The city lights of Avalon glittered in Seraphina's eyes as she stood before me in the twilight of the park. Her hand was cool in mine, her expression a mask of fierce, crystalline resolve. "Yes," she said, her voice clear and sure. "I will come with you."
"Good," I said. "We leave now."
She blinked, the only sign of her surprise. "Now? But the arrangements, the transport—"
"We aren't taking a transport," I said, my voice quiet. I gently released her hand and put my arm around her waist, a firm, grounding pressure. She stiffened for a fraction of a second, then relaxed into my hold, her trust absolute. I looked from her face to the darkening sky. The distance to Mount Hua was thousands of miles. To The Grey, it was just the next page.
I drew on its power, not as a seam, but as a fold. I took the map of the world that lived in my mind, put one finger on the park in Avalon and another on the highest peak of Mount Hua, and simply creased the page.
