No destiny is set in stone, she thought.

She looked at Daemon. “This isn’t over until we say it is.” That’s what she’d told him, Broomstick, and Fairy back in Jade Forest. And it was still true. The stakes might be even higher, but that only made it more imperative that they fight.

“True,” Daemon said. “We decide when the fight ends.” He hugged her again.

The press of his broad chest on her face and his biceps around her made Sora feel safe, despite the odds. The woodsy, night-sky scent of his skin comforted her.

It also simultaneously stoked embers in the pit of her stomach.

Sora had to extract herself before she did anything rash. Like look up at how the wind tousled his wild, blue hair. Or stare at the sparks that danced in his eyes now that he’d awakened the demigod nature inside him. Or kiss him.

She ducked out from Daemon’s arms and cleared her throat. “Let’s find Broomstick and get out of here.”

Sora could feel the weight of this new burden on her shoulders, but she could carry it. She had given herself to Kichona, to protect the kingdom and its people at all costs. And she meant to keep that promise, even if it meant her own death. Her own eternal damnation. “I’m not going to let my sister and all the other taigas be condemned to the hells. So let’s go return the soul pearl to its owner and kill the Dragon Prince.”

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Early the next morning, Sora, Broomstick, and Daemon flew toward Gorudo Hills. Sora was looking forward to all four of them being reunited, but as soon as the old mining shack came into view, she let out a gasp.

Fairy lay in a limp heap next to the smoldering remnants of a campfire, and an arrow protruded from her chest.

“No!” Broomstick jumped off Daemon’s back before they’d even landed. He was still haunted by the Lake of Nightmares, but seeing his gemina lifeless on the ground roused him to action. He sprinted to Fairy’s side, skidding the last few feet before he threw himself over her body.

As soon as Daemon’s paws hit the grass, he ran, too. Sora clung to his fur.

“Is she alive?” Daemon asked, panting.

Fairy moaned and rolled over, rubbing her eyes at the commotion. The arrow wasn’t in her chest but embedded in the ground next to her. “You’re back. Everyone’s back.”

“Oh, thank the gods,” Broomstick said. “You’re all right. You’re lucky.” He plucked the arrow out of the grass and held it above his head. “It just missed her.”

Sora began to scan their surroundings. “They could still be here.”

“Who attacked you?” Daemon asked. “And what are you doing out here? I thought you were going to sleep inside the shack, where you wouldn’t be seen.”