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“It’s not,” Philippa said carefully. “It’s difficult to explain. I mean, we’re on earth and everything. It’s not like this is a different universe. It’s just… parallel. I think that’s the best way to put it.”
“How did I get here?”
“I think you stumbled into it when you were running away from the men who are after you.”
I shook my head. I didn’t know how it was possible.
“This is too much. Magic isn’t real. It can’t be.”
As I said it, I knew that wasn’t true. It was very real, but that was what Cat had been trying to tell me all this time, wasn’t it? Oh, if she could only know that all of this existed.
Thinking about my sister made my stomach twist and turn.
“That’s why I can’t reach out to my sister, call her, find out anything about her. Right?”
“Right,” Philippa said.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” I asked. “Ash should have told me.”
“He should have,” Philippa agreed. “He’s had a bad run with humans, though. Ava—his ex-girlfriend I told you about—was human, too. He’s very apprehensive.”
“He doesn’t seem very apprehensive to me,” I said with a blush, thinking back to the way he’d fucked me in front of the fireplace. “He can be very forward.”
Philippa shook her head. “It’s not that simple.”
It should have been that simple. He should have talked to me, told me what was going on.
“Let me get this straight,” I said. “I’m stuck in some alternate realm, where I’m waiting for… what am I waiting for?”
“Well, that’s the thing. You can’t?—”
“What is Ash?” I cut her off again. “You keep talking about me being human. If he’s not human, what is he?”
“He’s a drus,” Philippa said.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a male version of a tree sprite. He lives in the forest, and he takes care of it. He can shapeshift into human form when he’s not in his tree, which is how you see him.”
“A shapeshifter…” I said, blinking at Philippa.
She nodded at me.
My heart beat faster, and my hands felt clammy. I swallowed hard. My tongue was too thick for my mouth.
“What are you?” I asked.
Philippa offered me a gentle smile. “I’m the goddess of friendship. My real name is Philotes.”
“Philotes?” I asked, confused. “You told me your name is Philippa.”
“Philippa rolls off the tongue better, and it’s not such a red flag for humans.”
“Are you… friends with a lot of humans?”
Philippa—Philotes, or whoever—shook her head. “No, not a lot. I don’t reach out to humans in general, but when I found out about you being here, I wanted to reach out. It looked like you needed a friend, and I?—”
“This is impossible!” I cried out, my mind trying to wrap around the facts and failing. “Magic isn’t real.” My breathing came in ragged gasps, and my chest felt tight again. Despite gasping for air, I felt like I was suffocating. “Sprites? Goddesses… this isn’t real,” I whispered. I pressed my hand against my chest, gasping for air.
