“It was a huge mistake,” Simber roared. “I should have neverrr let you talk me into it.”

“I suppose the alternative was better?” snapped Fifer. “Splitting up?” She knew the cheetah was right, but she didn’t like admitting it. She felt flush with guilt, even though it wasn’t her fault that Thisbe had stopped guiding them in the middle of everything with absolutely no warning. “We’ll be out of here in no time. It’s . . . it’s just a glitch.”

“Glitch, smitch,” Simber said under his breath. Fifer ignored him.

“I’m sorry, everybody,” Thisbe said, feeling frustrated and downcast. She flexed her aching joints and got slowly to her feet. “I didn’t realize that the Revinir’s roar could affect me outside of Grimere.” Remnants of frightening images still flashed before her eyes and hovered at the edges of her mind. Her heart sank. It was terribly worrisome and depressing knowing that the dragon-woman’s range was so broad. Her roar had traveled all the way into the volcano network that led to other worlds! Would Thisbe ever be able to get away from it? Wouldn’t there be any relief once they made it home?

Fifer’s mouth twitched in frustration. She wanted to lash out, to blame her sister outright so that Simber wouldn’t be so mad at and disappointed in her. But she knew Thisbe couldn’t help what had happened. And lashing out would make Fifer feel even worse in the long run, so she kept quiet and sipped sparingly from her canteen. They didn’t know how long they’d be here before they’d get sucked back down. And then what? Which portal would they try next? How long would this go on before they found their world? This wasn’t nearly as easy as Thisbe had made it out to be.

•  •  •

Tense hours passed. Gray clouds hung low above them, heavy and stifling. They could scarcely see the mouth of the volcano they’d been thrown from because it was shrouded in mist. A bit of the top of the volcano still smoldered, leaving a growing layer of smoke trapped in the atmosphere to intermingle with the clouds. It was hard to take a deep breath. There was no wind, just the occasional ripple on the water. No one noticed any movement on the mainland.