“I know what ‘reaching out’ means in this context, Diaval,” I muttered. “Have some sort of faith in me.”

She snorted delicately but didn’t respond, opting instead to begin chanting in a language I didn’t know. Unlike the ancestral language of goblins, which was only used when swearing oaths to the Erlking, this wasn’t rough and coarse but smooth, almost lyrical in a sense. It swayed and flowed like branches in a breeze, and as she continued my head grew light. My body was weightless, floating.

My eyes closed and I tried to envision it in my mind. Conjuring up images of the field I’d seen the world created on, the stag born, the creatures who moved north and south, as I was given the stag’s mantle of power. I focused on the space between the spaces, as impossible as it both felt and sounded, the idea that the world tree had roots connecting all the realms together, trying to picture the cosmos in my brain.

I tried, I really did. But I still sat there for who knew how long, trying to reach out to a voice calling me, faintly echoing in the back of my mind, but no matter what, I couldn’t grasp or reach it. The more I desired to hold it, the more I aimed to catch it, the more frustrated I got for missing it, the further it drifted from my fingertips.

“This isn’t working,” I finally said, crestfallen.

Diaval sighed. “Time for plan B, then.”

“There’s a plan B?” I asked, turning to face her as she cracked her knuckles.

“Yep. I’d turn around if I were you, unless you want a nasty bruise.” Blue lightning sprang forth from her hands, and my eyes widened as I did what she said.

“What are you do—” The heel of her palm struck the back of my head, and suddenly I was falling forward, landing face-first on the stone of the courtyard. Except, it hadn’t scratched me. It hadn’t even hurt at all.

Heart racing, I turned to see Diaval examining my slumped-over body. The body I was currently not in. The revelation did nothing for my rising heart rate as I brought a hand to my face, realizing it was slightly see-through.

“What did you do?” I asked, but my voice was carried away by some odd, ethereal wind.

“Get back to your body as soon as you can, Janneke,” Diaval instructed me. “I don’t know how long I can keep you tethered to this world.”