Her smile drops into a pout. “Oh, you’re no fun,” she says, toying with the bow at her neckline. It’s then I finally take a proper look. She’s wearing a sheer robe, and I catch the hint of her bare breasts and pink nipples through the material. What the fuck is happening here?

“I could show you mine in exchange.” She tugs on the silk, and her robe slips open, revealing her perfect round breasts and flat stomach. Thankfully, she’s wearing panties, but they’re so small they can barely be called that. Wildly uncomfortable, I look away.

“No, thank you,” I say. “That isn’t necessary.”

I hear her moving, and I look over, careful to keep my eyes glued to her face. She stands in front of me with her hands on her hips, and then she taps my nose. I try not to flinch.

“Very well,” she says in a tired voice. “I’ll allow you your modesty for now. I’ll see it all soon enough.”

Then she turns and saunters across the room. When she opens the door, all I see beyond it is more of the same misty sky.

“Call for a servant when you’re ready,” she says.

When she’s gone, I wait for several seconds. Then I slip out of bed and tug on the pants. They’re loose and light and made of the softest material I’ve ever felt. The shirt drapes over me, hanging low in the front, exposing my chest.

I figure I have a few minutes before she starts to wonder where I am, so I explore the room. What I see outside the windows troubles me in more ways than I can count. There’s nothing but a blank expanse of swirling mist interspersed with the occasional cloud spreading in every direction. We’re not in any sort of building that I can discern.

I’m in the fucking Evanescence, and whatever doubts I have about that are erased in this moment. This is impossible. What am I doing here?

I rub my chest as a dull ache flares under my ribs. As I move about the room, my limbs and joints creak with the stiffness of disuse. What happened to me after we were taken from Aphelion?

I open the drawers and closets but find little but clothing and a few books.

I stare at the door Zerra vacated. My intuition suggests she wants something from me. Obviously sex from the way she is behaving, but what did she mean about being hers? A demigod. What does that mean?

I have to find Lor. What happened to her?