A warm breeze caresses her with the heady perfume of spicy flowers and carries with it the faint music of bells in the distance. Julie lifts her gaze to the azure sky and feels a serenity she hadn’t imagined possible. This place, although she can’t recall having seen it before, is soothing and feels like home in the heath. [Why did you stay away so long?] SAM’s voice washes in like the tide—strong and sure and all-encompassing. [Do I have bad breath or something?] Julie laughs with unalloyed joy. SAM! It’s you! I missed you. My best friend! [Well, if your actions of the past few days are any indication of how you treat a best friend, perhaps we should reconsider...] Julie nods sadly. Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to kill you. [Yes, you did.] Okay. I did. But I always meant to help bring you back once Icaria was safe. [But you need Proteus and me for that.] Julie frowns. What do you mean?
