“You’re too kind,” Chase says. “If I were a god, I would have murdered him without guilt.” Another rumble sounds, and he looks alarmed. “Not that I’m disagreeing with your decision!”

“Yes,” I say, smiling now. “He knows.”

A choked laugh from Hemslock interrupts us. “The deaths of the cultists had always been a mystery…but it was you. The years line up. I should have realized it sooner.”

“What does he mean?” Gries asks.

“Your precious little guide. The baby that was thought to have been sacrificed nearly two decades ago along with his mother.” Hemslock staggers to his feet, still weak. One of his soldiers approaches him, but he waves him off. “Always wondered what happened to you. Wondered why my aunt was brought to that old woman when the god could have killed her on the island. There had to be a reason, and now I know. Your god sent Lindsey Watson back because she had to send you back—not a dead baby, but one alive and well.”

“Alon?” Chase asks, stunned.

“That’s why you have free reign of the island. Why the villagers speak little of you and where you came from. They’re all in on it. Just like how they shut up about Alex Key. This god is fond of you. He feels responsible for you, doesn’t he? Like a parent, since your mother died for his sake. The Diwata is using you to reestablish a connection with humans.” Hemslock no longer looks homicidal, brows furrowed as if he is newly contemplating all that happened. “And you think sparing me was gonna be your act of kindness? I would have killed you. Should have. Wouldn’t have thought twice afterward.”

“I know what it’s like to be surrounded by death.” I look around, at the tree creatures who are still silent, still paying reverence to Father. “All this isn’t worth it. My father didn’t need sacrifices because I was here with him. But he won’t spare you a second time. Leave while you still can.”

“Hey.” Chase’s hand splays across my sides. The vines have dropped away from me, revealing my now-uninjured stomach. “How…?”

“Balete and their healing properties, or so the legends say,” Leo Gries says, understanding. “Are you immortal?”

“I don’t know. I’m aging, but I don’t know what that means in the long run or if that will stop one day. Father doesn’t always explain. He wants me to learn on my own.”

“It’s true, then. The cult believed that they could gain something from the ritual. But the powers they thought they would receive were transferred to you instead.”

Chase’s voice trembles. “But your grandmother—you knew who she was when you saw the video. Does she know about—”

“Yes. She wouldn’t have said anything. She raised me for the first half of my life. She knows.” I look to Chase and take his hand. “I’m sorry. I knew you would never have trusted me, but I didn’t know how to explain without giving away my secret.”