Chapter 66: A Leap Together
Alina’s family stood close to her, her mother still leaning heavily on her father, her brother’s arm protectively around them both.
Eric, standing a little apart with Alina, surveyed the crowd of survivors. His own training clothes were now torn and battered; the sleeve of one arm was entirely ripped away from the recent chaos.
He looked at the dense, unfamiliar trees surrounding them, then turned to Alina, a concerned expression clouding his golden eyes.
"Alina," he began, his voice quiet but serious, "now that everyone is out, what do you plan to do next? Where do we go from here?" He paused, then added the most worrying part. "You do realize... we’re in another country, right? This is the Roland Kingdom. It’s not safe for us here, especially for me, being who I am."
She remembered Adam’s last words, his unexpected faith in her abilities: "Once you find your parents, you must use your ability to teleport everyone—your parents, and Eric—out of here... I have absolute confidence that you can accomplish this task."
Those words, spoken by that Adam, echoed in her mind, giving her a strange sort of strength she hadn’t known she possessed. Adam believed she could do it. So, she had to believe it too.
She took a deep breath, then raised her voice, speaking loudly and clearly so that everyone in the anxious group could hear her. "Everyone, listen to me!" she called out. Her voice, though young, carried an unexpected weight of authority.
The chattering and nervous murmurs among the rescued prisoners quieted as they turned their attention to her. "We need to get out of this forest, out of this kingdom, and back to safety. The only way to do that quickly is together." She looked around at their faces, meeting their gazes. "I’m going to try and teleport us all out of here!"
A wave of confusion, mixed with fear and a desperate flicker of hope, swept through the group. Teleport? An entire group of people? It sounded impossible. The idea was particularly evident on the faces of Alina’s own family.