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October 24 - October 27, 2025
“And Tethys?” Eliné asked softly, pausing at the top of a set of stairs that would lead them to the prisoner they had come to see. She hadn’t been to this part of the prison in centuries. “He made sacrifices of his own to see this through,” the female answered, her tone faltering the smallest amount when she spoke of her husband.
Saylah had fled here when Achaz began hunting for her and her brother, Temural, god of the wild and untamed, only to find the world inhabited by Legacy and Fae alike, among other beings. Finding Fae and mortals here was not unusual, but finding Legacy here had taken them all by surprise. There had been a treaty in place among the gods long before Saylah had been born that no more Legacy would be created.
“You will benefit from finding the lock as much as I will, Gehenna,” Saylah said sharply. “Without it we are both trapped here. Achaz cannot come for you.”
“I gave it to Moranna to play with.” “You are lying,” Saylah hissed.
No one else may be able to access their magic this deep in the prison, but she was a goddess. The only one in this world.
The goddess stood in a gown as black as the night she’d arrived in. The sleeves and bodice were lace, and she pushed the sleeves up as shadows seeped from her skin. Her eyes were glowing brightly, like stars in the darkness, and she was hovering above the ground on a cloud of black mist.
only one born of the gods and Chaos who holds Fae elements can find it.”
“That is why I gave the lock to Moranna. She was trying to create such a being.”
Eliné listened as Gehenna told Saylah what would be required to find the lock. What the cost would be to maintain the balance of such a feat of magic. What trades would need to be made to ensure this world and its inhabitants lived. What sacrifices would be required to unlock the gateway that would allow them to leave, to keep Achaz’s wrath from this realm.
“Love her, Eliné. Love her in the way I wish to and cannot, but make sure she is prepared to fulfill her destiny.”
He had kept himself together so she could fall apart. Wiping her tears away, he had been the strength she needed him to be. He couldn’t be her Source anymore, but he could be that for her.
He would never hold fire in his palm again.
But how did one learn to live without a piece of themselves? How did one get used to a life without something that had been a part of them since they had entered this world?
Razik being with Eliza. He still hadn’t decided how he felt about Eliza being Razik’s Source. Not that there was anything he could do about it now. Once that Mark was given, there was no undoing it. What that meant for her and Razik, he didn’t know. They could never be separated. Not if Razik wanted to be able to refill his magic reserves faster than letting them refill naturally. But he was Cethin’s Hand-to-the-King, not to mention his Guardian, and Eliza was now the most powerful Fire Fae.
“If anyone will find a way to defy the Fates, it will be her,” Sorin replied,
The way she moved? How she spoke? What I felt emanating from her? She will bring the beings who seek to use her to their knees, and then she will take whatever she wants.” But Sorin got caught on the words ‘seek to use her.’ “Who?” he demanded, his tone going as cold as he felt. “Who wants to use her? And for what purpose?”
“I know that the fate of not only my own kingdom but this entire realm depends on Scarlett,” Cethin answered.
“It is my understanding that Eliné was to prepare her for her destiny. Why do you think she was raised in the Black Syndicate?
Darkness exploded out of Cethin, stinging cuts welling with blood instantly where it touched Sorin’s skin. He brought up an arm to protect his face. There was nothing he could do except stand there and allow the magic to have its way. It was not as if he could shield against it.
“Defeating the Maraans and finding the lock will fix everything. It did not seem necessary to add to her burden.”
Shirina, the black panther that was the spirit animal of Saylah, was at her side, and Sorin suddenly wondered how that worked. How had the animal bonded with Scarlett when Saylah had been in this world this entire time? But perhaps even more perplexing was the phoenix at her shoulder. Amaré, the spirit animal of Anala, goddess of day, sun, and fire.
when the hoot of an owl broke through the tense silence. Both males turned to the window as a golden owl soared through, landing in the place Amaré had vacated. Paja. The spirit animal of Falein, goddess of wisdom and cleverness. The spirit animal who had once been bonded to Eliné.
Her features softened when she looked at Sorin again. Her husband. Her king. Her Source. Her twin flame. It did not matter to her if he could no longer bear those Marks. He did not need black swirls on his left hand to be her twin flame. To be her everything.
“I gave her an ultimatum.” Sorin blinked. “You gave a goddess an ultimatum?” She reached up, wrapping her fingers around his wrists and tugging them from her face. “She will find a way to restore your magic, or I will give her to Alaric.”
Scarlett set her liquor back down, reaching up to undo the buttons on her cloak. Her hands were immediately knocked aside, and Sorin made quick work of them before pulling the cloak from her shoulders
“This is about more than Cassius, and you know it.” “I do not care,” she snarled, sparks echoing her footsteps when she moved closer to Cethin. “He wants Cyrus. There is no one else he will accept. I will not force him to take someone else.
“My brother has not joined any of the missions because he cannot. He cannot leave these lands. If he crosses the Wards, they all fall and leave his entire kingdom defenseless. He is trapped here until I find the lock. I am, as I am for my mother, a means to an end.”
“You need me to free you. Saylah needs me to free her. This world needs me to free it,” Scarlett sneered. “You all need freedom, and yet I am the one who has been required to make sacrifice after sacrifice to ensure you receive it. I am the one who is being asked to give up her freedom for everyone else to have theirs.” She huffed out a harsh laugh. “I suppose asked is not the proper word, is it? It is simply assumed I will fulfill what everyone demands of me.”
she felt a hand settle on the small of her back. She looked up to find Sorin at her side. His touch still calmed her, and a small part of her felt a surge of relief. It wasn’t like it had been when their twin flame bond had been in place and Anointed, but it was still something.
“They get a choice about their fate, Cethin,” she retorted. “They get a choice. Cassius gets a choice. I get a choice.”
He was doing what he felt was right for Avonleya. She was doing what she felt was right for …the realm, she supposed. Because apparently the entirety of the realm was her responsibility now.
A soft flash of light told her Shirina had disappeared, but Paja would stay and so would Amaré. Because the spirit animals answered to her now.
“I am a goddess,” Saylah said sharply. “And I am your salvation or your destruction,” Scarlett replied. “It appears I am your god now.”
“Calling yourself a god does not make you one.” Scarlett shrugged. “Just as calling oneself a mother does not make you one, I suppose.”
“But one was already here. One was already here and could have done something. Instead, she did nothing but hide in a forest.” She took another step towards her mother. “But you will do this, Saylah. You will find a way to fix all of this. You will find a way to restore Sorin his power. That is the price of my sacrifice.”
“Paja is here because I asked him to come here.” Sorin glanced up briefly from the roast meat sandwich he was preparing. “Are you bonded to him?” “No?” He stilled, setting down the utensils in his hands and planting his palms on the tabletop. “This is something you would know, Scarlett.” She sighed, throwing herself back in her chair, and Sorin arched a brow at the action. “I sort of control the spirit animals now.”
“I told Saylah if she was going to keep hiding in Shira Forest instead of coming to our aid, the least she could do would be to give me control over the spirit animals.”
“I guess it is more so that instead of residing with Saylah when they are not needed, they reside with me.”
“Eat. You are cranky.” She made a face. “I am not.” “You are,” he said, sitting back and picking up his own sandwich. “Rightfully so with no sleep and so much to tend to,” he added. “But cranky nevertheless.” “I’ll show you cranky,” she muttered under her breath. “What was that?” he asked, arching a brow again. “Nothing,” she mumbled, shoving a piece of cheese into her mouth. They ate in silence for the next several minutes before Sorin said carefully, “Am I safe to speak again?” “Yes,” she sighed, admittedly feeling slightly better with some food in her belly.
“Because everything we have learned says they want what was being guarded in Shira Forest. What the spirit animals were guarding.” “They were not guarding Saylah,” she answered, taking another drink of water. “Then what were they guarding, Scarlett?” He sighed, clearly growing impatient. “A mirror gate.” “A mirror gate?” he repeated. “Why? When there are at least two on our own continent?” “Because the one in Shira Forest is not just a mirror gate. It is the mirror gate. A doorway between the stars to other worlds,” she said. “And the lock? It is not the lock to the Wards as we have been told.
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She’d woken tangled up with Razik, her head on his chest, the morning after he’d given her the Source Mark. She’d gone to sleep in his tunic and her own loose-fitting pants. And she’d woken up without the pants. Razik was so godsdamn hot with all that dragon fire in his veins. She’d obviously gotten uncomfortable in her sleep, but for the love of Anala. Waking up without pants on next to him?
Razik had grunted in annoyance when she’d not-so-accidentally elbowed him in the ribs as she’d extracted herself from his hold, immediately missing said dragon fire. She’d shoved her legs into the pants she’d found in a heap on the floor, looking up to find Razik smirking back at her.
“Are you hungry?” he’d asked, seemingly satisfied with the state of her wound. She’d turned away when he’d climbed out of bed. She’d seen enough of his bare chest and torso in the last twelve hours. Had felt it beneath her fingers. Had slept on it. Had wanted more than that in the initial minutes after he’d given her the Mark. But she knew it hadn’t all been the Source bond. “Mai dragocen.”
Without another word, she’d held out her right arm to him, tugging the sleeve up. She’d watched him slice across the Mark and then his palm with a dagger. Then she’d forced herself to stay completely still when their power coiled and merged as he drew her flames into his dragon fire. She’d made herself hold his sapphire gaze the entire time, her teeth clenched tight. And when it was done, she’d left his rooms without a backward glance.
“Just because I am your Source now does not mean you can simply come into my rooms uninvited,” she said tersely when the hinges of the door creaked. “I assumed you would not let me in if I asked, considering you are avoiding me.” The low timbre of his voice made her feel things she didn’t want to feel, and she slipped her hands into her sleeves. “What do you want?” “That is a loaded question, Milady. You may want to rephrase it.” She finally turned to face him, finding him leaning against her doorjamb in that infuriatingly casual way of his. His brown hair brushed his cheekbones, and he was in
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“Wrong,” came a low growl in her ear. How could he move so silently that she hadn’t even heard him? She was Fae. She should have been able to hear him no matter how quietly he moved. She didn’t get a chance to reply when an arm slipped around her waist, and she felt herself being pulled through the air as he Traveled them. Her bare feet landed on a soft rug, and she found herself in another bedroom. This one was smaller than his rooms at the castle, but it was definitely his. The same earthy colors accented the space. He spun her in his arms, forcing her to tilt her head up to look into his
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“This Mark on my arm does not mean I immediately trust you.” “No, but it does mean you actively try,” he countered.
“My becoming your Source was entirely personal. It had everything to do with feelings and emotions and nothing to do with you.”
The rest of my family are facing their own crises right now, so you are the only one left for me to irrationally rage at until I can plunge my sword through a seraph or Maraan.”
“You are delightfully vicious,” was Razik’s only reply, that slight smirk returning. “Why are you smiling? This is not funny,” she ground out. “I am smiling because I was wrong.” “About what?” He strode past her, pulling the door open and gesturing her through. “You do trust me, mai dragocen.”
