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In her mind, she felt it—the solid thud of wood meeting wood as the black ferry struck the dock, the shuffle of souls stepping ashore.

Taly stared up through the eye of the storm into the endless void of the Neither where souls poured forth like falling stars.

They fell over the city, their glowing vapor trails bleeding light into the sky before scattering to the wind.

And still that voice thundered, relentless and unforgiving,Give it more.

Without thought, the magic surged from her, weaving through the city. Roads began to repair, entire buildings reassembled.

More.

Reality buckled as the crack in the sky yawned wider, its jagged edge peeling back to expose the cold, endless dark that existed before time began.

More.

Taly was screaming even as she laughed, on the verge of being ripped in two.

Her skin glowed, light spearing from between the seams of her body. She was unraveling, but she didn’t care. This body didn’t matter. It was a channel, a vessel, immaterial and mortal and—

And this wasnother.

These weren’t her thoughts, her feelings.

Or were they? Where was she in this tangle?

Her spine arched as if something inside her was tearing loose. They were too much the same, her magic and this power. Cut from the same primordial cloth. She couldn’t pry them apart, couldn’t wrest back control.

And why should she?

The thought slithered into her mind, wrapping around the edges of her panic like a balm.

The power wasn’t fighting her—it was cleansing her. Breaking her apart so she could be built backgreater.

The sky pried apart, golden threads appearing. Shimmering in lieu of the dawn. The Weave laid bare to any who might look upon it.

Her voice was gone, throat ragged from screaming. She didn’t care what came next. She just had to keep reaching.

Keep herself whole long enough to pull him back.

And then—

From the depths of the Neither, a black speck fell, like a dark star pitched from Hell.

It hit the street running, letting out a feralroar.

Taly whipped towards the sound. And for a single, shattering moment, her breath caught.

Magic lashed the sky. The world twisted around her. But none of it mattered.

Because through the storm, with the winds still raging, that was Calcifer running down the street to meet her.

Calcifer, who was changing, shifting, massive paws turning to gold-tipped hooves as his legs stretched to carry him faster and farther and his wings spread wide behind him.

A winged horse. A pegasus. Jet black with golden hooves and gold-tipped wings and, as always, tufts of golden fur on ears that were just a little too big.

It was just like the books Taly read as a girl. The same books she’d shown Calcifer during the many long, sleepless nights at the palace.

He didn’t slow down as he approached, and Taly jumped, gripping a fistful of black mane as she swung herself onto his back. She hugged the girth of his body with her knees.