I wiped the edge of the dagger against my dress and stepped into the woods.

I released the glamour on the detective, but I didn’t release him from the ropes of my power.

“What am I going to find in that house?” I asked, removing the white smoke ropes that held his mouth closed. “Is the portal there? Or am I going to find another trap waiting for me?”

He gulped the air, his face red.

“What have you done?” he screamed. “Those people had families.”

“I have a family, too, but you were more than willing to kill me,” I said. “I gave you the chance to walk away. You chose to fight. Now, tell me what’s inside that house.”

He closed his eyes, as if he couldn’t stand the sight of me.

“The portal is in the house,” he said. “Or at least it always was before. If you really did kill the priestess, it might have already closed. I haven’t been back to check.”

“What other traps have you set for me?” I asked, bringing my dagger up so he could see it.

He swallowed and stared at the dagger.

“No traps,” he said. “But you can only get to the portal beneath the house if you carry a bracelet or stone from the emerald priestess. She didn’t give me one, so I can’t take you down there. She wanted to make sure I couldn’t go down there without her. I was going to be trapped here regardless, and so will you.”

“I’ll get in,” I said.

“Who are you?” he asked. “I’ve never seen someone move so fast.”

“My name is Harper. And you were right about Priestess Evers. She brought me thinking she could break me, only I refused to be broken,” I said. “But you were wrong about the demons. They aren’t creatures. They aren’t the devil’s minions. They’re incredible beings of great power, but they are people just like we are. They aren’t evil, Detective.”

He laughed, even as a tear rolled down his cheek.

“James,” he said. “My name is James.”

“I would say it’s nice to meet you, James, but it’s been a real bitch,” I said. “I’ve been through enough the past few months without your group trying to kill me, too.”

“And yet you’re still here,” he said. His eyes met mine. “Are you going to kill me?”

“Not yet,” I said. “I’ll be back.”

I used my rope magic to cover his mouth again, and I walked back to the cabin.

I conjured a bright light to illuminate my path, and as I approached the small cabin in the woods, I was again struck by how familiar it seemed. It was almost as if I had been here before, but I couldn’t quite place it.

Goosebumps rose on my arms as I walked up the steps, avoiding the dead body of the man I’d killed just a few minutes earlier.

Had I climbed these steps once before?

I shook off the eerie feeling of familiarity and sent my light into the front room of the cabin. There wasn’t much to this place at all. At least not on the surface. It looked as if there was nothing here beyond a single room with a long counter running along one wall. No kitchen. No furniture. No electricity, even.

But the detective—James—had said the portal was underneath the house.

I pulled the strip of fabric off my leg and took the emerald master stone in my left hand. This had to be better than any key.

I walked around the inside of the small cabin in the woods, holding the emerald in front of me and praying for a miracle. On the first pass, nothing seemed to happen, but the second time I stepped into the center of the room, I noticed a slight sheen on the floor in the shape of a square.

I squatted and ran my hand along the floor boards. The wood shimmered and faded away, revealing a narrow staircase that led into the basement of the house.

It was that moment when I finally realized how I knew this place. I had dreamed of it before the emerald priestess first attacked my father’s city.

In my dreams, there had been a cage here, a strand of emeralds wrapped around a white rose lying inside. Illana’s attempt to warn me after she was captured. This had to be the right place.

I stood, heart beating faster, and walked down the steps, my orb of light leading the way. I gathered my power in my hands, ready for anyone or anything that might attack as I descended the stairs. But nothing emerged from the shadows.

I sent the orb around the room, desperately searching for any sign of the portal or a doorway to another room. It just had to be here. I needed for it to be here.

On the left side of the room, a strange set of markings on the wall caught my eye. I directed my orb to the spot, and as I stood there, staring at the strange oval shape burned into the wood, tears flowed from my eyes.

There was no mistaking the perfect shape of a portal. I’d seen enough in my short years to know exactly what it should look like.

But as I placed my hands on the wood, I knew that I had gotten here too late.

The portal home had already closed.