"Oh… shit."
Rowan let out a dry laugh, the kind that carried more exhaustion than humor. "Yeah. Oh shit indeed, Jake." He gestured toward the table. "Sit. Eat. You're still pale enough that I'm surprised you're standing."
Rowan disappeared briefly into the kitchen and returned with two plates. One held a neat pile of sugar cookies, lightly browned at the edges. The other carried thin slices of cooked meat, seasoned simply but cooked to perfection. Jake's stomach twisted, not with nausea this time, but with hunger.
"Luna watched over you all evening," Rowan added as he set the plates down. "Hasn't moved from your bedside except when I forced her out. Where is she now?"
"Still asleep in the infirmary," Jake said, glancing back toward the concealed stairway. "I tried waking her up. Didn't work."
He hesitated, then frowned slightly. "She won't panic if she wakes up and I'm not there, right?"
Rowan snorted. "Panic? No. Lecture you loudly? Almost certainly."
Jake exhaled through his nose.
'Yeah. That tracks'
He reached for the meat and ate like someone who had forgotten what food felt like. Warm. Real. Grounding.
"Also," Rowan said, leaning against the table with his arms crossed, "You missed quite a bit. I'm not even sure where to begin."
"Anywhere's fine," Jake muttered between bites.
Rowan's expression sobered. "A large cult uprising has erupted across the continent. The Stellan Empire has been tracking them for years, but it turns out they were lying low, waiting for a signal. Whatever it was, it happened. Now they're everywhere."
Jake paused mid-chew. "That explains the tension."
"Lucy and Lucas will be busy," Rowan confirmed. "Very busy."
Jake swallowed. "What about the new beyonder? The living armor?"
Rowan's eyes brightened just slightly. "He's remarkable. Never tires. Doesn't eat. Doesn't sleep. Perfect laborer, perfect guard. If anyone was made to survive this world, it's him."
"Does he have a name?"
"He refused to give us his Earth name," Rowan said. "Said it didn't matter anymore. He chose Ace. Claimed it sounded cool."
Jake huffed. "Fair enough."
Not like I can talk. No one here knows my real name is Jacob.
Before Rowan could continue, stone ground against stone beneath their feet.
A moment later, Luna burst from the hidden stairway, chest heaving, eyes wild.
"ROWAN! JAKE IS GONE! HE IS NOT IN HIS BED!"
Her gaze snapped to the table.
To Jake.
Relief hit her like a physical force. Her shoulders sagged, then stiffened as embarrassment flooded in.
"Jake," she snapped, pointing at him, "you absolute asshole. You could've at least woken me up."
"I tried," Jake said evenly. "You asked for five more minutes."
She froze. "…Did I say anything else?"
"If you did," he replied flatly, "I wasn't there to hear it."
Her face turned red instantly. "Good. Great. Perfect."
Without another word, she spun on her heel. "I'm going to work out. Yep. Gonna go work out. Loosen my muscles."
She vanished down the stairs as fast as she'd appeared.
Jake stared after her, then slowly turned to Rowan. "What was that about?"
Rowan only shrugged, lips twitching. "Youth."
Jake sighed and took another cookie.
"Last bit of news," Rowan said, his voice turning serious again. "The Stellan Empire has begun mass recruitment and mobilization. Between the cultists and what they're planning next, they need bodies."
"Planning next?" Jake asked.
"Expeditions," Rowan replied. "Beyond the island."
Jake stiffened. "You're joking."
"I wish I were. Luna, Lucy, and Lucas have all agreed to join."
Jake shot to his feet. "What? Then who's going to train me? Lucy is the only reason I haven't stabbed myself by accident. Luna's just as new as I am, gift or not."
Rowan met his gaze calmly. "They want you to join too."
The words landed heavy.
"Beyond the island," Rowan continued, "are places untouched since the golden age of magic. Dangerous, yes, but full of resources, artifacts, relics. Things that don't exist anymore."
He paused, then said quietly, "If there's anything in this world that could send you home, it's out there."
Jake clenched his jaw.
He hated fighting. He hated the idea of war. He hated that his body betrayed him at random, that some unknown sickness lurked inside him like a ticking bomb. But he had grown attached to them. Luna. Lucas. Lucy. Rowan.
They were his people now.
"What about you?" Jake asked softly. The teasing tone was gone.
Rowan smiled gently. "Someone has to stay behind. Ace needs training. New beyonders will keep arriving. Tom and Emily are staying as well."
Jake stared at the table for a long moment.
Then he nodded. "I'll do it."
Rowan's smile widened. "Good. Tom's been busy. He's crafted new weapons for everyone."
Jake exhaled slowly.
If I'm lucky, he thought, maybe I'll finally figure out what's wrong with me.