“You won’t stop me!” Brendel screamed. There was something in the way she said it that made me think otherwise. She had not seen us coming like this. She had not expected us to be such a huge thorn in her side.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard that before,” Raphael retorted.

“Sister, seriously. It’s rude to leave me on my own,” Fallon-Kabbah said, grinning at Brendel.

The Widow Maker gave us a quick glance, as the light bubble was completed around us, the spell humming. It lifted us off the ground, beginning its ascension. “I’ll see you kiddos on the Fire Star.”

Brendel tried to summon all her fire to come after us. The ground shook. The palace walls groaned from the strain of the natural elements. The whole place was about to go down, would soon be reduced to a pile of rubble—but it was too late.

The interplanetary spell shot upward and pierced the palace roof.

Clouds gathered, swirling around us. Lightning rushed across the sky, desperate to hit us. But nothing could be done, as enormous pillars of water and fire burst around us, marking a clear path for our spell bubble to rise.

“Inalia… Acquis…” Taeral murmured.

Two of Cerix’s Hermessi had resumed their roles as rebels, opposing the other two and helping us leave the planet in one piece. The interplanetary spell broke through the atmosphere, leaving all the chaos behind.

Minutes passed in heavy silence, until Lumi settled on the ground, pressing a palm against her chest, where Acantha’s pearl was hidden. She sighed, glancing up at the universe unraveling around us with its myriads of stars and colorful planets.

“We did it,” she said. “We actually did it.”

Nethissis shuddered, wiping a rogue tear. “Acantha’s spirit must still be here and is quite strong.”

“It most certainly is,” Taeral replied, looking down at Eirexis on his belt. “There’s definitely no turning back now. No matter what comes next… we’re getting Zetos and Phyla.”

“Understatement of the day,” Varga said, a faint smile tugging the corner of his mouth. He put an arm around Eva and pulled her close, covering her face with warm kisses.

Riza and Herakles were close, as well, holding each other, their foreheads pressed together and their eyes closed. Eira sought refuge in Taeral’s arms, and Nethissis held Lumi. Raphael’s arms slipped around my waist, and I felt his body warmth behind me, his head resting on my shoulder. We could all breathe a little easier, despite the ache in our hearts and the tears in our eyes.

We’d lost Acantha, and Fallon was practically in the wind… but we had Eirexis. We were one step closer to a better end than what the Hermessi had planned for us. And I, for one, was thankful to have lived through another day, so I could feel Raphael’s embrace, his soft lips on my cheek, and his heart beating frantically next to mine.

We made it this far…

Taeral

The hours we spent traveling to the Fire Star were long and silent.

Too much had happened. Our hearts had been broken. Our souls had been tested. There wasn’t much left for any of us to say. The truth was staring us in the face: we’d completed the first stage of our mission, but at such a terrible cost.

I grieved Acantha’s death, and I was worried sick about Fallon. Holding Eira in my arms, I found a sliver of comfort in her presence. At least the rest of the crew had come out of this alive. On top of that, we’d made ourselves an unlikely ally. The Widow Maker would find us upon reaching the Fire Star.

And so would Brendel. She, too, knew where Zetos was. I didn’t see her slowing down in her efforts to stop us, though I had to admit, my confidence had grown since the first time we’d encountered her. With Eirexis tied to my belt, I felt as though our odds were slightly better. Enough to get me to keep my head up and continue this pursuit.

Telluris had been cut off by the Widow Maker, and we’d been so embroiled in the flurry of events that had led up to our escape that none of us had thought to use the earpieces instead. To our relief, the comms line was still open, with GASP anxiously waiting for us to say something.

Amelia took it upon herself to update the senior officers on everything that had happened. Hearing Kailani’s tormented cry on the line broke my heart, all over again. But the news coming from the Calliope sanctuary wasn’t at all encouraging. The first affected fae had died, and a Reaper named Kelara had helped the witches take Crane’s body far away from the others.

The worst was yet to come, we realized, as more fae would eventually die. We were thrilled to hear that their spirits were present and doing everything they could to slow the Hermessi’s process down, but all hopes rested with us. With bringing Thieron back to Death.

Derek and Sofia were almost done with their plan to steal the Hermessi children from Yahwen, aided by Tebir and several key GASP seniors. The cults continued to spread, and the number of affected fae was slowly moving into the four million range. The ritual’s completion was closer now than ever.

“No wonder Brendel is so desperate to stop us,” Lumi said after a while.

The Fire Star grew ahead, beautiful and lush, blessed by the warm sun and billions of nearby stars. Our spell bubble shot through the stardust clouds, racing toward my home planet. My heart swelled with every minute that passed, knowing that I was closer to the endgame. To Zetos.

“Remember what she said about you?” Raphael asked, looking at me. I frowned, not sure what he was referring to, specifically. “That she’d looked into you. What do you suppose that meant?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea, but I doubt it’s good.”

It wasn’t. It troubled me deeply, because the implications were downright horrifying. Brendel looking into me meant that she not only knew who I was. She knew about my parents, my bloodline, my planet… where she’d hidden Zetos. I was in for a world of pain.

“You stirred her interest,” Eva said. “That’s somewhat encouraging, despite how awful it sounds.”

Varga nodded. “She’s scared of you, in particular. She even felt the need to mention that you got her attention. Eva’s right. I think there’s something here that we could… I don’t know, maybe look into.”

“Where would we even start?” I sighed. “And what would we be looking for?”

“Death did mention something,” Eira said thoughtfully. “That it’s all about you, in a way. Could this be what she meant?”

“This what?” I replied, unable to follow.

“This reason why Brendel is so fearful of you,” Lumi clarified.

Thinking about it carefully, I realized it made sense. My crew was on to something. But the question remained: What exactly were we looking at? What was it about me that had Brendel so worried? It was tied to this mission of finding Thieron, sure… but there was more to it, I figured. Death had left a few things out, it seemed, and I was eager to ask her a few questions, provided I got the chance.

I will, actually, when I see the Widow Maker again. He could be our direct link to her. Logic dictated that he’d have a way of reaching her without us going through all those Mortis hoops again.

“Tae! Taeral, honey, are you there?” My mother’s voice came through the earpiece. I pressed the answer button, prompting everyone to look at me.

“Mom? Yeah, I’m here,” I said. “I take it Derek told you what happened on Cerix?”

“He did, and I cannot begin to describe how happy and relieved I am to know you’re out of there,” she replied. Her voice trembled. Something was wrong. “Tae, my darling…”

“What happened?” I asked, bracing myself for unpleasant news of some kind.

“Your father…”

The worst thought hit me so hard, it cut off my air supply. “What… What about Dad?”

“He’s missing,” Mom said, trying her best not to cry.

My knees turned to dust, no longer able to support me. I dropped like a rag doll, startling everyone. They jumped to help me. “What do you mean he’s missing?” I asked, shaking. Cold sweat beaded my forehead, trickling down my burning cheeks.

“Tae, I don’t know what happened,” Mom replied. “He’s just… gone.”

Nethissis had used a piece of stone I’d collected from my palace, so the interplanetary spell brought us right in front of it. As soon as the light bubble faded away, I linked hands with the rest of the crew and teleported us inside the secret fae sanctuary, where my father had been held.

“Tae, we’re with you all the way. You know that, right?” Varga said as we rushed across the main hall, moving past dozens of crystal casings.