We mobilized quickly, leaving the grand hall in pairs. The portal was nearby, and we passed through it in a matter of minutes. As soon as we set foot on Calliope, I sensed the faint hostility hanging in the air. There was no direct aggression toward us, but that didn’t mean the Hermessi wouldn’t intervene, if they deemed it necessary.

Or if Brendel commanded it. Looking back, the only attack the Hermessi had engaged in on Calliope had been against Mount Agrith, the Daughters’ home, to send a message regarding the local elementals’ allegiance, and against Ramin and Harper upon their brief visit a couple of days ago. Besides that, Wei and the other Hermessi had kept their distance from us. Well, there was also the Crane incident, when a Hermessi had tried to use his body as a weapon immediately after he’d died, but I had a feeling that had been more about the elementals actually testing the fae body than a direct attack on us. Like trying on a new glove… with special powers.

“Do you think they’ll come at us now?” I asked Sofia, my voice low as we gathered in Luceria’s throne room. The space had been deliberately cleared for our arrival, and Draven and Serena were waiting upstairs on the platform—from here, however, we’d make a brief stop in the sanctuary, first.

“The Hermessi? I don’t know. I think they’re more focused on what Taeral and his crew are doing,” she replied. “And they’re currently on the Fire Star, looking for Zetos. I’m positive that it’s where Brendel is concentrating her efforts, as well.”

“Mm-hm, that’s definitely the case,” Mona interjected, overhearing us. “Frankly, after being here for days on end, I can tell you one thing for sure about Calliope. Its Hermessi wouldn’t side with Brendel unless they absolutely had to. She has their children. If they were truly determined to kick us down, they’d have done it by now.”

“They’re not touching the sanctuary because they need the fae in there,” Kiev replied. “And the Mount Zur base is more or less secure because of the witches’ work to seal the cultists’ hands in charmed crystals. There isn’t much else for the Hermessi to react to. They’re more preoccupied with finding more fae to affect, spreading their cult influence, and stopping Taeral. Their power is still limited without completion of the ritual, so they’re probably stretched pretty thin.”

“That being said, we should still be on high alert,” I advised them. “If any of them so much as get a whiff of what we’re about to do, all hell will break loose.”

We’d managed to keep this mission secret so far. Our meetings had taken place in hidden spots across the GASP Federation planets. We’d made sure to brief as few people as possible in the process. And we’d kept all the mission-related conversations to The Shade, knowing that there weren’t any hostile Hermessi there to eavesdrop on us.

Out here, all talk of the mission was reduced to zero. We used code words and written messages where needed, but, other than that, we kept a tight lid on it. Hopefully, it would be enough to get us through to the end without a glitch.

“Those of you who want to come to the sanctuary with us, please move toward the doors,” Sofia announced. “The rest should make your way up to the platform. Remember, conversations are to be kept to a minimum.”

There weren’t that many of us willing to go into the sanctuary, I noticed. I counted twenty, including Sofia and me, and the other GASP founders. We needed to do this, though. I, for one, had to see our son again. Now knowing that the fae’s spirits were inside the sanctuary, watching and hearing us, I needed Ben to understand a few things. I wouldn’t be able to see him or hear him myself, but knowing that he was there was enough for me.

Our group linked hands, and Ibrahim zapped us into the fae sanctuary. As soon as we appeared, I noticed how empty this place seemed, with only Shayla and Arwen present. There were plenty of guards outside, but they didn’t know what we were up to or where we were headed. The crystal casings were lined up in concentric circles—the layout had been changed after the Crane incident, to make their identification and removal easier in case of another unfortunate death.

My stomach ached just thinking about it. I put the idea away, for the time being, as we spread out to check on those we’d come to see. Ben slept peacefully in his casing, and so did Grace, Caia, and Vita. It broke me to see them like this…

“We’ll get through this, babe,” Sofia whispered, squeezing my hand as we stopped in front of Ben. “I’d say we’ve been through worse, but I’m not sure anymore.”

Looking at her, I found a sense of inner peace. Yes, we’d been through some terrible trials and tribulations, most of them probably not as bad as this. But we were together, stronger and more determined than ever. Maybe that counted for something. If not, I took comfort in knowing that Sofia was with me, all the way.

Sofia

In retrospect, we’d had our share of troubles. When one had ended, another had begun. We’d lost our son, too, once, and it devastated me to see Ben like this, so close to dying once more. I kept my composure, though. Derek and the others needed me, and I couldn’t allow myself to cave in. There was too much at stake.

The last time, Ben had found his way back to us. Today, his salvation depended directly on us and Taeral’s crew. My sweet boy, now a man and a brave fae, lay still in his crystal casing. His eyes were closed, with barely any movement beneath the eyelids. His chest rose slowly in even breaths, and I could tear the whole sky down, only to see him wake up, once more.

“Where’s River?” I asked Arwen, who joined Derek and me by Ben’s casing. The others in our team spread around the Novak cluster and on the other side of the sanctuary, where some of their closest friends had been placed.

“She’s on Mount Zur with Lawrence, Bijarki, and Blaze. Most of the non-fae family members have settled there for today. Zeriel was sent out on another brief mission here on Calliope,” she replied. I could sense the sadness in her voice. “They’re all tired and worn out, Sofia. This is so much worse than we’d imagined.”

“Where are the Reapers?” Derek asked, glancing around.

Arwen shrugged. “They’re probably here, but they won’t show themselves. Kelara keeps her communications with us to a minimum. I guess Reapers just aren’t used to being seen by and talking to the living.”

I placed a hand on top of Ben’s casing. The thought of him conscious, between the planes of the living and the dead, still able to see and hear us—it made my heart beat a little faster. At least I knew what I was fighting for.

Shayla stopped by Lucas’s casing, where Claudia and Yuri lingered. Derek watched his brother for a moment. “How is he?” he asked.

“Lucas? He’s okay. Stable,” Shayla replied. “Kelara, the so-called and self-appointed Reaper in charge here in the sanctuary, said he’s mostly grouchy and dispatching profanities left and right.”

Derek chuckled. “Yeah, sounds like my brother.”

“You mentioned the life-chain when we last spoke. How are they all looking?” I asked Arwen.

She gave me a concerned look, and it felt like a kick in the shins. It wasn’t the expression I’d hoped for. “So far, they’re at an average of three to four healthy links. Apparently, physical contact between the spirits helped, but it won’t work for much longer. Sooner or later, the blackness will spread again. It’ll speed up significantly when the Hermessi hit five million. From there on, it’ll be a matter of hours, maybe a day, tops, before all their links turn black, and they… die.”

“And Ben?” I replied.

“Last time I spoke to Kelara, which was shortly before you guys got here, he was at three. There is only so much the Reapers themselves can do.” Arwen sighed. “You’re off on your mission to we-know-where, right?”

I nodded. “Yes. We wanted to stop by before we leave. To see our son and the rest of our fae family…”

“Sofia, you guys will figure it out, and you’ll come back successful, I’m sure of it,” Shayla interjected. “If there’s one thing I gathered from Kelara today it’s that they’re all genuinely impressed with you, with GASP… not to mention Taeral and his crew. She said that the Reapers have been talking since they heard about the Thieron mission. This is the closest anyone has ever gotten to completing Death’s scythe.”

“Yeah, it’s basically why we’re doing our part now,” Corrine said. “To help them. If we manage to distract Brendel and throw her off her game, Taeral will have a slightly smoother path to the rest of Thieron.”

“We’ll see you soon, Ben, I promise,” Derek murmured, looking down at our son. I remembered when he and Rose were born. Such joy and fear of the unknown had grasped me, back then. I was young, so young, and lacking so much experience. Yet I’d embraced motherhood, and Derek had been with me, every step of the way. If only I could go back to that time…

Would I change anything?

I was inclined to say yes, but I quickly abandoned the thought. No, everything and everyone we’d lost were part of our experiences, of our lives. Altering one detail would’ve destroyed other, more important aspects of my existence. It all mattered, in the end. It all had value, even Ben’s first death. It had torn me apart, but it had also taught me a lot.

Looking at it now, all roads had somehow led to this. The universe had put the pieces in their designated places, giving us the free will to stumble upon and knock them over. We’d set it all in motion, one way or another, always looking to do good by everyone. Our good intentions had brought us here, post-Blackout and face-to-face with the most powerful entities we’d ever met. Yet there were others above the Hermessi, too, and I couldn’t help but wonder what they would be like.

The corner of Ben’s mouth twitched, ever so slightly. For a moment, I thought I’d imagined it, until I noticed Derek’s wide eyes. He, too, had seen it. We exchanged hopeful glances, knowing that our son had heard us. My chest hurt, but I knew I would see my son again—if not in this life, maybe in the next.

“And we were already so busy, remember?” Derek said to me, wearing a half-smile, as Arwen turned to talk to Corrine and Ibrahim, giving us a flicker of privacy. “We were this close to adopting. Amal and Amane were working on my day-walker blood. Then, snap! In a matter of days, we were thrown into this.”

“We’ll get back to that once we’re done with the Hermessi. You know that, right?” I replied. “I have every intention of surviving this.”

Despite the dread that had been tugging at my senses, I was truthful in my statement. Whether I’d actually succeed with these intentions… well, that was a different matter. Time had taught me to avoid overconfidence, for it could easily become my undoing.

“I know. I think we’re on the same page, here,” he said.

“And Ben, Grace, Caia, Vita, Lucas, Kailyn, Vesta, and every other fae in this place and in all the sanctuaries will live to see another day, too,” I added. “Our son will have a future. Lawrence will get to hug his wife. Chantal will have both parents in her life. Caia will get back to Blaze, and maybe Heath will be lucky enough to be a grandfather not only to Jericho, but to who-knows-how-many-other dragon-fae grandkids. Zeriel will finally marry Vesta, and…”

I stopped, my eyes stinging. Tears had come up and knots had twisted in my throat, making it difficult for me to speak. Derek took my hand in his and kissed it, one knuckle at a time.

“We’ll do this, Sofia,” he said softly. “We’ll get to see it all unfold, just like you said. The day will come when we’ll be able to get back to what we were doing before the Hermessi started their war against us.”

“Which is always a pleasure to hear, coming from you,” Yuri cut in. “You’re usually the gloomy one, Derek. Good to see that’s changed.”

Derek shot him a glare. “Come on, I wasn’t that bad.”

“Oh, really, Mr. I’m-Doomed-To-Be-A-Vampire-Pity-Me-Please?” Ibrahim joined us, equally amused. They made me laugh, and the tension was suddenly released.

Wiping my tears, I squeezed my husband’s hand. “Don’t be so hard on him, boys. He’s always a work in progress.”

“Et tu, Brute?” Derek gave me a fake-shock stare. “I can’t believe this!”