If my final battle was with Artemisia, I hoped that I would do enough damage to send her to the underworld before she ended my life.
I had to protect him. I had to keep him safe.
I didn’t want to ruminate about my potential death any longer. I forced myself to think about last night and the things I had discussed with my adelphia after we’d unlocked the scroll. What could an aether dragon do when she was actually awake, which seemed so infrequent these days? I told them how Luna slept so deeply and seemed to grow even bigger after.
Ahyana had been concerned about us entering the cave, as it sounded forbidden, but Io had said, “We are neither men nor beasts. We should be fine.”
I hoped she was correct.
We had also talked about the tests of the goddesses. Did that mean Dea and Asteria? Or were there others that we would have to worry about? What would happen if we didn’t pass the tests and couldn’t get the weapon?
I kept my personal concerns to myself. One phrase from the scroll kept repeating in my mind.
The flame-kissed savior who is worthy.
It felt as if it were being spelled out for me yet again: I had to be worthy to enter the cave, pass the tests, and claim the weapon.
And if I survived, I still needed to save Locris with the eye. Which also required me to remain worthy.
I knew that I needed the constant reminders. Because when I was in the moment with Xander, he was all I cared about.
Would last night keep me out of the cave? Perhaps the “pleasures of the flesh” only applied to receiving, not giving. I hadn’t reached completion—did that make a difference?
Or was I still permitted to wield magic because it had been accidental? Would it be different now that I knew where it could lead? Would I be held accountable if I made that choice again?
This was not something I could discuss with my adelphia. Zalira and Ahyana would be understanding and might even be helpful, but Io would be devastated and Suri would take her side, as she always did.
It wouldn’t help anything if I told them. It would only make things worse.
I got up and quickly got ready for the day. I had wanted to leave for the mountains this morning, but Io had said that she needed time to create extra potions for the trip.
Which also gave me another day to try and figure out how to persuade Xander into agreeing to let me go.
I heard my sisters talking next door and went over to see what they were doing. Io worked on her potions and serums while Suri sharpened her daggers and Zalira studied the map.
“What happened to the terawolf?” I asked. I was glad it was gone.
“Xander removed it,” Io said.
Ahyana entered the room then, looking a bit down.
“Where are you coming back from?” I asked her.
“To say goodbye to Rokh. Your husband sent him out on yet another secret mission,” she said. “I don’t understand why it’s always him that has to go.”
“Because Xander trusts him,” I said. And because Rokh could shape-shift into a raven and fly to places faster than a horse could.
“I found out how far away the mountain range is from here,” Ahyana said as she sat down on her bed. “It’s thirty miles. On horseback, that’s a day there and back. And just to make you aware, Xander seemed suspicious when I asked about it.”
That wasn’t a surprise. He always seemed to know when I was up to something.
“I also wanted to mention that something interesting happened,” she said. “I used my aspect briefly and saw the white light on Rokh but not on Xander or anyone else around him.”
That made Io stop what she was working on. “Just Rokh?”
Ahyana nodded. “Do you think that means we see the light on people we love? I can’t think of another explanation as to why we see it on each other and then on people like Rokh ...”
Io turned toward me. “And Xander.”
