"I love you," she choked into my shoulder. "Like, forever best friends and sisters. Twin souls, remember. Do. Not. Die."
I laughed to cover up the depth of my worry that I would never see her again. "The Nexus would bring me back again.”
She pulled away to glare at me. "We don't know for sure that would happen. Maybe next time your soul will be so tired that you’ll choose rest. So, with that in mind, don't forget my previous warning. I need you to stay alive and keep the rest of my merry band of assholes alive too."
Before I could respond, she spun and leveled all of us with her Mera glare. "Work together. Use your brains. Don't underestimate this enemy, and don't take stupid risks. You might be saving the worlds again, but if it looks like you can’t win tomorrow, then get out of there. We can regroup and come back again, stronger than ever. But if you're all dead, there's no regrouping."
"We promise," Lucien said, flashing some fang as his need for plasma grew stronger. "Take care,ma petite."
Mera swallowed roughly, but for once didn’t yell at him for his flirty ways. Instead, she appeared to be looking at all of us, memorizing our faces. I did the same to her, taking in the wild mass of red curls, her hair untamed for days, and the way she was dressed in a black shift dress and no shoes. She looked fierce and strong, ready to protect her family, and I sent out every prayer to every god—except the fucking ancients—that this was not our last moment together.
Shadow, done waiting, finally got his arms around her, scooping her up so she rested against his chest. Before any of us could say another word, he turned and walked back in the direction of the docks and the ship. The further he was from the black sands, the less energy it would require to open a doorway.
Just as his broad shoulders were about to disappear onto the ship, Mera poked her head around the side of his shoulder and yelled goodbye, her voice fading as they both disappeared from sight. Another jolt in my chest followed, filled with pain. Only this time, it was not baby-ready-to-enter-the-world pain. This was heart pain.
"We’ll see her again," Len said, slinging his arm around my shoulders. "Don't let your focus be divided."
He was right, and with that in mind, I pulled myself together, falling into my normal prep-before-a-battle mindset. Just as I was about to shake off Len’s hold because I needed to stand on my own, he was hit with a hard nudge from Reece.
"Too close, fae," he growled.
The pair exchanged a heated stare, but Len didn’t push it. He wouldn’t after the desert god’s declaration that I was his mate. Staring between them, I briefly contemplated slamming their heads together, but instead leveled them with a withering glare and continued toward the front gates.
Reece was making some very public claims now, but there was no time to figure out why or what it meant. Anything that messed with my focus had to be pushed aside.
For now, my aim was to wash off the long journey on the ship, fuel up with the seeds we’d been saving, and prepare to fight for my life. All of our lives.
After all, I had a Mera-promise to keep.
41
Guardians were well known for their stance on “silence is best.” It was no surprise when they herded us without a word of conversation toward the rooms which had been set up for our brief stay. That didn’t stop me from asking a few pressing questions. “How long have you been hit with these surges of power?” I asked a bald male in black robes.
"Disturbances for some time, but only minor," he said. "We feel the swell now as it approaches the Delfora. It has enough power to break the wards and securities.”
“Have you seen any sign of Tsuma or others going to the Delfora?”
He shook his head, and that was apparently all the answer I would get, as he hurried away.
“There has to be other layers of security,” Alistair said, voice raspy. His skin was drier than I’d ever seen as some of it flaked away into pale, blue-green sheets. “Beyond the valley of the dead.”
Reece nodded. “There are, but with the power moon and this gathered energy from all the dynasties, they will be able to circumvent them. This power moon is so rare that if I hadn’t heard about the last one from my parents, I would not have believed it possible.”
That reminded me I still had to ask him if that moon was the reason for his existence. Another time, though.
“It will rise with the new-moon tomorrow?” Len asked. “That’s the sixth day, right?”
“Not the new-moon,” Reece said shortly. “If past stories are correct, it will take some time for the twin to form. My prediction is that between the mid- and half-moon there will be a fissure, and then power unseen for thousands of years will wash over our land.”
Our timing would have to be so precise tomorrow. And we’d have one damn shot.
“It stands to reason that we can only defeat Tsuma once she gets to the Delfora,” I stated, needing to run the facts through my mind. “She’ll be hidden until that point. There’s going to be a fine line between reaching the sacred lands and stopping their actions. What happens if we’re too late and the gods rise?"
I knew the overallthe worlds will endbig picture, but this time, I wanted the smaller details.
Reece’s expression turned darker. "If the rest of our information is correct, the gods themselves are the power that keeps Death from rising, so if the ancients find their way back to sentience, then there will be nothing to stop them from smashing through the final barrier."
"Why would they though?" Alistair asked, grabbing a small jug of water that had been set out and tipping it over his head. The relief that crossed his face only added to my secret stress over his health.
