Ten of us would go in first. For recon and for safety purposes. Naturally, it involved Derek and me, along with Corrine and Ibrahim, Claudia and Yuri, Mona and Kiev, Kafei, and Zalid, one of the younger jinn. All I could do now was focus and give it my best.

Our people relied on us to succeed. But my heart, stuck uncomfortably up my throat, didn’t seem to care that much.

Derek

“First, the invisibility spell,” I said.

We all had capsules handy. Swallowing them and putting our red lenses on, we were now ready to go in. The rest of the crew put on their garnet lenses, as well, so they could see us.

“Let’s hope we find Sherus in there, too,” Mona said.

Ledar had mentioned the possibility to Harper. By now, we’d all learned that Sherus was a Hermessi child, the son of the Fire Star’s patron elemental, Pyrr. We also knew that Sherus was definitely being kept on Yahwen—but we didn’t have any updated intel on his exact location. He could be in the temple with the others, or elsewhere, in another secured location. This was a big planet, after all, and Sherus was twice as special to Brendel, since she was probably hoping to use him against Taeral. We wouldn’t know for sure until we went inside.

My pulse raced as we linked hands. Ibrahim teleported us smack into the middle of the old temple.

Quietly, we took a few minutes to assess the situation, using hand signals to communicate in line with the mission. It was mostly dark in here, with the exception of a few small fires lit on the stone floor. They cast their amber light against the mossy walls, revealing broad patches of crude green against the large gray bricks. Most of the windows were covered with climbing plants that had been growing for a long time, blocking out most of the sunlight.

There were Fire Hermessi stationed outside, patrolling around the building. Shivers shot down my spine. Our crew was closer to hostile Hermessi than ever before. We hadn’t faced them like Taeral or Harper, but we were painfully aware of their power and the damage they could inflict upon us creatures. What a shame that they’d dedicated themselves to destruction in the name of a ritual, instead of nurturing what they had already helped bring to life.

Mona and Kiev moved out, walking between the clusters of Hermessi children who had been here for days. Corrine and Ibrahim went around on the opposite side of the hall, while Kafei and Zalid covered the north side. Claudia and Yuri took the south, and Sofia and I stayed in the middle. We had to observe and listen first. Understanding what the Hermessi children were thinking was a priority, since it was supposed to help us identify the ones who’d yet to join Brendel’s side.

Most of them were gathered around the small fires, hunched down with their legs crossed and their brows furrowed. It broke my heart to see them like this—dragged away from their worlds and everything they knew and loved, forced into this senseless war… used as pawns to force their Hermessi fathers and mothers into submission.

Sofia and I settled next to a group of six Hermessi children. They seemed wary and resentful of the others around them, thus making me wonder whether they were still resisting Brendel. According to Ledar, one too many had already pledged their allegiance to her. I didn’t recognize all the species present. Glancing around, I figured we’d had contact with sixty percent of their worlds. The other forty percent were beautifully strange and different—each of them adhering to the humanoid genetic blueprint, but with slightly varied physical features.

Some had long and swirling horns protruding from the tops of their heads. Others were covered in large, shell-like scales in shades of metallic red or green. A few had two sets of arms, and a couple had extremely long tails with stony clusters at the end which clicked like rattlesnakes. Next to us, the six Hermessi children were mostly fae, from what I could tell. Their diaphanous appearance set them apart, but they didn’t seem to be from the four known fae kingdoms of the Fire Star, the Emerald, Akvo, or Zephyr. We’d always known there would be more planets that were homes to their species across the In-Between and the Supernatural Dimension, but we’d yet to reach out to them.

Of these six, four were male and two were female. There was a silent tension between them, with stolen glances and the occasional eye roll. They didn’t seem to like each other very much—or maybe this situation had simply caused unnecessary friction. Either way, they were clearly uncomfortable together, but they probably didn’t have a better choice.

“How much longer do you think she’ll keep us in here?” one of the female fae asked, staring at the small fire she’d just set on the floor, using dried-up weeds to fuel it.

A male fae shrugged. “Does it matter? We’re screwed regardless.”

“Maybe we should just take Brendel up on her offer,” another male replied.

The second female scowled at him. “And this is why no one likes you, Whisper. You’re so quick to give up. Is that what they celebrate on your home planet? Cowardice?”

Whisper narrowed his eyes. “I’m one of the greatest fighters of Mundi,” he said, his toned chest swelling with pride. “I’m no coward. But I am trying to be practical, here.”

“If we give in to her demands, we’ll betray our own worlds,” the first female replied. “Our families, our friends, our people… they’ll all die!”

“They’ll all die, either way, Basti,” Whisper said. “Can’t you see that? We’re stuck here, unable to leave or do anything to help our planets. We don’t have a better option. Maybe, if we tell Brendel we’ll join her, like the others, she’ll give us some freedom to go on whatever missions she might have for us… and we can flee then.”

Basti shook her head. “That’s not what she needs us for. We’re not to be sent out in the field. We’re to replace our Hermessi parents if she decides to kill them, and to populate barren worlds that don’t have elementals of their own. You heard her talk about that third dimension where her core enemy resides. She wants us to go out there, after the ritual, and take over. She thinks we’ll have enough power to ascend and use pink water sources in that world.”

Ice thickened my veins, making it hard for me to keep it together. She was talking about the Earth and our Shade. Our Earthly Dimension. We’d already been aware that Brendel was eyeing it, post-ritual. The ritual itself was likely to affect the In-Between and most of the Supernatural Dimension, at best, in terms of instant annihilation of entire ecosystems. But the ritual itself also served to give the Hermessi more energy—enough, in fact, to allow them to spill into the Earthly Dimension and populate it with elementals loyal to Brendel.

Sofia and I exchanged worried looks, until she spotted something behind me. I turned around and followed her gaze, my breath stopping for a couple of seconds. Slouched in a dark corner, unconscious but still glowing amber beneath a couple of furs, was Sherus. It tore me apart on the inside to see him like this. It was as if he’d been thrown there, useless and worthless.

I moved to get to him, but Sofia caught my arm, giving me a sharp stare. She closed her eyes for a moment, and I heard her voice inside my head, thanks to our Telluris connection.

“Semper Telluris… Corrine, Ibrahim, check the southwest corner,” she said telepathically. I’d forgotten that we didn’t need to say it out loud to engage in conversation with someone in this modified spell version. “Sherus is there.”

“We’ll handle it. I think we should get him out first before we engage the other Hermessi children,” Corrine replied.

I kept my gaze on the group next to us. “You do that. Sherus is a priority in this case, given Taeral’s mission,” I said.

“What are you getting from the children, so far?” Sofia asked, watching through her red garnet lens as Corrine and Ibrahim made their way toward Sherus. “Over here, we have a group who’ve yet to join Brendel, but they’re on the fence about it.”

“We found a few on this side, as well,” Mona interjected, joining the mental communication line. It still felt so odd to hear more than one voice in my head with Telluris. I hadn’t gotten used to it yet. “But most of them, though reluctant, have pledged their allegiance to her. It’s the only way this will end, in their minds.”

“I’ve got about twenty good kids here,” Claudia said. “The rest of ’em are schmucks. Arrogant schmucks. They can’t wait to be Hermessi kings over their new worlds. It’s disgusting.”

“Power is seductive,” Kafei replied. “The majority of Hermessi children in this place are siding with Brendel because they don’t see a better choice. A few are willingly with her because, like I said, power is seductive. Hermessi children are still people… some good, some terrible. There is no moral code here, unfortunately, not while Brendel is actively trying to brainwash them into the ritual. We’ll have to use force.”

“Okay, let’s get Sherus out first,” I said. “Once he’s out, we’ll signal the group outside. Can you hear me, Samira?” I asked telepathically. Semper Telluris activated the entire hundred-crew communication. Everything we said in here could be heard by the others in our team, too.

“Roger that,” Samira’s voice came through.

“Almost there,” Ibrahim muttered.

He and Corrine were twenty feet away from Sherus, tiptoeing slowly between groups of Hermessi children. I noticed there were more of them around Sherus than anywhere else. Whether that was just a coincidence or done on purpose, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t like it.

Looking around the hall again, I noticed one Hermessi child looking in Sherus’s direction. He was tall, even in his sitting position. His hair was dark brown and shaggy, his eyes almost sparkling green. His ethereal appearance pointed out his origin—fae. But where from, I wondered? It didn’t matter, as his brow furrowed. He was watching something, and my throat closed up as I noticed the red garnet lens on his right eye. I hadn’t seen it right away.

“Corrine, Ibrahim, we have a problem,” I said through Telluris.

They both stilled to first look at me. Following my terrified gaze, they, too, saw the young Hermessi child scowling at them. He could see them. He turned his head slowly, surveying the room, and I instinctively gripped Sofia’s wrist, cursing under my breath. I didn’t even realize I’d muttered until I saw that one of the Hermessi children close to us had been startled, staring in our general direction.

“He can see us.” Corrine’s voice trembled.

I made eye contact with the Hermessi child. He slowly got up, his hands lighting up green. It wasn’t hard to identify his elemental origin. An Earth Hermessi child. Judging by the garb, which I could see clearly now, he came from the Emerald. He was the patron elemental’s son.

Please don’t say anything. Please…

“Everybody, pay attention!” the young fae hybrid said, raising his voice. “There are GASP people here, with us, as we speak.”

“Oh, this can’t be good,” Claudia said through Telluris.

“I recognize him,” Kiev replied. “I’ve seen him before.”

“He’s from the Emerald,” I said.

“Not that. He’s a GASP agent,” Kiev replied.

“Holy… No…” Mona murmured. “You’re right. We’ve met him, haven’t we?”

The other children stared at the Emerald fae for a few moments, just enough for me to understand the sudden increased complexity and difficulty of what we were about to do.