***
Aya could just make out where Evie had summoned the veil. Its translucent glow hovered above them like a second sky. The Diaforaté’s power was piercing it, causing weblike cracks to spread across the surface. Some were swaying, the toll of their efforts clearly showing on their agonized faces.
Perhaps that’s why Evie had begun to add her own power to the destruction, sharp pulses of it that tore holes in the shimmering substance.
Aya and Will looked at each other, a single moment suspended in time, a wordless conversation of love and determination passing between them. And then, together, they leapt over the side of the basin wall.
Aya called her power forward, the rush of it like a siren song to the heart as she dove headfirst into the depths of her well.
She was no longer afraid of the bottomless thing inside her. It was made up of those she loved, of those who loved her.
Aya called to the wind first, her mother’s stubborn spirit flowing through her as she flung her hands toward the Diaforaté. A hard gust barreled into the circle, sending them stumbling from their positions.
Aya gripped the air and tugged as she moved to her Terra affinity, her father’s warm pride settling in her heart as she cracked the earth beneath their feet. Some stumbled into the caverns she created, and Aya shoved the ground back together, burying them alive.
The remaining Diaforaté scattered, giving Tyr and Akeeta the opportunity to join the fight. Their wolves dove into the fray, their teeth bared as they went for the nearest soldiers’ necks.
Beside her, Will sent pulses of his power to those he could reach. She could see the moment it hit them, their bodies jerking as they fell to the ground. She added her own wave of sensation to the two Diaforaté scrambling to their feet, pinning them back down as they screamed in pain.
She and Will were on them instantly, their swords arching through the air as they finished them.
Aya turned to find Evie still standing, her eyes no longer fixed on the sky.
“Aya,” the demigod called as Aya wiped her blade on the robe of the Diaforaté she’d just killed. “So nice of you to join us.”
Fast as an asp, Evie lifted her hand, but Aya was faster, Galda’s soft growl of control echoing in her mind as she used her power to deflect instead of attack.
She redirected Evie’s spear of light into the last of her own soldiers, sending the woman screaming into death.
“You can’t beat me,” Evie reminded her, her voice light. She glanced up toward the veil. “It’s already begun.” She fixed Aya with a grin. “You could help me, though.”
Aya tossed her sword to the ground
“Now why would I do that?” Aya parroted softly, her hand steady as she reached for the dagger sheathed at her hip. Evie’s gaze followed, watching as Aya drew the blade back; readying for the attack she suspected…
…missing the one Aya had saved for this very moment.
Aya reached into the depths of her well and called forth Incend flame.
Evie barely had time to blink as Aya’s stream of fire arced through the air and caught on her robes. An enraged shriek burst from the demigod, her hands and power batting at the flames, but Aya was already moving, already darting across the space between them.
The flames were extinguished, but it didn’t matter. They’d been the diversion she’d needed.
For Tova, Aya thought, as she embedded the tonic-laced dagger directly into Evie’s chest.
***
“Mend the veil,” Aya commanded, her grip tight on her tonic-laced blade. Evie’s knees gave out, but Will was there, his arms catching the demigod and holding her steady as Aya wrapped her persuasion around her andtugged.
“Mend the veil!” Aya could barely hear herself over thehowl of the wind. It ripped her hair from its braid and kicked dust into her eyes. Will shielded his face against it as he cast a worried look at the sky.
“Aya,” he warned, but she just pressed her persuasion further. She only had so much time before Evie was dead.
“Close. It.” Aya snarled.
Evie blinked up at her, shock flickering across her face before her mouth slackened into a crazed smile. A laugh bubbled up from her, blood following it as it fell from her lips.
“You’re too late,” Evie crooned. She coughed, another glob of blood coming with it. Her eyes moved past Aya and to the sky. “Now you’ll see,” she said, her gaze going hazy. Aya looked over her shoulder, her stomach plunging.
