THE NEXT MORNING, Eleni and I curled up on the sofa in the living room with the curtains opened. The snow was coming down hard now and covered the sidewalks in fresh heaps. We stared glumly at the taillights on cars as the last of our human neighbors drove away. The streets were empty except for the older godlings on patrol. The godlings in elementary school and their families had left for Azur at the crack of dawn. Yemoja and some of the other celestials were at JMS, still trying to find a way to close the wound in the veil.

Papa and Mama were in the kitchen talking to Sidda. “Some celestials have expressed doubts about you and the recruits,” Papa was saying. “It’s been suggested that your presence here is an elaborate scheme by the Lord of Shadows to trick us.”

“And what do you think, Guardian?” Sidda said, her tone icy. “What could a few darkbringers do to all-powerful beings such as yourself? As I recall, you killed countless people when you made the veil. Surely, we are no match for your kind.”

Eleni met my gaze as we waited for Papa to answer. When he did speak, his voice was brittle, and I knew even after all this time, the weight of his mistake was still a burden on him. “My daughter Maya is an excellent judge of character, and she wouldn’t have brought you here if she had any doubts about your intentions.”

Sidda shifted in her chair, and it scraped against the floor as she stood up. “I never wanted my boys to fight. Who in their right mind would want that? But in our world, there is no choice. If you have skills the Lord of Shadows values, you’re recruited into his army. I want no part of that, nor do my boys.”

“I can’t imagine what that must be like,” Mama said, as she and Papa stood too. “Your boys and the other children are safe now.”

Sidda frowned as the three of them walked into the den. “Nowhere is safe from the Lord of Shadows.”

Papa exchanged a glance with Mama, and a silent understanding passed between the two. It was like when I knew what Eli or Frankie was thinking before they said it. “There is a school in Azur that the Lord of Shadows cannot penetrate,” Papa explained. “Obatala made it after the first war. In a sense, it exists in Azur, but it is also separate from Azur. The younger godlings are going there. Your sons and the other darkbringer children can join them.”

Sidda shifted on her heels, and her great horns cast a shadow across the wall that made her look even taller. “How many kids can one school hold?”

“This school expands as more people arrive,” Papa told her. “It’s quite resourceful.”

“What about the rest of the world?” Mama asked. “Has a decision been made?”