In a way, his bliss power is shining through even in this dark moment. He seems to be seeing our situation as a positive one, even if he frames it in a really morbid way. For me, the knowledge that we most likely won’t all survive the coming days makes the nightmare darkness inside of me swirl haphazardly. Until we save my father and destroy Esta, there are no bonuses or silver linings.
I can’t rest until then.
“We should go now,” Roman says, his focus jolting to the side suddenly. “We’ve been lucky it’s been so quiet for the last few minutes, but our presence has been noticed again.”
“Not by Esta?” I ask quickly.
“Worse,” he murmurs back.
Well, great.
“Move close!” he calls to my pack before he turns the clasp to one of the symbols he showed me earlier that signifies the angels’ realm. “I’m not sure exactly where this will take us within Stella-Astrum,” Roman says as the runes around the clasp glow golden—the same light that glimmers within the fissure.
The silver mark on the stone lights up, but even without moving it, the weapon jolts toward the doorway, as if the energy within it is drawn to the land beyond.
“Then I guess we’ll find out,” I say before I call out to my pack. “Everyone, push in. Make sure you’re standing within the light.”
Roman’s biceps bunch as he grips the weapon, holding it tightly despite the force pulling on it. “I don’t know what we’ll find when we arrive,” he says. “But be ready. The angels won’t welcome our presence.” And to me, he murmurs, “I’ll conceal the weapon as soon as we arrive. We can’t risk the angels taking it or the securities around their world could trap us there.”
It seems like so long ago that Roman explained to me why the weapon is so dangerous—that it allows the person who controls it to travel between worlds without permission. In times when there’s no Elimination, of course.
But now, we have a chance.
As Roman leans closer to the fissure, I reach for my pack—all of them. My wolves, my sisters, and Koda.
Once again, we’re about to step into a world of danger, but we have no other choice.
The angels have my father, and I need him back.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
The sound of birdsong reaches me through the bright, golden light.
The sensation of being thrown through time and space fades as I regain my sense of self and an acute awareness of the sudden chill in the air—a depth of cold that reminds me of the shadows within the Scourge.
I shiver violently as the weapon’s light clears, but I recover faster than the times we’ve used it before. Quickly checking for each member of my pack, I count their outlines in the fading glow.
We all made it, but our surroundings are not what I imagined they might be.
We stand in the middle of a frozen lake.
I’m not sure how we haven’t fallen into its icy depths, since it appears that the ice is thin. Below the surface is a swirling tumult of what looks like water but could be some other kind of liquid that exists in this world.
Cold mist rolls across the lake’s surface for twenty paces in every direction. Beyond the lake is a vast forest. The trees have cerulean-blue branches and pastel-blue leaves and are tipped in shards of ice that glint in the growing light of this world.
It’s morning. Or it appears to be as new light glimmers across the tops of the trees and the outline of a sun becomes visible in the distance.
I know nothing about this world. Not really. And my knowledge of the angels is equally meager.
My encounter with the angels I met on Earth taught me that they’re strong and their light can burn me, but they don’t control limitless power. They can be hurt and killed. Just as demons can be.
I expected that our presence would have been immediately felt. With five demon wolves, the Master of Demon Runes, two royal children, a harpy, and a witch, I assumed we would be met with the full force of angelic power, but our surroundings are quiet.
Unsettlingly so.
Each member of my pack, including Roman, poises where they stand, casting wary glances at the fragile-looking ice we stand on.
Roman is still holding the weapon—despite telling me he would conceal it the moment we arrived. His jaw is tight, and he gives me a small shake of his head that tells me something’s wrong, but he doesn’t seem to want to speak it aloud.
