Jareth nods. “Nova’s sisters told me about the form you took when you appeared to them while you were here on Earth.”
“But that was a manifestation ofyourpower,” Koda counters. “The nightmare power.”
Jareth shakes his head. “I thought so too at first, but the power in the stone is my individual power. If your form were influenced by that, you would have taken a similar form to mine.” He places his hand on Koda’s shoulder. “Your bliss power has two aspects, son, not one. While I’m assisting Nova, I urge you to consider that.”
Koda appears baffled—and he’s not alone. When he first came to Earth, he appeared shrouded in shadows that nearly left me screaming, his features so concealed that I didn’t see his face until we arrived in Mortem. Until then, he was truly a demon of my nightmares.
Roman gives my hand a squeeze. “I’ll help Koda. We’ll be here when you’re done.”
I give him a nod and follow my father from the tent.
Outside, the moon is high, and I nearly flinch as soon as I step into its light. Damn angels’ realm has ruined moonlight for me.
Athella waits outside the tent, her long, white hair flowing down her back like a beacon while her darker dress conceals her form.
Her head is tipped back, and it’s impossible to miss the tension around her mouth and the way she braces. “Look,” she whispers, raising her hand to point at the sky.
A shimmer passes across the air just beyond the highest canyon peak above us. It’s the same kind of ripple that spread across the mist on the crystal bridge. Another sign that the damage to the Balance between the three worlds is worsening.
“I fear you don’t have as much time as you hoped,” Athella says, lowering her piercing, blue-eyed gaze to mine.
I follow the ripple across the sky, the way it reaches a point where it bounces and circles back.
“We have to leave in the morning,” I murmur, my gaze lowering. “We can’t wait any longer.”
Beside me, my father is quiet, and I wait for him to confirm my thoughts.
“The morning at the latest,” he says. “But you can’t bring your family with you this time.”
My heart plummets and a denial rises to my lips, but I don’t have time to utter it before he continues. “Koda is bound to the Elimination, but to take any other member of your family with you is to sentence them to death. Crone will not stop at hurtingyou, and I fear Esta has become too much like Crone. They will torture and kill anyone you love.”
My breathing is shallow. My family has always fought at my side. I can’t imagine going into this battle without them.
“What about Roman?” I ask.
Jareth barks a laugh. “He will not stay behind even if you command it.”
My next question is more hesitant. “My wolves?”
Jareth ponders this. “Your wolves are powerful—and that is to your credit for raising them in the way that you have—but they have not yet reached a tenth of their true power. Even Ace has yet to reach his peak. If you want them to survive, you must leave them here, where they are safe.”
“I don’t know how I’ll make Ace stay,” I say. “He’s the one who has always come into battle with me—even when I commanded him not to.”
Athella has remained quiet beside me, but I’ve been aware of her listening to us, and now her hand captures mine. “If I may, Nova, I believe that he will not leave the ruby-eyed wolf, and he will recognize that she should not go back to Mortem until it’s safe.”
I exhale quietly. “You’re right.” A twinge of happiness touches my heart as I consider that Ace has always thrown himself into battle for me—and now he has a different wolf to protect.
“This will be as upsetting to your sisters as it is to you,” Athella says, and I welcome the comfort she’s offering me as she continues to squeeze my hand. “I will speak with them and pave the way for their acceptance of your decision to go alone.”
I bite my lip and take a deep breath. I haven’t seen either of my sisters since I woke up, but their absence was for good reasons. They won’t accept it easily. They will want to come with me. But I hear my father loud and clear: Taking them to Mortem now would be like driving daggers through their hearts myself.
I can’t risk their lives. I need to know that no matter what happens, they will be safe.
“Thank you,” I say to Athella. “For helping my family.”
She gives me a soft smile. “I, too, have lost people I love, Nova, and I know what it means to fight to keep them safe. And sometimes, that means fighting without them.”
She releases my hand and disappears into the tent before I can say anything more.
