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“I know you’re working with rogue deities,” I told her.
“Oh?” Ava looked amused.
“You sent Bella to steal the gods’ Nectar,” I said. “Why? Stealing Venom I would understand, but why Nectar? What could a demon possibly want with Nectar? What are you up to, Ava? Are you working with the Guardians?”
Unsurprisingly, Ava didn’t answer any of my questions. Instead, she scolded me, “You need to keep your nose out of things you don’t understand. Instead, concentrate on finding out what Thea knows about the prophecy. That’s your only chance of saving Bella’s life.”
The air swirled again, and the dust and sparkles swallowed Ava up. I kicked the sand, hating her, hating the arrogant, victorious look on her face. I didn’t want to give up. I didn’t want to let Ava win.
The trouble was, I was afraid she already had. I didn’t have a clue how to break Bella’s curse. I didn’t even know how to get off this stupid world. Ava had trapped me here, leaving me to stew and pace and just go crazy, drowning under the knowledge that there was nothing I could do to save my sister.
No. I did not accept that. There had to be something I could do. And I’d start by finding my way out of here.
I spent hours searching for a magic mirror—with my eyes and then, once I figured it out, with my magic. I could track magic now. I could sense it. That was a passive magic ability, the power of the so-called unicorns.
The realization was less exciting than it would have otherwise been. Ok, so I could track magic, but that didn’t really help me. That power told me there wasn’t a single magic mirror in this whole world. Ava had teleported here, using those bracelets on her wrists. They were obviously immortal artifacts.
Well, I didn’t have any fancy immortal artifacts to teleport me out of here. If Tessa were here, she could…
Djinn. Tessa was a djinn, a teleporter. That was another passive magic ability. Like sensing magic.
I’d been blasted with a lot of magic. Magic that had killed gods and demons, but it had only made me stronger. So maybe—just maybe—I’d gained more than merely the power to sense magic. Maybe I’d picked up a few other abilities. Like teleporting.
It took me several more hours of painful trial and error to confirm that I could indeed teleport. And by the time I’d perfected the art of actually teleporting where I wanted to go, I had sand in my shoes, my hair, even my underwear.
By some miracle, I managed to teleport off the sandy world, right into Khalon’s castle. I popped up in his dining room. The massive table was set for three. Khalon sat at the head, Thea and Aerilyn on either side of him.
“Sorry to interrupt your dinner.” I waved toward the massive feast laid out on the table. That was way too much food for just three people, even if they were deities.
“Why are you here, Leda Pandora?” Khalon asked me, his face calm, like people teleported into his dining room all the time.
I told them of Bella’s curse. And Ava’s scheme.
“She’s determined to find out what Thea heard from Zane’s dad, the prophecy that will tell her how the demons can win against the gods and, ultimately, defeat the Guardians,” I finished.
The three of them exchanged loaded looks.
I moved closer, leaning my hands against the table. “I need to know what this prophecy says.”
“So you can tell Ava?” Aerilyn’s gaze clashed with mine, and her hard eyes cut into me. “I didn’t take you for the sort to give in to bullies, cousin.”
“I’m not,” I assured her. “But the more I know, the better chance I stand of stopping this.”
Gods and demons had way too many secrets. And those secrets were seriously standing in my way.
“Truth be told, Leda, Ava is chasing a lie.” Thea’s voice was softer—and less sarcastic—than Aerilyn’s. “There’s no way for either the demons or the gods to become dominant over the other and also defeat the Guardians.” She shook her head. “Demons and gods need to be allies, balanced and united, in order to defeat the Guardians. That is the prophecy that I heard.”
“And my daughter?” I asked her. “What is her role in this?”
“She is what unites them.” Thea drummed her fingers on the tabletop. “Or, rather, you unite them to protect her.”
“Ok, so then why does Ava think this prophecy is the key to ensuring the demons’ dominance?” I asked.
“Because I made her think that it was,” said Khalon.
“You?” I looked at him in surprise. “But why?”
“It was many years ago. Thea had just gone missing. I had no idea where she was. I didn’t have the resources I needed to find her, but my mother did.”
