She hangs her head. “I’m far from innocent. I should have spoken up about my doubts a long, long time ago.” She looks at Emmett and the three scholars. “And that’s a burden I will forever carry on my shoulders. But I swear on my life, I didn’t want Sookhee’s position, and I never wanted the sunstone ax.”

“Why do you think it’s him?” Emmett asks dubiously. “What proof do you have?”

Auntie Okja’s forehead crinkles in concentration. “He claimed that as chairperson of the council, only he had the authority to report illegal interactions with the Horangi clan to the Godrealm. But it was odd, considering that council elders always communicate collectively with the goddesses. Plus, he’s always been dead set against my attempts to bring more diversity and inclusion into the community. I thought he was just old-fashioned, but after Hattie’s ceremony, when I tried to reason with him, I saw a different side of him. A darker side.” Her eyes crease with concern. “And then, the other day, when he told the council about his vision of Sora breaking into and entering the temple—”

“I never did such a thing!” Sora interrupts. “I tried to meet with Gumiho Elder Kim to warn her about the prophecy, but she wasn’t willing to talk to me, so I left it at that.”

Auntie Okja nods. “I know, I know. And that’s what I figured out. Elder Pyo claimed to have seen you breaking in, but the next time he described the vision, the details were different. Each time he told us the story, it changed. That’s how I knew he was making it all up.”

“So why come clean now?” Sora asks, her face somber.

Auntie Okja looks at me and Emmett, and then Hattie’s dying heart. “Because if these young people can be brave, then so can I. I believe Elder Pyo has been after the artifacts the whole time. He’s the one responsible for all the deception, encouraging Sookhee Harrison to steal the ax, the deaths, and the banishment of the Horangi clan.” The three scholars tense, and I see Austin clenching his fists. “Furthermore, I believe he is on the hunt for the last artifact as we speak. And we need to stop him before he finds it.”

Austin puts his hand on Sora’s shoulder and whispers a few words. He must not be sure about Auntie Okja’s testimony, and I can’t say I blame him. Not after everything they’ve suffered.

But Sora shakes her head. “If the end of days really is coming, and the last artifact will bring it on, then we need to find it before anyone else does.”