I knelt before two tombstones, one of which was my dear sister’s and the other the man she had married. They had lived a long life, but as with any mortal life, they eventually died.

A tear trickled down my cheek. “You stupid, stupid woman,” I whispered. “You could be here with me. We could have lived together forever.”

There was only me now.

And I was tired of being alone.

I looked down at my hands and blinked hard to see what lay there.

A Black Thorn.

I sat up in my bed, breathing hard.

What the hell?

One more dream about the mysterious woman. I was starting to wonder if it meant something, like the visions I used to have about the gods. Maybe these dreams were like the visions? Or maybe it was my overactive subconscious. At least I wasn’t having nightmares about my family and Morgan. Well, I hadn’t had any nightmares about Morgan since Micah told me he had forgiven me. Knowing he was well in the underworld also helped.

The clock on my wristwatch read a little past five in the morning. I sighed, knowing I wouldn’t be able to get any more sleep. I slipped out of my sweatpants and tee, and put on some workout clothes. Maybe I could tire myself and then take a quick hot shower and go back to bed, otherwise it would be a long and tiring day.

I sighed, seeing this new pattern in my days.

As I walked into the living room, I halted. “Aren’t you up a little early?” Victor and Ceris turned to me, their eyes concerned. “What is it?”

“Sit down,” Ceris said.

Uh-oh, this didn’t sound good.

I crossed my arms and stuffed my chest. The hell I would sit down. “What is it?”

Ceris looked to Victor and he sighed, coming to stand beside her.

Double uh-oh.

“A scout just left with an urgent message,” Victor said, his voice solemn.

“What is it?”

“There’s no easy way to say it,” Ceris muttered. “Mitrus was behind an attack on a small Italian town.”

I sucked in a sharp breath.

No, no, no, no. Micah. The Micah that had held me in my sleep. The Micah that had made breakfast for me. The Micah that had taken me to the underworld to see my family—he wouldn’t do this. He couldn’t.

“H-how bad was it?” My voice broke and I felt the tears coming.

“No one survived,” Ceris whispered.

My knees gave in and I sat down. “When was it?”

“Last evening,” Ceris said. “And he took Aruhi to Imha too.”

“Aruhi?” I asked, confused.

“Sorry, I forget you don’t know everyone,” Ceris said. “Aruhi is a lesser god under my power.” She clasped her hands together so tight her knuckles were white. “Our spy says he tortured Aruhi in front of Imha.” Even she sounded sad.

Bile rose in my throat. Oh my God.

“So he’s really on her side?” I asked, my voice small and weak, but I already knew the answer.

“I’m afraid so,” Victor said.

Hearing that out loud hurt more than I thought it would.

“I’m sorry, Nadine,” Ceris said. “I swear I wanted to believe I was wrong about him. But I wasn’t. He really is on Imha’s and Omi’s side.”

Victor reached for me. “Are you okay?”

Taking a long breath, I stood before he could touch me. “I will be.”

I wiped away the tears. I wouldn’t cry. I had cried too much for him already, for everyone, and I was done crying. Instead, I marched past them and hopped on the treadmill. I had some extra energy and rage to burn.

I looked out the window, gazing at nothing but the darkness, focusing on that and the black clouds surrounding us, when a tiny dark spec, even darker than the background, cut through my line of sight.

Rok.

Micah had gone but his raven had stayed.

Could the bird have stayed to watch over us, to spy on us, or … could Rok have stayed to watch over me? I shook my head, reprimanding myself for being so naïve and stupid and dreaming that Micah cared about me.

He didn’t. Otherwise he wouldn’t have gone and I wouldn’t feel like my heart was in pieces.