He held out a hand like she was a wild animal. "Thomas, you remember him, right? He and another earth witch are busy unleashing an arsenal of earth witchy things to create diversions all over this floor. They sent me to get you. Fire magick in a hospital is never a good thing. You coming, or have you grown to like this place?"

She glanced around and shivered. Dropping the tray to the bed, she took his hand. His grip was strong and warmed her cold skin. It was the kind of touch she immediately wanted to trust, to allow to comfort her. It proved how badly she needed someone to rely on right now. However, in her position, such inclinations were dangerous.

They exited the room and stepped into the deserted hallway. The soft-soled shoes they'd given her made no sound on the slick, patterned floor. Voices, raised in alarm, carried over the sound of malfunctioning equipment filtered dully from behind thick closed doors.

He led her toward the reception desk and the bank of elevators at the end of the corridor. "So, do you speak or have they stolen your voice?"

She shot him a look of annoyance. "I can speak. Where is everyone?"

"Distracted. Thomas and Theo are creating problems with the electrical wiring. Just the lighting on this floor, the computers, and some of the non-essential equipment." He glanced at her. "They're not doing anything to machines that keep people alive. It's just enough to have everyone worried about what the hell is going on. Keeps them out of the corridors so we can get you out of here unseen."

She shrugged. "As far as I can tell, there's no one on life-support on this floor. Only us crazy people."

"Yeah, that's why we're here. We know you're not crazy, Claire."

"I don't know about that. This world would make anyone insane," she mumbled.

He laughed. It was a rich, rolling sound that made her warm. She hadn't been truly warm since before Rue had pushed her through the doorway.

They approached the elevators and Claire caught sight of Thomas. He looked healthy and strong, so different from the last time she'd seen him when he'd been standing in front of the doorway, holding off three Ytrayi daaeman, and begging her to jump with him. Back then, his hair had been shorn close to his head, his eyes had been hollow, and his powerful body grim and gaunt. His hair was still short, but his body was once again powerful.

Beside him stood a darker-skinned man, broad and tall as Thomas. His hair fell past his shoulders and pulsed with a power she could feel even from twenty feet away. Tattoos peeked from beneath the long sleeves of his shirt and Claire could feel that they, too, had been imbued with power. That marked him right away as a fellow earth witch.

Just as she pulled from Adam to run to Thomas—the only familiar face she'd seen since being pushed into this world—the elevator doors opened and Tevan stepped out.