“Who’s that?” I asked, nodding at the curly-haired woman, though I pretty much knew the answer already. That tunic was unique to Figgen’s former role.
“The new prime minister, Medina Gahad,” Derek replied. “She’s been vetted and selected by Emperor Tulla himself. She served on the Defense Ministry prior to Figgen’s arrest.”
Eira frowned. “I know her. She’s pretty straightforward, though I’ve never liked her methods. She tends to resort to machinations that border on illegal or dangerous, just to get her way. Granted, it did get us bigger funding for the military branch, but still… Forgive me if I stay on the fence as far as she’s concerned.”
“Do you think she’ll be a liability to us?” I asked her.
She shook her head. “I doubt it. She is loyal to the empire. Born and raised in the Hadeen Domain, like me. I’ve only met her a few times, but she left a lasting impression on me. Let’s just say I don’t see us becoming friends anytime soon, but I’ve never had trouble obeying her authority,” she said, the corner of her mouth twitching. “She knows how to be imposing.”
“Ah, fierce lady with a whip, huh?” Raphael chuckled.
“I bet you’ll find that to be quite the challenge,” Amelia commented, a smile flickering across her face.
Derek laughed lightly. “She’s been extremely cooperative and helpful. All six agents we’ve sent there have returned favorable reports of her. Which, in my book, is good, given that Cerix is hostile territory, to your crew in particular, through no fault of the people.”
“The local Hermessi will be dying to get a piece of us,” Herakles grumbled. “Leb and Sebbi, especially.”
“I doubt we’ll be able to rely on Inalia, this time around,” I said, remembering Harper’s harrowing account of her and Ramin’s experience on Yahwen. “She’s had no choice but to serve the ritual Hermessi, and I’m pretty sure she’s under new scrutiny after her… minor intervention in Harper and Ramin’s escape.”
“We can’t force her to help us,” Eira agreed. “She’s done enough for us.”
“That being said, my only hope is that she won’t support Leb or Sebbi in their attacks,” Eva replied. “What about Acquis?”
Eira scoffed. “I don’t know. He may be my father, but… I can’t say I know him well enough to trust him. As far as Cerix is concerned, the fewer Hermessi we deal with, the better.”
“The Devil’s Weed will help with that,” Sofia reminded us. “You’re not going in there publicly. Chances are they won’t even know you’re there. Not unless you make yourselves heard or seen.”
“You make it sound so easy.” Varga chuckled bitterly. “We’ll be as careful as we can, but let’s face it. They’ll know we’re coming. Eirexis is there, and the clock is ticking. They’ll be on the lookout. Their Shills and Titans and whatever else they cook up out of those pink waters will have their noses sniffing, their ears twitching, and their eyes open, waiting for the slightest hint of our presence.”
“And Eirexis’s location will be an absolute hotspot,” Eva added. “I don’t have any qualms about assuming that outside Hermessi will join their protection detail. Brendel knows the dangers that Thieron poses to her cause. She will stop at nothing to destroy us before we retrieve it.”
Nethissis raised an eyebrow at Medina’s picture on the table. “Then we know what we have to do,” she said. “We’ll use the pink waters to travel straight to Cerix, because we’ll be immediately spotted if we use an interplanetary spell. Medina What’s-Her-Face will have to arrange for our palace entry in secret. The fewer people who know we’re there, the better.”
“Our only challenge will be to find a safe pink water cave to travel from,” I replied, feeling my brows pull into a tight frown. “And make sure there aren’t any Shills hatching when we come out the other side.”
Cerix’s pink water cave was deep in the Lemnos Woods, where the Brothers of the Shadow had been nearly wiped out by the Shills. Amelia and Raphael had stumbled upon the pink water there, deep underground, where the Brothers had also stored the empire’s original library. I would rather die than go through that experience again. We’d been acquainted with the Shills there, and I sure as hell wasn’t willing to fight them again. Not there, not anywhere.
“We’ll use invisibility paste,” Amelia said. “We’ll be careful and quiet as we swim upward. Thing is, the Shills were made there because the Hermessi knew we were in the area. If they don’t know we’re coming—”
“They won’t bother to make Shills,” Raphael finished her sentence, grinning. “That brilliant brain of yours is still working at full capacity, thank the stars!”
The rosy blush in her cheeks was barely noticeable to anyone who hadn’t witnessed their rapport’s evolution from the moment we’d been assigned to this mission. Something had shifted between them, and there was a warmth that hadn’t been there before. I doubted that Raphael and Amelia themselves were aware of this change, while I hoped we’d all live to see where it might lead, later on.
“A considerable chunk of those Lemnos Woods tunnels collapsed when we fled the Shills,” Herakles reminded us.
“That’s not going to be a problem,” Riza replied. “The pink water cave is untouched, and the Hermessi wouldn’t let it crumble since it’s so important. We’ll just teleport straight to the top as soon as we get out of the water down there.”
“That being said, I think we have a plan,” Lumi said.
“We could try going from Hellym,” I suggested. “It’s dormant again, for sure. Yamani is dead. There’s no one there to ring the alarm for the remaining Hermessi. We could fly in via interplanetary spell, sneak through the cave, and pray for the best as to what we’ll find on the other side. Once we get topside on Cerix, I’ll be able to teleport us directly to Emperor Tulla’s palace.”
Derek thought about it for a moment. “Sounds reasonable enough,” he said and checked the clock on the wall. “You should take a few hours to rest and replenish your energy, heal whatever injuries you still carry.”
“And leave in the morning,” Sofia continued. “We’ll have dinner and hash out a plan for the entire GASP federation, while we’re at it. We all have our work cut out for us, I’m afraid.”
Murmurs of agreement rippled across the table. With that in mind, I got up from my seat. “If it’s all right with everyone here, I’ll take an hour to quickly visit my dad.”
“Of course, Tae,” Lumi replied, giving me a gentle smile, though the sadness in her eyes couldn’t be masked. I didn’t like the pity that they all seemed to be aiming at me, but it couldn’t be helped. They felt sorry for me for good reason. After all, my father was one of the future five million fae that would be severed from their bodies, which the Hermessi intended to use as weapons of cosmic destruction. “Take all the time you need. We’ll be right here.”
“Use the portal,” Derek said. “And be safe.”
“I will. Like I said, I won’t stay long, but since we’re about to go chase after Death’s scythe, I might as well see my parents before we leave.”
“Just don’t make it sound like it’s the last time you’ll see them,” Raphael remarked. “I may not be the poster child for optimism, but even I know it’s not healthy to go into our next mission with that kind of mindset.”
“Relax, dude,” I shot back with a smirk. “I just want to see him and make sure he’s okay, given the circumstances. My psyche is still strong.”
Who was I kidding, though? My father was anything but okay, comatose and sealed inside a charmed crystal casing, and my resolve, while strong, still buzzed with a throng of insecurities. Kabbah had been amazing in his support, since he’d given us Eirexis’s location. But even I had to face it: there was an uphill battle ahead of us. I wasn’t one to succumb to nihilism. There was no need, since the reality of it all was so brutal. But I kept my chin up, nonetheless.
Eira stood up, looking at me. “Do you mind if I come with you?” She pressed her lips into a thin line, in anticipation of a potential rejection. However, that never came.
“Sure,” I said.
“I just… I don’t feel right letting you go anywhere on your own,” she mumbled, looking away. There was something endearing in what she’d just said, something that made my skin warmer by a degree or so.
Glancing around the table, I welcomed the sympathetic smiles coming from my crew. Derek was right. They were all extraordinary creatures, each of them special, unique and essential to our final objective. I had to admit, I felt blessed and fortunate to have been put on this team with them.
Eira and I left the meeting hall and walked back to the portal, once more surrounded by towering redwoods. It was a full moon tonight, and I caught the occasional glimpse of it in some of the tree crowns’ gaps—enough to remind me of how beautiful this world was, and how badly I wanted it to keep existing, much like my Fire Star and all the other planets whose civilizations stood to be wiped out by the ritual.
After I set our destination on the portal’s frame, I took Eira’s hand in mine. It felt soft and warm and comforting, just what I needed as we walked through the now-reddish mist, the universe opening up ahead of us with its myriad of stars and swirling galaxies.
With my parents in mind, I kept moving. Quietly, Eira stayed by my side—a source of unexpected energy for me. I thought of a world free of the Hermessi’s threat, one where she could go on with her life and do anything she’d ever wanted, knowing that there was still a tomorrow for her to look forward to. Eira was a surprisingly consistent part of my motivation, I’d noticed. And it didn’t bother me at all.
Eira
This was my first time in Taeral’s world, and it was a welcome change from the thunderous experiences we’d had so far. I took it all in. Every stone brick and gilded detail, every fiery fountain and inch of luscious silk and velvet that composed the garments of the fire fae… It was beautiful and breathtaking. The palace seemed to stretch on forever, with tall ceilings and sculptural columns that reached for the heavens.
The heavy scarlet curtains were pulled back, and the sun bathed every hall and corridor in its amber light. We walked through the palace, taking turns here and there as Taeral led me to the secret passageway that connected the building to the fae sanctuary.
Understandably, the overall mood was grim. The Royal Guards had been temporarily changed and replaced by GASP vampires, werewolves, and dragons, given that the fae were susceptible to the Hermessi’s influence. Other species had begun working for the Hermessi as well, but the vampires, the werewolves and the dragons were somehow much more resilient against their doctrine, which left us with a bit of a safety net in terms of manpower. Those we did come across along the way were silent and had a hard time looking at us—whether it was fear or sadness or both, I wasn’t sure. But it broke my heart to even think how Taeral was taking all this.
Fortunately for us, he knew every inch of the place, choosing the least traveled paths in order to get us into the sanctuary. In the meantime, I feasted my eyes on every decorative detail in my proximity—the chandeliers and wall lamps made of gold and gemstones, with flames flickering delicately as they cast their lights in a playful dance with the shadows; the splendid paintings adorning the walls, depicting everything from Fire Star scenery to the royal families that had led the empire before Sherus and Nuriya; the porcelain vases and rich floral arrangements in shades of red, orange, and white, their scent filling my lungs and my mind with dreams of hot summers and refreshing drinks on the beach…
“That’s my grandfather,” Taeral said, pointing at a monarch’s portrait. We stopped in front of it for a while, long enough for me to register some of the similarities. There were physical features that had been passed down to Sherus and, later, to Taeral. The cheekbones, the shape of the lips, the way the brows arched above the eyes… yes, I could see the faint resemblance. I found myself wondering if we’d ever see the day when Taeral’s kingly portrait would join those of his parents, his grandparents, and all the other rulers before them. That, of course, was dependent on the success of our mission. “My father had to have him removed. He was executed.”
I gasped, my eyes widening upon hearing that. I hadn’t seen it coming. “Whoa… Why?”
“He was a terrible king.” Taeral sighed. “Reckless. Tactless. He fueled a long-standing conflict with the water fae until it exploded into an all-out war. My father led the rebellion against him, though, rest assured, he took no pleasure in doing that. There was no other way. Granted, some of my father’s earlier choices as ruler were equally doubtful, but at least their purpose was achieving peace, not amplifying the war.”
