The wind finally dies down and my stomach settles enough for me to open my eyes. He’s gone. A tight panic grabs my chest and I twist, searching the space.
“Zarreth?” My voice cracks. “Jess?”
No answer. Only the faintest sound of wind chimes as light gathers around me like a prism.
“They can’t hear you.” A gentle voice rolls through, but something about it makes my skin crawl.
My knees buckle, pulling me into a bow, but I don’t feel the ground. It’s like gravity itself obeys her. A luminous hand comes into sight. I’m not sure if I should take it, but something pulls at me. Lightening flickers beneath her skin when my fingers touch hers.
“My child.”
I melt into her voice, soothing yet so fierce…and familiar. I don’t know why. I’ve never heard it, but it feels like that place deep inside you. That place you can only reach when you’re fully present, when everything else fades away, leaving only you behind. She feels like…me.
I finally look up and freeze, caught between wonder and disbelief. Her skin glitters like it's dusted in diamonds. Gold hair falls in soft waves, reflecting the light around us. Wings made of pure light span wide behind her, lightning flashing through them.
But it’s not the wings that hold my attention, it’s her eyes. They’re bright emerald green, the same shade as mine when I lose control. It must be a coincidence, but why does she feel so familiar?
“Do you know who I am?” She kneels beside me, her wings blending into the shifting light.
I want to say yes. She feels familiar in a way I can’t explain, but I’ve never seen her in my life. I shake my head, swallowing down the nerves. “W-where are my friends?”
“They’re waiting for you, and they will continue to wait. I need to see my granddaughter.” She pushes my hair back. “Look at you. You look just like her.”
Granddaughter? There is no way she is a demon. How can I be her granddaughter? “But I’m a demon.”
Her smile sends a warm ripple through me. “You are, but you also have valkyrie blood in you…myblood.”
Wait.. she saidvalkyrie, as in a freaking valkyrie. But I thought only Theia and Erebus could have valkyrie children. Does that mean… “Are you a descendant of Theia?”
“You could say that.”
“How is that possible? I thought the valkyrie died after the portal closed; plus, my parents are human.”
Her wings come to life once again, crackling like a storm. “Not all of them. Right when the Gods were banished, I sent my last-born child to the Mortal Realm for protection. She lived, bore many children and grandchildren. Over the centuries, the valkyrie blood thinned—until you. My blood runs in you, Frances. You are as much valkyrie as you are demon.”
My stomach knots. I’m related to a goddess. Holy shit! A god’s blood runs through me. No wonder I’ve always felt a little off. “Is that why I’m here?”
Her face softens, giving me a small nod. “The portal did not reopen by chance. A scream rose—a cry so raw it split the silence between realms. A soul that should have crossed into the Realm of Hollowed Spirits instead clung to life. Its bond refused to break, even as the veil closed around it. And when your grief answered his, the sound was enough to shatter what the primordials had sealed.”
What does she meanwhen my grief answered his?Is she talking about Zarreth? Was itourbond that refused to break when I…when I took his life?
Her eyes are warm now even though they hold the weight of centuries lived. “Your grief awakened me, and I could not abandon my last blood. I rose to stop his soul from crossing and return him to you. But in doing so, I cracked the seal and the portal tore open. Now, something has begun feeding on it, disrupting the harmony and spreading corruption. The only thing that can fix it is the balance of light and dark living inside you.”
I must be misunderstanding. Something’s feeding on the portal, and she expects me to fix it? I can’t even control my own magic. “If it needs balance, then I don’t think I’m the one for the job.”
Her gaze lingers, a small smile forming like she’s waiting for me to see what she already does. “Balance isn’t flawless symmetry. At times, one power yields and another rises. They don’t have to be equal to be balanced, so long as they remain bound together. Nothing in life is ever truly black or white. Most of what endures is forged in the gray between.”
Okay…so balance, not symmetry. I guess that makes sense, but I still don’t know how the hell I’m supposed to fix it. “So, what do I do?”
“You’ll know. The portal was first forged from my blood, the same blood that runs through your veins. That’s why it recognizes you, why you feel its pull. It won’t turn against its own.”
I glance around. The light inside the portal seems calmer now, almost like it’s listening. “So, it won’t hurt me?”
I catch a flicker of sorrow passing through her features. “Not as it does others,” she says. “But it will demand a price.”
A price? I don’t like the sound of that. What could I possibly have that it would want?
Her gaze lingers. “There’s one more thing you must know…”
