Jay My heart clenched as the door closed behind me. Something inside me was tight, stretched, tethered to her. The skin of my palm itched to open the door. She’s massive, the magic didn’t touch her. She’s safe. Probably more so without us there slowing us down. I could still picture her fuzzy underbelly before us as we trudged through the hallways, the sounds of screams all around us in the hallways. The thought drew me back to the present. We were in the garage where I’d questioned Herald, where we’d brought the door. I was standing behind Pepper as she stood at Chrys’s feet with Amaryllis and Rhett. He’d shifted, as had Rhett, who was holding Geneiveve up in the air, swirling her around. She had her arms wrapped around his neck, sobbing. “I thought you were dead! You were gone so

