Page 52 of Bonded Ever After

I step around a cloud, unsure if it can hold me, and make it to the tree and pluck one of the fruits off. Staring at it, I don’t see any peel or shell, so, glancing at Elora, I bite into it. And, oh, holyhell, it’s good. It reminds me of some cross between a star fruit and a dragon fruit. There aren’t even any seeds in it.

I eat a whole fruit, then pack a bunch in my bag and use my shirt to put even more of the fruits in. Then I carefully make my way back to Elora. A creature that looks like a cross between a puppy and a kitten darts across my path, stares at me in fear, then takes off. I keep going, wondering which of these innocent-looking creatures is going to kill me.

When I reach Elora safely on the path, I release a slow breath. “The fruit is good.”

She smiles, and we sit down to devour the fruit on the path. I watch her every step of the way out of the corner of my eye, hoping the baby likes the new fruit. The Little Bean seems to, which makes my day. There’s nothing worse than seeing Elora desperately in need of nutrition and hurling it back up.

We finish, and I say, “Should we keep going?”

She nods eagerly, and I help her to her feet.

We spend several hours walking along the small path through the Cloud Realm, and I think both of us are wondering what the catch is. Everything looks beautiful and safe, which probably means everything in here is dangerous and will try to devour us at any moment.

“The cloud part seems secure,” Elora says.

I nod as we step on another cloud. It feels soft, like a hard dough, but we don’t sink through it. “Do you think the ground here is just made of clouds? Or do you think we’re in the sky?”

She looks at me with wide eyes. “You think we could be in thesky?”

I chuckle. “Probably not. None of this would be able to grow if there wasn’t some earth somewhere, right? Plants and trees need ground to grow in.”

Her expression calms a little. “Right.”

We hear the sound of a river and continue forward until we see a river heading in our direction, before its path takes it back into the trees.

“Should we refill our water skins?”

They’re pretty full. We just left the cabin, but it’s never wise to turn down water when we can get it. There are a lot of things we can do without while traveling. Water isn’t one of those things.

“Let’s at least try it and see if it tastes fresh,” she says.

We cautiously head off the path and reach the side of the river. To my shock… it looks to be made of gold. I kneel down and reach inside, when a familiar tugging comes over me. I scoop the bottom of the river and find goldarium twisting and turning in my hand.

“What the hell…?” Elora says, completely shocked.

I look at her. “Goldarium seems to be lining the entire river. How is that possible?”

“Should we… take some?” she asks.

I shrug. “If goldarium lines all the rivers, we probably don’t need to.”

She opens her mouth, but then silver fish begin swimming through the water. Flashes of light flicker against the gold. Elora kneels down, looking thoughtful as she stares at the river. Between the fish, little creatures are playing. They’re no bigger than my thumb, and they have wings. And they’re… riding on the fish?

One turns, looks in my direction, and smiles. She looks entirely like a tiny human being.

“What is that?” I ask.

“No idea, but it seems friendly.”

“Everything seems friendly here,” I say, which troubles me.

The other shoe is bound to drop soon, and I don’t want Elora hurt when it does. Everything about this place seems to be set upto make us feel safe and at ease, which means we shouldn’t be.Right? Or have I gone totally crazy?

The fish disappear, and I try the water. “It tastes fresh, cool, and crisp,” I tell her.

She smiles and kneels down and fills up her own water bottle, while I scoop fresh water into my mouth, trying to make sure I’m fully hydrated. Then she drinks until she seems to be content, and we both head back to the path.

Her hand slides into mine. “I like the Cloud Realm so far.”

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