“I think you should slip into the astral and enter the cave,” Rowan whispered.

Gretta shuddered. “You first. I don’t want to fall through the ground again.”

Rowan rolled his eyes. “You’ve got it figured out now, right? You did fine.”

“I only managed to find my way out because I had you as a point of reference,” she whispered. “Why can’t you go first?”

“I don’t know how.”

“Then how are you planning on getting in there?”

“They’re humans,” he said. “I was just going to shift into raven form and glide in.”

“They’ll see you and follow you in,” she said.

“Sure, but they are on guard out here and not in the cave because they don’t have the power to get through.”

Gretta frowned. “And you think I have the power to get through?”

“Definitely,” he said. “You’re way more powerful than any of us were when we found our way.”

“If they know you are in there, they’ll still be out here waiting for us when we come out,” she said. “Won’t that get us killed?”

“Dawn is almost here,” Rowan said. “We need to get to Sofia.”

“Maybe I can bring us both to the astral, and you can keep us there?”

Rowan hesitated. “I don’t know if you can bring me into the astral.”

“I brought my clothes. Why can’t I bring you?”

“You might, but you also might not—for the same reason you didn’t bring the whole planet with you. There’s some limit to what you can bring, and I don’t know what it is.”

“I didn’t have skin contact with the Earth, but you said that part of magic is belief in the reality it creates. Maybe I don’t bring the Earth because I don’t believe I can?”

“There’s Dumbo’s magic feather, and then there’s impossible,” Rowan said. “Magic has limits that aren’t just defined by your belief—your belief just lets you reach the limits.”

She grabbed his hand, letting the sensation of his energy fill her, let out an even breath, and then willed them into the astral. Where last time, slipping into the astral for her had been as easy as finding her astral self and shifting her consciousness there, bringing Rowan with her felt like pulling a boyfriend into a clothing store. He went, but she had to pull with all her might.

Once there, she felt his power envelop her, and the strain of being in the astral, sapping her strength, was gone. He smiled at her. He was no longer a being of flesh but an ethereal blue being that only vaguely resembled the man from reality. Motes of brighter blue light danced along his skin and into his eyes. She had to resist being stuck staring at him. He was beautiful. When she looked down at where their hands touched, she realized her skin was a translucent green filled with dancing green lights.

She tried to ask how he was sustaining them, but there was no air to speak, and no words came out.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

His lips moved, and he smirked and gestured toward the guards.

Gretta felt like she was the passenger in a car ride. She knew she could pull away from Rowan and guide herself, but if she did, she’d need to exert far more strength to resist popping back into reality. Letting his magic shelter her from that pull back to reality made the most sense.

They drifted down, picking up speed as Rowan seemed to master navigation. Moving through the astral seemed like an utterly mental exercise.

The guards didn’t move as they approached. Three slept, and one sat in a camp chair, watching the valley below. She was glad they had taken the long, hard way to the top and around because the guards would have seen them coming.

However, she wondered if they could have taken the more direct route if she had been willing to slip into the astral sooner. It had only been the prospect of dealing with assault rifles that had finally convinced her to take the risk.

Now that she was here and Rowan was stabilizing her, the astral was pleasant. She was still learning the rules of this new plane. She could hear the nearby sounds of the guards sleeping, though it was slightly flat and distorted, and she realized that the more distant sounds of insects were now gone. As she looked at the guards, she realized they looked more translucent the further they were from her—even at this relatively close distance. She wondered if they would be invisible if she got far enough from them. Maybe living beings could also be seen up close?

She pulled her eyes from the guards and the valley to what had looked like a solid rock face when they were in reality but now appeared to be a black void. Rowan was staring at it, unsure if they should enter. She remembered Rowan telling her that it was a place of nightmares made real.

She pulled him forward toward the void. Sofia needed them, and they were on their way. Together, they passed into the void.

There was a moment of disorientation, and they both fell to solid stone in complete darkness.

“Ouch,” Rowan said.

“This place isn’t the astral, then?” Gretta asked, knowing that if they could speak, they couldn’t be in the astral.

“We’re outside reality,” Rowan said. “It feels like one of the god’s domains—but it also feels different than the other domains. It’s… a blend of all of them and more. Can you pull us back to the astral?”

Gretta felt for her astral self, but she was cut off. “No. I don’t feel the astral at all. Does that mean I can’t shift?”

“Ilthar,” Rowan whispered. A soft white light sprung to life in his hand, illuminating a long, rugged tunnel.

The jagged rocks were a mixture of greens and grays, and the cave floor was uneven. Gretta imagined that a fall would cause serious injuries.

“I didn’t know that spell,” Gretta said.

“It was the first one I learned,” Rowan said. “After I ascended and could shift, I didn’t use it. Partly because I see reasonably well in the dark while in coyote form and partly because it felt wrong. Maybe because I’m the god of chaos, and the spell is one of Ellie’s, but maybe I somehow thought she could find me if I used it.”

“She can feel when you use a spell from her domain?”

Rowan shrugged. “If she’s concentrating, she will not just feel it, but she’ll catch a glimpse of where you are.”

“You can feel it when I use chaos spells?”

“Until recently, I didn’t realize what the feeling was or how to track the sensation. I get a fleeting impression of the intent and focus of the spell if I concentrate, and I can add my strength to the spell or try to sap the strength from the spell if I want to stop it. “

Gretta frowned. “So, Ellie let you make that light?”

“She probably felt it, but enough spells are being cast every day that she probably isn’t paying attention. If she tried to stop me, she might weaken the spell, but as an immortal, my connection to magic is strong enough that I’d probably still be able to do the spell, even if it was weakened and took more effort.”

“That’s so creepy. You know that, right?” Gretta put her hands on her hips. “Just because I cast a spell does not give you the right to watch me.”

Rowan shrugged. “It was one time, but you didn’t seem to mind when I helped you escape that cage.”

The raspy sound of whispers drifted out of the darkness from further into the cave.

Gretta held out her hand. “Let’s stick together. I’ve seen enough movies to expect that something will try to separate us. Don’t let go of my hand.”

Rowan took her hand. “Last time, there were… creatures. You can’t fight them. You just have to run.”