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It all felt…ancient. Timeless. As though it had been here long before any living creature, and it would remain long after all of them had perished.

“What is this place?” My voice came out hushed.

“TheNerithys Gate.”

“Nerithys…as in the realm where the Aetherstone resides?”

She nodded.

“So you can access that realm by passing through here?”

“In theory, yes. Though the gate doesn’t yield to just anybody.”

I cautiously stepped forward, studying the stone arch and its doorway more closely. Brushing aside a small bit of moss, I noticed that the bottom of the arch on either side of the door had a small footing jutting outward, each with an opening sliced into the stone. “Two openings…for two blades?”

“Exactly.”

“Grimnor and Luminor.”

“Yes.”

Still uncertain about my ability to wield the infamous Sword of Shadows, I asked, “Is it possible to open it without those two blades?”

Thalia seemed to be caught off guard by the question. “It would take exceptionally powerful magic to do so, but…maybe? The swords are undoubtedly the easiest method, though. The intended method.”

“Has anyone tried to open it lately?”

“Not lately. We have records of prior openings, warnings from our kind about the dangerous place Nerithys was becoming. Of the Light Keepers who patrol the realm on behalf of Lorien Blackvale, but…”

“But things have likely changed since the last time anyone went through it, I take it? We don’ttrulyknow what we’ll be facing once we pass through this door?”

“I’m afraid not,” she said.

And the weight of the upcoming Equinox grew heavier, still.

Wrapping my coat more tightly around myself, I walked away from the door, trying to slow my racing thoughts.

The trees in the area were sparse, and after a short walk, they gave way to rolling hills covered in more silver grass—grass that was gleaming from the light of the creatures floating above it. More of them were taking on larger, more definite shapes, now, and I was certain I wasn’t imagining what I saw; they were foxlike, almost, with sharp faces and bushy tails—but they also had small, sleek wings.

“Vaekin,” Thalia informed me.

A realization occurred to me as I watched the creatures soar, tumble, and swoop over the landscape. “I’ve seen very few animals in this world.”

“Many have perished, with our world’s limited, remaining energy being channeled elsewhere and focused on saving as manypeopleas possible. There’s a sanctuary in the South District of Tarnath, however, preserving all different sorts of creatures. And a few other such sanctuaries are still holding on in cities like Erebos. So, when our world is righted once more…hopefully we’ll be able to rebuild populations of things.”

I watched Phantom run in circles, trying and failing to catch one of the glowing creatures. He would come close to snapping a tail between his jaws, only for the vaekin to shift back into a mere speck of light with a high-pitched noise that sounded eerily similar to laughter.

“These aren’t typical fauna, though. The more intelligent of these creatures serve as occasional messengers between the realms,” Thalia said, “and they gather here because this is thepoint where the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest. The gate is here, but several of Argoth’s roads are also nearby.”

“How did Argoth build those roads?” I asked—a question that had been nagging at me for some time. “He wasn’t capable of any powerful magic, was he?”

“He didn’t build them, truly; they were already here, from back when the two worlds coexisted alongside one another. He merely found ways to open them up again. There’s quite a bit of debate as tohow. Ask your brother about it, if you ever have a spare five hours to kill.” Her smile was slight. “He’ll give you all the details about it, whether you like it or not.”

I smiled a bit, as well, thinking about how nice it would have been to have the sort of time to just sit in one of the palace’s cozy studies, curled up by a roaring fire reading books or listening to my brother regale me with stories of history and magic.

I held out my hand to one of the vaekin that seemed particularly curious. It cautiously sniffed my palm several times, and then its body twisted around my arm with a fluid grace before it snorted into my ear and shot off toward the sky.

“They can travel freely in both worlds?” I asked, rubbing my ear.