Samir had lured her in, had built this trap. He’d shown her just enough to think he was faltering, so she would push, and had used that burst of power to feed his own trap. Sidaine had fallen for it. Now, for this moment, she was as bound as he was.

That was step one.

Sidaine had fallen to her knees, but she wouldn’t stay there long. Samir clasped his hands in front of himself, focused on the card he needed. Then he was holding his own hand, as there were two of him standing side-by-side.

The Twins. One of him as he was now, one of him as he had been before Sidaine had trapped him in her maze. The two of him moved to stand on either side of her.

Usually, the Twins pointed to a mind divided against itself, or immobilized by indecision. Samir was that mind, by Sidaine’s own hand, but now he had flipped that around so that he was the force holding her trapped.

The card in his mind turned one more time. Now there were two of her and only one of him. Now she was the one divided, trapped.

Samir didn’t fully understand what he was doing. This magic was complicated. It should have been far beyond him. But that lack of understanding combined with the strange rules of his place had somehow worked together so that his instinct alone was enough. As long as he didn’t stop to think.

So he didn’t stop. Now that Sidaine was him, and he was her, now he could follow the maze out.

He rose. This time it wasn’t like drowning. This time it was like being rescued—being pulled towards the surface with nothing trying to drag him back down.

He opened his eyes and he was standing in Sidaine’s workroom. She lay in the center of the inscribed miniature maze, crumpled on the ground, trapped in her own mind.

But not for long. Even now he could feel her fighting free. This was her maze. It wouldn’t hold her forever.

Samir’s mind was clearer now, but his thoughts were still too sluggish to be useful. He knew he had to get away. He wanted to find Peyter. Peyter was here. Maybe others Samir knew.

But Sidaine was coming, and if Samir was here when she opened her eyes…

Where could he run that she couldn’t find him? He didn’t even know where in the world he was. He had to get away. He had to get away.

His mind was still in that half-thinking, half-instinct place. He was still processing magic in images and metaphor. And he was desperate.

All those things twisted together. One more time, the world turned.