The presence of the Olive Seed faded away, taking with it Jocelynn's view of the outside world. Now that it was gone, Jocelynn found herself standing with Eleanor, alone in a vast darkness.
There was no floor beneath her feet that she could feel, no walls and no sky. Only a deep, endless black that stretched away in every direction. When she shifted her weight, there was no crunch of frost or whisper of grass, and the silence was so complete that she could hear her own heartbeat.
The cold crept in around the edges of her dress and settled against her bare arms like the damp of a cellar. The only warmth came from Eleanor, whose golden robes gave off a soft glow that pushed the darkness back a pace or two, and no further.
Jocelynn edged a little closer to her cousin.
