The chains of silver fire parted without a sound.
Caleb's hand tightened around mine, just once, and then we stepped through the black door together. The fire passed over my skin like cold water. Behind us, I heard Kira shout something, and then nothing. The door sealed, cutting off the passage, the warriors, the entire world.
We stood in a chamber with no ceiling.
The floor was still black water, reflecting a sky crowded with stars. No walls. No horizon. Just endless night above and mirrored night below, so that we seemed to stand suspended in the heart of a constellation. Our joined hands glowed faintly where the silver cord of the threshold had wrapped around our wrists, binding us without weight.
A voice rose from the water. It was not my mother's. It was older than language, and i
