Inky, Sam, and Gaster stayed with me, right until we reached the lair portal. A portal that was still intact despite the complete destruction everywhere else. Hello, second clue.

“This is as far as you can go,” I said to Sam. “Shadow is very particular about who enters his lair, and he’s obviously a little out of control, so let’s not test him today.”

She nodded, nervously worrying at her bottom lip. “I understand. I’ll stay here and help Gaster ferret out more books that can be saved.”

A woman after my own heart. “We’ll make the Shadow Bastard fix my library, don’t worry.”

She didn’t laugh, and I didn’t blame her. This entire situation was the stuff midlife crises were made of.

Gaster stepped closer, and I read the worry in his orb-like eyes. “Be safe,” he finally said. “Don’t trust that this is the same being you knew. His power and anger destroyed a library and Solaris System that have been part of him for thousands of years. You have your work cut out for you, Mera Callahan.”

I hugged him.

At first, he was surprised, but within a few seconds, his body relaxed against mine. I finally remembered why none of the powerful creatures here liked to hug: because they feared their energy being stolen by another. Gaster, despite his diminutive stature, was a being of great power and intellect, and his reticence when it came to touching was no different to the others.

I was the only one they let into their personal space, and because of that, I gave them hugs as freely as I could. “Please don’t die,” Gaster said against my shoulder. “Your light makes the world much brighter for us all. I truly missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too,” I said, straightening. “More than I can say. It was like a part of my soul died when Dannie stole my memories, and I won’t get that part back until we fix it all.”

He nodded, taking a moment to compose himself before he stepped away from me. “Best of luck with your mission, Mera Callahan.”

I shot him a cheeky smile. “You got it, Gaster. Also, can you look after Sam for me? Maybe you can find a way to communicate with her?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

When I repeated that to my new friend, she waved me off. “We’ll figure it out. Miming always works.”

Unable to resist the tugging in my center any longer, I finally followed my heart’s—and soul’s—desire and stepped toward the portal. I had no idea what I was about to find on the other side, but not even a million insane goddesses could have stopped me from walking through.