They all thought I was being naïve, and maybe I was, but that didn’t mean I was ready to give up yet. Dannie the Wanderer had been part of my life since the day I’d been created in the Nexus, and then for much of my time as a shifter. She had never let me down until she’d swallowed the stone, so that had to mean if we could get rid of the stone, the true Dannie might once again return to us. Come on, paranormal romance story arc. Don’t let me down now.

43

The water was never-ending. So vast and smooth, it was only as I caught sight of all of the bitey beasts in its depths that I found my stomach roiling with nerves. What if there was nothing left in the realm at all? Dannie might have sunk every land mass, taking with them all the inhabitants of the realm. How, even with power warping her mind, could she think this was a balanced world? It just made no sense.

I wasn’t the only worried one, the silence tense as all the powerful beings kept watch from the various sides of Inky. Thankfully, before I could overthink and freak out further, Shadow exhaled roughly, and with a wave of his hands opened a small portal in front of us. “We don’t have the time to spare,” he muttered, even though they’d all silently agreed not to waste any energy. Apparently, when it was a choice between time and energy, Shadow was making the hard calls.

The Concordes appeared below us and thank the gods it was not underwater. At least not the parts where we were, right above the lava chasm. Shadow had brought us to Trinity, the land of his birth, and the territory closest to the mists of the chasm.

Inky slowed as it dropped down toward the castle that had been Shadow’s childhood home. It appeared to be somewhat intact, but every building that had been around it was leveled into nothing more than ash. This was the destruction Shadow had wrought when he’d lost it. Even the great forests that had surrounded and protected his family home were no more.

He’d left most of the castle, but everything else around it was dust.

I watched my mate closely, but whatever he was feeling was well-hidden behind his stoic façade. He appeared to be a calm and watchful god, preparing himself for whatever his mother might throw at us. I wished I could compartmentalize on that level, but at least I knew I’d be able to pull him free of this when we were all done. When my Shadow could return and feel all the feelings.

Inky landed, but no phoenix goddess appeared. It was eerily silent as we stepped off the mist, all of us closing in ranks, waiting for someone or something to jump out at us.