“That seemed too easy,” Lunelle mused.
Astra laughed. “I’ll take easy on this end. It’s what comes next that’s going to be impossible.”
Lunelle sighed as she turned to walk, watching the trees ahead as she led them through the gnarled branches. “What do you think Arcas was talking about?”
“I’m not sure, Lu, but the Nether Queen... she told me that Selenia was Tethered to the Solar God, Lucian. And that she severed it after trading her shadow to Luciela for a shadow diamond dagger—the same one I saw Solan use with Leona.”
Lunelle jumped over a larger log, the bark peeling into crumbling layers that snapped as she passed and turned to dust in the air. “Mother asked me to wait at the Lunar Gate before I came through. She said she’d signal me.”
A chill ran over Astra’s spine. “Did you tell her what we planned?”
“No,” she shook her head. “This was before. In Pluto. She said that she would be waiting beside the gate and that no matter what, I wasn’t to come through until she reached for me. At the time, I thought maybe it was a ritual thing, a symbolic gesture. But now I don’t know what to believe.”
The edge of the forest came into view, more sand and dust and flat light stretched beyond the trees. Something snapped behind them.
“What was that?” Astra asked, twisting to watch for it. A spark flickered in her fingertips, ready to strike.
Lunelle walked faster, pulling her along, moving from her hand to her wrist when she felt the heat. Astra jogged to keep up with her, another snap of a tree limb driving them forward.
“We’re almost out, As. Just keep going!” Lunelle increased her speed again as they heard more crackling footsteps moving quickly. As they broke through the trees, Astra turned, spotting a massive black cat slinking in figure eights between the tangled trunks.
She swore it smiled.
“Let’s hustle, Fire and Ice!” Lux cupped his hands around his mouth from the top of the dune, the onyx gate rising behind him.
“For the record, I really like the version of you the commander brings out. Mortal enemy thing aside. What are you planning on doing about that?” Lunelle said between ragged breaths as they pumped their legs over the sliding sand.
“Small detail,” Astra laughed, her lungs burning.
They rounded the top of the dune, stopping for a moment to catch their breath as Lux tied a torn shred of his sleeve around Mirq’s thigh.
“Well,” Mirquios said as he hobbled against Lux. “Are we ready to take down a Lunar Goddess?”
Lunelle slipped his arm around Astra’s shoulders.
“We are. You are going straight to the infirmary.”
Lux held out a hand, dragging Astra into the Rift, the chill on her neck somehow even colder as they passed through the Lunar Gate.
Astra’s knees absorbed the impact, stinging as she brushed herself off, confused at the strange mix of silence and nerves that greeted them. Someone pulled Lux’s arms away from her, a dark sleeve weaving around her elbow.
“Evening.” Alastair ducked his head in a stilted greeting. Astra’s eyes searched the garden, hundreds of faces watching her every step.
“The Lunar Goddess would like a word.”
Chapter
Forty-Five
“Alastair,” Astra gasped.
“It’s fine,” he assured her, pulling her forward through the frozen crowd. Their faces fell into various shades of confusion and stress. Scarlet tensions fluttered off their heartbeats, collectively throwing her into a spiral.
Are you okay? Ameera beamed, she stood against the hedges, an ashen weight on her chest.
Confused, but okay. Why is Alastair here? What happened?
Ameera tilted her head toward the center of the gardens where Oestera’s throne was now occupied by Selenia. Her mother stood dutifully beside the Ascended goddess, shoulders back.
