This was not happening; it couldn’t be.

Yet I knew without a shadow of a doubt it was happening, and that no matter how much I wanted to rush off and save them, Ophelia was right. It was time to finish things and pray it would be enough to save them.

Sobbing, I leaned over my dragon’s back and clung to her. “Hurry, Ophelia, please hurry.”

Her wings picked up in tempo, and within seconds we were skimming the skies, flying faster than ever before. I felt the strain on her, and knew she was pushing herself beyond her limits for me. Knew that it could come back to haunt us later, but I struggled to care. All I knew was I had to get to the ceremonial grounds and make this happen.

One way or another, I would end Orion’s life, save my baby girl and Zane, and put this whole fucking debacle behind us. I had to.

There was no other way.

CHAPTER 29

PAMELA

THERE WAS NO way we were going to make it back to Rylee in time to be a part of the last battle. We were still at the Rim as Lark searched for something. I’d followed her into the Enders Barracks and watched as she tore apart a small room. “Goose shit, where the hell did he put it?”

“What are you looking for?” I dared to ask.

She stopped and put her hands on her hips. “A sword. I made a sword for Rylee.”

I frowned. “But she has swords, two actually. Shouldn’t we be going?”

It had been almost an hour since she’d told the elementals she was going to get help. An hour felt like forever when I knew we were down to less than a day before Orion brought his hordes against us, and if we failed, the world.

“I know we need to get going, but the sword is for the ceremony. It’s what will make the cuts.”

“The cuts?”

Lark didn’t look at me, but her shoulder’s tightened imperceptibly. “Cuts into Rylee to drain her blood. Without it, the ceremony won’t be complete. So yes, before you ask, we have to find it.”

I swallowed with difficulty. Lark backed out of the room while shaking her head.

“I think Ash hid it, but where?”

“Did he leave you a hint?” I suggested, wanting nothing more than to hurry this up, but also recognizing the importance of a ceremonial weapon.

She put both hands to her face and rubbed the heels of them into her eyes. “Yes, I think so. Always go back to the beginning. That’s what he told me the last time I saw him. The beginning.” Her voice softened on the last word and then she was sprinting past me.

I tried to keep up with her as she ran through the main part of the barracks and into the forest. A flash of long blonde hair was all I saw between the trunks of the redwoods and then she was gone.

“She’ll be back, so don’t you be fussing yourself, yeah?”

I looked at Griffin, seeing again his strong resemblance to Liam. Or at least, the resemblance to the way Liam had looked. The dark hair and eyes, his build, the shape of his jaw, but more than that, the way he moved. Predatory and smooth, like he was never in a hurry, but could be in a split second if he chose.

“Griffin, can I ask you a question?” I felt I couldn’t blurt out whatever I wanted to. Like maybe it would be rude.

He held out his hand in front of him and waved it across. “Ask away, little witch. We are practically family, yeah?” He winked at me and I wasn’t quite sure if he was referring to the fact that I was a part of Rylee and Liam’s adoptive family, or something else.

I had a feeling it was something else.

“You seem to know a lot about the supernatural and elemental worlds.”

His eyes twinkled with barely disguised humor. “That, I do.”

I paused thinking of how to word my question right. “How exactly do they intersect?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s a big question.”

I noticed he didn’t use his usual yeah at the end, which made me think he was really considering answering me. A flush of excitement rushed through my body at the thought of learning something new. I smiled tentatively. “I keep hearing bits and pieces. Like Rylee has elemental blood or I have elemental blood. But I want to understand how this works. Since I have to wait here for Lark, and I can do nothing else, perhaps this will help me understand things better.”

Griffin crouched and drew in the dirt with a finger. Five circles came first and he attached each of them together with a single line to make one rough larger circle. “There are five elemental families: earth, wind, air, fire, and spirit. Lark is of the first family, earth. But her mother was of the fifth family, spirit. So she is a half-breed. The side of her that is spirit is dangerous, and when used improperly, chips away at her soul, eating it piece by piece. Which is why she don’t use it much, yeah?”

I nodded, soaking every word up. “She could control people with Spirit, couldn’t she?”

Griffin nodded. “You saw her control that demon at the underground beach to keep it from hurting Rylee, didn’t you?”

“Yes, and I wondered why she hadn’t done it before, with any other of the things we’ve faced.”

“It is a last resort. She can’t use it freely; it is too powerful and destructive to her. So only when there is no other choice does she dip into that side of her heritage.” He cleared his throat and started drawing again. From the five circles he drew lines outward. “This is where you won’t be able to find any books that teach you this bit, yeah?”

I leaned forward, watching eagerly.