And then Artemis jumped in front of me and extended her own hand toward the chains binding the entity.
“What do you offer?” she asked, her voice unwavering.
The dragon froze, then it disappeared.
Light collapsed inward, reshaping, condensing, until what stood before us was no longer vast or terrifying.
It was small.
A child-sized figure, genderless, glowing softly, features gentle and strange and achingly familiar. It looked like what Artemis might have looked as a child. Curious. Bright. Made of starlight and promise.
The chains were gone.
The voice was different now. Lighter.
Resolution.
Artemis didn’t hesitate.
“I give you freedom,” she said. “For the clan’s freedom. Do you accept the deal?”
The being smiled. It extended a small, glowing hand.
I accept.
She shook it once.
“Deal.”
Light exploded outward, warm and blinding, filling every corner of the chamber.
And then?—
Everything vanished.
28
ARTEMIS
I came back to myself in a rush of smells that made sense before the room did.
Paper. Ink. Old leather. Tea that had gone a little stale.
When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by books, diagrams, and artifacts labeled in Arthur’s precise hand, entire histories laid out like he’d been living inside them.
I knew instantly we were in Arthur’s home. I sucked in a sharp breath and sat up so fast my head spun.
“Arthur.”
“I’m here.” He was already scrambling upright beside me, hair a mess, shirt half twisted, looking just as stunned. “We were just… we were?—”
“Atlantis,” I said.
“And then?—”
The air shimmered.
The room went strangely still, like it had decided to listen.
