“Not me.” Garrick shook his head and grimaced.
“Nor us.” Bastian pointed from himself to Alaric. “This isn’t a place anyone wants to be. Not even out of curiosity. I’d welcome the ghost roads any day.”
And I’d heard those roads were the worst. But at least we knew how to maneuver them.
“How different is it from the ghost roads?” I asked.
Bastian’s brows knitted. “The Fae liken it to the first hell.”
A stone dropped in the pit of my stomach. In the mortal lands, the first hell was described as a place filled with demons and devils that could devour you whole before you could blink. Andthatwas considered the most tolerable of the six hells.
“That sounds… terrifying.” I breathed out a sigh.
“I will scare you no more.” Bastian glanced around the expanse, his jaw clenched, his expression unsettled. “Let’s pray to the Gods our presence here goes unnoticed for as long as possible.”
“Weapons at the ready.” Alaric tapped his daggers, then focused on me. “We’ll need you to guide us from here onwards. You said you felt a pull earlier when you dreamt of this place.”
“I did.”
“You should feel it stronger now that you’re actually here. And the spell is still active within you. Focus and allow it to guide you to Wolfe.”
Focus?
All I wanted to do was to cover my skin and shield my soul. Every instinct screamed at me to retreat from this place, to fold inward, to make myself small. Morgäven was definitely not meant for the living, least of all for someone like me.
But I summoned bravery and shook the fear from my mind. The sooner we found Wolfe, the sooner we could get the hells out of here.
I drew in a slow, steady breath and focused. It didn’t take long.
The sensation stirred, faint at first, then stronger, like embers being coaxed into flame. As if my thoughts themselves were feeding it, kindling something deep inside my chest.
I guessed that was the spell working.
Or maybe… it was him.
I turned right around and stopped, then pointed ahead to where I felt the magnetic pull.
“That way,” I said.
Arielle smiled. “It’s working.”
“Follow my lead.” Bastian motioned for us to move forward. “We need to be extra careful.”
We moved together, our footsteps swallowed by the thick air before they could properly form. There was no wind, yet the ash continued its lazy dance around us, moved by currents that obeyed no earthly laws.
When I turned my head, shadows slid across the cracked stone beneath our feet. It was unnerving, as if even darkness couldn't find its proper place in this realm.
The tension in the air settled on my shoulders with the weight of mountains, pressing down on my chest until each breath became a conscious effort.
“You alright?” Arielle caught the hitch in my breathing.
“It’s hard to breathe.”
“You’ll be okay.” Within the shadows, a smile danced across her lips. “Remember your element is air. Fray magic is with you no matter where you go. If you need to breathe easier, call for air through a balancing spell. It will come to you.”
She was my mentor. The spells she’d taught me were written in my journal. The balancing spell was one of them. It was the one I’d first used to restore my powers.
I thought of the words, and cast the spell in my mind. Moments later, my lungs loosened. Thank the Great Mother.
