“This doesn’t bother me. Not in the least. I’ve been . . . unwise in some of my leadership methods. Perhaps even cruel. I know it will take time—a long time—to change.” Jane shifted in her seat, looking toward the window on the other side of the room, muted light from the cloudy day spilling through onto her bed. “All I ever wanted was to make things better, Frazier. That’s all I still want. If I need to adapt how I rule things, then so be it.”

She turned her neck, looking once again at Frazier, her eyes narrowed. “But we will take over the Realities. We will spread the goodness and power of the Chi’karda from the Thirteenth Reality to the others. And in the end, we will make the universe a better place for all. This, I promise you.”

Frazier nodded again, throwing all the sincerity he could into his expression. Jane’s words, filled with passion, had moved him greatly. He remembered why he had followed this woman for so many years, despite the constant danger. He remembered . . . and felt ashamed of the many times he’d hoped to topple her and take over.

“Mistress Jane,” he said. “I . . . I . . . I don’t know what to—”

“Say nothing,” she snapped, a sudden thunderclap shaking the room. It was a trick she performed often. “You’ve earned yourself back into my full graces. You’re my most loyal servant. You will be beside me, always. Nothing else needs to be said.”

A long pause followed, thoughts churning inside Frazier’s mind. How do I act now? What do I say? His fear of Jane hadn’t diminished in the least—if anything, it had grown stronger.

Thankfully, Jane got back to business. “You said you had an update on the Barrier Wand and some interesting news. Well, get on with—” She paused, forcing a smile. “Please, report.”

Frazier leaned forward, grunting as he pulled himself out of the soft cushions, and put his elbows on his knees. “They’ve found a place in a small mountain range about five hundred miles away—they’ve spotted signs of ore. It looks encouraging. The Diggers are hunting as we speak. As soon as they find a deposit, I’ll let you know.”

“Once they do,” Jane said, “we should need only two or three more weeks.”

“That’s right. The metal is the last thing we need to reconstruct the Wand.”

Something floated up from a shelf near the bed, flying through the air and landing with a thump in Jane’s outreached palm. She held it out for Frazier to see—a complex bundle of wires, pipework, gears, and nanochips—the Chi’karda Drive she’d removed from her previous Barrier Wand. The one Atticus Higginbottom had stolen.

“What’s the other news?” Jane asked.