Ceris took us directly to the shack on the Croatian island.

Micah carried Victor inside and placed him on one of the beds while I grabbed the first aid kit from the bathroom cabinet. Ceris stood beside the bed, looking like she would break down at any moment, and I was thankful the others stayed in the living room. This place was too small for all of us.

Micah turned Victor on his side, and I knelt beside the bed. I peeked under the cloth she had tied around him. It wasn’t pretty. The sword had pierced him on the left side, half an inch from his heart.

“I’m not sure if there’s anything I can do,” I said, watching Ceris.

“I know,” she said, sounding too calm. “But I need you to try something. Anything.”

I nodded, believing it was best not to argue with her. As I cleaned the wound, Victor shook.

“Is he convulsing?” Ceris asked, leaning over the bed, her eyes wide in terror.

“I don’t think so.” I nudged Micah. “Hold him, please.”

Micah held his shoulders, and I stitched the cut the best I could with him trembling. Done. It was clean and closed. That was all I could do.

Micah positioned Victor on his back, and the tremors increased.

I had seen him trembling this way before, when I first saw him in the parking lot of Langone, and when he came to see me a few weeks ago.

I rested my hands on his cheeks, and he gasped. A warm jolt prickled my palms as my energy seeped into him. With each second, the tremors lessened, until the transfer of energy was done and the trembling gone.

Removing my hands, I stood. A wave of dizziness assaulted me, and I staggered back. Micah rushed to my side and held my elbow.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. He just took more than usual.”

Ceris looked at me, unshed tears glistening in her eyes. “Thank you.”

I nodded.

I thought about telling her I didn’t know what was going to happen, if my healing had saved him, if it had bought him time, if the wound was too deep, if it had ripped something of importance, but she seemed so sorrowful, I decided to give her time to recover.

Micah followed me out of the bedroom and closed the door behind us.

Watching me with hooded eyes, he crossed his arms. “I don’t understand. I thought they were on our side. I-I can’t believe I fell for it.”

“Shhh.” I stepped into him, uncrossed his arms, and placed them around my waist. I didn’t care if he didn’t really like me; I didn’t care about the push and pull of our relationship. “Just let me hold you,” I whispered, hooking my arms around his neck.

His hands splayed on my back, pulling me tighter against him. I buried my face in his neck, savoring his familiar sandalwood scent and the feeling of safety. I kissed his warm skin on his neck, and he shivered.

Tilting his head to mine, Micah rested his chin on my cheek. “You can hold me any time you want, darling.” His voice was sincere.

I pulled back, expecting to see the smug grin on his face, but it wasn’t there. His face was solemn, his eyes intent on mine. My gaze flickered to his full lips. He leaned into me, and I held my breath, certain he was going to kiss me again.

Then, he pulled back, clearing his throat.

“I’ve gotta …” He pointed to the living room. “Yeah.”

And he marched away.

* * *

Since Ceris wouldn’t leave Victor’s bedside, Izaera went on a few shopping trips for us alone. First, she brought the most urgent: medical supplies, including blood bags, IVs, gauze, antiseptic, morphine, ibuprofen, and a bunch of other things. Then she went out for food. The next trip was for clothes and shoes for all of us, and the last trip was for camping gear, since the shack only had two bedrooms—at first, she wanted to bring tents, but it was too cold outside. She ended up bringing several sleeping bags so we could camp in the living room. Micah insisted Izaera, Keisha, and I take the second bedroom, though one of us would to have to sleep on the floor.

Later, while Keisha helped Morgan in the kitchen with dinner, we all took turns in the only shower in the cottage. After my quick turn, I went to my bedroom, turned off the lights, laid down in my bed, and hugged Pinky.

I tried keeping thoughts of Micah out of my mind, but it was too damn hard. I didn’t want to wonder why he almost kissed me and then backed out. I also chided myself for not having more self-control and for allowing these moments to happen. I should have pulled back when I noticed his eyes boring into mine, seeing through me, into my soul. A soul that belonged to him anyway.

Grunting, I rolled in bed and willed sleep to come and carry me away from here because I didn’t want to deal with any of this.

However, sleep didn’t come easily. When Keisha called me out later for dinner, I pretended to be sleeping. Later that night a nightmare visited me, and I did my best to stay in bed, awake but quiet so as not to wake Keisha and Izaera.

The next two days were completely boring. The cottage was too small for all of us, and there was nothing to do on the island, especially since it hadn’t stopped snowing outside.

Keisha and I stretched and did some exercises a couple of times per day, mostly to pass the time, but she was rusty after being in a bed for a few days.

Ceris didn’t leave Victor’s bedroom, even after he woke up on the second day. He seemed conscious and fighting his wound, though he still needed lots of rest. And lots of my healing, which made me wonder if he was truly recovering at all.

On the third day, Ceris emerged, carrying Victor with her, putting my doubts to rest. “He wants to walk a little,” she explained. Half an hour later, they were back in his bedroom.

“We can’t wait for them forever,” Morgan said. We were huddled around the dinner table, eating Izaera’s chicken noodle soup, which was delicious. “I mean, we could at least talk about finding the scepters, hash out a plan or two.”

Micah nodded. “I understand, but there isn’t much we can do without them. Even if we hash out a plan, Ceris will want to revise everything, every little detail, and we’ll waste the same amount of time.”

“It’s not like we have anything to do now,” Keisha muttered.

“I know what we could do,” Zelen said. “We could improvise a sled and enjoy this shitty island.”

Everyone chuckled. I only smiled.

After that the conversation drifted, I went to wash the dishes, and Keisha was by my side drying them.

“So,” she said. “What’s the problem?”

“What you mean?” I asked.

“You haven’t spoken much these past few days. Like, at all.”

I shrugged. “There isn’t much to talk about. There’s nothing happening.”

She offered me a knowing look. “Ah.”

Micah cut between us, placing a dirty plate in the sink. He took his time, his body looming too close, and his eyes on mine.

When he stepped back, warmth invaded my cheeks, and Keisha snorted. “Yeah, nothing happening.”

I shook my head and focused on my important task. To wash dirty dishes.

* * *

That evening I put on a thick coat over my clothes and headed outside.

I didn’t know why, but I wanted to walk around the snow-covered island, even though it didn’t hold good memories. I had been here for three days and had managed to avoid it, but after so long inside the cottage with everyone around, all I wanted was a moment of peace and quiet.

I wandered to a rocky parcel, my snow boots crunching the snow, watching the waves as they crashed on the white sand at the farthest corner of the tiny island—where Micah had left with the Fates a little over four months ago.

The cold wind blew around me, and I adjusted my beanie and the collar of my coat, pulling it tight against my neck.

Snow crunched under heavy footsteps, but I didn’t turn since I was sure I knew who it was.

“Isn’t it too cold to be out here?” Micah asked, coming to stand beside me. He zipped up his coat and blew on his gloveless hands.

I raised my eyebrows at him. “You tell me.”

“Well, I know how you can get warm pretty fast, darling.” He wiggled his eyebrows, and I chuckled. He was already back to himself. “You can’t say you don’t want it.”

“Always full of yourself.”

He put his hands in the pockets of his coat and nudged me with his elbow. “As if it wasn’t true.”

I shook my head, returning my eyes to the beach. I didn’t understand him. One minute he was pushing, the other he was pulling. I was tired of that. I was tired of everything.

He followed my gaze. “Why are you on this side of the island?” he asked. I shrugged. A long moment of silence passed before he spoke again. “I stood right there”—he pointed to the beach before us—“when the Fates took me away from here.”

Oh, he remembered that too. Maybe he also remembered how that had hurt me—more than I was willing to admit.

“You know I did that for your own good, right?”

“No, I don’t know,” I muttered.

“I was … am not a good influence. I wanted to stay away so you would be free to make your own choices.”

I scoffed. “My own choices? First, Ceris commanded me like a puppet, then the Fates owned me, and now my soul is yours. Who has any choice here?”

He sighed. “You have no idea how I wish you never got involved in this.”

Ouch. I knew he didn’t mean it like that, but it hurt anyway. “I’m sorry if my presence bothers you. Believe me, it wasn’t my choice.”

I turned around and marched away.

“Nadine …” He cursed and caught up with me, stepping in my way. “That’s not what I meant. We are at war. We have barely begun to fight and look at us. Levi is hurt, and we don’t know how or if he’s going to be okay. Keisha and Morgan have had some rough patches too. My Death Lords betrayed me. Imha and Omi discovered our first hideout. The—”

“I was captured, and my family killed,” I interrupted him, adding to his list, but my voice broke and I flinched at my words.

He clasped my shoulders. “You have no idea how sick I felt knowing they had you, knowing they had your family.” His hands slid down my arms, and he cupped my elbows, pulling me closer. “You don’t know how many times Ceris had to hold me back so I wouldn’t march into Imha’s place myself.”

I stepped back and he let go of me. “You can’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“This.” I gestured to him. “I can’t take this. Your mixed signals. One minute you kiss me, the other you run away from me. One minute you say something sweet, the other you yell at me.” I shook my head. “And it doesn’t matter. You can’t—”

“Why doesn’t it matter?”

I pressed my lips together, fighting back the tears burning in my eyes. “Because you’re a god. You’ll live forever and won’t settle for a mortal. Who cares if you’re sending me mixed signals? We both know you’re only playing. Oh, and let’s not forget the Soul Oath. You and I know that my living days are getting closer and closer to their expiration date.”

The muscles in his jaw tensed. “Nadine, I—”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m okay with it. It was my choice, and I would do it again.” I sounded like Ceris … crap. “Just please, stop it. Don’t lead me on, don’t stare at me, and don’t help me out with anything. You’re just gonna leave me anyway.”

“No—”

“I should go in,” I said, cutting him off. “I should help with dinner.”

Without looking at Micah, I walked around him, back to the cottage.

* * *

After dinner and after Keisha and I had straightened the kitchen, I wanted a nice shower and some sleep. I entered the room I shared with Izaera and Keisha, and halted. Izaera and Ceris stood in the middle of the room, talking in hushed tones.

They noticed my presence and shushed.

“Sorry,” I muttered, stepping out.

I was a little curious as to why they would be whispering, but I guessed being goddesses and living for thousands and thousands of years, they had lots in common. They trusted each other and were probably just talking, or discussing the next plans.

A tiny thread of jealousy swirled in my stomach. I remembered days with Cheryl and how easy it was to be with her, to talk with her. Just like Cheryl, uh, Ceris was now talking to Izaera.

I shook my head. Nonsense. Ceris meant nothing to me other than someone I had to put up with for the greater good. A powerful goddess who …

A goddess with a pretty scepter, topped by a pink orb—an orb I had seen something inside of before we left the compound. How could I have forgotten this?

I had seen the same thing inside Izaera’s scepter when we were in the forest.

Oh my God.

I rushed to the living room and almost threw myself at Morgan. He was mediating with Zelen in the center of the room.

“Morgan, I need to see some of your books,” I blurted, disturbing his concentration. They looked up at me, their expressions a little annoyed. “It’s important.”

Morgan pointed to a large duffel bag beside the couch. “That’s all I was able to save before we fled the bunker.”

“Thanks,” I muttered.

They exchanged an irritated glance then went back to their meditation.

Not wanting to disturb them further, I grabbed the duffel’s straps and dragged it away. God, this damn thing weighed a ton.

“Let me help you,” Micah said, taking the straps from me and lifting the bag as if it was filled with cotton balls. I glanced around. Where had he come from? “Where do you want it?”

“The kitchen table,” I said, opening the kitchen door for him.

Keisha prepared coffee on the other side of the room. She arched her eyebrows at me, and I shook my head, not in the mood to explain anything.

Micah dropped the bag between two chairs.

“Thanks,” I said, taking a seat.

He sat beside me. “What are we looking for?”

I stared at him. He held my gaze, serious but not closed, not annoyed, not pushing me away, and not drawing me in. Just serious and here. With me.

My heart squeezed.

“I’m not sure,” I whispered, taking one of the books from the bag. “I want to see symbols, but I think there are too many of them.”

Micah grabbed one book from the bag. “Symbols it is.”

* * *

Later that day, when I was ready to disturb Ceris and call a meeting, she did before I could.

The sleeping bags were rolled up and thrown in a corner, Morgan and Keisha made coffee and sandwiches for everyone, and Ceris helped Victor to an armchair. I sat in another armchair, and Morgan took a stool by my side. Micah chose to stand by the wall to my left, and Keisha, Izaera, and Zelen squeezed on the couch.

We were ready. More than ready.

And I couldn’t wait to tell them what I had found.

“We need to plan a couple of things,” Ceris said, seated on the arm of Victor’s chair. “If we are discovered here, where we will go next, who will we try to contact next, and the most important, what is our next step in finding the scepters?”

“I kn—”

“Ceris and I think,” Victor started, not even noticing he had interrupted me, “that after this injury, my human body is much weaker than before. We believe it won’t hold on for much longer.”

“So we need to find the scepters now,” Morgan said, his voice quavering.

Victor nodded. “We do, but I’m not strong enough to go out yet. We can’t expect this to be simple. I need a few more days to rest and heal before we do anything, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start planning.”

“I kn—”

“That’s why I asked for this meeting,” Ceris said. “Because once Levi feels better, we need to be on top of this matter.”

“We need to get our hands on our scepters,” Victor added.

“I kno—”

The door burst open, interrupting me. The Fates walked in.

Beside me, Morgan almost had a meltdown and knelt on the floor, his head low. Keisha lowered her head as if in a bow, and even Zelen showed them more respect than I did.

“Hello, child,” the one who entered first said with eyes on me. She halted behind the couch, while the other two remained a couple of steps back. “You don’t look happy to see us.”

“I never know what to expect from you,” I confessed.

She offered me a lifeless smile. “Have we ever deceived you?” Well, when she put it like that. I shook my head. “Good.”

Ceris stood. “Nay, can we help you with anything?”

“No, child. We are here to help you.” Nay extended her hand, showing us a small crystal vial with a bright turquoise liquid.

Ceris’s eyes bugged. “Is that what I think it is?”

Nay nodded.

Beside me, Morgan had another meltdown.

“Water from the Lake of Life,” Victor said.

Nay nodded. “As you suspect, your human body won’t hold for much longer. If we let it be, you would heal a little on your own and with Nadine’s touch, but that would take quite some time. However, you’ll need this right now.”

“What do you mean?” Ceris asked, eyes narrowed.

Nay looked at me. “Tell them, child.”

With the room’s attention on me, I took a deep breath and held my head high. “I think I know where the scepters are.”