"Hold on to me," he whispered. "Don't let go."
"Never."
We crossed through.
My skin tingled. My hair stood on end. The world blurred—colors and light smearing together like wet paint. For a heartbeat, I felt weightless. Suspended between two worlds. Belonging to neither.
Then everything snapped back into focus.
I inhaled deeply, expecting the thick, humid air of Louisiana. The smell of the Mississippi. The distant sound of jazz floating through the French Quarter.
But the air was cold. Sharp. It stung my lungs.
I opened my eyes.
Darius' wings slowed. Below us, a castle emerged from the mist.
White brick walls. Turrets reaching toward the sky. Battlements and inner and outer walls—like something out of a fairy tale. Snow-capped peaks rose behind it, majestic and ancient.
It was breathtaking.
Darius' breath caught. His arms trembled around me.
"Darius?" I looked up at him. Tears streamed down his cheeks, catching the fading light. "What is it? Where are we?"
"Havenwood." His voice broke on the word. "My home."
Guards shouted from the wall. “Intruders!”
Darius ignored them as he descended slowly, as if afraid it might disappear. The others followed—Ari carrying Bunny, the harpies with their passengers.
We landed in a stone courtyard. Darius set me down but didn't let go of my hand. He stared at the castle like a man seeing a ghost.
"I haven't been here in years—not since the war against Cormac,” he whispered. "I thought I'd never see it again."
Ari dropped Bunny unceremoniously to her feet. "Wonderful. I should have known you'd bring us back here." His red eyes swept over the castle with contempt. "The last time I was here, I was killing Golden Demons."
He looked up at the sky, his wings twitching as if preparing to flee.
"You're not going anywhere." I held out my palm as my gold bracelet tingled on my wrist.
Ari froze mid-step.
I walked over to him slowly, letting him see my face. Letting him see I wasn't the broken girl in the dungeon anymore.
"Our deal is complete. I got you out of the Elder Dimension." I leaned closer. "The deal was never that you'd be free in our world."
His red eyes widened—the only part of him that could still move. Panic flickered there. Then rage.
Darius stepped up beside me and glared at Ari. "Welcome back to Havenwood, Ari. I'm sure my father would be thrilled to see you again."
Whoosh Whoosh
I glanced up to see the harpies had released the twins.
Flint then Steel landed next to Darius.
Steel rubbed his shoulders. “Damn sharp talons.”
