We rolled through the tall grass, gathering scrapes and scratches along the way, as the water she’d drawn for us splashed outward and seeped into the dirt. I heard Varga moaning several yards away from me.

The Hermessi were here…

Taeral

For a moment, all I could hear was the distant thunderclap and the rustling grass as the winds grew stronger. They’d found us, and they’d taken us down.

“May the stars bless you, you wonderful woman, you…” Raphael grunted as he pulled himself back up and gave Eira a bright smile and a thumbs-up. She blushed, almost instantly, but couldn’t bring herself to smile back. She knew who was responsible for our crash-landing, and so did I.

My upper body was sore, and my palms were bloody and covered in newly formed mud, but I was able to stand up and look around. Eirexis was on the ground just a few feet away from me. My heart stopped for a moment when I realized I wasn’t touching it anymore. I quickly grabbed it and settled it back into its straps. The glow of its symbols was so bright now that I didn’t need to hold it up in order to see it.

Black clouds swirled above, the eye of a dark storm fixed on us. Soon enough, we were all back together, panting and grimacing from various bruises.

“I think they found us,” Herakles said, rubbing the back of his neck. He gave Riza a swift glance. “Are you okay?”

She shrugged. “It happened so fast, I didn’t even react. I could’ve teleported at least one or two of us to the ground before impact.”

“That’s fine,” I groaned, moving my head around to relieve some of the tension that had gathered in my upper back. It was too early to start guzzling the healing water, though. We’d learned to withstand minor injuries and to ration our curative potions. “I hit the dirt like a dropped tomato, too.”

“Okay, so! Crippling gust of wind is for the Air Hermessi. Check. Oh, look, the ground is… shaking,” Herakles said, worriedly looking around as a tremor set in and shook us all to our core. “That’s the Earth Hermessi, so… check.”

Rain poured down as the dark clouds ruptured above. “And there’s the Water Hermessi,” Raphael muttered, running a hand through his wet, dark blond hair. “Fantastic. Who’s missing?”

“I am.” A voice shot through the rapping of water drops.

We all turned around to find a fiery figure standing approximately twenty yards north of us. The Fire Hermessi of the Fire Star. The very source of my elemental power.

“Pyrr,” I breathed. “Took you a while.”

We’d prepared for this. The Hermessi converging on us was no longer a shock, but rather a nuisance. A deadly nuisance for most of my crew, but a nuisance nonetheless.

“You should abandon this quest, Taeral,” the Fire Hermessi said.

Around us, the weather worsened. The rain got so heavy and thick, it pelted us with snowball-sized droplets of cold water. The winds changed direction, making sure the showers hit us from all sides. The earthquake subsided, but the long blades of grass curled around our ankles, tightening in an attempt to keep us from running. All of these efforts were futile. They could also do a lot worse, but they weren’t. It was the first sign that this particular encounter was different from all the others we’d had with ritual Hermessi in the past.

“We should get out of here,” Eira said, reaching out to me.

I raised a hand to stop her. “Hold on. I want to hear what Pyrr has to say. I’m dying to know why my patron Hermessi is okay with the destruction of this world and all the fae it basically helped create.”

“Seriously? You think now’s the time for a Hermessi ethics discussion?” Raphael asked, watching me nervously.

Amelia squeezed his arm. “Notice how they’re grandstanding. Not attacking, but grandstanding.”

“They knocked us out of the flight spell. Pretty sure that qualifies as an attack,” Raphael replied, lowering his voice, as if that would keep Pyrr from overhearing.

“I would like to not have to resort to violence again,” the Fire Hermessi said. “It was a warning.”

“You know we can’t stop,” Lumi replied. “We’ve come too far.”

“What does Brendel have on you? Is she holding your child hostage?” I asked. “Because I don’t see any other reason for you to support her, if I’m honest. I know this planet well enough to understand that it was made with much love and care over billions of years. Why would you be so keen to destroy it?”

“I’m asking you nicely, Taeral,” Pyrr replied. “Unlike my brethren, I am attempting civility. There is no need for motivation as to why I’m doing this. It’s for everyone’s sake that the ritual happens. Period.”

“That’s a load of crap and you know it,” I shot back. “The ritual is for Brendel’s sake. She’s insane, and she’s got you all playing along like it’s your only option. You folks have dug yourselves into such a deep hole with this Hermessi folklore that you can’t possibly fathom an existence without having to try this level of destruction, over and over again!”

Pyrr stepped forward, his flaming figure towering over us. It seemed to get bigger with every move he made, as if the fire itself was growing, swelling and making him all the more threatening.

“The ritual is older than most life in the universe. It was made for a reason,” he said.

“But do you remember the reason?” Eira asked him.

Raphael chuckled. “Spot on.”

“I remember many things. Including your father’s loyalty, long ago. He’s been a sore disappointment, I’m afraid,” Pyrr shot back.

Lumi scoffed, crossing her arms. “He’s digressing. He doesn’t remember. Also, your father and Inalia are now on equal footing with Leb and Sebbi, and they’re likely off Cerix, away from potential attacks and destruction.”

“Oh, and let’s not forget that Inalia doesn’t have a child of her own, and Brendel can’t afford to lose Cerix at this critical moment,” Eva added, smirking.

“You made me. You made my people possible. How are you so fine with destroying us?” I asked Pyrr, unwilling to cut him any slack. Out of all the Hermessi in this world, he was the one who angered me the most, because he was practically rooting for my planet’s destruction. I just couldn’t tolerate the mere thought of it.

“Taeral, please. Don’t make me resort to more violence,” he said, though there was a clear menace in his tone, sharp and eager to cut deeply.

Why wasn’t he, though? Why weren’t the four elements of my home planet pouncing on us? We had Eirexis, and we were dangerously close to Zetos, too. If Brendel were here, all-out war would’ve broken out by now. I’d already be teleporting us across hundreds of miles, to get as far away from them as possible.

Eira looked at me. “The other three aren’t intervening, either,” she whispered. Aside from the cold and uncomfortable rain and winds, there wasn’t much else to describe as Hermessi opposition to our presence here. Eira was right. Even if Pyrr was more of a pacifist, the other elements would’ve cut in by now.

“I control Water, Earth, and Air,” Pyrr said. “They will not attack you without my say-so.”

“Oh, good. Can you tell them to turn the faucet off, then?” Varga retorted, pointing at the dark sky. “I’m soaked, and I didn’t bring a towel.”

Pyrr didn’t move, but the rain stopped, all of a sudden. This was all peculiar, to say the least, and it put me more on edge. Any other creature in my shoes would’ve been thankful for this type of Hermessi behavior, given the mission… but it made me feel uneasy. It was the exact opposite of what we’d prepared for, and we weren’t sure how to proceed.

“Why are you not attacking us?” I asked.

“Because I am hoping you have more sense than your father,” he said.

I pointed an angry finger at him. “Don’t you dare talk about my father! Brendel is using him to try and stop me from retrieving Thieron! And by hijacking us like this, you’re helping her!”

“I am trying to protect my son,” Pyrr snapped, his flames swelling bright and furious.

Silence settled over our group, as his motivation became clear. I nodded, unable to hide my disgust. “I knew it. Your child trumps the needs of your people. How pathetic,” I said, my voice trembling and my eyes stinging with tears I could no longer hold back. “I’m ready to let Brendel do whatever she wants with my father, and you—”

“My son,” Pyrr cut me off.

I blinked rapidly, wondering why he’d interrupted me. “What? I… Yes, I get it. She has your son!”

“Your father,” he said.