Page 337 of Kingdom of Ash

She had to findhome—

Worlds of lights, worlds of towers that stretched to the skies, worlds of silence.

So many.

There were so many worlds, all of them miraculous, all of them so precious and perfect that even as she fell through them, her heart broke to see them.

Home. The wayhome—

She fumbled for the tether, the bond in her soul. Inked into her flesh.

Come back to me.

Aelin plunged through world after world after world.

Too fast.

She would hit her own world too fast, and miss it completely.

But she could not slow. Could not stop.

Tumbling, flipping over herself, she passed through them one by one by one by one by one.

It is the strength ofthisthat matters. Wherever you go, Aelin, no matter how far, this will lead you home.

Aelin roared, a spark of self flashing through the sky.

The tether grew stronger. Tighter. Reeling her in.

Too fast. She had to slow—

She plummeted into the last of herself, into what remained, grappling for any sort of power to slow her racing.

She passed through a world where a great city had been built along the curve of a river, the buildings impossibly tall and glimmering with lights.

Passed through a world of rain and green and wind.

Roaring, she tried to slow.

She passed through a world of oceans with no land to be seen.

Close. Home was so close she could nearly smell the pine and snow. If she missed it, if she passed by it—

She passed through a world of snowcapped mountains under shining stars. Passed over one of those mountains, where a winged male stood beside a heavily pregnant female, gazing at those very stars. Fae.

They wereFae, but this was not her world.

She flung out a hand, as if she might signal them, as if they might somehow help her when she was nothing but an invisible speck of power—

The winged male, beautiful beyond reason, snapped his head toward her as she arced across his starry sky.

He lifted a hand, as if in greeting.

A blast of dark power, like a gentle summer night, slammed into her.

Not to attack—but to slow her down.

A wall, a shield, that she tore and plunged through.

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