Christian joined me briefly, iridescent eyes glittering. Told me he’d be keeping an eye on me so if I saw him sometimes hanging around, not to worry. He’d be nearby if I ever needed help.

Ryodan, Kasteo, Fade, and Barrons were standing apart, near the portal. I spotted Lor in the crowd, but he seemed to be keeping a distance from me and Mac.

But once she’d moved off to talk with her parents, he moved in, grinning down at me, and for the first time since Dancer died, I felt my face relax and shape a smile. It’s impossible not to smile at Lor when he grins at you. But there was something different about him. For the first time since I’d met him, he looked somehow…ancient, like the rest of the Nine, in a way he never had before. “You ready, honey?”

I nodded.

“I’d go through with you but me and Mac, we got a bit of a problem we’re working out.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What kind of problem?”

“Bitch killed me ’cause she got pissed at me. I’d kill her back but then Barrons would kill me and I’d have to kill him and we’d all kill each other for a few centuries like we did once before and I ain’t going back to that shitty, boring time.”

I arched a brow, waiting, but he said nothing more. I couldn’t wait to get the scoop from Mac. If she’d killed him, she’d had a good reason. “Sorry about Jo,” I said.

“Yeah,” he said.

When I finally managed to disengage myself from everyone who wanted to say “Hi” to me for some bizarre reason, I joined Ryodan, Barrons, and Mac at the portal.

“You shouldn’t come with me. He may not come out if you’re there.”

Three immutable gazes stared at me, and I was struck by the sudden realization that I might never get rid of these people. They were in my life to stay. And they were going with me now. And that was that.

I shrugged. I’d find a way to make them leave if push came to shove. “Okay then. Let’s do this.”

A hush fell over the crowd as we moved toward the wall. A dozen feet away from the undetectable portal, a tall, wide Silver had been embedded in the wall.

“We’re working to establish similar connections to many worlds. We’ve gone universal, not global,” Mac told me.

Bloody hell, how our world had changed.

I inhaled deep, exhaled slow, preparing myself for the worst. Hoping fervently for the best.

Planet X. I was going through. It was the day.

I’d never have believed I’d be leaving a world that had no Dancer in it. It was still impossible for me to wrap my brain around. Mac said it would be that way for quite a while. That I’d expect to see him around the next corner. Or I’d text him or pick up the phone to call and his absence would hit me like a two-ton truck. I knew it would be a long time before I could ever go near Trinity College again. There were places in our city I’d be avoiding permanently.

Still, I’d been loved. Incredibly loved. And that was something I’d never had before. It had changed me. Given me new parts. “Thank you, Dancer,” I whispered as I stepped through the portal.

The small island was as empty as Mac had said it was, with the exception of a new, much smaller mirror that was now suspended in the air next to the enormous one.

I turned in a slow circle as Mac, Barrons, and Ryodan stepped through behind me. The planet that shorted out my powers made me feel sick to my stomach. Bile rose and I swallowed hard. I was here for Shazam. Nothing would interfere with my mission.

I didn’t look at Ryodan. He’d seen me a total mess far too many times lately. I’d been ignoring him and planned to continue doing so for a while.

There, on the grassy island with waves lapping gently at the shore, was my trashcan, battered and rusted, my promise to Shazam spray-painted on the side.

The food I’d tossed through was gone, no doubt pecked clean by birds on the world. The enormous dog bed I’d tossed through was…I hurried over to it and knelt on the ground, inspecting it.

I plucked a long, thick silver whisker from the dark brown faux fur and held it up for the others to see. “He was here!” I exclaimed excitedly.

My excitement evaporated. It was only proof that he’d been here a few months ago, when I’d tossed it in. Which, Shazam’s time, was decades ago.

I surged to my feet, turned my face up to the sun and called, “I see you, Yi-yi. I’m here, Shazam. I’m sorry it took me so long but I promise I’ll never leave you again.”

There was no reply.

I spun in a slow circle thinking maybe he didn’t like seeing three strangers, and frankly, they were three of the strangest people I’d ever known: two ancient, immortal shapeshifters, one Fae queen. Maybe the Nine smelled bad to him. I could understand his reservations. I was downright normal compared to them. “They’re my friends, Shazam. They won’t hurt you. It’s safe to come out.”

Still nothing.

I called for him. I said his name over and over. I crooned and cajoled and finally burst into our theme song. “Shaz the mighty fur-beast lived up in the air…”

When I glanced at Ryodan, his shoulders were shaking and he was doing his best not to laugh.

“I was a teenager,” I said with a scowl. “It’s a great song. The meter works, it rhymes, and the melody is indisputably catchy.”

“I’ll take it over Animaniacs,” he said, quickly turning away to stare out over the lake. His shoulders were still shaking. Bastard was still laughing.

I whirled away and resumed singing.

I spent hours calling him. Talking, bribing, flattering. Trying everything. I’d brought raw fish in my backpack and offered them to the air, waving them around, making a complete ass of myself and inciting a fresh wave of nausea. If he was up there, forcing me to enact such dramatic shenanigans, there was going to be hell to pay.

Finally, I turned to the others and said, “You have to go back home. He may never come out with you on the island.” I refused to believe he wasn’t here. It might take weeks, maybe even months, to convince me of that.

None of them liked the idea.

“I’m not leaving you alone here,” Ryodan said. “I’ll make myself unseen.”

“Shazam won’t be fooled,” I replied irritably. “He’s far more brilliant than you. He’s a hundred times the super you are. He’s evolved beyond anything we’ve ever seen.”