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When her hearing returned, only the breeze sounded in the air. Her throat ached and she could only moan now.

Her companions stood nearby, pale, blood splattered, and grim. Avenay still lay in her arms, breathless, limp.

Then, a voice called. “Hello!”

Her brothers immediately brandished their swords, stepping in front of her, and Enid’s hand shot to the dagger on her thigh, an icy rage slicing through her spirit—she was ready for another fight, for another creature to unleash her rage on. But no creature came, no body to accompany that voice.

“Over here!” the voice said again, and that’s when Enid saw it. A small white hand poking out from the ivy over the gate, waving to them. “I can’t come to you or I would. Bring her here. We can save her! We’ve been waiting for you.”

Save her?

Save her.

Enid immediately stood, legs shaking as she carried Avenay’s limp body toward the person.

“It could be a trap,” Onora said sharply, and Enid halted.

“It’s no trap, I promise,” the voice said. “But your friend will die truly if you don’t come. It’s your decision.”

Enid hesitated only a moment longer. Avenay was already dead. But could they still save her? Was her spirit still beside her body?

When they arrived, someone pulled back the ivy. Behind it, there was a long, cool hallway for an entrance, with a light at the end, though she couldn’t see where it led.

And standing in the doorway was a small nymph, her green hair flowing in luscious locks about her bare chest, over a slip of a skirt in the manner of leaves, and antlers of brown that stuck above her head. Her sea-blue eyes lit with excitement when she saw them,and she clasped her hands in front of her.

“Oh my. Oh my. By the stars and moon. You’re here! You’re really here and you made it.” Her eyes lined with tears as she took each of them in. Then her attention darted to Enid, and she sobered up, waving for them to follow. “Come along now. We don’t have too long to save your friend. What a brave seraphe she is. I was in quite the stitches watching you fight the creature of the cleft.”

They followed her down the hall, Enid’s mind so fixed on one worrying thought—save Avenay. Her heart hammered in her chest with each step that took another moment away from Avenay’s salvation, her heart aching as it thumped against her ribs. They came to the end of the tunnel and Enid felt like she was in a fog, her exhaustion and worry only allowing her to notice the sparse details.

The ground was cobblestone. There were buildings, but she scarcely saw them except some vague flashes of color. There must have been other people because she later recalled murmurings of:

“They defeated the creature.”

“Banished it, more like.”

“How so? That’s impossible!”

“There are demons amongst them. Demons!”

Enid was too rattled to think it through, to realize what any of it meant. Finally, the nymph brought them to a pool with a fountain in the middle. The moonlight glittered on the water like diamonds, and she guided Enid in. She laid Avenay in the water, letting it come up all around except her face. Then the nymph took only a few drops and put them on her lips. Avenay’s eyes moved under the lids, then her tongue dashed out and pulled the drops into her with a soft moan of satisfaction.

A muted sob escaped Enid and she could barely believe her eyes. The gashes stitched up and disappeared, her wounds healing in an instant and proper color returned to Avenay’s cheeks, her breathing evening out.

“She’s all better now, though she needs to rest,” the nymph said.

Enid ran a hand over Avenay’s arms, feeling warmth. She brushed her fingers over her cheeks, running a hand under her nose and feeling breath hit her skin. Tears came down her cheeks, washing out relief like a dam bursting and hitting everything inside her. She brushed along the feathers of Avenay’s wings. The crooked wing had healed, and shepulled Avenay’s wet body against hers, looking at the nymph with wonder and gratitude. The nymph grinned, bending over and resting her hands on her knees. “Welcome to Evolis. The city in the clouds.”

Enid’s breath caught and she finally properly took in her surroundings. The buildings were not ruins, no, they were gleaming stone and marble, with flowers toppling over roofs and out windows. The streets were beautiful and well kept, fountains springing up here and there with elegant carved figures. And surrounding them were people. All kinds of people. Nymphs and satyrs, merfolk, seraphs and humans, elves and others. They all looked at them with wonder.

And the realization hit her with a swiftness that almost knocked her breath out.

Evolis had not been real, but was real.

And Evolis was not a pile of ruins. It was full of people.

Chapter 21: Enid

Enid stood shakily, her body dripping, eyes locked on the people staring back at them. She looked to the side and saw her companions, the same confusion on their faces that filled her in the wake of that desperate haze. Avenay still lay limp in her arms, and she tilted her head again to feel the soft beat of Avenay’s breath against her cheek in reassurance that she was alive.