“Talon . . . Aria, why doesn’t he know me?”

She scrambled for an answer. These were the Realms. You could never trust anything. It was too easy to become something else. Someone else. Talon knew that already. “Tell him something,” she said, but it was too late.

Perry was wild, cursing. He turned to the door. “How do I get him out of here?”

“You can’t. You’re with him only in the Realms. He’s somewhere else. Ask him where he is. Ask him anything else you want to know. Quickly, Perry.”

Perry dropped onto one knee, his eyes falling to his burnt hand. “He should know me,” he said under his breath.

Talon came closer, tentative. “What happened to your hand?”

Perry wiggled his swollen fingers. “You could call it a mix-up.”

“Looks like it was bad. . . . Did you win?”

“If you were really Talon, you wouldn’t ask me that.”

Aria knew Perry had smiled at his nephew. She could picture his crooked smile, a blend of shy and fierce.

Recognition sparked in the boy’s eyes, but he didn’t move.

“Talon, it looks like you, but I can’t get your temper.”

“There’re no tempers in here,” he said, full of righteousness. “All the scents are off.”

“That’s eight. They’re faded but strong. . . . Squeak, it’s me.”

The suspicion left the boy’s face and he threw himself against Perry.

Aria watched Perry’s hand on the wallscreen, stroking the back of Talon’s head. “I was so worried about you, Tal.” Beside her, on the couch, he shifted, dropping his head into his hands. He was growing used to being in the two places at once. Aria put her hand on his shoulder.

Talon squirmed out of the embrace. “I wanted you to come.”

“I got here as soon as I could.”

“I know,” Talon said. With a gap-toothed grin, he reached out for a tendril of Perry’s hair and rubbed the streaked gold between his thin little fingers. Aria had never seen anything so tender in all her life.

Perry took him by the shoulders. “Where are you?”

“In the Dweller Pod.”

“Which one, Talon?”

“Rev. That’s what the kids here call it.”

Perry patted Talon’s arms, took hold of his chin, touching his small neck. “They’re not hur”—Perry’s voice caught—“hurting you?”

“Hurting me? I get fruit three times a day. I can run in here. Fast. I can even fly, Uncle Perry. All we do is go around in these Realms. They even got hunting Realms, but a lot of them are too easy. You just—”

“Talon, I’m going to get you out of here. I’ll find a way.”

“I don’t want to leave.”

Perry’s shoulder tensed beneath Aria’s hand.

“This isn’t where you belong,” Perry said.