Chapter One

“Are you going to keep standing there like a braindead idiot, or will you drag your worthless ass into the kitchen and prepare dinner for Sage?”

“Uhm…”

“Move, Kamari!” Daniel’s voice rose to a roar that echoed through the house. “Don’t embarrass me in front of my guest. Christ, it wouldn’t kill you to not be so fucking stupid for once in your pathetic life. Your presence, your breathing, every goddamn thing about you makes my skin crawl. So do us both a favor and get the hell out of my sight.”

“Of course, Daniel. I’m sorry.”

The words were barely audible.

I had to physically bite down on my tongue to keep from screaming.

Crouched in the narrow space between the wall and an antique cabinet, I watched my alternate self—me, but not me—scurry toward the kitchen like a beaten dog.

Her shoulders were hunched, her movements quick and jerky, designed to make herself as small and unnoticeable as possible.

No protest. No fight. No spark of defiance.

Just… obedience.

My stomach turned violently, and I had to close my eyes and count to ten to keep from vomiting right there in my hiding spot.

This couldn’t be me. This submissive, terrified woman couldn’t share my face, my DNA, my goddamn soul.

But she did.

A sharp cramp seized my left calf, and I bit back a curse. I’d been wedged into this impossibly tight space for over an hour, now my muscles were screaming in protest.

I crept down the hallway silently toward the kitchen, making sure I was pressed against the walls, melting into shadows, invisible. Just like I’d been trained.

Through the doorway, I could see her—the Kamari from the seventh earth—frantically pulling ingredients from the refrigerator, her hands trembling as she worked. No doubt trying to figure out how to impress the husband who treated her like garbage and the mistress he’d brought into their home.

Their home.

It took every ounce of my self-control not to storm in there and beat some sense into her.

But that wasn’t why I was here.

Still, watching myself be this weak, this pathetic, this utterly broken… it did more than bruise my ego. It made me want to burn this entire dimension to the ground.

Before I’d left, Alarion had tried to prepare me for what I might find.

“Each universe is like a mirror. alternate universes running parallel to ours,” he’d explained in that clinical tone of his. “Everything that exists here exists in another dimension. Me, you, Rave, even Edgar. But the circumstances, the choices, the realities are all different. You could find another version of me working as a farmer. Another you who’s a teacher. The possibilities are infinite.”*

He’d warned me.

But nothing—absolutely nothing—could have prepared me for this.

I’d been in the Seventh earth for three days since stepping through the hidden portal, whuch Alarion had pulled some special strings with his contacts to get access to.

The first thing I’d done was locate my alternate self, knowing I’d need her to be able to blend in here long enough to find my son.

What I’d found had shaken me to my core.

For seventy-two hours, I’d watched this Kamari endure hell.

I’d witnessed Daniel’s abuse—the way he belittled her with cutting words, shoved her into walls when she didn’t move fast enough, controlled every aspect of her existence.

I’d seen the bruises she tried to hide beneath long sleeves, heard her apologize for things that weren’t her fault, watched her desperately try to earn love from a man who was incapable of giving it.

Domestic violence victim. That’s what my alternat self was.

And instead of fighting back—instead of using the rage I knew lived somewhere inside her to destroy him—she just kept trying harder to please him.

Even now, as he flaunted his lover in her face, she was in the kitchen preparing them a romantic dinner.

I wanted to throw up.

Of all the planets in this universe Edgar could have hidden in, the bastard had chosen this one.

Just another reason to make his death as slow and painful as possible.

I shook off the dark thoughts spiraling through my mind. I don’t have time for this. Every moment I wasted was another moment Lance spent in that monster’s clutches, enduring God knows what.

So with a sreadying breath, I stepped out of the shadows.

“You know he only treats you like this because you let him, right?”

She whirled around with a sharp gasp, the knife in her hand clattering to the counter.

Her eyes—went comically wide as she took in the sight of her own face staring back at her.

“What the hell?!”

“Shhh!” I held up a hand, keeping my voice low. “I need you to stay quiet and not attract attention, Riri. Don’t scream.”

But she just stood there, frozen, staring at me like I was a ghost. Her mouth opened and closed soundlessly, and I could practically hear her brain short-circuiting as it tried to process what she was seeing.

“Breathe,” I instructed calmly. “I promise I’m not here to hurt you.”

She didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Just kept staring with those impossibly wide eyes.

“I know this is shocking, and I wish I had more time to ease you into—”

“Alternate universes.” The words tumbled out in a rush, barely above a whisper. “Parallel dimensions. Multiverse theory.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“I know they exist.” She was shaking her head in disbelief, but there was a spark of something in her eyes now—recognition, maybe even excitement. “I’ve read extensively about quantum mechanics and dimensional theory. My father’s a physicist specializing in—” She cut herself off, blinking rapidly. “I just never thought I’d actually see proof.”

Well, damn.

Maybe she wasn’t as helpless as I’d assumed. At least her mind was still sharp.

“Then I don’t have to waste time explaining why you’re seeing your own face in your kitchen,” I said, relaxing slightly.

“No, but…” A hysterical laugh bubbled out of her. “It’s still completely insane. I mean, you’re me. Standing right there. This is—” Her expression suddenly shifted to childlike wonder. “Which universe and planet are you from? What’s it like there? How did you travel here? What technology did you use? Oh my God, is dimensional travel common in your reality? Do you—”

“Hey, slow down.” I held up both hands, cutting off her rapid-fire questions. “I appreciate the enthusiasm, really, but I’m on a tight schedule. I need your help, and I need it now.”

Her excitement dimmed, replaced by wariness. “Help with what?”

“I need you to trust me,” I said carefully, taking a slow step toward her. “And I need you not to panic.”

She took a corresponding step back. “You’re making me nervous.”

“In a few minutes, you’re going to wake up somewhere completely unfamiliar,” I continued, closing the distance between us with deliberate calm. “Your first instinct is going to be fear—probably terror. But I need you to stay calm and trust that you’re safe. Can you do that?”

Her eyebrows shot up. “I don’t understand what you’re—”

“I don’t expect you to understand.” I reached into my pocket, palming the small sedative chip. “Just listen: I have nothing personal against you. My son is in danger, and I’m only doing this to save him. You’ll understand later, I promise.”

“Wait, what are you—”

I moved faster than she could track and before she could finish her sentence, I’d closed the gap and pressed the tiny chip against the side of her neck.

Her eyes met mine, wide with shock.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

The sedative worked instantly. Her pupils dilated, her knees buckled, and I caught her before she could hit the floor. Within seconds, she was completely unconscious, her head lolling against my shoulder.

Guilt twisted in my gut, but I shoved it down.

She’d understand eventually. She had to. Besides, Rave had promised to take care of her while I was stuck in this dimension.

She’d be safe, comfortable even—certainly better off than she was in this abusive hellhole.

I was doing her a favor, really.

/Keep telling yourself that./

Working quickly, I pulled out the golden key Alarion had given me—an intricate piece of technology that looked ancient but hummed with energy. I pressed a specific sequence into my wrist communicator, and reality itself seemed to ripple in front of me. A doorway materialized out of thin air, its edges glowing with ethereal light.

The portal home.

Rave would be waiting on the other side, ready to receive his guest.

Before I could second-guess myself, I hoisted the unconscious woman into my arms and pushed her through the shimmering doorway. She disappeared in a flash of light, and the portal sealed itself behind her.

Gone.

I stared at the empty space where the doorway had been, my heart pounding.

No going back now.

I was stuck in the Seventh Dimension until I found Edgar, rescued Lance, and could activate the return sequence. No escape route. No backup plan.

“You mother fucking slut!”

Daniel’s enraged voice exploded from the hallway, and I spun around just in time to see him storming into the kitchen. His face was flushed red with anger, a vein throbbing in his temple.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he snarled, advancing on me. “Sage is hungry and waiting while you’re in here standing around like a goddamn moron?”

Every muscle in my body tensed. My hand instinctively moved toward where I usually kept my weapons—but I’d left them hidden. I couldn’t blow my cover.

I wanted to kill him. God, I wanted to wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze until his face turned purple and his eyes bulged out of his skull. It would be so easy. So satisfying.

But I couldn’t.

For Lance, I had to play the role.

So I did what the other Kamari would do: I dropped my gaze to the floor in submission, forcing my shoulders to hunch, making myself smaller.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, nearly choking on the words.

“Sorry?” His voice dripped with contempt. “Is your pathetic sorry supposed to magically make dinner appear?”

“No, I just—”

The slap came out of nowhere.

Pain exploded across my cheek, sharp and stinging. My head snapped to the side from the force of it, and I gasped, instinctively clutching my face.

The bastard had actually hit me.

White-hot rage flooded through my veins. My vision tinged red. Every instinct I had screamed at me to retaliate—to grab his wrist, twist it until bones cracked, and introduce his face to the marble countertop repeatedly until he stopped moving.

It would take three seconds. Maybe four.

But I couldn’t.

/Lance./

/Think of Lance./

I forced myself to stay still, to keep my head down, to play the victim.

“I’m going to give you ten more of those if dinner isn’t ready in five minutes,” Daniel spat, his spittle hitting my face. “Incompetent bitch.”

He stormed out, leaving me trembling—not from fear, but from the monumental effort it took not to murder him where he stood.

My cheek throbbed. My hands were clenched so tight my nails drew blood from my palms.

Five days, I reminded myself, forcing slow breaths. You only have to play this role for a few more days. Find Edgar. Save Lance. Then you can come back here and handle Daniel properly.

And when I did come back, I was going to teach this bastard what happened to men who put their hands on women.

Dimensional laws be damned.