Splashing drew my attention to the stream where Aster was wading. He emerged from the water, robe soaking wet and a mid-sized fish in hand. He tossed the fish toward us, and it flopped on the ground next to the pile of sticks for a moment before he returned to the water.

I wasn't as hungry as I would've expected after a long day of traveling. Admittedly, Aster had been doing most of the work, but still—I was used to a ridiculously fast metabolism. Even when I thought I was human, I could never go this long without eating and still not feel like I was starving. The idea of eating the flopping animal in front of me made my stomach squirm. Was this how Aster felt when he watched me eat that dufflar?

Shivering, I gathered the maps and retreated into one of the tents. The canvas fabric blocked the wind, but it couldn't stave off the chill all around me. As I tried to concentrate on the maps, cold seeped through my thin clothes and into my bones. Before long, my teeth were chattering. My hands shook so badly that I couldn't hold the map still. I regretted telling Vance not to start a fire. Besides Aster's and Fleck's magic, it was the only serious source of heat I had.

The tent flap rustled, and Aster crawled in holding half a fish in his hand. I caught a glimpse of a fire going outside, but the fish he'd brought was completely raw as far as I could tell. To a dragon—or even a half-dragon—that was no problem, but I worried this wasn't exactly a sushi-grade fish. What even determined what a sushi-grade fish was, anyway? Raw chicken and beef was a problem because of salmonella, but even if a version of salmonella existed on Mystica, there was no telling what type of meat it would like to live on the most.

Aster held out the fish to me. Moving closer, I hesitantly took it. It was cool to the touch, a fact that didn't help my lack of appetite. When I leaned against Aster's side, at least I wasn't as cold as the fish. His powers weren't quite as strong as they'd been this morning, though. He needed to recharge in the void just as much as I needed to recharge in the sun. Before, he'd dipped his toes into the void, created a shared dreamscape we could visit in our sleep. His physical body had stayed here, even while his mind wandered beyond this dimension.

Going all the way, taking his physical body into the void—that could be dangerous if his human half couldn't withstand the void's forces for long. But at the same time, it could strengthen his powers, maybe even allow him to shape tunnels in the void to speed up our travel.

I absentmindedly nibbled on the fish as I wracked my brain for everything Shade had taught me about void magic. It wasn't much, really. He'd told me the basics, nothing more than what he'd told me about the other four elements I couldn't control. I wouldn't be able to teach him how to safely dimension hop.

Fleck might. She probably wouldn't want to help me, not unless I lied and said I'd changed my mind about helping her. I wasn't going to give her that kind of false hope. Unless, maybe it didn't have to be false. If Aster was good enough at dimension hopping, he could find other voidcats to rescue Fleck's family. Fleck was too young to dimension hop on her own. She could withstand the void's forces, but she couldn't actually break the barrier between this dimension and the next. Aster was probably powerful enough to do that, given enough instruction and raw magic. Once they were in the void, Fleck could lead them to someone, anyone, who would be sympathetic to a kitten.

"Fleck?" I didn't bother raising my voice, knowing her keen ears had undoubtedly picked up my question. "If you had a way to get into the void realm, are there family or friends—or even strangers—who would help you save your family?" I paused a moment before realizing she might be talking just as quietly as I was. "If you just said anything, I didn't hear it. My ears aren't as good as yours."

She slipped inside the tent, tail flicking side to side. "We're in Southern Glacier. I don't know anyone in the void around here."

That wasn't great news, but it wasn't horrible news either. At least she was talking to me. "Where are there people who would help you?"

"Veral."

"And that would be where...?"

"Eastern coast of Forest."

Meaning it was totally out of our way. Again, not great news, but I could work with it. "How much do you know about portal making? Not stable portals—I don't care about those—I mean temporary tunnels through the void. Like the kind that could take us from here to Veral in seconds?"

Hissing, she threw up her wings in obvious annoyance. "Don't be stupid. I'm the best in my litter, and even I can't void hop by myself yet."

"That's not what I asked." I sensed Aster's curious gaze on me. In the alley with Neza, I'd torn my coat to shreds, losing the translation amulet in the process. There was no way to explain what was going on to him without seriously interrupting the flow of our conversation. "Do you know how to do it? Could you explain to someone else how to do it?"

"I guess, yeah, but what's the point? 'Snot like you could do it. You're useless at void magic."

'Useless' was a good word to describe me right then, but it wasn't even close to what I'd call Aster. "He isn't." I nodded at him. "It comes easy to him. Compared to when I first started learning magic, he's a prodigy. And he's a dragon, so when he goes into the void, he'll be even stronger—stronger than any voidcat you've ever met. There's a very real possibility he could get us to Veral, and if he does, I think-" I wanted to tell her I was sure we could save her family, but I couldn't bring myself to say it. In the end, I didn't have to.

"You said you wouldn't save them."

"I said my first duty was to get my friends home. If you teach Aster how to make portals, I won't have to abandon them to help you. We could do both. At least, I'm willing to try if you are." And we might just succeed. After all, it would be a lot easier to free Fleck's family if we could teleport around Merlin's lab.

She was quiet for a long time, long enough that I thought there was no chance of her agreeing with me. What else could I tell her to convince her this was a good idea? Before I could think of anything, her wings slumped to the ground. She uncurled one of her middle paws I hadn't noticed was curled before, and a chain dangled from it.

"He'll need this. You dropped it." She took the translation charm in her forepaws and threw it to Aster, who gladly put it on.

"It's about time. You have no idea how annoying it is to be constantly out of the loop."

"Speaking of out of the loop, I just signed you up for portal-making lessons." I patted his knee. "I would give some space to practice, but it's freezing, so if you don't mind, I'll be staying right here until you get to the disappearing stage."

"Oh, uh, sure. No problem." He curled his now fairly long tail around my waist, holding me close. "Keep eating. You hardly ate anything when we stopped for lunch, and you'll need it to get your magic back."

I paused with the fish partway to my mouth. He hadn't realized. I'd thought it was obvious that our connection was severed, but apparently it wasn't obvious to him. He still thought I was going to recover, that a little bit of food and rest could make me better again.