“What do we do now? She’s not dead.”
“No, and taking out her eyes, which I thought would be the gemstones, doesn’t work. I tried that.”
“Yes, I can see. Disgusting but clever.”
“Not clever enough.”
I took a brief moment to take in the battle. Somehow, our warriors were still holding strong against the storm fae. There were fewer of them than I would have expected, likely thanks to the human army on the other side of the bridge. The storm had moved that way, and so had a few of the gods. Callisto was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Pollux, Pandora, or Perseus.
But Sirius and Orion were here, flying about on wings. Now and then, they swept down to infect another warrior. All around, faces were pained and gray. The gods did not seem to care if their own fighters got infected.
Andromeda would soon awaken, and she would be vicious.
“I could wound her again while she’s still unconscious,” Nellie said. “It could give us a bit more time.”
But time was not what we needed, not with Orion and Sirius casting pestilence and famine upon our unit. We needed to put an end to this. And if not now, then never.
“Daughter of Stars,” a voice whispered raggedly.
I stiffened. I’d heard that voice before. In the sky. Inhaling, I looked up, but the heavy clouds obscured the stars.
“Down here.”
Tensing, I looked down at Andromeda. Her lips were pale and cracked, but the wound had nearly closed. Her eye was no longer black but teal. She beckoned me closer.
“Tessa,” Nellie warned.
Despite my better judgement, I knelt, called toward her by that achingly familiar voice. Andromeda had never sounded like that, not in any of the conversations we’d shared. Not when she’d been trapped in the onyx gemstone beneath Itchen. Not when she’d tried to draw me over to her side in Malroch. And certainly not when I’d enraged her.
It was as if an entirely different person was speaking to me.
She licked her lips before she began speaking. “My daughter. My stubborn, reckless, passionate daughter. Think about what happened. You died.”
I shook my head. “Are you…are you the fae whose body Andromeda stole?”
“That doesn’t matter,” she said, a little louder now. “You died.”
“No, I am alive. Nellie brought me back. But Andromeda—”
“A vow ends with death,” she nearly shouted, her chest heaving from the effort.
I sucked in a breath and leapt to my feet. Nellie grabbed my arm. Every possible emotion went through me. Most vows ended when one of the parties died. Iknewthis, and yet I’d been so focused on everything else that it had never occurred to me. I was alivenow, but that did not matter for the vow. Because for a brief moment in time, I’d been gone.
The vow was broken.
I could use Kalen’s power to kill the gods.
That was why Andromeda had acted wary of me. That was why she’d insisted I don my gloves. Not because she feared I’d use my power against the beasts, but because she thought I might try to channel his poweragainst her.
I stumbled back. I needed to do this now before too many others died. Curling my hands, I prepared myself for the onslaught of Kalen’s terrifying power.
“Wait,” the woman croaked out.
I tensed. “My people are dying. I need to do this now. Before Andromeda comes back.”
“Kalen’s power works two ways,” she said between ragged breaths. “Do not fall into the trap of forcing it outward. Chaos. It will cause chaos. Take it in, Daughter of Stars. You have the strength to control it.” Her eyelids fluttered. “And just know, I am proud of what you are.”
She went still.
