The white light faded, and Elara found herself falling through nothing. Not darkness.
Not space. Just... nothing. She could hear her family screaming her name, but their words sounded like they were coming from a million miles away.
"Elara!" Kael's voice echoed oddly. "Where are you?" She tried to answer, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came out.
Panic clawed at her chest. Then she hit something solid. Hard. Elara groaned and sat up, expecting to see the forest or the magical place where they'd faced the stranger.
Instead, she found herself in a place that shouldn't exist. She was standing on what looked like a bridge made of pure stars. Below her spread an endless void filled with swirling colors and half-formed shapes.
Above her, the sky flickered between day and night, sun and moon, summer and winter. "What is this place?" she whispered. "The space between worlds," a familiar voice answered.
