.
"You—" He stops. Starts again. "You were supposed to lift it. Not detonate it."
"I got excited!"
"CLEARLY."
"In my defense, you said 'keep going' and I kept going!"
"I meant keep it steady, not turn it into a WATER BOMB!"
I'm trying not to laugh. Failing. "You should've been more specific."
"I was VERY specific!"
"Agree to disagree."
He makes that sound again. That frustrated god sound that means I'm testing his immortal patience.
"Let's try again," he says. "This time, when I say steady, I mean—"
"Got it. Explode it bigger."
"NO!"
Attempt two goes slightly better.
By which I mean I only flood half the room this time.
"How," Nyx asks, wringing water from his hair, "are you this bad at this?"
"Natural talent?"
"That's not—" He stops. Takes a breath. "Okay. New approach. I'll guide you physically."
"What does that—OH."
He steps behind me. His chest against my back. Arms coming around to position my hands.
I'm very aware of
How close he is
How cool his skin is
How my heart is racing
"Focus," he murmurs near my ear.
I can't focus. I can't breathe.
"Feel the water," he continues. His hands covering mine, guiding them through the motions. "It's alive. It wants to respond. You just need to ask it nicely."
"I don't ask things nicely."
"I've noticed." I can hear the smile in his voice. "Try anyway."
I try to focus on the water and not on:
His breath on my neck
His arms around me
His body pressed against mine
Please move, I think at the water. Nicely. With respect. And maybe don't explode this time.
The water rises.
Slowly.
IT'S WORKING.
"Good," Nyx breathes. "Just like that.. Gentle."
The water forms a sphere. Floating...
"I'M DOING IT!" I'm so excited I—
LOSE FOCUS AGAIN.
The sphere splashes down.
But at least it doesn't explode.
"Better," Nyx says. He hasn't moved away. Still behind me. Still too close. "You're learning."
"I flooded your training room. Twice."
"Yes, but the second time was more controlled flooding."
"Is that supposed to be encouraging?"
"It's supposed to be accurate." His hands are still on mine. "You have power, Kaelis. You just need to learn control."
"I don't want power. I want to go home—" I stop. Because home doesn't exist anymore. "I want..."
"What?" His voice is soft. "What do you want?"
I don't know how to answer that.
Because what I want is impossible.
Freedom that doesn't exist. A life I can't have. A future that isn't mapped out by prophecies and gods and—
"I want to try again," I say instead. "The magic thing. One more time."
He's quiet for a moment.
Then: "Okay."
He steps back. I immediately miss the warmth—the coolness—whatever.
I face the water alone this time.
Move, I think. Please.
The water listens.
It rises. Slowly. Forms a wobbly sphere.
It's not perfect.
But it doesn't explode.
"VICTORY!" I pump my fist.
The sphere immediately falls apart.
But Nyx is smiling.
"Progress," he says.
"I didn't blow anything up!"
"That is progress for you."
"HEY!"
But I'm grinning too.
And for the first time since jumping through that portal, I feel something other than fear or anger.
I feel... proud?
Weird...
And we spend the next hour with me flooding things and him patiently teaching me and both of us slowly, slowly getting closer to something that might be trust.