Althy, teaching me how to cook, her patience while she instructed me in the use of herbal remedies. Althy, bringing me to the marketplace in the mornings, her justified anger at those who would swindle others out of their hard-earned savings. Her compassion for the poor. Her desire to heal everyone she touched. That was the Altaecia I knew. This was not the Altaecia I wanted.

Druj shrugged. “Sakmeet served her purpose. The destiny I told her proved true—her writings will change the world. They brought us here, together. We are a powerful team, Tea.

“I have always been the same woman you knew. I do love you, and Kalen and the others. And that is why I do not wish to end it like this.” Altaecia’s face was streaked with tears. “Please, Tea.”

“You drove me mad. You made me kill my own sister! You hurt so many people, including Mykkie and Polaire.”

“As did you, Tea. In our quest to protect those we love, sometimes we end up hurting them worse. But we will solve all that. No more magic. No more hatred. Fox will live. I will make sure of it.”

“Not at the price you’re asking.”

“Then I have no choice, my love.” Althy bent over Kalen, and her fingers moved.

A pure burst of Wind tore through the air, sharp as a sword’s blade and just as deadly. It was Althy’s turn to fall to her knees, gasping in shock as blood dripped from the wound across her chest.

Likh was crying, her hands raised as another Wind rune formed against her palm. “We loved you, Althy,” she choked. “Why would you do this?”

My sister asha laughed weakly. “You are far too young to understand, Likh.”

“You tried to kill me. You blighted me, knowing what it would do. You are trying to kill us now. There is nothing else to understand.” Another sliver of Wind sliced at Altaecia’s knuckles, and the woman cried out in pain. Khalad grunted. He was still out on the ground, breathing hard like he’d been running. His face was strained from sweat and exhaustion, though I was certain he had not been hit. Heartshare, I realized. Like Kalen and I, like Mykaela and Polaire, they had…

I struggled against Druj’s control, but she held fast with little effort, staring in fascination at the scene before her without bothering to intervene. Well now, she enthused, shall we see what unfolds here?

Frantic, I grappled for a way out. Her possession of me was complete; there were no weak spots in her compulsion that I could find. But even at this most vulnerable moment, I could sense Kalen faintly, a remnant from our own heartsharing. I tried to move toward him. Our connection had saved us in the past. Surely…

Tea.

“You are powerful, Likh,” Althy complimented her. “Tea was right. You would have been one of our best asha.”