The shock of returning hit me differently this time—It didn't explode through my veins; it froze inside them.Long.Too long.
We lay in the middle of the workshop, gasping for breath among toppled shelves and spilled paint cans. The room itself was a physical testament not only to the chaos we had unleashed minutes ago, but to what we had become. The thick, nauseating smell of burnt dust and thinner hung in the air like a warning.
I forced my head up. My gaze instantly caught the long, jagged crack in the wall—the scar left by my last scream. Minutes ago, that crack had been an insult to logic, a violent anomaly. Now it was a seal stamped on my identity.
Harper lay beside me, her back pressed against the cold debris-strewn floor, staring blankly at the ceiling.
The ceiling.An hour ago, that same ceiling had been a crumbling dome in an ancient temple under an eternal twilight—the place where we listened to a celestial tiger deliver a prophecy.
Harper's face was pale—truly pale—for the first time since this nightmare had begun.
Suddenly, her shoulders shook, and she spoke in a low, trembling voice.
"Look at me. You do realize all of this is less terrifying and more… absurd, right? Okay, fine—'We're Elemental Users,' 'We're Heirs,' we're gonna save a whole damn world or whatever… but he called us heirs."She let out a half-hysterical laugh."Heirs to what, Jessica? A tragically dramatic family tree? God, the only dramatic thing in my family is that my great-aunt left her cat an inheritance."
I rolled my eyes, but the corner of my mouth twitched upward.She couldn't help it. Humor was her brain's only defense mechanism against insanity. When the truth clawed too close, she blunted it with jokes, pushing the horror back just enough to breathe.
I wasn't like her.I handled emotions by locking them in a chest and welding it shut.
"Harper," I said, keeping my voice as flat and neutral as possible, "we literally met a golden tiger god who assigned us a mission. I think his concerns might rank a bit higher than our Brooklyn rent. Also—green-eyed guy is still suffering. In case you forgot."
Harper turned her head toward me.The sarcasm faded from her face, replaced by genuine worry.Even the brightness in her eyes dimmed.
"You're right. His pain… that meant something. Could it be a sign that the realm itself is sick?"
"Maybe. Or maybe our awakening is hurting him," I muttered, the thought sending a cold tremor through me. "Either way, tiger-god prophecy is priority number one."
Harper sat up slightly, placing her hands on her knees."Right. That part. The prophecy part. I swear I've never felt so much like I'm cramming for a magic midterm in my life."
"Magic midterm?" I shot her a look."Harper, we jumped headfirst into a prophecy the universe apparently wrote about us."
"Yes, exactly!" She flailed her hands. "That's what I'm saying!"
I crawled toward my computer, ignoring broken glass and debris.I needed the glow of the screen.I needed the prophecy—written out, ordered, solvable.
"In reality," Harper muttered behind me, "I mix colors on canvas, and you dig up dead people. And apparently we're the world's last hope now."
I exhaled sharply through my nose."Harper, that's exactly why we can solve this. Your artistic perception, my archaeological obsession with details—we can dissect this prophecy."
My eyes landed on the first critical line:
"The border trembles, for two mighty Bloodlines (Heirs), belonging to a realm whose name is not even whispered—(Orinlafec)—bleed into this world."
"This," I said, tracing the words on the screen with my finger.
Harper leaned in. Her expression changed—softened—thinking.
"'Two mighty Bloodlines,'" she repeated. "That's us?"
"Apparently."
"And the realm whose name is never spoken… Orinlafec."
I nodded. My chest tightened.
"Harper… I don't think there's any doubt left."
"Doubt about what?"
"We… we're not from this world."
Harper's mouth fell open.She stared at me.Then exhaled shakily.
"So… what? Did we celebrate our birthdays wrong?"
"Harper."
"Okay! Fine. But still… Earth was our home, Jessica. We grew up here."
"We were raised here," I corrected quietly. "But our origin… isn't here."
She folded her arms across her chest."Great. Amazing. We fell into this world. Everything we know was a lie. So what's our mission, then?"
"To restore our kingdom."
Harper blinked. "Our kingdom?"
"Tiger-god said, 'your souls have awakened.' That was stage one. Stage two is returning to Orinlafec in our bodies."
I scrolled to the next line of the prophecy—its core:
"When the body of the Sentinel (Guardian of the Gate), who sleeps in the womb of ice, rises to the surface, the chains will shatter."
My breathing slowed.
"The chains… that's the barrier preventing us from returning," I murmured."And the barrier breaks only when the Sentinel's frozen body is uncovered."
Harper's eyes widened."So there's… a gateway. On Earth."
"Yes.""And it opens when the Guardian's body is found."
Harper frowned."But where? I mean—when you say 'ice,' I think of the poles or glaciers, but if it were something massive, we'd know, right?"
"Harper, humans could find a giant magic door and still call it a 'modern art exhibit.'"
She sighed dramatically."Okay, fair. But what about a giant frozen guardian? What do they call that? 'New Netflix promo art?'"
My lips twitched."Probably."
Then her expression hardened.
"If we find the gate…" she whispered."We go through it."I nodded."And when we do… it'll close again, won't it?"
That question stopped me cold.
She continued, voice dropping:
"Earth can't sustain a magical gateway. People would notice. Panic. Exploit it. So the door has to close."She swallowed."But what if humans discover the body? Or the gate? What then?"
In that instant—Something sparked in my mind.
A sharp, blinding click.
"Wait," I whispered. "Go back—go back to the first line."
Harper blinked rapidly."But we were at the first line—"
"Harper!"
"FINE! Fine! I'm repeating it!"
I murmured it under my breath:
"When the body of the Sentinel—sleeping in the womb of ice—rises to the surface…"
"The border trembles, for two mighty Bloodlines—Heirs—bleed into this world."
And then—
A thunderbolt went off in my chest.
"Harper…" My voice shook."The Sentinel's body was found.That's why the gate opened.And when it opened—we came through."
A heavy silence fell.My thoughts were racing so fast I could barely keep up with them.
Humans discovering a frozen guardian?What would they do?
They would dig it up.Study it.Display it.Profit from it.
A Guardian of the Gate—excavated like any archaeological artifact.
At that moment, the archaeologist in me woke up fully—sharp, frantic, exhilarated.
"Harper," I breathed."The 'womb of ice'…The Sentinel…'Rising to the surface'…"
Then I shouted—
"THE ICE PRINCESS!"
I scrambled to the computer, fingers flying over the keys.Google results burst onto the screen.
Hundreds of articles.Thousands.
Siberian Ice PrincessFrozen mummyUkok PlateauAltai Mountains5th century BC
"There!" I pointed, breathless."The Ice Princess of Ukok! Found in permafrost in 1993! A massive archaeological discovery!"
Harper leaned over my shoulder."Siberia…? But why would she matter?"
"Because of who she was," I answered, scanning an article."When Russian archaeologists found her, the Altai locals protested. There's a whole legend—"
My eyes locked on the words:
"Ukok Ice Maiden – Guardian of the Realm."
I read aloud, heart hammering:
"Local legends say she protected the land from evil. When she was removed from her icy tomb, natural disasters struck. They claimed the 'chains were broken.' They demanded she be returned to rest so she could continue guarding the realm."
And then—Everything aligned.
The prophecy.The tiger.The gate.Us.He.
The pieces snapped together like ancient stones falling into place.
Womb of ice → PermafrostSentinel's body → Ukok Ice MaidenRises to the surface → Excavated in 1993Chains will shatter → Gate opensTwo Heirs bleed into the world → Us
I stared at Harper, breathless.
"We found the gate.Harper… the key to Orinlafec is in the Ukok Plateau."
Harper blinked rapidly. "Siberia? Jessica, Siberia!? Before I pack a suitcase, let me just say—Russia. We need money. We need passports. And loads of patience with each other."
"Money isn't a problem," I whispered, closing the laptop softly.Purpose steadied my heartbeat—clear, cold, certain.
"Passports we have. Patience… we'll hope for the best."
I looked at Harper, and for the first time, my mask wasn't a lie.It was resolve.
We had a destination now.
The path of the prophecy had begun.
Siberia was waiting.