Through the deserted streets, one of the warriors led the two of them toward the barracks.

"I thought you'd want to go after Juan immediately," Mateo remarked. He was clearly struggling to keep up, probably because he'd been imprisoned for so long.

As for how that was even possible...

Emilio had no idea, and at the moment he didn't care.

All he could picture was Iliyan's lifeless body.

What would they have done with him? Thrown him into the sea? Dumped him in some mass grave? Maybe that psychopath had him served up as food a few hours ago...

When they finally reached the grounds, Emilio hesitated.

What was the smartest move?

He could simply march inside. That would wake everyone, though, since he had no idea where Iliyan slept. There was a chance they'd all obey him without question—but there was also a chance some of the military commanders would wake up. Men who might be far more skeptical about finding him here in the middle of the night when he was supposed to be in bed with their ruler.

Maybe it was wiser to be more careful.

With a few gestures, he ordered their guide to leave.

Then he and Mateo found a place among the trees where they were well hidden but still had a clear view of the area.

"So we're just going to wait until sunrise?" Mateo guessed.

"Yeah."

"I don't get any of this."

Emilio let out a quiet sigh.

There was so much he needed to explain.

"What do you know?" he asked. "About what's happened to us since we got here?"

"Not much. Communication with that guy wasn't exactly smooth. Eventually, I gathered that you had to prove you were a god by killing some kind of beast, and until you managed that, Juan was being forced to help build a temple."

"That's about right. The night we arrived, Juan was taken away and I was left behind. Then a warrior came to me—I've told you about him before, Iliyan—and he offered to help."

Emilio summarized everything that had happened since: their journey to the cloud forest, the high mountains, and the jungle.

He managed to keep an emotional distance from the moments that had shaken him the most at the time—especially the fight with the jaguar and Mayu's death.

When he reached the part about the scorpion sting, he heard Mateo chuckle softly.

Emilio raised an eyebrow. There hadn't been a damn thing funny about that nightmare.

"Scorpions that make you go blind?" Mateo said. "I've seriously never heard of anything like that."

Emilio shrugged. "Maybe they're extinct a thousand years from now. Or maybe they haven't been discovered yet."

"Or maybe something else caused it."

The grin on Mateo's face irritated him to no end. "Well?"

"Maybe you're just a little in love."

Emilio froze. "What?"

Mateo burst out laughing. "Love is blind, isn't that what they say?"

"Ha. Ha." Emilio rolled his eyes.

"I don't think it's that far-fetched. Listen to yourself. 'Oh, Iliyan's so good with a spear. Iliyan's amazing at tracking. Iliyan's so smart.'" Mateo mimicked in an exaggerated singsong voice. "Next you'll be telling me he's got beautiful eyes and smells amazing."

His eyes are beautiful.

Heat flooded Emilio's face. He jabbed Mateo sharply with his elbow. "Very funny. You know I'm not into men."

"I know that's what you think."

Irritation crept through him. "That's complete bullshit."

"You're glowing like a neon sign every time you talk about him."

No, I'm not. It's pitch-black out here, for fuck's sake.

Instead of taking the bait, Emilio kept his eyes fixed on the Warriors' Quarters. He certainly hadn't missed Mateo's stupid jokes.

Absentmindedly, he picked at the bandage wrapped around his hand while his thoughts drifted back to that morning they'd watched the parrots together. He'd wanted to slip an arm around Iliyan's shoulders. Then there'd been the mud... The way Iliyan's laughter and sparkling eyes had distracted him from what they were actually doing. Without any effort at all, he could still remember the feel of his hand sliding across Iliyan's hip.

Emilio drew his knees up, hoping to ease the tight knot twisting in his stomach. Could it be true? Could I actually have feelings for Iliyan?

No. Don't be ridiculous. You're not some pathetic fairy. Stop thinking such dumb things. Mateo's just messing with your head. Iliyan's just become a really good friend. That's all.

"So..." Emilio said, forcing his thoughts elsewhere. "Are you going to tell me what you're doing here?" That was a far more relevant question. "Weren't you supposed to be in prison? Or did your cell happen to come with a portal straight into the temple dungeon?" He couldn't resist teasing him a little. The knot Mateo's words had left in his stomach refused to disappear.

"I already served my sentence."

"What? You still had at least a year left."

"I did that year." Mateo shrugged. "And then I spent another year looking for you."

Emilio frowned. "I haven't even been here a year."

"In our world, you've been missing for well over two years."

Silence.

Two years...?

Emilio slowly shook his head. His mind simply couldn't process it. "Holy shit..." He stared into the darkness. "Do people think we're dead?"

"There've been plenty of wild theories."

"Then how did you find the portal? Did some little girl lead you to it too? To that temple?"

Mateo shook his head. "No. My search led me to a cave. There was a freaking time machine in it, and after a ridiculous amount of arguing this weird woman finally convinced me you guys were here. She sent me here right after you arrived—just a long way from the capital. Same cave."

Sure. Why not make things even weirder?

Not only was there a portal that appeared once every so often... There was also a time machine, operated by some strange woman. Probably the same woman who'd sent James to bring them here in the first place. But then why hadn't she simply used the time machine herself?

His thoughts drifted back to Huaca de la Luna. James leading them into the forbidden part of the temple. Juan insisting he'd seen a portal there. Then that stupid conversation later that day—that Emilio was destined to do great things.

I just murdered the ruler. Maybe I really did save countless lives. That bastard would've dragged the entire empire into ruin with his senseless bloodshed.

"Our portal apparently can't be used from this side," Emilio said. "One-way traffic, I guess. So Sawa must've been traveling back and forth between the portal and the time machine. And you ended up arriving through that cave." 

Mateo nodded. "Yeah. At first I thought it was complete bullshit and figured my phone just didn't have reception. Then eventually I got captured by a bunch of human traffickers... and after that I ended up in prison."

Emilio suppressed a sigh. He'd seen the mountain range. Finding a single cave there could take centuries.

But that could wait. First he had to find Iliyan. And Juan.

"So what happened to Juan?" he asked. "Did you talk to him?"

"Someone brought me a letter about three months ago. It was addressed to you."

Leaning sideways, Mateo pulled out a crumpled slip of paper. It was the back of a grocery receipt. The ink had faded almost completely.

E,

I hope you're doing okay. Three months ago, James, Sawa, and I managed to escape. Unfortunately, James didn't make it. We've gone to a place they call the Valley of the Condor. Hopefully you'll be able to make your way here too. The people here are forming a resistance against the Muchika.

Juan

A faint smile tugged at Emilio's lips.

Maybe James's death should have affected him more, but he'd never liked the man, and the relief of hearing that Juan was alive overshadowed everything else.

"The Valley of the Condor," he repeated, staring at the name. "Iliyan's family."

The family he wants dead.

The family I'd promised to help him kill.

Hopefully Juan hadn't become best friends with them in the meantime.

"Iliyan's family?"

"Yeah. That's where he's from."

He had no desire to tell Mateo what had happened there. It wasn't important right now. Besides, it felt as though this solved two problems at once. He'd be heading toward Juan, and he'd be keeping the promise he'd made to Iliyan.

Once I've found him.

And for that...

...all he could do was wait impatiently for the sun to rise.