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When he walked into the bar, Silas was standing in front of the door, staring up at it as if waiting for it to open.

“Is no one answering?” The guilt of ignoring the screams resurfaced. He’d let them suffer and die.

Silas turned. “I haven’t knocked. I was debating different possibilities and preparing myself for the worst outcome. However, after everything that’s happened, I’m not sure I have the ability to imagine the worst outcome anymore. My world ended…and no one saw it coming. Not the gods, not the Strega. All the people connected to magic, the very essence of the universe, didn’t see it on the fate lines or feel it unraveling.”

“No one here realized, either. Our scientists noticed the existence of other worlds and were experimenting…” He stopped, not wanting to admit that they had caused the collapse.

Silas’ eyes tightened. “If there are no vampires in the palace, I’m not sure what to do next.”

“Who’s next in charge?”

He sighed. “This wasn’t my town. I was just in the area.”

“Oh…” Not only was he in a strange world but also a strange town. “So you don’t know where your family is?”

“I do not.” He frowned. “And I have no way to contact them.”

“Your parents must be worried. Mine are. They live on the other side of the world.”

Silas opened his mouth, but it was another heartbeat before he spoke, and Nan’s warning that something wasn’t quite right echoed in Noah’s head.

“My parents have been gone for a long time, but I have kin. Others like me.” He returned to staring at the door. “I guess I should knock, as that is the only way I’m going to find out, and there is no point in making alternative plans if they are alive.”

“Good luck.”

“Say a prayer for me.”

Noah smiled. “To which old god?”

Silas tilted his head, a curve on his lips that tied Noah in threads of heat. “Pan.”

“May Pan bless your path.”

For a moment, Noah was sure he saw a flicker of something in Silas’ eye, but it must have been the light catching in them because it was gone so fast. Silas reached out and wrapped three times on the door.

Noah held his breath.

“Who dares to knock while we mourn?” A voice from the other side called.

Silas glanced at Noah, then back at the door. “Silas Wilde.”

The door creaked and swung inward, revealing only darkness. Silas stepped up and was swallowed by the shadows, and the door closed with a heavy thud that reverberated through Noah’s bones.

CHAPTER11

It took several heartbeats for Pan’s eyes to adjust to the gloom. Vampire houses and palaces were usually well-lit, with sunlight streaming through the windows in the roof and bouncing off mirrors and marble to create a soft illumination.

Now it appeared that the sun had been blotted out, and they were living in permanent night. The only illumination was the faint glow the walls held. Pan swallowed and took a cautious step forward. This was not the grand entrance—the door wasn’t ornate enough for that.

The solid shadows became items of furniture. A bed. He was standing in a bedroom. He glanced behind him, not sure how that had happened.

“You entered via the balcony. How?” The man’s deep voice came from a chair in the corner.

“It was the only door I could find.”

He grunted. “You call yourself Silas Wilde…a name that has power. Yet you reek of death and dragon. Like selkie and sorrow. But no magic.”

“You are correct on all accounts.”