Desperation hung heavily in the air.

It cluttered my mind, and I couldn’t see a solution to end all this. Amelia had a point, too. I could try getting deeper into the fight cluster, to spread some of my fire around, but the Shills were bound to tear me to shreds.

They were already dangerously close and a little too angry at me for my comfort. At Eira, too, for that matter. And we hadn’t come this far to get ourselves killed by these freaks! No way! I still had some hours left on my clock, and we’d yet to check and compare whatever notes we’d managed to get from the original library before the Shills came out to play. We’d yet to hear from Lumi on any progress she might’ve made on the mass evacuation, too.

For now, however, it didn’t look good. Their communication systems were down. The Shills were all around us, constantly outnumbering each of our fighters. The Brothers had been practically obliterated, through no fault of their own. I hadn’t had the greatest respect for these rebels, but I sure didn’t want to see them suffer like this. They all deserved a fair trial and the appropriate punishment for having conspired against the Cerixian Empire, not gruesome death.

My biggest problem was that, despite the time I still had, the others weren’t that lucky. Any second now, one of the Shills could get close or fast enough to hurt them more. Even kill them. The thought of Taeral or anyone else on his team dying because of this… it burned me on the inside, in a way that hurt more than the idea of sacrificing myself for Cerix.

Eira kept shooting ice arrows at some of the Shills that tried to snatch more Brothers from their small group, but I’d already stopped. My heart was thudding and aching more and more. No matter how many scenarios I played in my mind, none of them ended well. Not unless I did something drastic.

Something I may never be able to undo.

It pained me terribly, forcing me to break into a cold sweat. But… maybe Acquis was right.

“I think it’s time,” I said, my voice low and trembling.

There were too many monsters itching to eat my friends. My allies. The people who had gone to such incredible lengths to help me. To save me.

Eira shot me an angry glare. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You know, Eira. You heard Acquis.”

She stilled, gawking at me in disbelief. “What? No… No! There is still time! Are you crazy?!”

“Actually, I’m seeing everything clearly now.” Tears stung my eyes, blurring the image before me. The irony didn’t escape me. My physical sight was foggy, while my foresight was crystal clear. Painfully so, even, regardless of how hard I’d tried to avoid and deny it until now. It was my turn to pitch in. Big time…

“Inalia, don’t!” Eira replied, her eyes glistening with tears. The others were too busy fighting off the Shills to notice us. Maybe it was better this way. The fewer objections I got, the more determined I’d be to do it. “It’s not too late; we can still fight this! We can still fight them! All Tae and Riza need is to get us all closer together so they can teleport us across a larger distance, as far away from these monsters as possible!”

“Look around you, Eira!” I snapped, waving a hand at the Shills. “We’re watching our friends get dangerously close to being torn to shreds! The Shills keep coming, they keep killing them, and yet more emerge, every time! They’ve caught us now. The Hermessi have us right where they wanted us. Even with twelve hours left on the clock, I can’t let anything happen to Taeral, to Amelia, to Raphael and the others. It’s not fair to them. It’s not fair to you. It’s not fair to any of the Cerixians who are suffering now because of Brann’s death.”

“But even if you do this, you heard Taeral… the Hermessi are still hell-bent on destroying them, in particular, not to mention us. If it’s not the freezing death of Cerix, it’ll be them wiping our civilization out.”

“Not if Taeral and his team get another fighting chance. I can give it to them,” I said. The more I thought about it, the more sound my reasoning felt. How swiftly I’d jumped from fear to this resolve. I barely even recognized the Inalia from a few hours ago. “There comes a time when we have to let go, Eira. I think it’s my turn, now.”

Eira shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. I loved her so much. I’d never had a sister to grow up with, but Eira had always been the next best thing. Come to think of it, I was doing this for her, too.

I gripped her shoulders, squeezing gently. “Look at all the Cerixians who just died here, in these woods. Herakles is close to bleeding out. Riza is getting tired. Amelia, too. Varga can barely hold it together, and it’s only a matter of time before one of the Shills takes Eva down. Not to mention Raphael. Even he is overwhelmed. And Tae…” My voice trailed off as I briefly glanced at him fiercely fighting more Shills. “He’s not going to last much longer.”

“So, what, you’re just quitting? You’re giving the Hermessi what they want?” Eira spat.

I shook my head. “No, not at all. I’m giving Tae and you and everyone else here a fighting chance. With a Fire Hermessi, they can harness their own elemental abilities. I can do more to stop the Shills, as well. At least for long enough for you to escape. And I’m saving the planet, while I’m at it, too.” Eira was crying uncontrollably, so I hugged her tight, holding her close and thinking this could very well be the last time I’d feel someone’s embrace, ever. “It feels like a small price to pay, don’t you think?”

“It’s not small…”

“I know. But let’s face it. We’re in over our heads here. I have to do more, and I can’t risk getting myself killed by the Shills before I can ascend as the new Fire Hermessi.”

Eira did a splendid job of quickly pulling herself back together. Her mind was a brilliant machine, and I was glad to see it fired up like this. She looked at me, a look of determination settling on her face.

“Okay. How do we do this?” she asked.

I exhaled deeply. “I have no idea, but if that inner fire inside me has all the knowledge, I can try and tap into it.”

Every muscle in my body quivered as I stepped away from Eira. For a moment, as I measured my breaths carefully, I listened to the sounds around me. I felt their eyes on me—the Hermessi, quietly watching me through the rabid winds above, through the trees and the dirt beneath my boots, through the little drops of rain that had begun to drip.

Fire burned inside me, yes. The kind that, once unleashed, could make or break everything in its path. It was time to reach deep into it and understand what I had to do in order to become Cerix’s new Fire Hermessi. I tuned everything else out, focusing on the simmering sensation that trickled through my veins. I asked the question in silence.

A few heartbeats later, I got my answer.

I looked around, carefully memorizing every little detail. Taeral. Amelia. Raphael. Eva. Varga. Herakles. Riza. My beloved Eira… The Brothers still holding on to one another, injured yet vaguely hopeful that they might still survive this. Yeah, I could do this. Acquis was right. It was time to step up, just like my father before me.

“I’m ready.”