“The god children,” I murmured beneath my breath, my mind spinning around a thousand different possibilities. “If we could make the original mortal glass like that—for the pure only—we could free the god children.”
Only that glass was damaged beyond repair, its pieces stolen away.
“There is a way, Willa,” Adeline said soberly, and my gaze shot to hers. “Maybe we can do both things. A creator as strong as Staviti could redirect the new mortal glass to the imprisonment realm.”
“Then when he steps through, you could make the glass for the pure only, trapping Staviti there,” I mused. “But … won’t he notice before he steps through?” I asked, though in truth, all I could really think about were the god children. Adeline was handing me a way to get them back. I had to say yes.What if…
Before anyone could answer, an idea brushed across my mind and I pieced it together out loud. “What if we let him finish the glass the wayhewanted it. Would he have to step through the take control of the souls?”
Adeline nodded, lines briefly marring the beautiful, smooth skin of her forehead. “He can’t control or absorb the power of the souls from Topia, he has tried many times.”
“Then we should let him,” I decided. “Let him step through, and you should persuade him to take Crowe with him, since he has power over Death—they might need each other.”
“And then we alter the glass,” Adeline said with a smile, obviously catching on to my plan. “Trapping them there with no way to return because the glass will now be connected the imprisonment realm. You’re brilliant, Willa.”
“First time I’ve ever heard that,” I muttered dryly.
A few of the guys laughed, and the warmth of Coen on one side was quickly joined by the warmth of Yael on the other side, both of them wrapping arms around my waist.
“When will he try?” Rome asked. “Do we have time? We still need to evacuate everyone to Blesswood and figure out how to defeat the server armies.”
“We had an idea of how to help with that, too,” Adeline said.
She seemed to deflate a little, some of the stress that had been riding on her shoulders slipping away. She found a chair opposite Siret and sank into it gracefully, her long legs crossing and her hands idly smoothing out her robe. Abil moved to the chair with her, apparently still concerned about her, because he sat on the arm and pulled one of her hands into his lap.
“We thought that if Staviti could create pathways between the worlds … then so could you. And if you can alter the second mortal glass to lead into the imprisonment realm instead of the realm of death … then it stands to reason that you could create two more pathways—much easier pathways.”
“I’m not following,” I admitted. “Pathways from where to where?”
“From Minatsol to Topia,” Abil replied, and there was an almost vicious smile on his face as he spoke. “We will create only two points of entry to Blesswood, and set up a pathway at each entrance after everyone has been evacuated safely into the city.”
“It the pathways aren’t for the people, then they’re for …” Aros trailed off, looking astonished. “The undead?”
“They are of Staviti’s creation.” Abil shrugged. “Why not send them to Staviti’s home? Why not turn Staviti’s attack on the gods—who will have no choice but to fight back. To turn against him. To protect themselves. They will have to claim their world from him—to take control of their own lives and rebel against his dominion over them.”
“It’s …” I struggled, trying to find the right words. It seemed so cold. So calculated. But … “It’s a good idea,” I finally admitted. “The gods are better equipped to fight these things, and these beingsareStaviti’s creations.”
“Then you, my girl, have some preparing to do,” Abil announced, pointing a large finger directly at me.
“I don’t know if I have enough power to do all of that,” I found myself admitting after a few moments of silence. “My energy was almost halved when we set the water free and came back here.”
“You’ll be running on empty after creating the pathways,” Rome agreed.
The others all murmured sounds of agreement too.
“We’ll have to get her back to Topia quickly,” Coen said. “Returning there should replenish her energy.”
“Just in case you need it …” Adeline stood and pulled something from a pocket of her robes. A small vial, filled with crystal-clear water. It was cold to the touch. “Jakan said to give this to you. It’s from the stream you were born in.”
“This will help. Thank you.” I paused. “Where are my parents?”
Adeline smiled gently. “Your father said he had one more thing to take care of, and then he would be here helping on the front line. Your mother remained faithfully at his side.”
I felt better knowing they were okay, and also a little worried because I didn’t know Jakan that well, and I’d kind of just released a god of creation on the world.
The room fell into silence and I assumed that like me, they were all reeling with everything that we had ahead of us. Everything that we needed to accomplish, and such a short amount of time for us to complete it all. It was overwhelming and exhausting, but for the first time there was also a spark of hope somewhere inside me. We had a plan, and as long as we could stick to every step of the plan, we’d all get out of this alive. The worlds would be safe.
“We should rest,” Aros finally said. “Willa is going to need her energy.”
