But one thing does and always will. I press my hand against Griffin’s heart, needing that proof of life and vigor. “Home,” I say firmly.
He covers my hand with his. “Wherever you are,agapi mou.”
Despite our confusion over Kato’s missing body, certainty settles inside me like an anchor. I’ve been adrift for too long. “It’s time to finally finish this fight with Mother.”
Griffin tenses under my hand. “Are you ready for that?”
“We’reready.” I lift my eyes to his. “Our army is ready. Thalyria is ready, too.”
“We won’t just fight, Cat. We’ll win.”
I nod. I believe him. We’ll go together, because we’re strongest that way. And I have a plan now—a plan that might not even require bloodshed.
“I know what to do.” It’s what I’ve wanted to do since the moment I realized it was possible.
“Tell me,” he says gruffly.
“Later.” I reach up and smooth back his hair. “Right now is for us.”
Griffin’s hands circle my waist. Our bodies gravitate closer together. “What do you need?” he asks. “A bath? Food? Sleep?”
“You. The only thing I need is you.” Tugging lightly, I bring his head down to mine and kiss him with all the sighs I built up in a dreary gray prison on a high-up shelf of rock. Their weight leaves me through our lips.
“S’agapo,” I whisper against his mouth.
Griffin lifts his head, recognition flaring in his eyes. For questions of the heart, Southerners have always honored the old words, the ones with power, even though their Hoi Polloi blood carries no magic through their veins.
“I love you, too.” He answers me like a Northerner. Plain. Simple. The truth.
“Forever,” I vow.
“Gia panta,” he echoes softly, and the exploding arrow straight to my chest proves that words are the most binding of all promises, especially in their oldest form.
Griffin’s eyes sear me. The love and passion I have for him must sear him right back. He swings me up into his arms, and I know he’ll sweep away the misery of Tartarus with his own healing touch.
CHAPTER 30
“We have all the aces in our hand,” I insist. “A ready fighting force. Lightning. Elemental Magic. Wings. I can fly right through her window. I can do it invisibly if I choose.”
Griffin’s eyes narrow. He knows as well as I do that I’m not a sneak in the dark who assassinates people from the shadows. “That’s not what I call going to war.”
“War’s not necessary. At least not yet. What we need is a show of force.”
His lips purse. He doesn’t look wholly convinced, but he does look ready to keep listening.
Alone together, we sit at a small table, what’s left of a light meal still between us. I’m clean, fed, and renewed. My loved ones are nearby, Little Bean is well, and I’m certain of what we need to do. But this is still Griffin’s and my decision. Together.
“Picture it, Griffin. We bring the army to her doorstep. We get Lycheron and the Ipotane to come. Beta Team commands the forces. Mother will look out her window and see the future of Thalyria. She’ll know it’s not her.”
“What you’re proposing requires a person who can be reasoned with. She’s megalomaniac to the core,” Griffin points out. “She might not see anything the way you want her to.”
“That’s true,” I admit. “But there’s precedent. I’ll control her with superior magic the same way Galen Tarva did. Now that I’m finally in full command of my power, I’ll show her I can beat her—just one-on-one.”
“And you’re sure your power outweighs hers?” Griffin asks.
It’s a reasonable question. He’s seen what Mother can do, lived it firsthand. But I’m sure. My problem all along has never beenhavinggreat magic, it’s beenmasteringit.
I nod. “This is why we needed my magic to be reliable and consistent. It’s why we went to Frostfire in the first place. This is the benefit of finally figuring it out. Wedohave an army. But we don’t have to have a war.”
