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I snap my gaze from side to side, searching desperately for something that fits that description.

A cluster of boulders. No, too limited visibility.

An open meadow. No, too exposed to the sky.

Nothing seems to fit. And there is no hint of glittering blue.

Fire roars through the air behind us where the group of natives is sprinting after us on foot, but we’re now too far away to be within reach. At least for another few minutes until they catch up.

I cast a panicked look over my shoulder.

That thing in the sky is drawing closer at an alarming rate.

Flicking my gaze desperately over the forest, I try to spot any hints of glittering blue.

The domed ceiling of the pocket reality reaches its highest point above us. Anticipation pulses through me. This is it. This is the center. The portal has to be here somewhere.

Winds snatch at my hair and clothes as Draven banks, taking us in a wide circle around the very center.

I suck in rapid breaths, straining my eyes as I stare through the mass of leaves and twisted tree trunks and hanging moss and lichen-covered boulders.

It has to be here. Please, Mabona, it has to be here.

That creature in the air is now speeding towards us.

A strangled noise of utter desperation escapes me as I scan the landscape before us over and over again while Draven flies us back and forth with rapid turns.

Come on, come on, come on , I beg.

Dread sinks into my stomach as a sudden thought hits me.

What if there is no portal.

What if they never actually opened a portal out.

What if we’re stranded here.

Lightning cleaves the air.

I gasp as Draven is forced to throw us sideways so abruptly that we almost crash into a massive tree. Whipping my head around, I stare in the direction that the group of natives are coming from. They shouldn’t have been able to close the distance this quickly on foot.

Another bolt of lightning shoots towards us.

My stomach flips as Draven flies us up higher instead. The lightning bolt cracks into the tree below us, charring the branches. Panic shoots up my spine, because the lightning didn’t come from the ground. It came from the thing that has been hunting us through the sky.

“Azaroth’s fucking flame,” Draven blurts out while diving to dodge a blast of water, followed quickly by a torrent of fire. “What the fuck is that?”

Twisting my head, I stare at the thing, at the creature , that speeds through the air towards us.

Shock and alarm crash over me like a cold black wave.

It looks like a massive serpent. With wings.

And four legs. And a head that is eerily similar to a dragon’s head.

Saddles have been placed down the spine of its long body, and an entire squad of those tall and muscular beings in bronze armor are seated there.

Flames roar through the air as the person at the front shoots another torrent of fire at us.

The creature roars and snaps its jaws.

“Fuck,” I breathe.

Draven dives towards the trees.

I suck in a sharp breath, gripping his neck tighter as we speed over the treetops. The creature roars again, and magic crackles through the air as another lightning bolt cracks into a tree right behind us.

“Find the portal,” Draven calls as he swerves and dives before shooting back up again.

The winged serpent speeds after us.

I whip my gaze back and forth as trees and glens and clusters of boulders flash past below us. My heart pounds against my ribs.

Something hidden from above but with open areas around it. There has to be something like it.

Unless I’m wrong.

Unless I’m looking for the wrong thing.

Panic seizes my heart, squeezing it tightly.

Water cuts through the air. My stomach flips as Draven snaps his wings in, sending us plummeting, before snapping them back out again. Storm winds roar through the air as he hurls them at the winged serpent and the squad atop it before shooting a blast of lightning.

Deafening booms echo across the woods and lights flash. It leaves black contours dancing before my eyes, and I blink furiously to clear my vision.

My pulse thrums and my heart slams against my ribs.

Draven twists and rolls through the air as fire streams towards us.

The forest and the sky spin in my vision.

A blast of wind crashes into us.

I scream as we’re thrown towards the ground before Draven manages to snap his wings out again. The grass trembles right underneath us as he manages to stop us from slamming into the ground. My stomach twists and churns as he shoots us back up again.

But right before we make it up into the sky, something catches my eye on the other side of the wide glen.

Hope surges inside me.

Something blue. Something blue was glittering there underneath a thick branch.

“It’s here!” I scream. “The portal is here!”

Fire roars towards us. Draven shoves a storm wind straight at it, blowing the flames back at our enemies. They scream, and the winged serpent roars in fury as it’s forced to shoot upwards in the air to evade.

“The other side of the glen!” I yell over the howling winds.

Draven’s wings boom around us as he spins in the air towards the portal.

A blast of water slams into us from above.

I gasp, accidentally sucking cold water into my lungs, as the massive blast hits us so hard that we’re thrown straight out of the sky.

Draven wraps his wings around us as we crash down into the trees.