“Cassie! Cassie!” That was Rhea, darting back in as soon as the other girl left. And then giving a horrified gasp. “Oh, my God. Oh, my God—”

For a second, I thought she was surprised to see Pritkin, although why she sounded so shocked, I didn’t know. But then my mental vision skewed, and I glimpsed myself through her eyes: charred skin, red and black and oozing; one side of my face a wobbly mess, like well-done fish ready to slide off the bone; and something that looked like silver lightning creeping up my arm, scrawling across my torso, and spreading along my thigh.

The tiny filaments were as beautiful as their larger cousins, flashing across a midnight sky, except that they left nothing but destruction in their wake. Dead, blackened skin curled up around them, the smell of cooking meat filled the air, and red, raw flesh peeked out from the fissures they’d made.

And, finally, I understood: the battle wasn’t over, was it?

We’d just switched opponents.

“You drank Zeus’s power,” Pritkin confirmed. “Turned it on his ally and won the field. But what remains of it now continues the fight in your body. We have to rid you of it—quickly.”

“But… I used it,” I said. “It followed my commands—”

“And now it follows his. The gods are energy beings, Cassie. That wasn’t free floating magic you absorbed; it was part of him. Once he realized that you still retained some of it, he was able to turn that power against you.”

“And rip me apart from the inside,” I whispered, as a new fissure opened in my thigh.

“Lady!” Rhea was sobbing, half choked, and as pale as a ghost. But she didn’t leave; didn’t run. Nor did she seem to see the man above me. When I’d looked through her eyes, I’d been alone. “Do you want me to take you home? Do you want—”

“No,” I said. And, suddenly, I couldn’t see her anymore, even with her tentative grip on my hand, like I couldn’t see myself. All that filled my vision were the eyes burning above me, so bright they were like twin suns.

Black suns.

“Are you sure?” Rhea sounded frantic. “They keep trying to separate us, and I don’t know if—”

“I’m sure. Keep them out. Keep them all out.”

“Lady?”

“Just do it.”

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

I heard Rhea’s running footsteps, heard the bedroom door slam shut, heard strange enchantments going on outside. Magic swirled around the room, bright and peppery, tinged with her fear and distress. But that in no way limited its effectiveness. Unlike the bits and pieces that she had used with Agnes, this was the real thing: thick, strong, almost overwhelming.

I didn’t know what she’d done to that door, but I was doubtful that it would ever open again.

That was all right.