If it weren’t for our dire circumstances, I would’ve gladly taken the extra hour or two to simply admire the beautiful sights. Cerix was gorgeous—there was no doubt about it. A slightly smaller version of Earth with a breathtaking array of geographical splendors. Mountains and seemingly endless valleys, bursting with trees and flowering shrubs. Strips of white-and-gold sand snaking between the continents and the deep blue oceans. In some parts, the beaches were replaced by majestic clusters of black-and-dark-green limestone—giants overlooking the water, silently watching as the world continued its cycle around the sun. There were fields covered in amber grains, rivers swirling through the mainland, sprawling red deserts. And, sprinkled all over, were villages, towns, and superb cities of Cerixians, dwelling in seven domains—former kingdoms that had pledged their allegiance to an empire, choosing peace and unity over war and bloodshed.

Unfortunately, I could only relish the brief snippets I got of Cerix as Taeral teleported us from one island to another along the ocean border of the Rose Domain. Looking around, I realized we all felt the same way. I recognized the auras of longing on those I could read—they would’ve loved nothing more than to just pause for a moment and take it all in.

But we couldn’t. We had work to do. A world or a thousand to save. And Inalia. I couldn’t even look at her for too long, the crimson-and-yellow shades of her emotional aura bombarding my sentry senses. She was in a lot of pain, spiritually speaking, and she was terrified.

By the time we reached the Samotarcis border, however, I couldn’t hold back anymore. I had to ask. “Inalia, are you okay?”

We settled on the edge of a small patch of woods. The trees were tall and dark green, their shape and foliage reminding me of pine trees. Even the scent brought with it the Nordic charm of cold winters and snowy mountain peaks, which rose in the distance, proud titans reaching for the heavens. By contrast, Inalia burned with a mixture of anguish and terror, the kind none of us would ever be able to extinguish.

“Define ‘okay,’” Inalia replied with a weak chuckle.

The shaky sound of her voice was enough to get the rest of the crew’s attention. Slowly but surely, Inalia was beginning to cave in, whether she wanted to or not. It was out of her control. It was a miracle she hadn’t lost her mind yet, with how abruptly and painfully her life had changed.

“You’re hurting,” I said. “Maybe it’s better if you let that out.”

“How? How do I let it all out?” she asked. “I doubt it’ll change how I’m feeling.”

“It probably won’t,” Raphael said. It got him another smack on the shoulder from Amelia. “What? I’m just being honest. It probably won’t!” he added, then looked at Inalia again. “But at least it’ll help you cope better. Bottling everything up will make you snap, and, believe it or not, the last thing Cerix needs right now is a psycho potential Hermessi.”

Inalia stared at him for a moment. “Wow, you don’t mince your words, huh?”

“You’re a big girl. I trust you can take it the way it’s meant to be taken,” Raphael replied.

“He’s right, you know,” Eva chimed in. “If you feel like exploding, you might as well just let it out, Inalia. You’ll feel a little lighter, at least. If these are your last hours as the Inalia we’ve all come to hold dear, you might as well spend them in a way that makes them memorable, not dreadful.”

There was a warm glimmer in Eva’s yellow eyes—the kind that cast a spell on me, putting me into a trance, enough to make it impossible for me to move. She had this way of slipping through the narrowest crevices and shining a light where only darkness threatened to dwell. In contrast, her realism had an equally effective bite. Much like Raphael, she didn’t bother choosing her words carefully so as not to hurt anyone’s feelings. Eva was as blunt as a hammer, and I couldn’t stop myself from gushing over it. It denoted strength that very few people had.

Inalia thought about it for a moment, then sighed deeply. “I think you all might want to step back,” she said.

We didn’t wait to be told twice. Raphael and Taeral didn’t have their fire power anymore, but their fae genes could still command the other elements—to the local Hermessi’s dismay, for sure. I had my sentry barrier, and Riza had some jinni magic to work with. Chances were we’d be needed to contain what was about to be expelled from inside Inalia. Those emotions I saw flaring in her aura were bound to come out with a blazing fire.

We set up a twenty-yard radius around her, as she took measured breaths.

In, then out. In, then out. Her skin lit up orange. When she opened her eyes, the fiery glow in them startled me. Saying that there were devastating fires brewing inside Inalia would’ve been a reckless understatement. Panting, Inalia began to address her frustrations.

“You know what? Yeah, you’re right. I need to let it out. I’m angry. No, scratch that, I’m pissed off!”

A blazing pulse burst out of her. The flames licked at us, until Raphael spread his wings and violently flapped them, forcing the first round to dissipate.

“I’ve had enough of this crap!” Inalia continued. “I spent my whole life stifling all this fire… this weirdness inside me. I grew up without a father, and I made my peace with that. Now, look at what the last couple of days got me. A dad. Then a dead dad.”

A second pulse exploded outward. This time, Riza hummed, then snapped her fingers and sent out a flurry of colorful fireworks. They spread around Inalia and clashed with her fire. The jinni and Hermessi flames canceled each other out.

“That’s it, babe, keep going!” Raphael encouraged Inalia.

Taeral’s aura glimmered in different shades of gold and red. Oh yeah, he definitely liked her. But it also hurt him to see her like this. I worried about him, aware that none of this would lead anywhere good. No, it was all going to end in pain and tears—and I was the lesser of the pessimists in our crew.

“And, to top it off and make this pile of crap actually stick, check this out!” Inalia snapped. “I’m expected to take my dad’s place. Give up everything. Screw your life, Inalia! Who gives a damn what you want? Nah, lose everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve. For what? To turn into fire and save my freaking planet? Why me?! Huh? Why me?!”

The third wave was even more powerful. This time, we all pitched in. Taeral pulled some winds from the back, beads of sweat trickling down his temples. Out of all the elements, air was the toughest for him to handle. Raphael’s wings flapped. Riza’s jinni magic rushed around in multicolored sparkles. Eva strengthened Taeral’s winds with whispered Druid magic, while I sent a supple barrier toward Inalia. The Hermessi fire clashed against our artifices—but it worked. We managed to contain it without damaging the nearby environment.

I heard a sniff. Glancing to my left, I saw Eira, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked at Inalia, whose orange glow had begun to fade. I’ll be damned.

“Huh… Whaddya know. It worked,” Inalia murmured, looking at her hands and watching the shimmer go away. She sighed, then glanced up at us, smiling. “I do feel a little better. A teeny tiny bit—” She stilled when she saw Eira, by now crying uncontrollably. “Eira…”

Without another word, Inalia bolted and took Eira in her arms, holding her tight.

“I’m so sorry… that this is… happening to… you… of all people…” Eira managed between sobs, her face hidden in the small space between Inalia’s neck and shoulder.

“Oh, Eira…”

“I’m sorry. You don’t deserve this,” Eira added, as Inalia gently pulled back and cupped her face with both hands.

“I don’t. But you know what? Whatever happens, I’ll make sure no harm comes to you. I promise,” Inalia replied, prompting Eira to chuckle briefly.

“That’s rich. Usually, I’m the one who saves your ass.”

“Well, the tables have turned,” Inalia replied.

Her aura carried the same pain and fear, but damned if Raphael didn’t have a point. She did wear it better. Lighter, even. It didn’t weigh down on her like before. Wiping back tears of her own, Inalia then turned to face us as we reached her side.

“Thanks for this,” she said, then smiled at Raphael. “I mean it. Now, let’s go. There’s a town about six miles from here, the first of a string of border settlements to check.”

“We should cover up,” Eira reminded us, then pulled a dark green cloak from her bag. We’d all packed one, to easily blend in with the locals. The last thing we wanted was more attention. “We’d best be careful who we talk to, as well. From what I remember, there were Hermessi cult members spotted on this side of the Samotarcis border, too.”

“Oh, good, more necks to wring,” Herakles said, pulling the hood over his head.

Eva, Amelia, and I already had our heads and faces covered, since daylight was upon us. The cloaks came on top, making us look even creepier. In my opinion, the masks and smoky goggles concealing our features were worrisome enough to any Cerixian. The dark hood on top just amplified that effect. Nevertheless, we had to. Eira was right. We didn’t need any extra attention.

We wandered from one border town to the next, keeping mostly to the southern and eastern slums of each, where most of the less reputable Cerixians were known to dwell. We came across all kinds of locals—petty thieves and shady gamblers, bar owners who looked like they’d killed a Cerixian or two, and traveling salesman with shoddy, temporary stalls on which they displayed their “rare oils” and “special vitamin elixirs.”

It seemed to look the same as everywhere else we’d traveled in this universe. Crooks were an integral part of any civilized society. But no one could tell us anything about the Brothers of the Shadow. They were all too willing to talk about the sudden cold and the changing weather, sure. Heck, they even told us about the Hermessi cultists they’d spotted around town recently. But, as soon as the Brothers were mentioned, they clammed up and turned around, making themselves look busy and blatantly ignoring us.

“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” Eira said as she got back to us from another failed conversation. The old Cerixian woman she’d tried to speak to had already vanished inside her hut. Up and down the narrow alley, the people seemed worried. “They’re all too frightened, especially now that they can’t light a damn fire.”

“Do you know why the fires died out?” a little girl asked.

We didn’t even see her sneak up on us until she settled by Inalia’s side, wrapped up in a thick woolen blanket. Her brown hair was curled around her forehead, and the tip of her nose was red. Vapors of hot air left her lips as she spoke. We knew that Samotarcis was generally colder than the Rose Domain, and the absence of fire was already felt by the people. Within the hour, we’d all felt the temperature drop a little. Cerix was freezing, but at an uneven pace, and I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad for its people.

“No, I’m sorry,” Inalia replied, giving the girl an apologetic look. “We’re trying to figure that out, too.”

I had to give Inalia credit. She knew how to lie when necessary, though she wasn’t the greatest of thespians. In this case, deceit was necessary. We couldn’t risk a panic blowing up and crippling the domain before we found the right solution for Cerix.

“It’s colder than usual, and Mama can’t light the stove anymore,” the girl said, pouting. “She tried, over and over. We thought the stones were wet, at first.”

“I know, honey. We’re trying to figure out a way to bring the fire back,” Inalia replied, trying to comfort her.

The girl’s delicate eyebrows arched upward. “You are?”

“Mm-hm,” Eva replied, then crouched so she could be on the same level. “But we need to find the Brothers of the Shadow. They might have what we need to get the fires going again.”

“Really?” the girl was seconds away from jumping around with excitement, so Eva gently squeezed her shoulder in a bid to keep her down. She didn’t even seem frightened by our masks and goggles—not even Eva’s, and she was just inches away from her. This was a brave little Cerixian.

“Yeah. Have you seen any of them? Do you know who they are, or where we might find them?” she asked the girl.

I had to admit, I hadn’t thought of using this pretext. Then again, I was pretty sure our vampire-Lamia wasn’t out of up-sleeve tricks yet. Plenty more where that came from.

The girl frowned, then thought about it for a moment. She narrowed her eyes at Eva, then at the rest of us. “You’re not from the Armed Forces, are you?”

Eva giggled softly, then pulled part of her cloak back for the girl to see her leather suit. “Not an Armed Forces uniform.”

“Then why do you cover your face like that?” the girl asked.

“I’m extremely sensitive to light, and so are my two other friends here,” Eva replied, pointing at Amelia and me. “We have to wear this stuff. Otherwise, the sun will burn our skin.”

The girl seemed sad. “So you don’t get to enjoy a sunny day like me…”

In my mind, I was already wondering about what progress had been made on isolating that protein in Derek’s blood. Unfortunately, we were nowhere near close to figuring out what Ta’Zan had done to turn him into a day-walker, but I was positive our GASP scientists and witches wouldn’t give up until they got all the answers. All that had taken a backburner position, though, since the Hermessi debacle had started. We were thinly stretched enough already. We had little to no resources left to put into researching Derek’s blood.

“Not yet, but we’re working on that, too,” Eva said, as if reading my mind. “But our priority right now is to get the fires burning again, sweetie. So, if you know anything about the Brothers of the Shadow, anything at all, please… help us.”

The girl sighed, then pursed her lips. “You won’t find them here.”

“Okay. Where, then?”

“Agapos,” the girl said. “Mama said she saw them talking to the town elders the other day. But she didn’t dare get closer. She only told Daddy so he’d know to stay away from Agapos for a while. She said the Brothers mean well, but that they hurt people. She didn’t want Daddy to get hurt.”

“Thinna!” a Cerixian man’s voice boomed behind us.

We all moved back, instinctively, as the girl turned and beamed brightly at him. “Daddy!”

“What are you doing?” he asked, visibly worried as he eyed us.

“I’m helping them fix the fires!” Thinna said, pointing a finger at Eva.

This was our cue to leave. We all linked hands with Taeral, just as the father started walking toward us, his footsteps rushed.

“Take care, Thinna,” Eva said before we vanished.

We reappeared on the edge of the village, far from where we’d left little Thinna and her father. Ahead, snowcapped mountains rose less than five miles away. Using my True Sight, I was able to make out about twelve other settlements on this side of the Samotarcis border, most of them villages.

“Agapos,” Herakles mumbled, glancing at Eira and Inalia. “Do we know where that one is?”

Eira nodded. “It’s the next town over, that way.” She pointed in the direction I’d just scanned. The very first town, about twenty miles away across the frosted field. The tall grass was covered in a thin sheet of icy snow, and it would only get worse as the hours passed. The urgency of our situation never left us. Not even for a damn second. By this time tomorrow, chances were that Thinna and her parents would have trouble keeping warm, even under six layers of wool and fur.

Taeral teleported us to Agapos, which he could see from our position. As soon as our boots materialized on the hard, frozen ground, we knew something was off about this place. It lacked the liveliness of Thinna’s village. Here, the cold had already eaten away at the people’s spirit, from what I could see.

Gloom and fear lingered, much like the icicles forming on the rooftop edges. And all the townspeople around us huddled across the street, murmuring and lamenting the absence of fire. Needless to say, the closer we got to the mountains, the colder it got—and the more desperate the locals were without any heat source.

Maybe, just maybe, after the hours we’d already wasted checking every village along the southern border, we’d finally get the lucky strike we so desperately needed. Maybe, just maybe, we’d come across the Brothers of the Shadow.