Free Alive (The Veiled World Book 1) by Vanessa Garden

twisted to stare out the window, where blinding, moving light now beamed into the cabin. “Did you hear that? The Change is over.”
    I heard nothing at first, but soon enough a small, graceful shape soared past the window, casting a brief shadow against me. It shrieked.
    “A bird!”
    Jacob rushed for the door but before he could open it Axel shouted, “Stop!”
    Jacob froze, his hands on the hatch.
    Light danced across Axel’s face, beneath his chin and neck. Back and forth it moved. Whatever it was outside, it was moving.
    “Water,” said Axel, his voice was filled with defeat. “The desert sand has become water. We are surrounded by sea.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 8
     
     
    Axel
     
    On my nod, Jacob carefully opened the hatch. Every muscle in my body tensed. Though I’d seen land on the horizon, and the castle, through the window, I wasn’t certain as to whether water was going to flood the aircraft or not.
    “It doesn’t look too deep.” Jacob’s eyes were wide with excitement as he peered over his shoulder at us.
    He allowed the hatch to open fully, letting in an arch of golden light. The sun was setting. Had we been in there for hours? Surely not. I’d never known a Change to take so long.
    “The castle’s still there,” said Amber, her fair hair tickling my arm as she bent between Jacob and me to see. “It didn’t change.”
    “No, remember, just the landscape changes, all human-made things stay the same,” I replied, staring at the glinting castle which was no longer surrounded by jungle, but by what appeared to be an English rose garden. Ruby red and apricot blooms spilled over the stone walls of the kingdom and climbed the glass towers of the castle.
    “It’s beautiful,” said Amber. “And if the water’s shallow, we should be fine. It’s not a huge distance. It’ll be easy to swim across.”
    Jacob nodded and dragged his shirt up and over his head. He tossed it to the floor and turned to me, awaiting my direction.
    My stomach sank. There was no avoiding the truth. My truth.
    “It’s not that simple. There are hidden dangers in every new landscape. See those roses? Most likely the most beautiful you will ever see.” Jacob and Amber stared at me, impatient, their bodies twitching with their need to escape the aeroplane and join with the others. “Their thorns could perhaps carry poison.”
    “Really?” asked Amber, as though disappointed. She shrugged and said quickly, “So we won’t go picking roses anytime soon.” She looked at Jacob. “Let’s go.”
    “Wait!”
    They both turned to stare back at me, the setting sun highlighting their strong, muscular silhouettes. “Usually anything that grows within the kingdom’s walls,” I came between them and pointed to the endless stone wall that surrounded the kingdom and castle, “is quite safe.”
    “So you’re saying the only danger lies outside the kingdom.”
    “Yes.” I swallowed thickly as I stared out across the glistening water, trepidation swirling in my belly. “Everything outside the kingdom is trying to keep us away. The woman, Leirza, who guards the Land of Resting Souls, does everything she can to keep the living out of it.”
    “So how did you and the king and everyone else end up in this place…this dimension?”
    “Same as you. Our ancestors are all travellers, explorers, soldiers from war ships who found themselves here. They built this place over time.”
    “But where are their ships and aircrafts?” asked Jacob.
    “Over the years, the changing landscapes, shifting sands and seas, have covered them over. But they are still here beneath us.”
    Amber stared across the sunlit water and shivered, and by the look on her face, everything was registering, the truth of it all. “So all the people of the kingdom were originally stranded here and made a life for themselves and their future generations, only to then die seeking their dead loved ones, is that right?”
    “My father was one