Kael burst through the crack between worlds like a cannonball.
He landed hard on the star-sand beach just as Emma's eyes fluttered open in her body. But something was wrong with her gaze. She looked at him like he was a stranger.
"Who are you?" she asked, sitting up slowly.
Kael's heart broke. "I'm your dad, Emma. Don't you remember me?"
Emma tilted her head, studying his face. "Dad... that word sounds important. But I can't remember why."
"Because you've been dead too long!" Marcus shouted, running toward them. Time around him shimmered as he moved. "The longer a soul stays in the realm of the dead, the more it forgets about being alive!"
Emma looked at Marcus with the same confused expression. "And you are?"
"Someone who's going to help you remember." Marcus grabbed both their hands. "Hold on tight."
The world spun around them like a tornado. When it stopped, they were standing in Emma's old bedroom from when she was seven years old.
