Nala laughs—lighter now, relieved in a way that makes my chest loosen.
“I don’t doubt you did,” she says, shaking her head with a small grin.
“We should get going,” Ryder cuts in, hopping off the desk and snapping the moment back to reality. I give him a small smile before turning to Ziek.
“Thank you for looking after Nala… and for saving us. We really can’t thank you enough.”
Ziek nods—a small, subtle gesture, but it carries more weight than any speech he could give. He opens the chalet door, and we step outside… only to freeze in place on the patio, our jaws slack.
Ziek’s people are gathered below, armed and ready. A whole line of them—blades, bows, and raw power crackling in the air. But their expressions aren’t hostile.
They’re admiring.
“You need a few more fighters on your end?” Ziek asks, one eyebrow raised in that way that makes it impossible to tell if he’s teasing or dead serious.
“Really?” I blink at him, stunned. “No—I can’t ask you to do that. Your life is here… in the Hollow.”
“If you don’t defeat the Siphon, we won’thavea life.”
His gaze shifts to his daughter, curled safely in her mother’s arms, and the meaning lands heavy in my chest. He doesn’t meanhislife.
He means hers.
He steps forward, jaw set with quiet resolve. “My men are yours. Tell me where you want us.”
Ryder holds my gaze, a silent agreement passing between us. His small nod says everything.
We need them. We need everyone.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“So what’s the plan? We don’t have long,” Ryder asks. His arms are crossed—matching the tight line of his brows—as he leans against a desk in Ziek’s war room.
The weapons I saw when I first woke up are nothing compared to these. Every wall is covered in armour and steel: swords, knives, hammers, arrows. The fact that these are made from the Hollow itself makes them even more terrifying. The room feels less like a place and more like a heartbeat—steady, prepared, and bracing for war.
“I know.” I slide onto the desk beside him.
“Let’s go over what we know,” I say, looking from face to face. “The Siphon is keeping all the infected at that abandoned warehouse off Moon Forest.”
Ryder frowns. “But why the warehouse? It’s been abandoned for decades.”
“I looked into this.” I pull out the Soldark from Astra Nova and set it between us. Its glow flickers faintly, as if listening. Ziek’s jaw falls every time he sees me use my Star Gifts. I don’t know what was more surprising to him, the fact that I was worthy of the gem’s power, or that I am made of Moon and Sun.
“When Ziek”—my eyes catch his across the room—“mentioned that parts of the Hollow have thinner veils, itgot me thinking. What if the Hollow isn’t the only place like that? What if there are spots in Palidonia where our powers are stronger?”
I turn to Ryder, whose eyebrows are raised. “Remember the temple outside the Shadow Realm? I heard voices there, like someone was trying to talk to me… like the barrier between our world and the Other Side was thin. I didn’t understand it then, but after talking to Ziek…” I inhale, the realisation still settling. “That must’ve been my Mourna Gift responding to it.”
I lift the Soldark between us.
“So I asked the Soldark. And it turns out the warehouse sits right on a fault line between our world and the Other Side.”
River’s eyes widen. “So that place is like a gateway to the Other Side?”
“Exactly. If Nyxos gets enough energy inthatprecise location, he’ll be able to tear through his realm easily and escape into ours.”
Ryder exhales sharply. “So we have to get him away from there.”
“And keep him away,” River adds.
