[Tyler’s POV]

“How is my precious Carl Washington doing today?” Jocelyn asked as she stepped into the study room. I had been expecting her presence after seeing the terrestrial ball she called a portal dancing next to the door.

I shrugged. “I’ll never get used to that name,” I said.

“It’s okay. I can just call you Tyler if you’re more comfortable with that. It’s not like the authorities are always present to monitor everything we have to say,” she explained, then sat down on a stool beside me and eyed the map I had been working on.

A month ago, all the documents had been processed and finalised, and...