When we first arrived on the crystal bridge, it was to discover that Koda had embedded the stone into his temple and was using it to give himself the nightmare power. Roman explained to me that the small, violet jewel had been part of a ring worn by my father. It was a way, I guess, to store and strengthen his power at any given time. Roman secreted the stone safely away to his home in the Wilds when we arrived, just as he continues to secret away the angels’ weapon.
Roman is stony beside me. “Why would Jareth give you the stone?” he asks, clearly disbelieving Koda’s claim.
Koda’s eyes meet mine. “He wanted me to give it to Nova.”
I miss a step. “He told you about me?”
Koda tips his head. “Not directly. Not your name. I found that out for myself later. He told me he was worried that Crone was inciting one of his children to make a play for the throne.”
Koda glances at Roman. “He couldn’t see past his love for his older children, but he wasn’t a fool when it came to Crone. He suspected she was manipulating one—or more—of them. Of course, Crone wouldn’t bother trying to manipulate me because I had no power for her to use; hence, Jareth could trust me with this information. He didn’t tell me which of my siblings he suspected. At the time, I thought it must have been Arga. The way Arga and Crone behaved during the Elimination seemed to confirm that.”
Until Esta reappeared and proved just how deceptive the Underworld can be.
Koda’s next exhalation is a heavy sigh. “He must have noticed what Esta was doing—the way she was taking souls and casting their husks into the Forbidden Lands. If he confronted her about it, she would have blamed it on Arga. As she said, Arga was the perfect scapegoat. We all thought he was responsible. But our father may have seen through that and realized there was real danger in the power Esta was gathering.”
“He didn’t say anything to me,” Roman admits, “but in truth, I’ve been distant the last few decades. The life I’ve lived started to weigh on me.”
“You’ll never be alone again,” I whisper, reaching for his hand, a simple touch to send him my warmth and love. He carries scars, and I can’t lessen them, but I can offer my love and support when needed.
Roman’s arm slips around me, his palm pressing to my back in a slow swirl that makes me wish we weren’t stuck in the Scourge right now.
Focusing back on Koda, I say, “So our father gave you the stone because he thought one of the others was going to make a play for the throne. But how did that lead you to me?”
“It was the night he was attacked,” Koda continues, and despite the lack of emotion in his speech, his eyes shine with regret. “I must have been the last to see him before Esta tried to kill him. He told me to go to Earth, to a city called Las Vegas. He said that the stone’s energy would lead me to the one sibling I could trust. He told me to give the stone to her. Toyou.”
“You didn’t do that, though,” I say quietly.
Koda’s voice breaks. “I didn’t. I’m sorry, but as soon as he disappeared, I knew the Elimination would be called, and I’d be the first one killed. I made it to Earth, followed the stone’s energy, and tracked you down. I took control of the Strike Demons, gathered as much information about you as I could, and then I waited for my chance to destroy you.”
He casts me a regretful glance. “I saw you as another threat to my life. I didn’t believe my father when he said I could trust you. I assumed you would be like the others and try to kill me as soon as you could. I convinced myself that I had to strike first.” He clenches his fists, and I try to shake off the memories that Koda battles. All the beatings that Arga gave him. He only experienced violence and aggression from his siblings. He had no reason to believe I would be any different.
“I didn’t stop to wonder about you or your life,” Koda says. “And I discovered that with my father’s stone, I was powerful and feared. For the first time in my life, I saw a way to survive, and I couldn’t let it go.”
Ace snarls from behind us and for a second, I’m worried that another creature is about to attack, but then I realize, he’s snarling at Koda.
I remember the first moments when I met Koda and mistook him for the Master of Demon Runes. He struck me down with more fear than I’d ever felt, and he told me that my father sent his regards.
Ourfather, as it turns out.
My demon wolves were subdued by the nightmare power—their first exposure to it—and Ace won’t forget that any time soon.
But it’s time to start a new path, to pave the way for a different future.
“I understand why you did what you did,” I tell Koda. “You have a shit ton to make up for, but I do understand what drove you.” I pause, knowing that what I say next will steer the course of our relationship. “We’re allies now, Koda. We must never use our power against each other. Only to protect each other. As family should. Because that’s what we are: a family.” I glance back at Roman, my sisters, and my wolves as I speak. “From now on, let’s make it better.”
“Family,” Koda murmurs with a nod, a quiet promise, before he takes a deep breath and points ahead of us. “This is the junction between paths.”
He slows as he approaches the fork in the tunnel, and then he stops, his brow furrowing as he considers which way to choose.
Taniya and Malia glide past us in their wolf forms, their noses raised. They sniff the air in both tunnels and growl loudly at the tunnel on the right.
“I agree,” Koda says to them, correctly interpreting their growls as a warning. “That tunnel smells wrong. I didn’t want to take it the first time, either—and the creature that lives within it damn near killed me—but that’s the path my father’s power took me down.”
He turns to me. “This is the dangerous path. But it’s the one we have to take. We should move quickly. Try to pass along it as fast as we can so we can reach the fissure at the end of it.”
I give him a firm nod. “Okay, then.”
Given Koda’s warning, we pick up our pace as we enter the darker path until we’re sprinting but staying close on Koda’s heels.
