I had been in too much of a hurry to leave the witch’s castle to bring the box with me, so I had nothing to hide him in either.

But on the shore of the ogres’ kingdom… I knew that there was a gate leading back to the human realm. It led to an uninhabited tropical island, rumored to be not all that far from The Shade.

If I passed through that gate with Braithe, we could pass the rest of the day and night hidden somewhere on that small, deserted island. It felt safer than staying in the supernatural realm. I was sure that Aisha would be less likely to find us there.

Then in the morning… I wasn’t sure what we would do. What we could do. But at least we’d be safer than we were now, and I’d have a chance to clear my mind and think about what our next step should be. I still hadn’t given up hope of finding a cure. Arletta, Colin and Frederick might be lost forever, but I still had Braithe… And Hans is still in Cruor. Although Uma couldn’t help me anymore, there had to be someone else in this universe who could.

I scanned the beach more carefully. I couldn’t spot any ogres roaming it. If I hurried there now with Braithe, we could probably slip through the gate unnoticed.

My gaze roamed Braithe and then fell on the drawstring bag, filled with sedative-laced darts. I was certain that I had more than enough of the witch’s drug to keep Braithe under control. And if I came up with a new plan quickly, we might only end up being in the human realm for a day or two… I mean, what could go wrong?