"Oh my Gods."

Amneris scrambled from the lounge she was lazing on, managing to get from it to the front door in less than a second, dropping the book in her hand in the process. She threw it open and was about to make a run for the Palace when Carmin stepped in front of her. The Dragonoid woman, hands resting on her pregnant stomach, looked confused.

"Car, I just had a realisation. I think I know where the rebels are. Where's Nik?"

The tabby cat sitting on the small glass table on the balcony sat up, head tilting. It seemed to sigh before it jumped from the table, shifting into Nikki's usual Fae form before her feet hit the long grass. She crossed her arms. "Whatever you're thinking, tell me it's better than your last idea."

"What's that supposed to -" Amneris cut herself off, waving a hand in front of her. "Never mind. I think the rebels are on Earth."

Dragonoid and Shifter exchanged glances, before giving Amneris one of disbelief.

"Oh, come on," she whined. "This is me we're talking about. What's the one planet I would never go to unless I absolutely had to?"

Carmin gave her a one-shoulder shrug. "That does make sense. But it hardly narrows things down." She groaned as she sat on the wooden bench, pulling a light green pillow behind her head before continuing. "There are as many Earths as there are universes. Which one would they go to."

Amneris blinked. "That . . . That I didn't think of. Fuck."

Nikki place a hand on her shoulder. "Not a bad theory, though."

"But Car's right," she sighed. "There's as many Earths as there are universes in the sky."

From behind, Carmin said, "You were born on Earth, yes?"

Amneris nodded. "I was."

"Why not try there?"

She cocked her head. "Oh, come in. There's no way it's that simple."

Carmin lifted a steaming cup from the glass table to her lips, taking a sip. "From what you have told me," she said, placing the cup back on the table, "your mother thinks lowly of you."

"That's putting it nicely."

"Don't you think that would mean she would go somewhere that, one, you would never go, and two, you would consider yourself to have sunk very low?"

Amneris looked down. "I suppose that would make sense."

With a sigh, Carmin held her hand out. Reluctantly, Amneris took it. The Dragonoid held her hand firmly, closing her eyes for a moment. "If it helps, you don't explode this time."

"Thanks, Car," Amneris said with a small laugh.

She winked.

"Any chance of spoilers?" Nikki asked. "Because I would very much like a warning if we have to have another battle."

"Not that I could see," Carmin told her. "But you know my sight can be . . . limited."

"That's good enough for me!" the Shifter exclaimed. "Two years is not long enough to go between battles. Five sounds more reasonable. Or five hundred."

Amneris, no longer paying attention, broke into a run. The forest was a blur of green and brown and blue as she raced through it, making flying leaps over stones and boulders as she followed the faint path she knew by memory. Follow the stream, follow the 'road' beside the waterfall, up the cliff, and across the planes outside Lapide. It took barely five minutes.

She skidded to a stop, clumps of dirt and grass piling beside her feet. Amneris sighed at the short lines of dirt created by her black flats. She brushed the dirt off and pushed her hands into the pockets of her mulberry-purple shorts, beginning to walk across the plane. Today was too gorgeous to rush to the Palace. The sun was bright. The sky was clear. The breeze was cool.

But her thoughts ruined the lovely day.

Amneris hadn't seen her mother in years. Hadn't wanted to. The woman had ruined her life. And her afterlife. Hell, she was still too afraid to go anywhere near the basement of the forest house. Snorting aloud, Amneris suddenly felt pathetic. It was just a room and, yet, whenever she held out a hand to open that damned door, she found herself on the other side of the house. Or the forest. Or the planet.

Stopping mid-step, Amneris found herself wishing she hadn't come here alone. Being alone with her thoughts was a dangerous thing and she knew it.

Tossing her long, curled hair over a shoulder, Amneris realised she had the strong urge to kill someone. Or maim. She could settle for maiming. Sadly, there was no one around who she could even slap. Or punch. Or anything. Instead, she released the wave of power that built up with each negative feeling inside her, shooting it into the sky.

Her power must have messed up something in the atmosphere. Dark clouds formed out of nowhere and, shortly after, it begun to rain. Amneris let out a string of swear words as she was instantly soaked, hair stuck to her face and clothes doing nothing to keep the water out. Ignoring the cold she was beginning to feel, Amneris began running. She was closer to the Palace than the forest house anyway.