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“I’ll be fine,” Darien said again. Not firmly, not rudely—calmly.

But Roman persisted, “And what if you’re not? I think we need to have a backup plan, just in case. Do you still have those swords?”

“I have one,” Darien replied.

Ivy said, “I have the other.”

“Where’s the third?” Darien asked the group. “Does Max have it?”

“Hold on—I’ll text him,” Ivy said. She got her phone out. “What’s Raina’s number?”

Darien pulled out his phone and gave it to her.

As she typed up a message, Darien said to Roman, “You’re going back, aren’t you?”

“You bet I am.” His golden-brown eyes shone with determination. “I’m going to be there for Travis when thatforcefield comes down. If worse comes to worst, I’ll be able to see if I have one of those swords.”

Kylar concluded, “And get in there if something happens and Darien can’t hold the Sight for that long.”

Darien threw a glance over his shoulder—at the clock on the stove. “You think you can make it back by the time the forcefield comes down?”

Dean said, “He drives like a lunatic. He’ll make it. And I’m going with him.”

Roman started. “What?”

“What?” Dean challenged. “I didn’t come all this way, get you settled in Angelthene, only to let you fuck back off to Yveswich.”

Roman was shaking his head. “You don’t?—”

“Your dad’s still out there, kid,” Dean interrupted. “He’s still hunting you. You’re not safe.”

“I’ll go with them,” Shay said. Roman opened his mouth to reply, but Shay cut him off, raising a stern finger. “Don’t you dare try to argue with me.”

Roman shut his mouth, looking conflicted.

It was Lace who said, “You guys will have to take some of that serum with you. There’s no point in going if you can’t get into the shadow without suffocating.”

Ivy shut off her phone screen. “Max said he lost the sword.”

“Shit,” Darien muttered.

Roman said, “So this is happening, then. I’ll leave for Yveswich tonight with Dean and Shay, we’ll be ready to go in when the forcefield comes down, and in the meantime you—” He gestured to Darien with a nod. “—will plan to guide them out as far as you can until we get there.”

“I don’t want you going in there unless I absolutely have to take a break,” Darien said. “Understand?”

“What are these swords you speak of, anyway?” Dean asked. To Roman, he added, “You didn’t mention any swords.”

“They’re blades of black adamant,” Ivy replied. “They turn into mirrors in the Void, and for whatever reason, they’re visible in the dark. Only the swords—nothing else.”

“And what’s thisVoidagain?” Dean asked. “I feel like my mind’s spinning.” He gestured to his temple with a rotating finger. “I can’t keep up.”

Kylar said, “It’s one of the dimensions in Spirit Terra.”

“The worst dimension imaginable,” Jack added with a small chuckle.

“And that’s where the shadow’s coming from?” Dean asked.

Darien nodded. “That’s where the shadow’s coming from.”