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“Your followers don’t know the real you! Your fake persona is why I’ve never been able to trust myself to fall in love with you.”
“I can’t save the world with your love. Keep it.”
Prudencia turns her back on me as Ma takes hold of her hand.
Wyatt returns to the library, and Ness takes the potion from him. He squeezes the blood from my flesh into the vial and begins shaking it. My arm still hasn’t healed. Emil’s phoenix powers are stronger than mine, even I have to admit it. Stronger fire, self-healing, flying, retrocycling.
That can change.
We’ve attracted the attention of Iris, Eva, Wesley, and Ruth. They’re all staring at me like these divided lines aren’t surprising. Since the jump I’ve been treated unfairly.
Emil takes the potion from Ness. “I know you want to do the right thing, Bright. We all love you and we can put this all behind us if you end this now.”
I’ve been overpowered and wounded. I’m outnumbered and exhausted. I am ready to end this. I meet Emil in the middle of the library. I grab the Starstifler, appreciating how something so small can bind someone so powerful. I uncork the vial and it smells like a park after a rainstorm. I breathe it in as my heart races. I smile at him, and by the time he sees my eyes burning, I’ve already phased right through him and wrapped my arm around his neck. I shove the Starstifler between his lips, holding back his head to make him swallow. This may not work since it’s not his blood, but I hope it can make him weaker and give me the upper hand in every fight moving forward.
The Starstifler flies out of my hand, smashing against the wall and staining it.
Prudencia tries wrenching me off of him and the others are charging me, but I phase through the floor with Emil and we land right into the courtyard. I keep his mouth covered, sealing his nostrils too so he’ll be forced to swallow what little of the Starstifler he did drink. He begins burning my hands, but I shout through the pain and don’t let go. He’s got to be running out of air and he’ll have to choose between taking a breath and swallowing the potion or passing out.
Gold and gray wings burst, blasting me backward. My entire body feels like it’s on fire as Emil is knelt over, spitting out the potion. He holds up his hand, ready to defend himself if I attack.
“Why couldn’t you just trust me, Emil? I supported you like a good brother!”
“I wasn’t killing people!”
“You know I don’t want to die!”
“If you go down this path, Brighton, you’re not going to become some iconic Infinity Savior. This world will hate you and fear you so much that you’ll never feel safe until you’re standing alone in this world.”
“If anyone comes for my life, I will send them to their graves.”
We stare each other down, this threat and promise breaking up the Reys of Light, the Infinity Kings. No fist bump and whistle is going to save us this time.
The others are running across the courtyard and I’m smart enough to turn the other way, dashing out of the Sanctuary, across the bridge, through the trees, and keeping clear of the road in case they come chasing me. I can’t outrun Wesley or the phoenixes, but this head start is everything I need to set myself up for success.
I’m going to prove everyone wrong.
I’m the weapon this war has been missing the entire time, and like a reaper’s scythe, I will cut through those who stand in the way of a better world.
But I’m going to need an army.
I pull out my phone and study my reflection in my camera—dark circles under my reddened eyes, face flushed from the heat of Emil’s wings, bruising from all the fights. I open Instagram and go live, letting everyone take in my appearance and the sounds of the river flowing alongside me as I begin my journey back to the city without a car or wings of my own.
“Hey, Brightsiders. I’m not sure where to start,” I say as hundreds of thousands of people join the live. Some of the comments are already hateful while others are asking to hear me out. “There have been a lot of lies floating around out there and I wanted you all to hear the truth from me. I’ve had some better days, but I’m gutted right now. Everyone I love and trusted just betrayed me. I need some support, and I know I have to earn that with some honesty as epic as you all are.” All my rage is building from everything that happened back at the Sanctuary. “This pains me, but these powers that almost killed me may not be enough to save me if I don’t get some help. You all know that my brother, Emil, is powerful, but you don’t understand how much. Just like phoenixes, Emil can resurrect. But this isn’t his only life. In the past, he was one of my childhood heroes, Bautista de León, and before that, he was the first specter who started this all, Keon Máximo. I really thought Emil was going to do something good with this life, but he’s proven me wrong—he’s proven all of us wrong.” There’s no taking this back now and I wouldn’t if I could. I’m redefining heroism. “I promise you all as the Infinity Savior I will do everything in my power to stop the Infinity Son. Even if that means becoming the Infinity Reaper to protect all of you . . .”
My brother’s past lives will be the death of him.
Acknowledgments
I write about death a lot and I struggle with life even more.
Writing has always been hard, but nothing has been more challenging than rewriting my first-ever sequel during a global pandemic and major mental health crises. Things have been dark, especially while in isolation, but I’m thankfully here, and you are too, and hopefully we can do our part in making this world a brighter, fairer place.
Huge thanks to my extraordinary editor, Andrew Eliopulos, for always deepening my stories and going on this journey through Infinity with me—and waiting nearly as long for me to turn in my edits so I can get it right. Jodi Reamer for being an incredible agent who understands that I’m a human and not a machine.
My HarperCollins family: Michael D’Angelo, Rosemary Brosnan, Mitchell Thorpe, Bria Ragin, Tyler Breitfeller, Jane Lee, Suzanne Murphy, Caitlin Garing, Kathy Faber, Liz Byer, Jacqueline Hornberger, Laura Harshberger, and Dan Janeck. And Erin Fitzsimmons and Kevin Tong for another gorgeous cover.
Thank you to Writers House and all my international publishers for getting my work out there.
