I took a deep breath and extinguished the sphere of energy with a mere clench of my fist, leaving behind nothing but a dusty, barren road stretching into the distance, reaching toward a faintly pulsing portal.
The portal that would take us back to the Above.
Somewhere far behind me, I heard Nova gasp. The conversation between her and the others abruptly ended. I could sense the questions firing through her head, though I couldn’t make out any distinct words.
“…Even I have to admit, that’s helpful,” Thalia finally said, cautiously stepping closer.
“I do what I can,” I said with a shrug.
But now the crawling in my skin had returned, more insistent than ever. It focused toward my hands, as if it wanted to control them. As if it wanted—needed—to grab more energy from somewhere and destroy that, too.
All around us, an odd, echoing stillness was spreading.
In my mind, visions of destruction bloomed. Of an explosion of light spreading outward, flooding the world in beauty and ruin alike…only to collapse in on itself, creating a void that swallowed all sound and color. I started to sink into the possibility. Could feel the heat blistering beneath my palms, could smell the hints of ash and burning dust, could see the darkness overtaking it and leaving behind a brutal, empty cold. Light and Dark. Dark and Light. Both seemed equally dangerous, both were?—
A hand came to rest on my arm.
Nova’s voice was in my mind a moment later.
Aleks.Look at me.
She could have spoken out loud.
I was glad she hadn’t. I don’t think I would have heard her. And it was more comforting tofeelher voice falling over the images of destruction, extinguishing them like a cool rain over a building wildfire.
If she had seen or heard any of my disturbing thoughts, she said nothing about them as I glanced her way; she only tightened her grip on my arm and asked, “Ready?”
“Yes,” I replied. Even though every part of me was fighting to keep the memory of her brother’s words from my mind—trying to keep her from hearing what he’d said to me at the training grounds the other morning.
It’s a dangerous thing, to not know who you are.
SIXTEEN
Nova
From the outside, Orin’s house looked exactly as it had when I’d left it months ago. Wild, barely tamed flowerbeds; a door covered in peeling yellow paint; dusty windows open to let in the sounds of the stream bubbling nearby.
Birds chirped. The sun peeked in and out of puffy white clouds. A warm breeze ruffled my hair. It all brought back memories of beautiful days spent sitting in the creaky chairs on the back porch with Orin, discussing everything from magic to politics to dinner plans.
I’d forgotten how much I’d missed this place.
But I was not here to reminisce.
I wound my way down the cobblestone path to the front door, eyes scanning for threats. I’d seen too much these past months; I couldn’t help feeling paranoid.
Phantom was my only companion. He was little more than a wisp of shadows shaped like a tiny, lanky dragon, curled up in the pocket of my coat, his head occasionally popping out andsniffing the air. Stable and aware enough, but struggling to hold a more powerful physical form, as I’d expected.
Thalia, Zayn, and Aleks waited in the woods close by. It had been Thalia who suggested we not crowd the house, at least initially—that Orin might be more willing to talk and reveal things if we didn’t all confront him at once.
I suspected she simply wasn’t ready to face him.
As I crept closer to the house, I started to wonder ifIwas ready to face him.
He’d kept so,somuch from me. The more I thought about it, the more angry I felt. Anger eventually overtook any sense of caution or paranoia I felt, making me march up to the door and shove it open without any hesitation.
I was prepared for the familiar scent of books and old parchment, blended with woodsmoke and various herbs.
Instead, the stench of something rotten assaulted my nose, so pungent it made my eyes water. I found the culprit quickly: A dinner plate featuring molded bread and some sort of meat swarmed with flies. Beside it sat a cup of tea, ice cold and completely full, along with a small bowl of spoiled fruit.
