Hope bit her ear, but not hard enough to draw blood. Kaylin glanced at him; he pointed his snout in the direction of the two mortals. The command was clear; she walked toward them, moving behind where they had chosen to stand, which happened to be directly in front of, and slightly between, the two paintings that represented them.

Terrano approached the paintings, standing between them. He stopped, as he had the first time he’d attempted this deconstruction, just out of reach of the twin nimbuses of gray, and lifted his arms to hover to the left and right. This was fine. The third arm which protruded from the center of his chest was less mundane. Neither Amaldi nor Darreno could apparently see this.

“Is your friend going to join you?” Kaylin asked the Avatar, who stood to one side of the cohort member.

“It is not necessary. What he achieved the first time, I could clearly see; unless this is very different, I believe we should be fine. Serralyn, however, did what I could not easily do.”

Teela cursed—a Leontine word. Turning to Kaylin she said, “You’d better protect her.” Ah, no. It wasn’t to Kaylin she was speaking, but Hope. She then stepped behind Terrano, drew a deep breath, and placed her palm against the fabric of his shirt.

For some reason, watching Serralyn literally become an extension of Terrano hadn’t been disturbing. Watching Teela do it felt wrong. Teela was part of the cohort. Kaylin knew this. But on a visceral level, Teela was Teela.

Wrong or not, she did. She grimaced, wincing as if she’d picked up a piece of hot metal with bare hands. Kaylin took a step toward them.

No. You are where you need to be, and she is where she needs to be.

Kaylin swallowed words, nodding.

You cannot be what she is; you cannot be what they are. Accept that. You can be where they are, but what Terrano now does is...highly unusual. Necessary. I wish I had met Azoria while she still lived. I almost wish I had answered her call.

“Her what?”

Hope shook his head. Pay attention.

Kaylin nodded. She reached out with both hands and placed them on the shoulders of the two mortals who waited.

Terrano unraveled the binding that surrounded the canvas, just as he had the first time. He worked deliberately but slowly; any speed gained was due to familiarity. He had a much clearer idea of how to unravel the spell Azoria had cast. As before, the fog was separated into distinct colors; as before, some of those strands were obsidian. As before, once separate, they seemed to spread: shadow vines with shadow thorns.

But there was a third thread in this mix, one absent from the enchantments built around the Barrani portraits Kaylin had seen.

“Yes,” the Avatar said. “Yes, and no. Watch. Touch nothing.”