With a suddenness that almost sent her off-balance onto her backside, her guide rushed past, just a blur on the edge of her vision, and then leapt into empty air, her long hair swirling around her nude form. For a moment, Bryony thought Aria was going to clear the chasm, but then she seemed to lose momentum at the penultimate point, as though a shadowy hand had shot up from the depths to grab her, dragging her below.

As Bryony stared in horror, the woman’s body distorted, cracks forming in her pristine skin, joints twisting and bending at odd angles. And then, with an awful cracking sound, her body tore itself to shreds just before the pieces vanished into the darkness.

“Oh my gods, oh my gods,” Bryony breathed, unable to tear her gaze away, images of what she’d just witnessed replaying themselves before her eyes like a visual echo.

“What. Did. You. See?” a voice whispered in her ear. Her entire body shuddered as she squirmed away, far too close to the fissure for her own comfort. And yet she was willing to take her chances with a bottomless pit rather than spend another second in close proximity to the heinous woman she wasn’t even allowed to look at directly. The heinous woman she’d just seen be torn apart by some supernatural force only to still be standing only inches away from her a moment later.

“I saw you die,” she breathed.

“Hmm, did you? Interesting. Take a look in this and tell me whether what you saw was reality.”

A long, slender arm snaked out, fingers gripping a hand mirror. In the reflection was Aria, her lovely features assaulted by the twisted smile she wore. One eye was also more open than the other, giving her face an asymmetrical look to it that was at odds with her undeniable beauty. Jaw set, Bryony met her gaze without flinching. “Is this my augury? To know that I can be fooled by dark magic? To make me mistrust what my own eyes tell me?”

Aria’s smile faltered. “Of course not, child. I’m telling you to trust your instincts above all else. Alas, that is not your augury. Our journey continues.” The mirror was drawn away and the firm pressure on her back returned.

Bryony fought against it, afraid she was about to be shoved into the fissure, but then realized it was no longer there, the path spread before her unbroken and solid. Little by little, the measure of light that had appeared faded, until they were walking in darkness once more.

At some point she realized that the pressure from Aria’s hand had disappeared. She stopped again. “How far is it? Are we almost there?”