For the past twenty minutes, I’d been unable to reach Taeral and his crew. To me, it was odd, mainly because the feedback noise coming through the earpiece was not one I was used to. Normally the lack of a response via our safe comms line sounded different. This time, however, whenever I called out his or the others’ names I heard a peculiar crackle.

Emperor Tulla watched me with curious interest as I tried to call Taeral once more, while Trap Mellon pored over a geographical map of Cerix in its entirety. Wooden figurines had been placed over certain locations, marking spots from where we’d launch interplanetary spells—theoretically. We’d yet to crack the code of a safe and complete mass evacuation, and judging by the discouraging look on Trap’s face as he studied the map, we weren’t going to find a good solution.

The thought further gnawed at my stomach, on top of this newly arisen issue with Taeral and his crew.

“Lumi, you are not yourself anymore,” Emperor Tulla said. I could almost feel the strain in his voice. What a mess he’d found himself in, as leader of a vast empire. The lives of his people reduced to mere wooden figurines on a map. “What’s wrong?”

I hadn’t had the opportunity to relay my conversation with Derek and Sofia in full detail. I’d been too busy trying to contact Taeral and his team. At the same time, I was reluctant to tell him what I’d learned about the Hermessi, their previous attempt to perform this devastating ritual, and their recent endeavor of creating actual monsters to hunt my people down, here on Cerix. I wasn’t sure how he’d react, given that Inalia and Eira were still out there, with Taeral’s crew. Personally, I was inclined to assume that whatever the Hermessi would send after my agents would be advised to steer clear of Hermessi children, given their importance. But I was concerned the emperor might not see it that way.

He was already worried enough about my difficulty in connecting with Taeral. The last thing I wanted was to worry him more—Inalia was his last chance to save the Cerixian Empire. Not being able to reach her was a problem in itself. Knowing that there were freakish abominations of nature hunting her team down was far worse. So I kept most of what I’d learned to myself, focusing our conversation here on the mass evacuation and calling Taeral.

“I still can’t reach them,” I finally replied. “There must be something wrong with Lemnos Woods. Maybe an element there that’s jamming the signal.”

Trap’s head shot up, his brow furrowed. “What makes you say that?”

“The feedback noise I’m getting. It’s different. Like nothing I’ve heard before. I’m inclined to believe it’s got something to do with that area. It could be natural or artificial,” I explained. “Either way, the last time I heard from them was hours ago, just before they entered Lemnos Woods. You were both here, you remember.”

The emperor nodded. “What do we do, then? Taeral has two Hermessi children with him.”

I got the subtext, all right. But I didn’t engage. Instead, I took a deep breath and offered a flat smile. “Your Majesty, I’ll get them back myself, if I have to. My GASP seniors have advised me to wait a little while longer before I go after them. Both Taeral and Riza have teleportation abilities. No hostile stands a chance of catching them, not even the Hermessi.”

What if the creatures they let out do, though?

“You should try again in a few more minutes,” Emperor Tulla replied. “I admit, I am not comfortable not knowing anything about Inalia. Eira, too, but, given the circumstances, I’m sure you understand why I’m particularly concerned about Inalia.”

“Yes, I do,” I said, then looked at Trap. “We’re not getting anywhere with the mass evacuation, are we?”

Trap shook his head slowly, then gave the emperor an apologetic nod. My insides twisted and turned, as I understood what this could mean for Inalia. “There isn’t enough time to mobilize all the troops, to reach every city, every town, every village, and every single damn settlement… to bring them all together in these places,” he said, pointing at the wooden figurines.

“Even if that was possible, say, by bringing in some extra jinni muscle from the Supernatural Dimension,” I replied, “though I’d have a lot of arms to twist, given the current circumstances. We still don’t know where to take everyone.”

“I suppose your Phoenix fellow has yet to find a nearby inhabitable planet?” the emperor asked, with a tinge of hope in his voice. He really wanted to save Inalia from her Hermessi fate.

It was my turn to shake my head. “I’m sorry. No. Cerix is the only inhabited planet in this galaxy. Phoenix is still combing through the neighboring clusters, looking for something. He’d need a couple more days just to study the data he gets through the telescopes. We can’t just ‘find’ another place by some miracle and hope it works. It doesn’t work like that.”

“I am well aware of that. For the longest time, Cerixians thought they were the only ones living in this universe,” Emperor Tulla replied with a hint of a smile. But the sadness in his eyes was too heavy to ignore.

“I don’t like this any more than you, Your Majesty,” I said. “We can still stick to that twenty-four-hour deadline, though. Maybe Taeral and his team will come up with something. Some kind of leverage on the Hermessi with what they learn from the library. It’s a long shot, but it isn’t impossible.”

“There either is or isn’t something there for them to hold against the Hermessi,” the emperor said. “Nevertheless, I gave you my word. They have time until the deadline we previously agreed upon.”

I should’ve felt more relief at the thought. But my heart was still breaking, piece by piece, with every hour that went by. I didn’t want this to get to the point where it all automatically rested on Inalia’s shoulders. While we were not experts on the Hermessi, nor did we know the details of how a Hermessi child became the new element of a planet, we all understood the notion of “sacrifice,” and we were certain that the Hermessi themselves weren’t using the term loosely.

The clock was still ticking, and the planet continued to chill, dropping one degree after another. I’d set up a temporary heating system for Silvergate, using the non-fire energy sources they still had running, but even so, it was difficult to maintain. No matter how much magic I put into one city, it was only a band-aid. I couldn’t cover the entire planet, and I sure as hell couldn’t save its people. Even my magic had limits in the absence of true elemental fire.

“I trust Taeral will be true to his word, as well,” the emperor added.

“What do you mean, Your Majesty?” I asked.

“When the deadline is reached, I expect him to bring Inalia back to us, so she can do what… what needs to be done.”

Looking out the window, I noticed people gathering in the courtyard. The emperor had allowed access, but the palace entrances had been sealed up. He didn’t want to risk any kind of riot; not now. Instead, the Armed Forces buzzed around the common people, offering blankets and furs to those in need. By nightfall, it would get below freezing, and they’d all be forced to return to their homes—but even there they weren’t truly safe from this unnatural winter’s bite.

At least Silvergate had some of my magic to sleep through the night without losing too many bodies. The other cities weren’t as lucky. With that in mind, I, too, hoped that Taeral would return Inalia to the palace. As much as I hated the idea, she could very well be the only thing standing between the survival and the deaths of millions of Cerixians.

Maybe the library would yield some results. I wasn’t going to know until I spoke to them. “Which reminds me,” I murmured to myself, then pressed the call button on my earpiece. “Taeral, come in. Tae… are you there?”

I got the same crackling feedback.

What the hell is going on there?!