7

  You would think I would have given up. A normal person would have. The me from six weeks ago would have surrendered upon seeing Bradley, let alone being dragged into the realm of the divine.

  The new me concentrated.

  I had to figure out how to call to my magic in the realm of the gods. That was the key to everything.

  Once upon a time, I would have been distracted by the severity of the situation, by the possibility that the god could return at any moment.

  Not now.

  No, now I called not on my ordinary strength, not even on my magic. I called to it: the Drift.

  I’d learned to access the infinite power of the Drift when I’d defeated Caxus, so I did it again now.

  With my brow compressed and my eyes squeezed tightly closed, I reached out my mind to it.

  It called back.

  I heard a crack.

  That crack was all I needed.

  With a crackle, I felt my magic return.

  I felt the ice spread through my chest, push down my arms, and sink into my feet.

  It cracked through the very air like thousands of panes of shattering glass.

  I saw sparks of frost suspended in the air like spitting crackles from a roaring fire. They grew over the floor and walls. Unlike what usually happened, this time the ice formed these diamond patterns like large snowflakes that spread through the air.

  Flowers of ice spread out from my knees and wrists as they remained bound to the floor. I watched with wide eyes as they shifted across the stone floor in a unique, beautiful, chaotic pattern.

  As I watched and felt the magic grow, it reached the point where it could combat the chains binding me in place. I ground my teeth together. I locked my eyes into a narrowed stare. I forced everything I had into the task of breaking free – every scrap of attention, every fragment of will.

  There was an almighty crack. It split the air as if thunder had split from the heavens. The chains around me broke. Though they were ostensibly nothing more than green, shifting lines of smoke, they still shattered like glass. They fell around me in great lumps of solidified emerald glass.

  I stared at them in wonder until I realized I was free. Or was I free? This place had no doors, just those smooth, polished stone walls, that unmarked floor, and the domed ceiling above.

  That didn’t stop me. Call it nothing more than hope or stupidity, but I ran at the spot where the god had disappeared. I didn’t stop, despite the fact the wall was now half a centimeter from my nose. I threw myself at it.I closed my eyes.

  … I didn’t face-plant the stone. I felt it shift around me as my magic pushed out and called to something within it. With a crack and a flash, I was on the other side.

  I stopped, coming to a skidding halt as my eyes grew wide. I was out in the courtyard that I’d caught a glimpse of when the god had disappeared. It was just as I remembered it – intricate, carved stone pillars holding up several open floors which were spread around me. To my left was a long, glistening pool. It was lined with tiles that looked like nothing more than trapped stars.

  The whole place was breathtakingly beautiful. Growing up and around the pool and the pillars were the strangest plants I’d ever seen. They weren’t glowing bright red or purple like you’d see in those cheesy alien films from the 80s. They were so much clearer and more vibrant than anything I’d ever seen on Earth. Their scents were exquisite.

  I wouldn’t let them dull my senses and force me into a reverie. I pushed forward, this time more carefully. I shrunk against the wall to my side, pressing a hand up against it and letting the cool stone calm my nerves.

  I clenched my teeth together and pressed onward, darting behind one pillar then the next. I couldn’t hear anything, and I couldn’t see anyone amongst the pillars. But that didn’t mean I was stupid enough to brazenly walk out in the open. I might have managed to circumvent the god’s green chains, but he would find out I’d escaped soon. Who knows what he would do to me?

  As another shiver powered down my spine, I realized something more: if he was right, and my mere presence in this realm was a crime punishable by death, who knew what others would do if they spied me?

  I was never very good at situations that required steely determination. Though fear usually pulsed through me and bombarded me like a storm, right now, I didn’t have any choice. So when my breath became so ragged and choppy that it sounded like a horn blasting out of my mouth, I clamped a hand over my lips and breathed between my fingers.

  If I’d paused as I’d ran down that long courtyard, I would have realized now would be a perfect time to hyperventilate. I was terrified, yet my breath remained steady.

  I made it to the end of the courtyard and found a set of ascending stairs carved out of stone. I took them very slowly, one hand still locked against the wall, body as stiff as an A-frame as I cautiously took each step in turn.

  By the time I crested the stairs, my heart was hammering so hard it felt like it would pop.

  I cast one long, wary glance along the hallway before me and pushed off.

  I didn’t have a plan, even though I freaking needed one. I couldn’t run around the realm of the gods and hope to bump into some help. But I could try to find Vali, right? I could hold onto the hope that if he spied me, he wouldn’t chop my head off.

  Though I winced at that image and tried not to wonder how my blood would sound as it dripped from my neck like melting ice, it was a powerful thought. If my kidnapper was right, then Vali would have no option but to kill me….

  I shook my head then pressed on.

  Though this building looked as if it belonged in antiquity with its carved pillars, worn steps, and clear crystal pools, it somehow still had a futuristic feel. There weren’t spaceships flitting around. Nor were there sophisticated banks of computers and blinking hubs of technology. But it was the feel of the place. The crystal pools I kept passing somehow seemed to be intelligent, and the exact gorgeous curve of the carved pillars looked as if it couldn’t be achieved by any tool modern man possessed.

  I had no idea where I was going, so my plan was simply not to double back on myself.

  I kept pressing forward until the extensive courtyards and pavilions opened out into the front of the building. It spilled out into a view, and what a view it was. It literally took my breath away as I crammed a hand over my mouth to stifle a gasp.

  A cool night breeze shifted through my hair and pushed along my shoulders as I shoved my hand into the wall for balance.

  Though I’d caught a glimpse of this city before when the god had shown it to me through the wall of my prison, I hadn’t appreciated its epic scale until now. It felt so real. Oh so very real. The sense of it – the feel of it – it was on a level I’d never experienced. Somehow my senses had become 100 times sharper. Only with that could I appreciate how incredible this city was.

  There were so many stars glimmering in the night sky, it looked as if it had been sprayed with diamond paint. The city itself, with those domed buildings and tall crystalline spires, certainly gave the impression that I’d just walked into the realm of the gods.

  Though a part of me wanted to remain there, locked against the wall, frozen by the grandeur, a scrap of my mind willed me to move while I had the chance.

  I was on some kind of open platform, and warily I pressed forward. Even though I was usually scared of heights, I shifted down to one knee and one hand and stared over the edge. Though this building appeared to be high above the city, I quickly realized it wasn’t floating. Neither was this platform. As I cast my gaze to the left, I saw several stone plinths descending from it. I doubted they were steps, unless they were meant for somebody 20 feet tall. They were just decorations. As I stared at them, my clenched teeth shuddering in my jaw, I realized they were also an opportunity.

  I wondered whether I could break my neck in the realm of the gods. Before my mind could finish calculating that, I realized I didn’t have any choice. From behind, I heard footsteps.

  There was probably a two-meter drop to the first descending stone block. As I leveraged myself off the platform, I didn’t have time to hesitate; I slipped and fell.

  I didn’t scream. For one, I didn’t have time, and for another, I didn’t need to. Just before I could slam into the unyielding stone below me, a puff of magic escaped from my hands. Back on Earth, whenever I practiced my magic, it tended to spread from my body in a wave of frost. Only occasionally had I been able to control it with enough precision to actually see it as a cloud of force.

  Now my magic furled around me like a pillow of dancing blue and white sparks. It was enough to cushion me until I floated down to my feet.

  For several seconds, I stood there, shaking as I brought my hands up and stared at them. I turned around and watched the magic billowing around my every move.

  Then I heard that footfall again.

  My heart thumped in my chest.

  I turned and cast my attention to the next descending step. Below this building – whether it was a castle, or a palace, or just an ordinary-sized house for the realm of the gods – lay a knotted forest. Beyond that, what looked like a kilometer away, sat the city. If I could just get through the forest, I’d be relatively safe, right? Or at least that’s what my mind told me.

  I hesitated, that footfall growing louder from above. Then I ran forward, squeezing my eyes shut even though it was a stupid plan. I launched myself at the next stone platform. Again, I felt my magic press out from me. Just as my desperation reached its highest point, the magic danced around me in a protective cloud, allowing me to descend to the next step without slamming face-first into the stone and smashing my skull.

  The rest of it became a blur.

  Somehow I managed to reach the end of the last platform, and I jumped down to the ground below, my feet thumping against the dirt as my magic eddied around me.

  I twitched my head up, took a step back, and stared at the building above.

  I was taken in by its grandeur. It was enormous, truly massive as it hugged the side of a hill. Though only a few lights were on, I could still appreciate how large its many domed roofs were as they glistened under the stars.

  Though I could have stared at it for hours, my heart sank as I realized something. If my kidnapper lived here, who exactly was he? And how powerful was he? More to the point, why would he need someone like me? Was I deluding myself by thinking I had any chance of escape?

  I squeezed my eyes shut and shoved that thought from my mind as I thrust forward into the knotted forest before me.

  Just like the plants I’d seen in the courtyard, the trees and shrubs, vines and grasses were different. They didn’t look alien. If I squinted, I swore I recognized some of them. Yet they were on a level I’d never seen before. The colors, their forms, their shapes were so much clearer, so full of life.

  I thrust through the thick grove. My magic continued to push around me. Though my heart was hammering and my breath beat like a drum in my chest, I couldn’t hear any steps behind me. No screams, no cries of chase. So I let my mind push back to my magic.

  It never stopped shifting forward. I brought my hand up and stared in wonder as that ordered light continued to play around me. In the real world, my magic usually burnt against my skin in chaotic runes. Here, it just expanded out from me as if my skin were breathing it. It was gorgeous, too. The crystal, white-blue light was so pure and looked like diamonds thrown into an azure blue ocean.

  Somehow, it was warm, which was crazy considering my magic was frozen. It was the effect it had on me – warming, calming. It took me away from the terror of what I’d faced in that god’s prison and helped push me forward through the forest.

  The further I traveled, the more I slowed down. Not because I suddenly became distracted by the tall, knotted oak-like trees and the beautiful, shimmering silver birches. But because the starlight couldn’t penetrate very far through the thick canopy.

  It didn’t take long until my light was the only illumination I had. Even then it seemed to be dimming. It had been at its brightest when I’d been at my most terrified. But now, as my fear gave way to curiosity, my magic was receding. As it lapped back into me and left me alone, it terrified me. So it grew once more, bursting out from my hands, billowing around my torso, and playing against my face.

  After a few short breaths, my calm returned, and my magic receded. Whenever I became terrified, it would leap from me. Whenever I calmed, it too would calm. Was that the secret to controlling it in this world? As soon as I made it out of the forest and into the city below, I would have to have mastered it. That or the gods would figure out who I was.

  Though I’d only just entered the realm of the gods, and the only place I was fully acquainted with was my prison, I could bet the other gods didn’t have much trouble controlling their magic. Letting my ice billow around me would be a dead giveaway that I didn’t belong. So as I ran, pushing myself through the dark thicket of trees more carefully now, I clenched my teeth and concentrated.

  As soon as I experimentally let my emotions swell, so too did my magic. Whenever I calmed, swallowing my fear, my magic shifted back into me.

  By the time I made it to the edge of the thicket and spied a path twisting between several buildings, I was at the stage where I could turn it off. If I pressed my teeth together, if I sucked in a deep breath through my nostrils, the light would no longer play over my skin.

  I remained there on the edge of the thicket for several minutes until I was sure I could suppress my power. Then I pushed out, warily checking in every direction to ensure no one was around. Though my magic would be a dead giveaway, it wouldn’t be nearly as obvious as my clothes. I was still wearing my blue jeans, simple shoes, a blouse, and a jacket. Oh, and the scarf Cassidy had made for me. I doubted the gods, in all their grandeur, with all their power, required woolen scarves.

  Jamming a thumbnail between my teeth and chewing it, I confirmed there was no one around. I crept out of the relative safety of the woods.

  I was not a lucky girl. I’d mentioned that on many occasions. Lucky girls didn’t turn out to be frozen witches with awful destinies to bridge the gap between gods and men. For some reason lady luck chose to smile on me today of all days. As I walked past an odd, dome-shaped house that appeared to be made right out of quartz crystal, I spied some intricately carved, richly colored, wooden tables arrayed out the front. Upon them were various objects – beautiful glasses, several jugs full of what looked like the godly equivalent of wine, and, most importantly, a pile of neatly folded clothes.

  I didn’t hesitate. I wasn’t exactly the kind to steal, but what choice did I have? With one more wary glance around me, I ducked forward and grabbed the clothes and then skidded back to the thicket of trees.

  If I’d been paying attention, I might have spied the woman. She was tall and elegant in a crystal blue-white dress with bundled golden hair.

  I didn’t see her, but she sure as hell saw me. These clothes were hers – a gift to help me escape. A gift that would come at a price.

  I pushed inside the mouth of the forest, pressing my back against a massive, gnarled oak that was at least three times as big as any oak I’d seen on Earth.

  When my breathing regulated, I carefully got down on both knees, placed the clothes on one of the gnarled roots of the oak, and stared at them.

  As I unwrapped the bundle, I frowned. Not because I suddenly realized these clothes were made for a person five times my size, but because they were beautiful. Strangely beautiful….

  Despite the fact that moments before my heart had been shuddering in fear, now I reached out a perfectly steady hand and trailed my fingers down the sumptuous fabric.

  I’d never felt anything like it. Move over silk; it was far softer than any weave I’d ever felt on Earth. Touching it reminded me of pressing my face up against a pillow made of nothing more than clouds.

  As I gently lifted the garment up, I realized it was a dress. A hair ornament tumbled out and thumped against the knotted root. I frowned at it. It was far more beautiful than the dress itself. Which was saying something, as the dress was a stunning weave of silver-white and blue. The colors seamlessly melded into one another as they flowed along the fabric. Flow was not a misnomer – for they shifted around as if they were trapped in water and the dress was nothing more than one of those crystalline pools I’d seen in the god’s palace.

  The dress was cut a little like a toga, but far more form-fitting. It looped around the neck and was clasped on one shoulder. It hugged the body, falling into draped long skirts that played around the feet.

  I didn’t hesitate to pull off my clothes and tug it on. Somehow, it was a perfect fit. That or the fabric instantly clung to my form, finding every curve and pressing against it like a gentle caress.

  I turned my attention to the hair ornament. I was never one for doing my hair. It wasn’t that I had unruly locks or anything – it was just I very rarely could be bothered to put in the effort. Brush it and stick it into a ponytail was my routine. Except that would probably make me stick out here… right?

  I grimaced as I realized I had zero idea how a goddess was meant to wear her hair. With nothing to lose, I plucked up the hair ornament and brought it close to my hair, intending to brush the silver-white comb through my knots.

  I felt a crackle of magic charge from it. I yelped and jolted back into the unyielding embrace of the oak tree. The hair clasp began to… well, do my hair. I felt every strand of hair pick up from my shoulders and twist into a bun at the base of my neck.

  After several seconds of blinking in surprise, I ran my fingers through my hair. It was softer and smoother than I’d ever felt. It was in one of the most elegant buns I could imagine.

  It was a shame to leave Cassidy’s scarf here, but I didn’t have a choice.

  Before I abandoned my clothes, I plucked up my phone from my pocket and shoved it down the front of my dress.

  Though my hair and dress were now accounted for, I hadn’t been lucky enough to find any shoes. So I pulled off my socks and shoes and left them with my clothes. I tried to hide them inexpertly under a pile of leaves.