Ilsa races to her apartment after realizing her abusive husband, Pol Ulfr, has found her after three years on the run. She locks the door, calls 911, gives her address, and warns the operator that Pol is dangerous, armed with men, and will not be stopped by police. Knowing the locks will not hold, Ilsa opens her safe, takes out a gun, and prepares to defend herself.

When the outer door is forced open, Ilsa hides in her bedroom and aims at the doorway. A man rushes in, and Ilsa fires, hitting Manny before she realizes Pol is directly behind him. Pol immediately overpowers Ilsa, twists the gun from her hand, strikes her in the face with it, and kicks her into the wall, showing that even after years apart he can still dominate her through violence.

As Pol moves to continue the assault, another man who looks exactly like him but is stronger, dressed strangely, and surrounded by eerie green light attacks. While Valentine Rousseau warns that Pol still has a weapon, this other man, Apollo, draws a sword, cuts off Pol's hand to disarm him, and then knocks him unconscious rather than killing him. With police sirens approaching, Apollo lifts Ilsa in his arms and uses magic to take her away.

Ilsa finds herself laid on a soft bed in an unfamiliar place, no longer hearing the police outside. Apollo tends to her injuries with intense concern and a tenderness she never associated with Pol. His anger flares when Ilsa casually admits she has endured worse abuse before, but he vows he would never harm her, and Ilsa begins to understand that despite the identical face and voice, Apollo is not the man she fled.

Valentine, an elegant redheaded woman, interrupts to urge Apollo to fetch ice for Ilsa's swelling cheek. After Apollo leaves, Ilsa takes in the richness of the room and the woman's refinement, both utterly unlike her old apartment. Valentine then introduces herself, explains that she is also from another world, says she lives in New Orleans, and reveals that she is a witch, confirming that Ilsa has been pulled into a reality far stranger than escape from Pol.