“How?”
“Sacrifice.” The word is heavy and final. “You cannot pass through Scylla’s strait without loss. She will demand flesh and lives, and she alone decides what she takes. That is the price of my ancient cruelty, because survival often requires losses you can’t prevent.”
Deidre’s face flashes behind my eyes, and suddenly I’m back in the cave, watching her weave her defensive formations, the shield falling, and the hellhound breaking through.
A loss I couldn’t prevent.
Five loops, and she died every single time, and I don’t know how to carry that.
How am I supposed to survive another horror waiting for us in this nightmare sea? I knew we’d likely have to fight more monsters, but now that they have faces and names, it feels more real than ever.
Unfortunately, standing here drowning in dread won’t change what’s coming. So, I force myself to breathe, focus, and be grateful for the warnings instead of letting them crush me.
“Thank you,” I say, although the words feel inadequate. “For the information about the Revenants and the star touched, and the warnings about Geryon and Scylla.”
Circe’s lips curve into what could almost be a smile. “Go, Storm’s Champion. Your companions are waiting. And yourthread...” She glances at the loom. “I suspect the answer to why it burns lies not in my weaving, but in the journey ahead.”
Cryptic. Very helpful. Thanks so much, ancient sorceress who turns sailors into animal servants.
But I don’t say that. I just reach for my fire and let its warmth build in my chest.
“Good luck, Jade Harrington.” Circe’s voice follows me as the flames rise and the palace disappears.
I rematerialize on the beach, my boots sinking slightly in the sand. The animals that greeted us earlier are gone, probably following Evie and Kieran on their futile search.
Logan and Callie are on the deck, their heads bent together over a book or a map. Callie’s shoulder is maybe an inch from Logan’s. Possibly less.
Heat flares in my chest.
Stop it. You have bigger problems than Callie Bennett’s inability to respect personal space.
I force down the jealousy and climb aboard.
Logan’s head snaps up the second my boots hit the wood. The shadows that have been carved under his eyes for days are softer now, his posture is straighter, and his gaze sharper.
“What happened?” he asks. “Where are the others?”
“Evie and Kieran are searching the island for Oliver and Thad.” I move to them, my legs suddenly heavy. “Circe said they won’t find them, but Evie insisted on trying.”
Callie shifts slightly, putting a more respectable distance between herself and my boyfriend. “What else did Circe tell you? You were gone for a while.”
I sink onto one of the benches, exhausted.
“A lot.” I twist my bracelet again, and again.
Logan comes over and sits next to me. “Start from the beginning.”
So, I stop twisting my bracelet and tell them about Ambrogio, Selene, the Revenants, and the Blood Coven.
Logan’s eyes sharpen as he listens, but he says nothing.
“That’s terrifying.” Callie’s eyes are wide, her face pale. “If the Blood Coven succeeds in creating an army of Revenants, it could be catastrophic.”
“It gets crazier.” I stare at my hands, at the silver light that’s always humming beneath my skin. “The cosmic goddesses can’t directly interfere in mortal affairs. So, they chose champions. Women they gifted with pieces of their magic. Circe called us star touched.”
Logan goes still beside me.
“There are four of us,” I continue. “Ruby has moon magic, Amber has sun magic, and Sapphire has star magic. And now, there’s me, with storm magic.Lightningmagic.”
