Ina woke after a few hours, lying on the couch before the fireplace, with Wilder hovering over her with furrowed brow. He smiled as she blinked sleep from her eyes. “Glad to have you back,” he said.

“What happened to me?” Ina asked, sitting up.

“The key of Theodorus proved its worth,” Peter said as he and all the other temporary residents of his hidden chateau filed back into the living room. Peter held the key out in a palm for Ina to see. It was cracked, blackened, and blistered, no longer pristine. “Somehow it allowed you to channel a message from beyond our plane of existence. A message from the gods. It seems some powers are watching over us.”

“Prof here has been talking our heads off all night about this,” said Paz with a...

Please subscribe to keep reading.