Their lives are intertwined through a strange ability of Nolan's: he can inhabit her mind as a rider of sorts, witnessing her world and the things that happen in it. Unfortunately, it tends to cause problems for him back on Earth, in part since his parents seem to believe his random disassociation episodes are seizures, which have to be treated with expensive medications.
And then things go From Bad to Worse...
This book provides examples of:
- Accidental Pervert: Nolan, owing to his imperfect control over his dimension-shifting ability, comes in for this with Amara from time to time.
- Big Bad: The usurper of the throne that should be held by Cilla, Minister Ruudde.
- Bilingual Bonus: Observant readers will notice before Nolan does that the word "numediks" in Dit, the Alinean language, is actually a rendering of pneumatics from English.
- Blessed with Suck: Amara can heal from anything. Thus, she's used to soak up the damage from Cilla's curse. At least, until Nolan finds a medication that stops his forays into her mind, which in turn destroys her healing ability.
- Bittersweet Ending: Nadi and her companions are defeated, Cilla and Amara survive the events of the book, but Nolan doesn't know if she's okay.
- Body Surf: Happens to Nolan and all the travelers in the finale.
- Brought Down to Normal: Nolan and Amara by the end on their respective worlds after their connection is severed.
- Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Despite being abusive to her, Jorn, or the person the possessing him goes Oh, Crap! when she doesn't heal from a fatal wound and needs medical attention.
- The Chew Toy: Amara as the princess's bodyguard. Jorn physically abuses her knowing she has a Healing Factor.
- Handicapped Badass: Nolan and Amara both. Nolan has what appear to be incapacitating seizures, and has lost part of one leg and so must use crutches. Amara's tongue was purposely cut out, but even so she can accomplish much.
- Healing Factor: Amara only when Nolan's with her.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Cilla attempts to let the curse take her when she learns she's what's keeping the travelers there.
- I Have Your Wife: Nadi takes possession of Nolan's sister and threatens to cut her with scissors. She also throws away his medication so that he's forced to enter Amara's head.
- Living Macguffin: Cilla.
- The Multiverse: The premise of the book.
- Nebulous Evil Organisation: There is a cabal of Ministers, headed by Minister Ruudde, who took over the Alinean government approximately ten years before the start of events in the book. However the exact number of members is never specified. As it turns out, they are inhabited by travelers from Earth who have learned how to control their dimension-shifting ability, unlike Nolan. Minister Ruudde is actually a woman named Nadi Trudeau, who has willingly left her body in a coma from birth to be able to rule over an entirely new country.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Jorn when Amara doesn't heal from a fatal wound and needs medical attention.
- Nolan realizes that Amara has heard a word which shouldn't exist in the Alinean language. That's because it's actually a transliteration of an English word, and that's when he realizes there are other dimensional travelers from Earth besides him.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: The parents rightly believe that Nolan's newest medication is a help. They just think it stops his seizures, when it stops him going into a new world.
- Rightful King Returns: Played with. As it turns out, Cilla is not the real princess.
- Sacrificial Lamb: Maart.
- Shoot the Dog: Nolan stops Cilla's curse by killing the source, Jorn, who was possessed by the travelers and not responsible for his actions.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Nadi is still a baby, a toddler at the oldest when she's carrying out her Grand Theft Me plans.
