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“None.”
“But all the doors.”
Luc glanced at the twelve doors spaced out around the circumference of the atrium.“Those are Elsewhere Doors.”
“Elsewhere Doors?” She repeated it like she was trying out the words.
Luc turned and walked to the nearest door, then opened it. The stretch of sun-bleached earth beyond the threshold had Brinna bringing her hand up to shield her eyes as she gasped. In the distance, an azure stretch of water undulated under a bright blue sky. Tall. narrow trees bent, heavy with leaves that resembled an open hand fluttering in the soft breeze.
“What is this place?” Her airy words were filled with awe.
He knew she wasn’t talking about what was beyond the door. “Sol is…”
“Spectacular.”
He grinned, pulling the door shut and nodding to the rest of the doors. “The doors represent the twelve gates to the twelve circles of Vasmost.”
Watching her, he enjoyed when she turned her gaze up to meet his with unadulterated delight even as her brows bunched with confusion.
“I don’t even know how to make sense of what you just said. Vasmost?”
He laughed, delighted by her and the look on her face—absolute enchantment—he couldn’t remember ever seeing, even when she sang. “Easiest explanation: the cosmos. And behind each one is a place I discovered during my Roaming.”
“And what do you do with them? The Elsewhere Doors?”
“Visit, I suppose.”
“Really? That’s it?”
“My responsibility as god of light is to control it—across the many tiers of the cosmos. The doors offer passage to each circle, allowing me access.”
“Oh.” She looked at the door, then turned toward him. “What’s Roaming?”
He wasn’t sure why he found her curiosity so endearing, but his heart thumped, and it made him smile. “A rite of passage for a young god.”
“Like ascension?”
He nodded and shut the door. “Right. The Roam happens prior to Ascension, but yes.” He started across the atrium again. “This way.”
“And what is ascension?” Her boots tapped on the floor as she followed him.
“When a god takes their place in the order of Vasmost.” He glanced at her and found she was still looking up, turning, her face open with awe and curiosity. His woodland fairy. He cleared his throat and had to glance away to recenter himself. “Their godlight takes its place in the order of things.”
“What sorts of ways does a god prove they are ready?”
There was too much to explain, so he stuck with the basics. “Emotional control, command over their power and mastery of it, intellectual cognizance of their role.” Luc felt his throat tighten knowing he’d failed despite his ascension. He’d fucked it all up with that stupid spell and trapping Nix.
“Your home is beautiful,” she said.
“I love the morning light in here,” he admitted as they meandered down one of the pathways.
When they reached the next skybridge, he stopped, waiting for her in case she wanted his help across, hoping she might want to hold his hand again, which seemed a silly thing to want.
As she turned from the atrium back toward him, she stopped.
“Another glass hallway?”
“Another. There are several.”
