Are they dead?
Please don't let them be dead.
Terror constricted my throat, leaving me gasping for air. My mouth went dry and my tongue turned heavy and useless. I was simultaneously sweating and shivering, my stomach churning into knots. My heart thumped rapidly in my throat, threatening to choke me.
Desperation clawed at my chest as I fought back tears. Muscling it all back down, I forced myself to stay calm and keep my cool.
I rushed forward to untie them when theclickof a firearm shocked me still and a figure emerged from the shadows. “I wouldn’t do that just yet.”
My heart thundered in my chest, threatening to burst through my ribcage. But I couldn't let panic take over.
"Sunny," I hissed, recognition flaring as I took in the sight of her, her gun not trained on me, but on my kid. Thankfully, I was close enough to spot the slight rise and fall of his chest. Both Jamal and Mama Jean were breathing.
My knees nearly buckled at the knowledge I wasn’t too late.
I was finally face to face with the one who tricked Aoiki and me into releasing everything from inside the Blade of Bane.
She was no longer the teenager adorned in a school uniform. Now, the fae girl was all seriousness, her sleek black bob framing a face that was a mask of concentration. Her square features and thin eyes were cold and calculating.
“Seems your family is just as compliant as you are when it comes to my dream weaving,” she said, tilting her head to the side.
Sunny had been responsible for my dreamwalking that nearly resulted in me killing my own child. I’d suspected, but she confirmed yet another reason I had to take her down. And I’d do so with extreme prejudice.
“What do you want with my family?” My voice was a low growl, barely containing the fury boiling inside me. Bob felt alive in my grasp, vibrating with a shared desire for retribution.
Sunny turned to face me, a small, mocking smile playing on her lips. “Just ensuring Aten's plan goes smoothly. Don't worry, your family is unharmed. And they can stay that way if youaccepthiminto your heart and mind.” She pressed a finger into her chest then her temple.
I wanted to shoot back a mouthy retort, but with Jamal in the crosshairs, I couldn’t risk it.
“What makes him so great?” I asked instead, trying to draw her attention enough to let her guard down.
She smiled, eyes lighting up as if I’d asked her the only question she ever wanted to be asked.
“What makes him so great?” Sunny repeated. “He is the one true god. He is the one who bathes the rest of us in his warmth and glory. No one has power like him.”
I thought of the gods—Grim, Timothy, Bianca, and Vivien—back in that ballroom, fighting Aten. Surely they and Xander could take him out.
I forced my voice to sound genuinely intrigued, suppressing the revulsion bubbling inside me. “Why go through all of this? Why me? Why my family?”
Sunny's eyes gleamed with a fervor that made my skin crawl. “Aten wantsyou, Miranda. He sees your strength, your power. And he admires it. But he also knows you're loyal to those you love.” Her gaze flickered to Jamal and Mama Jean, then back to me. “He wants to show you he can protect what's dear to you, make you part of his new world order.”
I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from lashing out. “And you believe him? That he's going to just let us live peacefully?”
“Of course,” she said, her conviction unsettling. “Aten's world is one of order, not chaos. Under his rule, we'll all thrive. You, your family… All under his benevolent gaze.”
I took a step closer, feigning interest. “And what about those who oppose him?”
Her grip on the gun tightened. “They'll learn. Or they'll be removed. It's for the greater good, Miranda. You'll see.”
At that moment, a floorboard creaked behind Sunny, but her attention was so fixed on me that she didn't notice. A shadow moved, a figure approaching her with silent determination. Someone had come in through the back door, silent and stealthily.
They crept closer, but I never took my eyes off Sunny. I couldn’t chance alerting her to the new presence.
“But you are more important than any human, Miranda. You have the power to slay immortals alongsidehim, bring order to the chaos that is these self-involved spoiled gods.” She practically spat the words.
The man who crept up behind her now held the rolling pin Mama Jean used for making her famous pies. With a swift, precise movement, he swung it, connecting it with the back of Sunny's head.
The fae girl crumpled to the ground, unconscious before she knew what hit her. The gun clattered harmlessly to the floor.
