Rowan woke from a relaxing, long nap, feeling more recharged than he had in years.

He stood and stretched. “I feel guilty about napping when Sofia is in danger.”

Nadia, who sat by the river not far away, looked back and smiled. “I told you, I slowed time so that you might rest. You needed to recharge.”

“You said that, but I still feel guilty,” he said. “It has to be incredibly difficult to slow time.”

She shrugged. “If I were not here, it would be exceptionally difficult. Here, it’s only moderately taxing. When you leave, I’ll allow the time to flow naturally again.”

“What about in the void between domains? Is the time there the same as on Earth?”

Nadia smiled. “Ah, that is complicated. There is no true time in the void beyond the time you bring with you.”

“That makes absolutely no sense. Maybe explain it to me like I’m five.”

“There is nothing in the void—not even time. When you enter it, you bring with you time. However, as you near the domains of other immortals, they have their own time which radiates out, and you’ll find it easiest to let it take hold.”

“Let it take hold?” Rowan asked. “You make it sound like I have a choice.”

“A god isn’t a body anymore,” Nadia said, gesturing to herself. “We are this domain, and we are each infinite. You are like the rest of us, except your domain is body-like. When you are in a domain, you are in one of us. It’s why gods are all powerful in their domains.”

“That’s weird,” Rowan said. “If I’m in you right now, I going to have an awkward conversation with Abby later.”

“You are such a teenage boy.” Nadia laughed. “But, if it amuses you, think on this: When you are talking to her, you’ll have to think of my feelings when you are in her.”

Rowan covered his face and clenched his eyes shut. “Gah! Too far! Too far! We have to stop joking about that. Abby is my best friend and like a sister to me.”

“You started it,” Nadia said, a teasing note in her voice.

“Fine,” he said. “I really should go.”

Nadia sobered. “You should. After being alone for so long, I have appreciated company, but I won’t be able to slow time much longer, and I’ll need rest soon.”

Rowan held out his hand. “It was great to see you again. I’ll give Abby the crystal.”

Nadia ignored his outstretched hand and pulled him into a hug. “Thank you, Rowan.”

Rowan was about to shift when he had a thought. “Do you know why it is easier to pull magic here?”

“I’ve been here twenty-five years, but I remember how difficult it was to pull even a small amount of magic while on Earth,” Nadia said thoughtfully. “I imagine reality resists magic, and there is no reality in the void to resist it. The only real resistance is that we are each pulling on it and making it more difficult for each other.”

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“So, it’s like a blanket, where the immortals are each tugging at it, but there’s only so much to go around?”

“Close enough.” She smiled. “The others will know I was a blanket hog last night, but it was also how we feel you in the void. You draw magic, and there is less for us.”

“Thanks,” Rowan said. “I appreciate the insight.”

“I am the goddess of knowledge,” she said. “I may not know all things, but I appreciate gaining understanding.” She cleared her throat. “I know you’ve been helping Gretta, Abby’s niece—which I guess sort of makes her my niece. Someday, she might go looking for her mother. To keep her safe, you should discourage that.”

Rowan’s brow furrowed. “You want me to discourage Gretta from finding her mother?”

“Her mother is gone,” Nadia said. “Gretta, very understandably, wants to know what happened to her. If she looks, none of us can protect her, and Abby will have lost not only her sister but her niece. I’m asking you to help protect Gretta.”

Rowan frowned. “Can you tell me what happened to her? Maybe if Gretta had answers, she wouldn’t look.”

Nadia shook her head. “That answer will only lead to more looking, and the only place with answers will destroy her.”

“Oof. So, to recap, you know something bad happened to Gretta’s mother, and Gretta wants to know what happened, but I have to stop Gretta from finding out because if I don’t, Gretta will be destroyed. And for some reason, you aren’t telling me what happened, either.”

Nadia looked sad and nodded. “Close enough.”

He didn’t bother arguing. The goddess of knowledge was also the goddess of secrets. She had already given him more than he would have ever expected from her, which he imagined she only done to convince him to visit Abby. He supposed a certain amount of vague doom warning was inevitable, and the visit had been way more pleasant than he had visited Ellie.

Rowan sighed and then shifted to raven form and shot into the air. He could feel the threads of magic here more than on Earth and ride them. He let them lift him until he broke through the sky and into the void.

His eyes focused on the distant, gentle green glow of Abby’s domain. That was where the Wild Mother and his best friend resided. He reached out, felt a current of her nature magic, and banked in that direction, riding the new current.

A force slammed into him. He hadn’t felt this discombobulated since being hit by a semi-truck. A flash of red, black, and orange streaked past, followed by a blur of movement, and then he crashed into the dry, hard earth. He lay there, stunned, gazing up at the amber sky. Storm clouds on the horizon danced with fire.

He was in a barren land. Where the Arizona desert was full of palo verde, saguaro cacti, prickly pear, and dozens of other resilient plants, this place was dark, cracked stone with a smattering of orange sand. Nothing lived here. On the horizon, there was a city of dark metal and machinery.

This was the domain of the god of power, innovation, and strategy. The one the other gods teasingly called the Lord of Destruction.

“Welcome, little coyote,” a smooth, resonant voice behind Rowan said.

Rowan struggled to his feet and turned. A man in rugged plated armor stood there holding a dark spear with a glowing orange tip pointed in Rowan’s direction.

Rowan attempted a smile, but he only managed a pained grimace. “Hey, Marcus! Long time no see!”

“Walk with me,” Marcus said.

Rowan watched the glowing hot tip of the spear. “I didn’t mean to drop in like this.”

Marcus grunted. “I know.”

Rowan thought about shifting and flying straight up. Marcus must have sensed this because he raised two fingers to his lips and whistled.

The sky filled with a thousand winged human forms, each made of a dark metal and carrying a spear with a glowing tip. They flew directly toward Rowan and Marcus, and as they neared, Rowan realized that they each bore the same face. Marcus had created a legion of airborne metal angels designed to resemble Ellie, featuring glowing orange eyes.

“Laser eyes?” Rowan asked.

“If you don’t walk with me, you’ll find out,” Marcus said.

Rowan shrugged and started walking toward the dark metal city, following Marcus.