The glass shards sparkle in the growing sunlight. Home, or whatever’s left of it.

I nod slowly—at Raze, but also at Gossamer. “I think I can.”

What do you want? I reluctantly ask Gossamer in my head.

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple,” he says, annoyingly, out loud. I can feel him circling me, but I am not going to stare at him.

I grind my teeth, reconsidering. Even if this works, it’ll still be weeks until I see Isolde. Can I really let her suffer in captivity for that long?

Can I dare to risk doing otherwise?

Can I face her disappointment when we walk away with nothing and watch her turn to riskier and riskier schemes to try to find something as valuable as what we already lost?

I need to save her from Leira and from herself. This is the only way I know how. I don’t care what it costs.

“For your magic, then?” he says, all too casually. “If you really don’t care the cost.”

“No,” I say out loud.

Raze’s head tilts. “What?”

“I-I’m...thinking,” I stammer, trying to ignore Gossamer’s chuckles. “Shhh.” I don’t know which one of them I’m shushing.

I need to think of a fair price. Something he’ll appreciate but that won’t take too much from me. What does he want? What did I offer before?

Access to my magic, I think. In exchange for your help with the creation of a portal spell—for the duration of the spell, and not a second longer.

“Done,” he says and disappears.

I feel the shift in the air immediately, but this time, the split between my ability and Gossamer’s is more severe. My hands move less gracefully and certainly as they rise, plucking at the magic in the air, creating a tether between me and the stone.

What am I supposed to do with this? It feels like I’m holding loose threads in my hands, and I don’t know where to tie them off.

I can sense Gossamer’s frustration with me, almost like he’s elbowing me aside in my mind to take over the enchantment. If faeries innately know how to make portals, how can he explain it? How would I explain to someone how to breathe? Think of where you want to go. Think of what you want and what ties you there.

I think of Isolde, of Wildline Manor’s imposing stone face in the heart of Auremore, of its lavish interior, of how I need this to work because all I want is for us to be able to go home.

Home.

Something tugs in my chest, straining, and for a second I think I’m not going to be able to do it. I pull harder, and Gossamer pulls with me. Something sharp and cold shudders through my ribs, and with a gasp, the tension releases. That same cord I could sense in the forest is knotted around me now, the other end tied to somewhere else entirely.

Raze can sense it, too, even though there’s barely a shimmer in the air around the portal. He’s shaking a little. He holds out his hand, fingers spread to make room for mine. “Are you sure about this?”