My body was frozen and burning at the same time.

I couldn’t move. Every cell, every molecule that composed me, hurt. I wanted to move. I needed to say something, but… nothing functioned properly.

The sky above me was a pale shade of violet. The suns were going down.

How long has it been? Where am I?

Harper. I’d just seen her. Shaytan. Zane. Fiona. Avril.

The daemon king had caught me by the throat. He’d set me on fire, somehow.

He’d muttered a spell, and… I couldn’t speak.

I wanted to cry out. My field of vision shifted as my head moved. Harper was on the ground. Her arms and legs were twitching. I could feel everything she was experiencing, and it tore me apart on the inside. Grief. Anger. Despair. The desire to live.

She was bleeding out. Her eyes rolled into her head.

Shaytan towered over her, chuckling. He had the tip of his blade against her throat.

I had to do something. He was going to kill her.

“Harper,” I whispered.

No one could hear me. But I could hear Shaytan laughing.

“Any last words, Miss Hellswan?”

Darkness constricted around my heart. It squeezed and tightened around it.

I needed to get to her… To save her…

From the moment she’d walked into my life, I’d known… I’d known I was in deep trouble. The same heart that was caving in now had thumped and soared in my chest at the sight of her. I’d cursed my fate when she set foot on Neraka. I knew we’d end up somewhere like this.

But I couldn’t let her suffer like the rest of us. She didn’t belong here. She didn’t deserve any of this. She was innocent.

Harper Hellswan was a force to be reckoned with. Before I could stop myself—not that I could’ve, but I might’ve tried—I was in love with her. Harper was stubborn and proud. Determined and lethal. Calm and yet… could turn into a veritable firestorm if challenged. I’d taken great pleasure in teasing her during the Spring Ball.

I would never forget the way her heart skipped a beat whenever I got close. Her scent. The way she looked at me when I refused to tell her the truth—when I couldn’t tell her the truth, because of my blood oath.

Our souls had merged. We belonged together. We were going to set Neraka free and travel through the millions of stars out there. The universe was supposed to be our oyster.

She didn’t deserve to die. Certainly not by Shaytan’s blade.

I had to stop it.

Caspian. It’s time to believe.

There it was again. I’d heard this voice before. Maybe in my dreams? I wasn’t sure. But I recognized it. It felt familiar, and it was only in my head. I couldn’t take my eyes off Harper. Tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn’t see clearly anymore.

Caspian. Believe. Have faith in the fire spirit.

Was I losing my mind, perhaps?

I’d heard the old folk tales about the elemental spirits. The Hermessi. They fueled the stars. They flowed through the rivers. They settled in the stones. They flew with the winds. But they were just legends. No one had ever seen one. All we had were faded illustrations in the preserved books of ancient Imen.

Caspian. You have to believe.

How could I? I’d never seen any myself.

The fire could’ve killed you. Yet you’re still alive, Caspian. I’m trying to come back to this world, but I need you to believe. Harper had a flicker of hope in my existence.

I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Despite the pain, I was filled with love.

But I couldn’t die just yet. I had to save her.

She saved you, Caspian, because she believed in me.

I tried to process what the voice was whispering to me, but I just couldn’t connect the dots. It didn’t make sense. Where were the Hermessi, if not in this world, already? How come I could hear one of them, after a lifetime of silence? What was happening to me?

Everything is connected, Caspian. The natural elements that feed into the fae, they’re all gifts of ours. They’re all threads of Hermessi. Every spark, every drop of dew, every salty breeze, and every grain of sand. It’s all us, Caspian. You must believe.

What do you want from me? I asked, internally.

I want you to live, the whispering voice said. I need you to live.

I tried to move again, but my body didn’t respond. My limbs were weak. My blood simmered. On top of it all, the only concept I could truly focus on was saving Harper. She needed me. I needed her.

Shaytan’s laughter boomed across the entire sixth level.

He raised his sword high above his head, ready to deliver the final blow. Ready to destroy the creature I loved most in this world.

Believe in me, Caspian! Believe in me, and I will burn through the poison that has spread in this world.

“Will you save her?” I heard myself mumble, though I couldn’t feel my lips move.

Do you believe in me?

“I believe… I believe.”

The sword came down. Everything went white.