CHAPTER ONE
Eosin watched, fists clenched, waiting for Dedra to come out of the veil and back into Ahwey, his world—the world they would now share forever. He wanted to be closer, but Yidavil had insisted he wait on the other side of the hill with everyone else, at a safe distance. He complied, crouching low and just peeking over the hilltop, but nothing would hold him back once she emerged. He wouldn't risk anything happening to her now.
The guard leaped from the veil an instant before the explosion.
Where is she? Where's my Dedra? The shock wave knocked him backward before he even realized he'd stood. And then he ran, ran for the veil opening, where the translation event had been intended to collapse the veil between worlds.
The guard lay motionless on the ground, thrown several yards by the blast, but Eosin ran past him. Maybe she was still inside. Maybe it was still open and he could save her.
It is open—I can see the strings, he thought. Then a blast of color erupted from the hole in reality. Once again, Eosin was knocked backward as thousands of chirikin fled their home between dimensions. They pummeled him with flapping wings and a beak gashed his forehead.
The view cleared, and Eosin fell to his knees as he saw the awful truth—the veil was closed, and his love had not made it through.