"THREE WEEKS LATER"
I stood at the edge of the portal, staring into the Shadow Depths. Three weeks of non-stop training. Three weeks of pushing myself harder than I'd ever pushed before. Three weeks of rescuing fragments from the Echoing Wastes whenever I could, getting faster each time.
I'd saved six more people. Six fragments returned to their hosts.
But dozens more had died.
Danny's soul was in there somewhere. In that nightmare cavern of active torment. And I was done waiting until I was "ready."
"Are you sure about this?" Gia asked beside me. "The Shadow Depths is different from the Wastes. More dangerous. The overseers—"
"I know." I'd heard this lecture a dozen times. "But I'm stronger now. Faster. I can handle it."
"Kaiden—"
"Danny's been in there for three weeks. How much l
