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“Do you…” I strained against the strangling hatred. “Do you want to…die? Fuck! Get away from me! Get away… Stay! Stay right there and let me kill you, vampire!”

My blood boiled, my body turning onto its side.

The forge…

Silv disappeared into the water. I growled, getting to my knees and scanning the aggressive river.

Where the hell was I? Definitely on an invisible platform, but why?

I rapped my knuckles on it. Solid. I felt around for its edge and found nothing.

Weird.

“Sugar!”

My head snapped up to see Silv running up the riverbank toward Medusa, Aidan, and Caer. They were only a short distance away, all staring at me.

Caer. Cast out, trying to get The Wheel.

She’d lied to me.

She’d actually lied to me.

Cast. Out.

Kind of gross she’d actually crawled out of me, though.

Bleurgh.

They all stared at me, Silv and Medusa on one side, the deities on the other, a ten-foot gulf between them, Dew Hills behind them.

“River Celestia,” I muttered as I realized exactly where I was.

Born on its banks, not in Elmwhisper Woods.

Seraphim essence, huh? A race no one had ever heard of before. Was it a memory Caer made sure to keep under wraps to implement her scheming?

Dammit! What was I supposed to do now? Caer had been helping me, setting things up to bring Golden Fucker down. She had guided me this far, showing me the truth behind my blind faith. What, was I now meant to let that go like I had to let Aidan go?

The dagger vanished, leaving me free to pinch the bridge of my nose on this platform in a raging river.

Rain began to fall, pattering against my head. The wind picked up, the sky darkening, and thunder rumbled above me, a fork of lightning clawing through the rolling clouds.

Seraphim. Gavriel. The Wheel. Man, I couldn’t handle this. Everything I’d believed had been ripped apart yet again. I was a guy who had believed in one thing, only for it to twist into something else.

I mean, was this moment even real? Was anything Gavriel told me a fact or just more words to be kicked into the ether for another surprise to jump out of a box in its place?

Seraphim.

Precious.

Why did it have to be me?

Medusa called to me, the downpour coming down harder, soaking me to the skin. I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself. I felt glued to the spot, totally discombobulated by this bullshit.

I pushed a hand through my soggy hair, trembling with rage. I was stuck, because what now? Go through the cycle of summoning my strength to fight the good fight? Buckle up, deal with the new details, push forward. Save the world, embrace the inner puppet.

I wanted my sister. I wanted her to give me a hug so fucking badly right now. For her to tell me it would all be okay, make me some strawberry and sweetcream sandwiches while she soothed me through the anguish.