There was plenty of new information for us to work with. We had confirmation of a cosmic event that had stopped the previous ritual. We knew it was possible, but we still had to dig deeper. No clear and doable solution was in sight.

Inalia had managed to save Cerix and our asses in the process, but we were all aware that our troubles were far from over. Never had I felt more grateful to have Riza and Taeral on our crew.

“I’d never expected the pink waters anywhere else besides Mount Agrith, if you ask me,” Eva said after a period of grim silence. We were all still reeling from our fight with the Shills and Inalia’s sacrifice. “I do, however, understand the Daughters more, now. Calliope’s Earth Hermessi was pretty smart to create them.”

“Yeah, but, at the same time, these pink waters are also able to produce horrific creatures like the Shills and who knows what else?” Amelia replied, while flipping through the notes we’d managed to gather from the library prior to the Shills’ attack. “Ugh… I think we found something here, though not in the same words.”

That piqued my interest, drawing me away from the window. “About the pink waters?”

She nodded. “They’re not referred to as such, hence why we didn’t immediately spot the similarities.” Noticing my frown, she read a few of the lines that I specifically remembered writing down from one of the older manuscripts we’d come across. “The earth is ripe with waters of creation, and the earth may call forth new life in dire times. I mean, it’s got to be a reference to the pink water, right?”

“What else does it say?” Eva asked.

“Every world alive has creation flowing through it. Deep beneath the surface, hidden in the hearts of mountains. The water of creation is our only gateway to the gods. Those who drink from it may live forever, but only if their hearts are righteous. Terrible death awaits those with foul souls who dare taste the primordial fluids.”

No one said anything for a while. Instead, we just stared at one another, until Lumi finally spoke up. “Well, that never occurred to any of us,” she said.

“What, exactly? Drinking the pink water?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Crystal eggs come out of it. I, for one, have some hygiene issues with that,” Amelia replied.

Eva chuckled. “That aside, I’m more interested in the whole ‘gateway to the gods’ part.”

“Why, immortality is not of interest to you?” I asked.

“I’m a vampire now, so… no. Plus, I think we should keep this information to ourselves, for now. Or, at least within GASP,” Eva said. The wondering looks on our faces made her expand on her suggestion. “Imagine if we told all the people of Calliope that we think the pink waters of Mount Agrith may make them immortal.”

“Oh, right,” Raphael replied. “Mass invasion of Mount Agrith. Everybody will want a sip.”

“And I’m pretty sure that drinking that primordial pond dry will have devastating effects on the planet,” Eva added. “My thoughts, anyway.”

“No, you’re on point, there,” Lumi said with an approving nod. “We’ll keep this particular nugget between GASP members for the time being. Now, back to that ‘portal to the gods’ bit. Would it refer to the dimension where the Hermessi usually meet, perhaps?”

“Could be,” Taeral said. He’d been quiet since the group hug. Even during our briefing with GASP over the comms line, he hadn’t uttered a single word. I knew he was processing Inalia’s ascension in his own way. “In the absence of fae we can work with to reach out to the rogue Hermessi, diving headfirst into the pink waters of Mount Agrith might be our only other option.”

“There’s also Harper,” Herakles suggested.

“She’s a wonderful fluke, and I wouldn’t dare subject her to additional risks. She will wait for Ramin to talk to her again, but, in the meantime, I think we should explore this ‘portal to the gods’ part ourselves,” Taeral said. “After all, no one’s ever been in those parts of Mount Agrith. The Daughters have made it off limits to everyone, since it’s their place of birth and especially after the Nova incident—remember that Azazel stole Nova from Mount Agrith before Nova’s development was complete. The Daughters couldn’t believe he’d dare do something like that, until he did. So, the pond’s been off limits since.”

“Oh, I’m sure we can reason with them for temporary access,” Eva said. “They’ve been holding back information, and thus owe GASP a favor or two. We might as well call it in.”

“You’re a devious little one, aren’t you?” I replied, grinning.

Eva’s lips stretched, and, for a moment, I felt my breath stop in my throat. She could be devastatingly charming when she wanted, and she knew it. “I wouldn’t describe myself as ‘little,’ Varga. Devious, yes. Little? No.”

Emperor Tulla cleared his throat. He’d been a silent participant until now, both he and Trap waiting for the eight Brothers of the Shadow to fully recover so he could take them to another room and discuss the pardon and a potential collaboration. Cerix was still stained by Hermessi cultists, and they needed to keep cracking down on them until they were all either dead or captured and unable to do any more harm.

“In the meantime, the Hermessi continue to infect your fae people,” he said. “Has your federation found any means of stopping the cultists from infiltrating and hurting more fae? I worry they will reach the five million mark sooner rather than later, and when they do it’s over for all of us. Inalia’s sacrifice will have meant nothing for the Cerixians.”

“There’s been a surge in fae falling ill,” Amelia replied. “We’re looking at tens of thousands now, and it’ll be hundreds of thousands by the end of the week.”

“Five million isn’t that far away, is it?” Trap asked.

“We all need to up our game, going forward,” Lumi said. “We certainly need to explore the pink waters and see what they do or where they lead. The Word keeps whispering in the back of my head, telling me it’s important to do this. I have a feeling it might lead us somewhere crucial in our quest.”

We were all surprised to hear this, coming from Lumi. She rarely shared what the Word said to her. But if the very source of her magic thought the pink waters might help us, then we had to follow that advice.

Eva shot to her feet, her yellow eyes glimmering with anticipation. “Then we’d best get going,” she replied, hands resting on her hips. “No time to waste.”

Screams tore through the gardens outside. In an instant, I was back by the window looking down. Black figures darted through the palace courtyard, shooting across the green spaces. Cerixians ran in all directions, desperate to get away from them. My heart jumped. An expletive left my lips.

“What’s going on?” Eva asked, joining me by the window. She, too, swore.

Boots thundered in the hallway before the door swung open.

“Skit!” Lumi exclaimed, recognizing the uniformed Cerixian male who’d just come in.

“Something is happening outside, and it may very well move inside soon,” Skit said between ragged breaths. “We need to get the emperor to safety. Now!”

Lumi’s expression changed in an instant, before Eva or I could tell her what we’d just seen outside. “Let me guess,” she said, her tone clipped. “The Shills found us here.”

“How is that possible?!” Taeral blurted, his eyes wide. “We lost them. They didn’t teleport after us. They couldn’t have tracked us here!”

“But the Hermessi could’ve,” I reminded him.

They were still looking for us. Only, this time, if they found us, they no longer bothered to attack themselves, with earthquakes and whatever other artifices they could conjure from their elemental playbook. No, this time they brought in Shills. The better hunters.