“Yes!” Bex cried, staring at her mother in horror. “I’m doing this tosavepeople, remember? If you reset the world, doesn’t that mean everyone who’s alive right now will die?”
Technically,Ishtar admitted.But their souls will be reborn again with no memories, so they won’t care, and it will take care ofsomany problems. We can destroy all knowledge of Gilgamesh’s heretical sorcery, remove the pagan worship of the Great Cycles, and set humanity back to the Bronze Age, when they were more manageable. It’ll be so much better than things are now, and you’ll get to return to Paradise with a fresh population of demons who have no memory of the traumas of slavery or the war. This way gets you everything you want, so you really should reconsider my offer.
“There’s nothing to consider,” Bex snarled. “If your idea of victory is killing everyone, then I’ve got nothing left to say to you.”
That’s too bad,Ishtar said, her ghostly face truly disappointed.I wanted to avoid this if I could. As I said, you’ve always been my favorite, but I’m afraid you’ve gone too far this time.
Bex gave her a scathing look, but Ishtar just raised her horns.Rebexa the Bonfire,she announced in a ringing voice that shook the ash,I command you by your name: Surrender the magic you’ve collected and leave this place, never to return.
She held out her hand as she finished, fingers ready to receive, but Bex just glared at her.
“No.”
Her mother’s jaw fell open.You don’t get to say no!she cried.I commanded you by your name!
“I don’t have a name,” Bex said with a smirk. “That’s the whole reason I’m here, remember?”
That shouldn’t matter,Ishtar insisted, stomping her transparent feet.I’m the one who gave you that name in the first place! Every spark that lives inside you came from my body. So long as you walk, burn, and breathe, you aremycreation. Now,give me the magic, Rebexa!
“No,” Bex said again as her eyes widened in recognition. “And my fire doesn’t come from you. It was given to me by the Blackwood, and it burns because of all the people who haven’t given up. I control the Bonfire now. Not you, not Queen Rebexa, not Gilgamesh,me.Idecide who and what I burn for, and I’m nowhere near finished.”
Then you are dead,Ishtar said, baring her teeth.Get out!
The moment she spoke the order, the same hand that had dragged Bex into this place smashed hard against her back. It felt like being slammed into a wall, but Bex held her ground. She didn’t actually want to stay in this burned-out tomb another second, but she refused to let Ishtar shove her around. She locked her feet in place for a solid minute, staring her mother in the eye to make sure Ishtar knew she was no longer the one in charge. Only when the dead goddess was looking truly terrified did Bex finally let go and leave, jumping out of the ashes the same way she’d jumped out of Adrian’s bonfire.
The flames were the same as well. The conversation with her mother felt like it had taken ages, but Bex must’ve actually only been gone a few seconds, because the fire she came back to was the same raging inferno that had nearly killed her earlier. Itwas still hot enough to burn her to a crisp, but Bex welcomed the pain this time, because she knew what that heat meant now.
It was just like the Morrigan had said. This fire didn’t belong to the ghost of Ishtar or any of the gods. It was theirs—hers and her demons’. It wastheirwrath,theirrighteous fury to see Gilgamesh’s wrongs made right, but even more than that, it was their hope for the future. The Morrigan had stirred them up with old anger, but the reason the demons were so mad in the first place was because they wanted a better world. One where they weren’t slaves or tools or anything that belonged to someone else. A world where they were their own masters and could live howtheywanted.
That had always been Bex’s wish, and the moment she embraced it—not as the Sword of Ishtar, but as a demon in her own right—the fire stopped burning her skin. It was still overwhelming but not in a way that was scary or painful. The flames were more like hands lifting her up, pushing Bex higher than she ever could have managed on her own with a single, united wish.
Fix this,they begged.Stop this. Let us go home.
“I will,” Bex promised the fire. “I swear it on my—”
She stopped in a panic. She still didn’t have a name. Ishtar had tried to use her old one and failed, but she couldn’t be a queen without a name. She was still trying to figure out what to do about that when she heard voices beyond the flames. Not the whispered plea from the heart she’d answered earlier. These were actual throats yelling audible words. One word, specifically, being chanted over and over by hundreds of thousands of voices.
“Bex!”they cried. “Bex, Bex, Bex, Bex!”
And just like that, Bex realized she was overcomplicating things. She didn’t need a new name from some outside authority figure. She already had a name given to her by people sherespected. The ones she wasactuallyfighting for, because Iggs’s voice was in there, as was Lys’s and Desh’s and even Nemini’s. Just as the Morrigan had promised, their pleas were the ones that mattered, the ones she’d been born to answer, and the moment Bex accepted that, the crown landed on her head like an anvil.
It hurt more than anything ever had. The new horns seared their way out of her skull like red-hot pokers, and not just her normal two. She was crowned with six horns now just like Ishtar, and as soon as they finished growing, a gleaming black sword appeared in her hand, followed by a familiar voice in her head.
My queen,said Drox, sounding very confused.What has… What did… Why do you have a different name now?
“It’s a long story,” Bex said, hugging her sword to her chest. “I’ll have to tell you later, but I amsoglad to see you!”
I am overjoyed to see you as well,Drox said warmly. Then his voice dropped.But you don’t have to tell me. I can see what happened in your memories, though I’m not sure I want to believe it. Is it true that Ishtar abandoned us?
“It is,” Bex admitted, clenching his hilt. “But I won’t. I’m seeing this through to the end, but you don’t have to go down with me. You’ve always been loyal to the gods. If you don’t want to be dragged into treason with me, you can—”
Don’t insult me by finishing that sentence,Drox interrupted with a growl.I am the Blade of Wrath, forged for your hand alone. The only thing I have to say is that I apologize for leaving your service. It will not happen again. I am yours until I shatter. Now, what do you wish me to cut?
Bex broke into a grateful smile. Straight and to the point, that was her Drox. He was already raring to go, but the voices were still chanting outside, which meant Bex still work to do.
With that, she lifted her head and waved her hand. The roaring pillar of fire pulled back like a curtain at the motion, revealing the square far below, which was a shock. Bex had felt the flames pushing her up, but she hadn’t realized she’d been literally lifted into the air. That said, being high up actually made things much easier. If she’d been low enough to actually see people’s reactions for this next part, she might have been too self-conscious to say it. They were the ones who’d put her on this path, though. It was only right that they hear the result from her own lips, so Bex took a deep breath and lifted her gleaming blade high over her head.
“Demons of the Riverlands,” she cried in a queen’s booming voice that filled the city. “Your anger has been answered. I am Bex of the Bonfire, sword of my people! By my new name, I swear I will fight for all the children of the Riverlands until Gilgamesh is dead and we are all setfree!”
