I HEARD ARCUS’S SHARP INHALATION. If it hadn’t been for the Minax half in control of my limbs, I’d have staggered. The moment was an echo of the queen’s revelation that I was her niece, but far less welcome. And my mind was still hazed with the Minax’s thoughts—chaotic and disordered, always striving to regain control. I wanted to refute Eurus’s claim, but I couldn’t even manage to open my mouth.

“Not truly my daughter.” Eurus’s satisfaction gleamed from Prince Eiko’s green eyes. “Not blood of my blood. My interfering mother, Neb, had long since forbade dalliances with fair mortals, I’m afraid. But your mother, the Sudesian princess, she was possessed by the Minax while you grew in her womb.”

“That’s a lie.” I’d meant to shout the denial, but the words emerged in a trembling whisper. I wanted to use my fire to attack him. I wanted to run. But my arms hung limp at my sides. It was as if I were made of stone and could only watch and listen, helpless to stop the words coming from his smiling mouth.

Eurus crossed his arms over his chest in a way that was eerily similar to what Eiko might have done. “Though I could not interfere with mortals, I have always had the ability to communicate with the two Minax I’d trapped in the frost and fire thrones. I decided on a small experiment: a mingling of the shadows with fire to create the first in a possible new race. A Child of Darkness.”

“No,” I whispered. My worst fear was coming true.

“I told the Minax to leave its host, the Fire King at that time, and inhabit his younger daughter, Princess Rota, who happened to be expecting a child.” He smirked at the memory. “An infant in a mother’s womb surrounded by the essence of the Minax, day in, day out. Things looked promising for a while after you came howling into the world. By the Minax’s account, you were a demonic little thing, with the characteristic quick temper of a Fireblood princess. But your mother didn’t seem to mind. She was tender and endlessly patient, barely showing signs that she’d been possessed for months. And when you were born, she shook off the Minax like a dog shaking off water.”

At the mention of my mother, a pang of grief pierced my heart, and then the power of the Minax eased the hurt back into numbness.

Eurus tilted his head to the side. “She was a problem. She kept soothing all your discontent into patience and your fury into love. Your darkness had no chance to grow. I decided to get rid of her, but before I could act, Rota took you away, somewhere far enough that the Minax could no longer sense her. I suspect Sage assisted her somehow. I have a few scores to settle with Cirrus’s favored mortal when I find her.”

I sensed the Minax rattling around in my mind, but it had grown almost placid, as if Eurus were telling it a bedtime story and it was soothed. I felt its leap of recognition when he mentioned my mother. Horror was laying siege to my body—thickening my throat, forcing beads of sweat to my forehead, twisting my stomach—but the Minax’s influence blocked the feelings from taking hold. I was trapped in a strange, echoing limbo between my own agonized reactions and the Minax’s numb indifference.

“But why did you want to create a Child of Darkness at all?” I asked hoarsely, half-lost in my inner battle.

“Why, the Child of Darkness was to be the first one. The first of a new race of Nightbloods. I want to create my own people, people who are strong enough to host the Minax permanently, people who will do my bidding. My living nightmares will leave the Obscurum and possess mortals… and I’ll rule the shadows. After all, Sud created Firebloods, and Fors”—he gestured to Arcus, who emanated deadly cold on my left—“made his walking icicles. It was my turn. I set out to create humans filled with the very essence of darkness. Nightbloods.”

A wisp of fear penetrated my mental haze. My first night on the ship, I’d dreamed of a creature with shadow arms spreading wide, as if the night itself longed to embrace me. My nightmare was coming true.

Eurus’s eyes glittered, his pupils dilated wide—little windows into a pitiless, obsessive mind. “But instead of creating my own people, the Minax scampered from person to person, using them up like an otter with a pile of clamshells, cracking them open and sucking out the meat before discarding them.”

“You weren’t creating. You were destroying. Taking away identity and free will.”

“Bah! Mortals would do far better if they relinquished control. You make a hash of everything anyway. You warred with each other before Frostbloods and Firebloods were created. The gods have merely made the conflicts more entertaining.”

Arcus made an angry sound. I turned to him with a warning look.

“And now that I have you,” Eurus continued, “the first successful Nightblood, the very thing I’ve wanted to create for a millennium, I can make more of you. You have shown me that sending the Minax to possess an unborn child is the only way to create a vessel that can accommodate one indefinitely. I’ll form a people who will conquer both Frostbloods and Firebloods—or kill them all off, for all I care—and rule the mortal world.” Ice ran down my spine as he rubbed his hand over his chin and added thoughtfully, “I haven’t decided whether to let the rest of the mortals live. The ones without any powers are so dreary. But I suppose they’re useful in their own way. Serfs. Servants. Chattel. What have you.”

My pulse surged, my hands clammy. I didn’t know what I felt. The Minax held the barrier between body and mind.

“They do have their uses,” Marella said, moving closer to Eurus, hands loosely clasped, her white gown and gaunt frame making her appear frail and pure. “And if you prize drive and ambition, I’ve proven myself to you time and time again.”

He turned his head and looked her over. “You’re a pretty little thing, aren’t you? A bit starved, but rather fetching in a wasted sort of way.”

“Lady Marella,” she said, offering her hand as if she was meeting him at court. He continued to stare. After a moment, she let her arm fall back to her side.

“I suppose I have you to thank for all this?” he asked sardonically.

“Yes.” She lifted her chin. “And I expect you to recognize that you couldn’t have done it without me.”

He chortled. “You expect it, do you? And what do you expect in return? Currently I’m offering your continued ability to draw breath.”

“You want to storm the Gate of Light and liberate the rest of the Minax. I’ve helped you already by opening the portal to bring you here. Both Minax are here for the taking, so they can fight the sentinels that guard the Gate. In return, I would like you to gift me with Nightblood powers so that I can be a bridge between gods and mortals for you. You need someone who understands the Minax, who can communicate with them when you return to your own realm. If you give me the power to rule the Minax, carrying out your orders, I will be your mortal queen—your faithful servant—forever.”

“Please,” said Eurus, clearly enjoying her speech. “Tell me more of what you think I need, Lady Ghost.”

My muscles were coiled with nervous tension as I watched the tall stolen body of Eiko face the frail body of my one-time friend. Why she thought she could bargain with the god of the east wind was beyond me. The Marella I knew wouldn’t have been so foolishly daring. The Minax must have ruined her judgment, twisted her mind so that everything she was saying seemed reasonable. I wanted to shake some sense into her.

But this wasn’t the time for sudden moves. I spoke evenly, trying to make her see reason. “You surely don’t want what you’re asking for, Marella. Imagine what the world would be like, this place you’re envisioning with the Minax possessing mortals and controlling them. Look at what it makes them do.”

“The whole point is that I’ll be controlling the Minax, so I’ll get to decide what they do. Someone needs to make sure they don’t just wipe out all the mortals with their hunger. I’ve shown that I can control the frost Minax. I’ll be able to control the others, too.”

“You really think you can do that?” I asked, the urgency of my emotions breaking through the Minax’s hold. “That anyone can fully control them?”

“Any misgivings I might have had were burned away over the past few weeks. In time, you’ll see my side of things.” Her eyes narrowed. “Stop fighting the Minax, Ruby, and let it do its work. You’ll feel better for it.”

The Minax rushed to the forefront of my mind, overwhelming me. I felt myself losing touch with my thoughts, my identity. Then Arcus’s hand touched my back, the cold shocking me into awareness again.

Eurus watched all this, amused. “A delightful fantasy, Lady Skin and Bones. But you are not a Nightblood. You wouldn’t last a day in the Obscurum, not like my Ruby.”

My reply was quiet but fervent. “I’m not your anything.”

In an abrupt change of mood, his eyes darkened. “Your protests bore me. Time to leave.”

My muscles locked. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Arcus edged in front of me.

“Yes, my dear, you are. We’re going to the Gate of Light to release the rest of my beloved Minax—and I need a Nightblood alongside me. Haven’t you been paying attention? Please tell me I didn’t sire a dullard.”

“I’m not going with you. Anywhere. Ever.”

His lip curled. “You’re in that rebellious phase of adolescence. How tedious.”

He reached out for my hand, and Arcus slammed his forearm across Eurus’s wrist. Eurus cried out, his eyes startled, his body bent at the waist. “This experience of human pain,” he said breathlessly. “I didn’t miss it.”

With a deep breath, he straightened up again. His eyes were dark green and full of murder. “Normally, I’d make you die slowly for that, you bastard spawn of Fors.” He spat the name of the god of the north wind, his hatred clear. “But I don’t have all my usual talents in this mortal form. I’ll have to settle for using the powers in this borrowed body.” He whipped his arm back, fire coiling in his palm, but Arcus was faster. He sent a massive beam of frost at Eurus’s chest, which lifted and threw him across the room. Eurus moaned and tried to stand, staring with fury at his uncooperative human legs.

The Minax quivered in reaction to Eurus’s pain, freeing my mind a little. I focused on Eurus. I’d spent most of my fire melting the throne, but I summoned what was left to bathe the god of the east wind in flames.

I threw a quick glance at Kai to make sure he was still safe; a slight movement showed that he was waking. As I turned back, cold fingers wrapped around my wrist, sharp nails digging into my skin. Marella yanked my arm down and punched me, her fist landing on my shoulder as I twisted automatically to avoid the blow. I gasped and staggered, amazed at the strength in her skinny arms.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Eurus attack Arcus with twin blazes that curved together and met in a swirling column. Arcus dodged and countered with ice that knocked Eurus off balance.

“You’re not ruining this for me, Ruby,” Marella snarled near my ear. “You’ve ruined everything else.”

She aimed at my feet, coating them in a layer of ice that crawled up my ankles to my calves. I sent out a pulse of heat to my lower limbs and kicked free, but before I could regain my balance, she’d hit me with a bolt to the stomach, making me double over and fall to my knees.

“You’ll do as you’re told,” Marella said, spraying my bent back with a barrage of ice arrows that cut through the robe and silk tunic. Hot blood welled in the gashes and spilled down my back. “You will cooperate in every way or be gutted like a fish, and I will find some other willing host for the fire Minax. Do you understand?”

“Not sure that Eurus agrees I’m expendable,” I replied, snapping out a whip of flame that caught her around the neck before hissing away.

She gasped and clutched her throat. “I’ll kill you.”

“Try.” I stood and snapped at her with another fire whip that made her stumble back. The Minax reveled in the fight, pushing my conscious thoughts to the fuzzy edges. Elation coursed through me in blissful waves. I could hear Eurus and Arcus brawling several yards away, but my interest in the outcome faded. The scene lost color. Torches flickered white instead of orange. The lava from the melted throne flowed in light gray ribbons toward the corners of the room. I could see Marella’s heart in her chest, a white pulse of energy that begged to be targeted.

“I can see your heart, too, Ruby,” she said with a flare of cold purpose in her eyes. “And I can read your every thought. The Minax is in control, which means you aren’t.”

Imitating my previous move, she lashed me with an icy whip. I spun to avoid the brunt of it, and it shattered against my shoulder. “My gift is stronger now,” she said, loosing a current of frigid air filled with stinging needles of ice. Several landed on my cheek, slicing the skin.

“So is mine,” I replied with arrows of fire.

She blocked, batting them down with her forearms. “But you’re tired. You’re not yourself.”

She was right. I was something far, far more dangerous. I wasn’t the girl I’d been a year ago: Ruby, the helpless Fireblood peasant, victim of the Frost King’s soldiers. I was Princess Ruby, heir to the Sudesian throne, Nightblood daughter of a twisted and bloodthirsty god. Nothing could or would stop me.

My chest expanded with a surge of fire, the Minax’s possession refilling the well of heat I’d depleted. My mind sharpened, sped up, everything laid out in excruciating detail. I could use the one gift that only the queen and I had. The power to control lava.

Reaching deep for a final burst of energy, I called up the lava from the corners of the room, the bubbling remains of the throne, and I drew the strands together, pulling the gathered mass of liquid up behind Marella in a wave. The heat was blistering. The lava unstoppable. Killing her would be the easiest thing I’d ever done.

My hands hovered, ready to bring molten death down on her. Time stilled.

Images flashed.

The arena.

Gravnach—the Frostblood champion who’d regularly engaged in torture before he killed his opponents. First, an image of him sawing at my little finger as I screamed, then him convulsing on the ground, his blue blood leaking from his mouth.

Captain Drake, his blade poised over me. Then his lifeless body. His wife and daughter watching.

Rasmus, murderous, trying to suffocate me with his ice in his throne room. Then a later version of Rasmus, his eyes wide with surprise as the Minax filled him one last time, using up the last of his energy, severing the connection between spirit and body.

Arcus facing me in the arena as Kane, when I’d almost killed him. Arcus in the Frost King’s throne room, shaking in my arms as I held him, muttering his brother’s name.

Kai shoving me against the brick wall of the alley outside the tavern, demanding to know why I’d almost killed a man for no reason. The school courtyard. Kai holding me gently, telling me not to fight my emotions.

Then I saw Sage, clear as if she stood in front of me, her gold eyes burning into mine, beaming a message straight into my mind. Not her.

And somehow, I immediately understood. I was fighting the wrong opponent. This wasn’t the arena. Marella was not my enemy. If I killed her, I would have lost myself to the Minax. And I would never, never fully come back from that.

Be, Sage said. Be you.

Clarity was instant and cataclysmic. I was Eurus’s creation. The Minax had known it almost from the time I’d first seen the frost throne. It had recognized a kindred spirit and known I belonged with it. I was a Nightblood.

I was also a Fireblood. Kai had tried to explain that I fought my emotions too much, that my internal struggle diminished my power. My fear of losing control held me back from realizing my full potential.

I had to trust that some basic part of me was good, and let myself be fully Nightblood, fully Fireblood—just for this moment—both merciless and passionate, and know that my mother’s love had provided a foundation that would never let me stray too far from my true self.

I threw the lava back, watching the bright glow of it slosh against the wall, making sure it settled once again.

Then I focused on the Minax inside of me, concentrating on my connection to it, letting it merge with me, putting up no resistance. When my mind synced completely with its darkness, I expelled it from my body with the force of my will. Pain cleaved my head and I lost my vision, but I didn’t allow myself to lose focus.

For a moment, both Minax seemed startled. I knew everything they felt and heard their every thought. They had longed to be together for an eternity, trapped and separated from each other and from their kind. But they were used to being in control, not being controlled.

I forced the fire Minax to pull the frost Minax from the shell of Marella’s body, its shadow arms wrapping around the essence of its twin and yanking it out. I heard Marella’s gasp and cry. I heard her body hit the floor. Dimly, I listened to another fight nearby. Arcus’s grunt of pain, and Eurus’s malevolent laughter.

I bent every fragment of awareness on the fire Minax, controlling its movements, forcing it to drain energy from the other Minax, to turn its vast hunger on its twin. The frost Minax screamed and fought back, threatening and begging. I showed no mercy. The frost Minax had caused war, genocide, and murder in Tempesia. Never again. Its time was over.

It spat a torrent of ancient words I didn’t understand, though I sensed the general meaning. A curse, a vow of revenge, a wish for my suffering. As the frost Minax spouted invective, I forced the fire Minax to snuff out its last spark of life.

As the echoes faded, the fire Minax hovered there, confused, filled with extra energy stolen from its twin. It struggled with something deep and irrevocable, something unfamiliar that confused it. The confusion turned to anger. I called it back to me before it could take its anger out on anyone else.

Return to me.

I staggered as the Minax, doubled in power, slammed through the barrier of skin.

Be silent, I told it. Sleep.

It railed and fought. I repeated the order. It whimpered, an inhuman keening, and finally, reluctantly, curled up in a corner of my mind and went silent.

The room pulsed with quiet.

The pounding in my head eased. Blood prickled behind my eyes, and I opened them. The room came into focus.

Arcus was covered in rivulets of shining blue blood, still standing, tense and angry. With surprise, I noticed Kai, breathing hard but alert next to him, his hair mussed, his robes burnt, his hands raised to defend.

They faced Eurus, who stood some yards away near the spinning portal.

For a moment, I wondered why they’d all stopped fighting. Then I noticed that Eurus held Marella in his arms. A human shield. Her white gown trailed to the floor like a sparkling waterfall, one limp arm also hanging down. Her honey-rich hair had come loose from its pins and spilled over his arms. Her face was bone white, her eyes closed.

My heart lurched to see her so still. “Is she dead?”

Eurus’s gaze shifted to me, then back to Arcus. “Make any sudden moves, and she will be.”

“Leave her,” said Arcus roughly. “You don’t need her.”

“I do need her. To make sure you don’t attack again. The death of my Minax has weakened my bond with this frail mortal body. If I had my own powers, our battle would have turned out very differently.”

“If you weren’t hiding behind an unconscious girl,” Kai chimed in, his roughened voice lacking its usual verve, “things would end very quickly.”

“Hence my reluctance to put her down,” Eurus conceded. He kept his eyes on Arcus, but turned his head to me. “Ruby, you’ll come with us.”

I clenched my fists. “No.”

“Then I’ll kill this Frostblood girl,” he threatened. “Snapping her neck will be like breaking the stem of a flower.” He glanced down at Marella, then refocused on me. “I’ll leave her here if you come with me.”

I started forward. Arcus’s arm snaked around my waist, hauling me back against him.

“Ruby won’t trade her life for Marella’s.” He bent to whisper in my ear. “Don’t trust him. He could just take you both—kill you both.”

“Put Marella down and then I’ll consider it,” I said firmly.

A look of stark rage contorted Eurus’s features into a frightening mask. “So your friends can kill me? I don’t think so.”

I recoiled, my heart kicking at my ribs. Just as quickly, his face smoothed back into amusement. “Unfortunately, I’m in no position to force you. Alas, even gods must retreat when confined in inconveniently breakable bodies. However, denying me now will cause you… deep regret in the future. You have already destroyed one of my Minax. I will consider waiving your punishment if you cooperate now.”

“I’m not going.” As Arcus had said, there was no way to know Eurus wouldn’t kill Marella the second I complied. And if I went with him, he’d have the Minax, too, which he needed to open the Gate of Light. He would hold all the cards.

The portal contracted. His nostrils flared. “As you wish. I’ll be back for you.” He grinned, Eiko’s green eyes glinting with a god’s haughty malevolence. His attention shifted back to Arcus and Kai, who stood tense and ready. I noticed for the first time that Eurus was bloodied and battered, breathing heavily. His legs trembled. Arcus and Kai had given him a beating. The thought gave me a moment of satisfaction before he spoke again.

“This Frostblood lady won’t last more than a few hours as a host for the remaining Minax, poor thing.” There was no sympathy in Eurus’s tone. Only amusement. “Why don’t you keep my creature, my daughter? Consider it training—a lesson to prepare you for your future.”

The blood drained from my face. He was going to leave the Minax with me. I was hosting the creature, and I had nowhere to trap it. No way to destroy it.

Eurus grinned fiercely. “Until next time, Ruby.”

He turned and leaped into the portal with Marella in his arms. I rushed forward, trying to grab her at the last second, but before I could touch her, the light flickered and contracted to a pinpoint. A rushing noise filled the air, a sucking hiss that echoed off the stone walls and faded into silence as the light disappeared.

The silence didn’t last. The floor shook with another tremor. Pebbles rained down from the ceiling, covering my face and arms with a layer of gray dust. I rubbed it from my lashes, opening my eyes at the sound of someone coughing.

Across the wide space, a few feet inside the doorway to the tunnels, Queen Nalani and Master Dallr stood side by side, staring in confusion.

After a stunned pause, the queen demanded, “What have you done with my husband?”