Finally, I had run out of energy. I wiped my eyes. Time to pick myself up and move on.

My aunt’s bones glowed with ruby light.

I froze on my knees.

The loose bones of Erra’s body shifted, twisting into a round pile. Blades burst from it, stretching straight up and curving, pressed together into a bulb. The red glow flashed and turned bright. The bone blades curved and opened like the petals of a flower.

My aunt stood within the glow, clad in her blood armor. Sadness shadowed her translucent face, her dark hair falling down to her waist.

Oh dear God. It worked.

Her eyes snapped open. The Eater of Cities saw me. “You!”

She charged me and tore right through me. It was like being passed through a fine sieve made of pain and cold. She whipped around, her face shocked. The red fire around her shot out and gripped my body. My feet left the ground. I flew backward and smashed into the stone wall of the chamber. My head swam. Someone set fire to my lungs. The invisible magic hand ground me into the stone. My bones groaned under the pressure.

“You!” Erra snarled. “I should’ve killed you. I will now.”

Red circles swam before my eyes. There wasn’t enough air. I was going to die.

“I wanted to die. You couldn’t even do that right. You’ve raised me with your wailing. How dare you mourn me? Now I’ll take you with me.”

The tempest behind Erra shifted.

Her eyes widened. “Mother?”

The magic pressure vanished. I crashed to the floor, desperately sucking in air. My lungs burned and refused to expand.

The magic storm coalesced into Semiramis, standing before Erra’s translucent form. My aunt stood still, her mouth open, her expression soft.

“Ama,” Erra whispered. “Oh gods, Ama.”

The magic of Semiramis embraced her. Erra hugged her back, their power mixing. The walls around us trembled from the pressure.

Tears wet my aunt’s eyes. She looked past her mother at the bare walls. “Gods, what has he done to you . . .” she whispered. “What did he do . . .”

I finally rolled over onto my back and managed to take a breath. Everything felt bruised. Someone had turned my diaphragm into barbed wire when I wasn’t looking.

Erra loomed over me. “Talk.”

Great. I had to say the most important thing first, before she squeezed the life out of me.

“He’ll kill my son.”

“You have a son?”

“No, but I will.”

Her magic jerked me upright. If she bounced me off the wall again, I swore I would set her damn bones on fire.

“How certain are you?”

“It’s been foretold by several oracles. I have seen it in a vision. There’s a battle. He runs my baby through with a spear and hoists it up like a standard.”