Emmy wrapped both of her hands around my forehead, and the moment she touched Cyrus’s hand on my forehead, their combined glow shot to blinding levels.
“She feels more balanced,” Emmy murmured, and Cyrus grumbled, but didn’t disagree. “I think,” Emmy continued, “that Willa is like Staviti. She was filled with more power than she should have because Topia had more power than it should have. Or at least the parts of Topia that Staviti cultivated.”
“What … really?” I exclaimed, before shaking my head. “Why are you always so much smarter than everyone else?” I spun to my guys. “Did you all know that would happen?”
Five sets of eyes focussed on me. “Personally, I suspected there was a possibility,” Aros admitted. “But it didn’t seem like something to stress about until it happened.”
The others nodded.
I wasn’t sure how I felt in that moment. I’d been powerful for such a short amount of time, and I’d had great plans of what I could do to help the worlds with my gifts. But I’d also seen first-hand how power could corrupt, and I truly believed that no god should have more than their share.
“You still are, and always will be, a creator,” Cyrus told me, attempting to be supportive. “Now though, you are balanced, like all gods.”
I nodded. “You know what, I can live with that.”
There was a groan then, from behind, and I remembered we had a kidnapped dweller in our midst. She was once again pushing herself up from the ground, waxy eyes moving slowly between us. “What—what is happening?” she asked mechanically.
“You tried to stop me from taking your book,” Cyrus replied drily, crossing his arms. “I don’t take kindly to anyone stopping me from doing my job.”
She managed to get herself into a half-sitting position. “Those books are kept in our sacred temple for a reason,” she spat out, a little more animation in her voice. “Tell me you didn’t lose it?”
Cyrus lifted an eyebrow. “I didn’t lose it. It’s currently floating in the Great River.”
Her eyes bulged, accentuating their unnatural sheen. “You … you freed the Great River?”
We all nodded.
“We’re all dead,” she choked out. “Staviti … he will not allow you to return things to the old ways. He has contingencies in place for that. He will kill everyone and trap their souls. It’s already starting.” She lurched to her feet, her body moving stiffly, her robes askew. “You have to stop it …” She trailed off, then, and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Her body seized up, falling backwards and hitting the ground, her waxy eyes staring up at the sky, unblinking.
“What the fuck—” Cyrus started, striding forward and staring down at her limp form. “What was that?”
He spun around, exchanging a look with Emmy before bending down to the guardian, his hands passing over her wrist before quickly pulling back. “She’s cold. I’m not sure she even had a pulse to begin with.”
“This definitely looks like a contingency to me,” Siret noted, staring at the guardian. “She might be right. It’s possible we just triggered something monumentally bad.”
“What the hell do we do now?” Yael was pacing back and forth, his hands in his hair. “What did she say, again? Staviti is going to kill everyone and trap their souls? And it’s already starting?”
“Meaningwestarted it,” I added, nausea rolling inside of me. “But what did she mean by everyone?”
We all stood around uselessly for a moment, before drifting to the edge where we had a full view of the valley below and the roiling mass of water that was still rushing through the lands in the distance. It looked like it was moving out into the deserts that were visible as well, far out in the distance.
“The water isn’t going to settle anytime soon,” Cyrus noted. “And we don’t have enough power between us to create another pocket. We’re in Minatsol, and the source of our energy is in Topia. Even with the waters running through both worlds, it’s going to take a long time before the full balance between the two worlds is returned.”
“And I’ve spent everything I have,” I admitted, moving to lean against Aros for support. His hand found the dip of my waist, his arm wrapping around my back.
He smelled amazing, even after dashing for his life and climbing a mountain. There wasn’t a single drop of sweat on his skin and his hair was windswept, a salty texture clinging to the golden strands. He glanced down at me, and warmth spread through me as we shared a brief moment. I could see the exhaustion in the tightness around his mouth, and I knew that the others would show similar signs of wear.
“We need to regroup,” I decided aloud, tearing my eyes from Aros to look at the water again. “Rest. Eat. Regain our strength, and most importantly of all … we need to figure out what Staviti’s plan is before we set off any more contingency plans. People’s lives are obviously at stake. We need to figure out who his targets are so that we can protect them.”
“Maybe we’re the targets?” Emmy asked. “We’ve been his focus this whole time.”
“The guardian said thateveryonewould die.” Siret seemed to be thinking out loud as he fixed his intense, golden-green stare on the valley below. “This seems to be a larger contingency plan than we could have ever prepared for. But you’re right”—he turned away from the water, meeting my eyes, his features dark with trepidation—“there’s nothing we can do right now. We do need to regroup. The facilities are still here, though I’m sure the sols have all been evacuated. We can stay here this night and hopefully the waters will have settled by tomorrow.”
As though all simultaneously reminded of Rau and Staviti’s attack on Champion’s Peak, we all turned and sought the charred rubble of what had once been the main hall.
“Well,” Siret amended. “Maybe not all the facilities. Let’s go check it out.”
“Pair up,” Coen demanded. “We’ll cover more ground that way. Willa, you’re with me. We’ll check the lower-level residences, since that’s where we’re clearly staying this time. Emmy and Neutral, check the offices, the healing room, and the kitchens. Bring whatever supplies you find back here. Strength, Seduction, Persuasion, and Trickery—stick together. Search the dweller cells and the lower levels, make sure there aren’t any stragglers still hanging around the mountain, but be careful. If those servers that Staviti weaponised and brainwashed are still here, they might be dangerous.”
