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I couldn't catch my breath. We'd gone from shooting upward to diving downward in a second. Gravity shifted around Kaspian and me, pulling at us from a different direction entirely. Now below us instead of above, a city spread toward a sapphire sea. It reminded me instantly of an old Greek city, with white, blocky buildings pressed together around narrow streets. But I only had a glance before Kas pulled his dive up into a swoop.

Air rushed out of me. People shouted, then cheered. Kaspian leveled out and gave a great, triumphant roar. I was warm again. I could breathe. But I still reeled in other ways. Searching for something to steady me with, I angled my head.

Kas circled over the white city, and I got a better look at it. The Greek similarities were there, but only mildly. Now, that I could take more than a glance, I noticed the marble railings and detailed designs adorning many of the buildings. The city wasn't flat, but it wasn't poised on a cliff either. Instead, it rolled over a hilly terrain, coming to its greatest height in the center. And upon this prime elevation, a castle ruled.

Spires of white marble veined in gold stretched toward the sky, spearing up from a sprawl of architecture, united to form a beast of a building. Angled roofs topped wide halls, those spearing towers emerging from them. Statues of white birds, wings extended, topped many of the towers, but the central building had no towers to mar its roof. It stood among the spears like a king, chin lifted higher than the spires. Tiered levels, including one boasting a wealth of plant life, mimicked a crown. And that crowned keep looked out, over the castle walls at a bustling city.

People flooded the streets below us. They shouted and waved at Kaspian. He roared again, though not as loudly as his first cry. Circling back again, he gave me another view—that of a sparkling blue sea even more beautiful than the Mediterranean. Waters so clear they were translucent, displaying vibrant coral reefs and marine life. The city frothed down to its shores, but a bay protected the harbor, formed not by nature but by an extensive wall, built hundreds of feet out and curving gently in toward land where it connected with the city wall. A sea gate was the only access to the bay from the ocean, its opening guarded by two life-sized white marble statues of dragons.

Nope, not Greece. Not Earth. Definitely not Kansas, Toto.

Instead of landing inside the city, Kaspian veered to the left and headed for a meadow just beyond the city wall. I soon saw why. In that meadow, a glowing figure stood—a beacon that couldn't be ignored. As we got closer, I saw it was a woman—a very tall woman with hair flowing down to her hips to blend into her dress. Kaspian landed before her and instantly lowered himself into a dragon bow. Tucked in beside his neck, I couldn't bow, though I instinctively wanted to.

The glow faded and color infused the woman. Blond, statuesque, and stunning, she stepped forward, her body a study in grace. Her curves were gentle, nothing too luscious, but that made her seem even more feminine. There was no mistaking her beauty or her power. Sunlight clung to her, trailing behind her movements, and fire sparked in her eyes.

“Goddess,” Kaspian murmured as his body transformed.

Kas set me down on the grass during his shift, and this time, he blurred the transformation. I suppose it was more polite. It left him naked, but he didn't care. He straightened out of his bow and faced her. A fucking goddess.

Right. I'm on another world where Dragons rule and goddesses appear to them in meadows full of wildflowers. Yup.

Now, where is Frodo?

“Kaspian,” the woman's voice flowed over me like sunshine, warming me everywhere, past flesh and bone.

I sighed. I actually sighed.

“Thank you, Ensarena.” Kas went to his knees. “Even on another world, you answered my call. I was in great peril, and you helped me. I am yours to command. How may I serve you?”

“You have always been a loyal son.” Ensarena laid her hand on Kaspian's head. “And I have learned to value such loyalty. For too long, I've been indifferent to the plight of my children. Then Karadas returned. My battle with him opened my eyes to many things. I must guide you. Help you evolve. Find your purpose. Only through this connection will I find completeness as your goddess. And I have learned other things as well. New magic.”

“Was it your magic that opened the rift?” Kaspian asked.

The Goddess smiled. “When I fought Karadas, many such tears occurred. Two of them drew men from that other world to this one. And they drew my attention here. Maybe it was my attention that sent the magic searching or maybe this was meant to be all along—even divine magic can evolve and focus can further evolution. Whatever led me to this new power, it also led me to Earth. I sensed the spark inside a man born on the wrong world. I knew then that your mate wasn't going to be drawn here. So, I sent you there to fetch him.” She waved a hand at me, and the metal restraints popped open.

I immediately got out of the chair and went to join Kas on my knees. This was the first time I'd met a goddess, and I wasn't about to fuck it up. So, I didn't speak. I just bent my head and hoped that she sensed my gratitude.

The Goddess laughed, the sound lightening my soul. She laid a hand on my shoulder and tingling energy shot through me. The good stuff, not the painful shit the General pulled with Kas. I looked up, couldn't have stopped myself if I tried, and met a pair of pale blue eyes, sparking with embers. She had toned down the flames for me.

“Well met, Met.” The Goddess grinned. “Welcome to my world. It is both less and more dangerous than yours. Trust only your mate. At least for now.” She cupped my cheek and Kaspian's at the same time. “I have given you the gift of matehood. Now, it is your task to protect your bond.”

Before either of us could thank her, the Goddess brightened, vanishing in a ray of sunshine. The feel of her hand on my cheek lingered a moment before that faded too.