“I spread the word among the remaining rebels,” the Fire Hermessi said.

The interplanetary spell shot through space at incredible speeds, aided by a small surplus of serium batteries, specifically added for this part of the trip. The In-Between’s oldest solar system was pretty far away, and we couldn’t spend the couple of days normally required to cover such a distance. Fortunately, the Stravian magi-tech had come in handy.

“About Yahwen?” Sofia asked.

“Yes. I managed to keep a faint connection with Harper after she and the others helped me. I was constantly on the move, but I could still reach out to her telepathically. That doesn’t work across greater distances, but it was enough for her to mention your determination to get to Yahwen. Shortly after that, I left Neraka in search of my rebel brothers and sisters. I found them, and they, in turn, had news from Tebir, your patron Hermessi,” Ramin explained. “Upon understanding your intentions, I simply couldn’t stand back. I know that place better than anyone, and I’m sure I can help you.”

“Oh, no one is denying that,” Corrine replied. “We were just worried about your presence on Calliope, where the Hermessi are simply dying to get a piece of you.”

“Not as badly as before,” he said. “Ever since I stripped Ledar of his powers, the ritual Hermessi were left with little to no options as far as I’m concerned. I’m always on the move, as well. It’s harder for them to track me like this.”

“And you said you have a good angle for Yahwen?” I asked.

The Fire Hermessi nodded once. “I remember that world. I know the stardust streams that Brendel controls, of which you must steer clear. She may be temporarily busy chasing down Taeral, but if she so much as gets a whiff of GASP presence on Yahwen, she will order her supporters to retaliate.”

We spent the next couple of hours discussing the mission and its navigation details, while Kafei allowed the spell bubble to take us to Pax-47, a small planet and the farthest one that GASP had reached during its space explorations. From there, she’d have to steer the interplanetary spell herself, but we were all behind her and ready to support her with whatever we could.

Ramin was incredibly helpful, telling us more about the rebel Hermessi—the hardliners who’d stuck to their mission, despite the fact that Brendel had taken their children; the slightly more neutral ones, like Wei and many others, who’d yet to pledge their allegiance to Brendel, but had ceased their opposition, too; the converted ones, who’d switched sides as soon as they’d been notified of their children’s abduction. The latter were the most important. Their numbers were big and encouraging for us, provided we managed to save their children and keep them safe.

“If we succeed on Yahwen, there will be dozens, even hundreds of Hermessi willing to switch sides and fight Brendel. They may not win, since she is so powerful and ancient, but they can certainly help keep her busy, while Taeral retrieves Thieron for Death,” Ramin said.

“What about the loyalists? What are the odds that we could sway them, as well?” Corrine asked, leaning into Ibrahim’s shoulder.

“Slim, at best, I’m afraid,” Ramin replied. “They’re fanatics, like Brendel. And I don’t see any of you threatening their children in return for their cooperation, like Brendel.”

The sarcasm was intended, and I understood exactly where he was going with this. Ramin was right, though. We never would’ve used anyone’s children against them. It was simply a vile thing to do, regardless of the endgame. There could always be a better way, if the goal was good or noble or true enough. Brendel knew that the ritual was an antiquated and horrible idea, yet she clung to it as tradition and stopped at nothing in order to get it done.

No matter what, we had to rise above that.

The hours went by, and we anxiously waited for the interplanetary spell to bring us closer to our destination. Sofia and I stayed close to Ibrahim and Corrine, Claudia and Yuri, and Mona and Kiev, while Ramin settled next to Kafei at the front.

It was mostly quiet, with the occasional conversation thread murmuring across the shuttle as people tried to kill the remaining time. It felt as though it was taking forever—but that was the downside of ardent anticipation. The more excited or anxious we were about getting to Yahwen, the slower we seemed to be moving through space.

Outside, it was peaceful and quiet. Mostly black and riddled with distant stars. We swooshed past a planet system or asteroid field every once in a while, but other than that, the vast expanse of space was muted and breathtaking. The In-Between was a beautiful place, home to so many incredible creatures and fascinating civilizations. What a waste, to burn it all to the ground, just to start again. What a crime, to kill so many innocent people, simply because ancient, made-up tradition required it.

I simply couldn’t fathom this level of determination coming from Brendel.

“What’s with you?” Sofia asked Claudia. She and Yuri had been rather quiet for the past hour. The last update from Nuriya had come a while back, placing Taeral and his crew closer to Zetos, apparently. We knew it wouldn’t be easy for them, especially since Brendel and even the local Hermessi were going after them.

“Not hearing from Taeral is putting me on edge,” Claudia replied. “I asked Nuriya to try again, but she’s yet to get an answer from them.”

We also knew not to push it with the comms systems. “They’ll get in touch when they can,” I said. “You know they can’t waste a second out there just putting our worries to rest.”

“Varga is resourceful and incredibly driven,” Sofia added.

Mona chuckled. “Oh, honey, that boy will cut the Fire Star in half by whatever means necessary, if he has to.”

Yuri smiled, holding Claudia in his arms. “I keep telling her that,” he said, glancing down at his wily wife, “but a grandmother is still a grandmother.”

“Jeez, you sure know how to make a girl feel young.” She scoffed, her head resting on his chest.

“Claudia, Mona is right,” Corrine replied. “Varga is as sharp and as determined as Elonora. She pulled through on Strava, didn’t she?”

Claudia nodded slowly, but her frown didn’t go away. “Strava ain’t the Hermessi…”

“I’m anxious about Amelia, too,” Sofia said. “She’s basically like a daughter to me. I love all the Hudsons as much as my own family. But I know she can hold her own. I’ll bet Horatio and Aisha are just as nervous about Riza. Gah, not to mention poor Nuriya…”

“Where are Horatio and Aisha, by the way?” Ibrahim asked. “I thought they’d be joining us here.”

“They stayed back and joined Nuriya in running the Fire Star. Riza doesn’t know it yet. They got there after her crew left,” I said. “Upside is they will be more than happy to zap over wherever she may be to help her, if needed. And it’s good for Nuriya, too. She’s overwhelmed.”

“Any word on Sherus yet?” Claudia asked.

I shook my head, wishing I had something better to tell her. “Nothing yet. Brendel is definitely the one who took him. We just need to figure out where she might’ve planted him. Phoenix and the others in the intelligence branch are looking into this. Hopefully, they’ll have some news soon.”

Mona sighed, her lips briefly pressed into a thin line. “Do you think she’ll hurt Sherus?”

“I doubt it,” Ramin interjected from Kafei’s side. “She’s using him as leverage. She won’t kill anyone she can use.”

“But Taeral won’t give in to her demands, if she makes them,” I said. “We all know he’s not going to stop until he gets Thieron, and that’s exactly what Brendel is trying to prevent. It’s why she took Sherus, in the first place.”

Silence settled over the ship. Ramin seemed to take a moment to think about it. “I’m not sure how I can answer that. I don’t know what Brendel will do once she understands Taeral’s determination is unbreakable. She just doesn’t strike me as an entity capable of killing out of pure vengeance. There is always a precise purpose in her actions. A goal she must reach. She had Brann destroyed when he made contact with his daughter because she knew she could use Inalia in his place. She had Mount Agrith torn down to send a message to GASP about repercussions from using the pink waters. She is ready to destroy entire dimensions, simply to fulfill a ritual tradition… She’s likely to use Sherus more, going forward. I just don’t know how.”

And that was what scared me the most. Sherus was our friend and one of the most trusted allies of GASP. We’d been through so much together, and we’d shared incredible moments over the years. His fate hanging like this made my skin crawl. He deserved better than this, and so did his wife and son.

Hopefully, our intervention on Yahwen would deal a powerful enough blow to Brendel to make her slip up. We needed our enemy to make significant mistakes, now more than ever.

“Everyone, brace yourselves,” Kafei finally announced. “We’re about to reach Pax.”

From there, Kafei would do another interplanetary spell and take us to Yahwen. I could see the planet of Pax clearly—a silver marble that orbited a small, reddish star. It was lonely in its path, surrounded by several random asteroids that had been caught in the star’s gravitational pull. Pax’s air was not breathable, but we’d come prepared for that, as well.

Claudia brought over a portable tank of oxygen and a connected helmet for Kafei as the spell began its descent toward Pax. The young swamp witch would then go outside and draw another pentagram for the interplanetary spell, and I would use the shuttle’s thrusters to position it smack in the middle.

Sofia and I exchanged hopeful glances. Maybe this was our time to truly make a difference, or at least die trying. We’d agreed not to bring up the prospect of death, but we were both well aware of the possibility. I, for one, wanted to go back to The Shade once this was over and start planning for the nursery. We wanted a child and a better future, and we were ready to do whatever it might take to get there.

Most importantly, we wanted our son, our daughter, and our granddaughters safe and healthy again. Ben was waiting for all of us to pull through on different ends, and I looked forward to seeing him awake, to holding him in my arms and never letting him go. But first, we had some Hermessi children to abduct. It sounded so horrible, yet it was so necessary.

Harper

With everything that had been going on, I’d decided not to waste a single second without working against the Hermessi. I’d told Ramin about Derek and Sofia’s mission for Yahwen, and I’d prayed to all the gods and powers out there to watch out for Taeral and his crew. But I was still on Neraka, and Ledar was still in the Infernis prison.

He’d begged me not to take his powers away, and he’d even offered information if we let him loose. We’d told him he wasn’t useful to us anymore, but that had been solely to stop him from squirming. I didn’t want him to have any sort of leverage against us.

However, I did need to mine him for intel. He knew more than us about Brendel and her operations, for sure. All I had to do was make him talk. That, in itself, would be a challenge, because he was angry and bitter, stripped of his Hermessi heritage and reduced to living out the rest of his life as a plain ol’ daemon, stuck in prison for the rest of his life. Not that there was any shame in that. On the contrary, the daemons, while not particularly gifted in terms of supernatural abilities, were exceptional hunters and incredibly strong and resilient creatures. I saw glory in their existence, and I thought it was a shame that Ledar didn’t see it, too.

I walked into his cell unannounced, while Caspian and Zane stayed outside, ready to intervene if needed. I doubted that would be the case, since Ledar had a thick iron collar around his neck, impossible to break and connected to the wall through a solid chain. As long as I kept my distance, he couldn’t touch me.

“Are you sure you don’t want us in there?” Caspian asked from behind.