“The leader of the group that held us hostage and tortured us for a month is the leader of the Mimirin institution and basically the entire city of Merellä,” Dagny said, her tone exaggeratedly flat and monotone. “He attacked Ulla and threatened to kill her, and he plans to open the bridge to hell.”

“It’s not hell,” I corrected her, and I opened my eyes finally to see the thick forest of towering firs and hemlock trees surrounding us. “It’s just somewhere different, a world we’re not acclimated to.”

I remembered reading about the bottom of the ocean in Mr. Tulin’s nature magazines. The pictures made it look like a desolate hellscape with alien monsters. Like the angler fish with its horrific mouth of spiky teeth. I was terrified of the ocean after that, but Mr. Tulin told me that I needn’t fear. Their world was a paradise for them and they were happy to be there.

“Just because their world isn’t for us doesn’t mean it’s worth any less or any more than ours,” Mr. Tulin said. “Life—all life—is worth something.”

“We have half a tank of gas, and I’m heading east,” Pan said. “Any ideas on where I should go?”

“My family’s in Ningrava,” Dagny said. “It’s just a small Kanin village on Newfoundland island, but it’s a fairly welcoming place. For a Kanin village.”

“I have a home in Ondarike in Colorado. You’re welcome to stay with me, if you’d like,” Elof offered. “We can make a game plan from there.”

“I’m going to Sweden,” I said. “You all go wherever you like, but I need to go back to Áibmoráigi to stop the Älvolk.”

“Ulla, you can’t go up against them alone,” Pan said incredulously. “We basically already tried that before, and it did not work out so well for us. We’re not soldiers.”

“I do dödstämpel and archery,” Dagny interjected, referring to the intense form of martial arts she practiced for self-defense.

“That doesn’t change the fact that the Älvolk held us in a cage for a month, and we couldn’t get free,” Pan said.

“I’m not planning to go alone.” I looked down at my phone and the full service bars at the top. “I’m going to call Finn and then I’ll call Bryn, and we’ll get backup from the kingdoms. They need to stop this just as much as we do.”

“I have contacts in the Vittra,” Elof said. “They can lend a few troops, I’m sure.”

Everyone was quiet for a minute. The way Pan’s hand was twisting on the steering wheel, I knew he was especially anxious.

“Should I book flights to Sweden then?” Dagny asked.

I looked over at Pan. “You don’t have to do this.”