The van rumbled down the highway, headlights casting long streaks of light across the rain-slick pavement. We were ten—ten demigods huddled together, tired and scared, packed into the old van Guardian Thalos had commandeered after everything went wrong.

  We were silent, wrapped in sorrow. The compound where we had lived, trained, and grown up together had been attacked—monsters first, then humans. The guardians who had protected us our whole lives were gone. Angelina and Stephen were dead. Only Thalos had survived, and he’d managed to get the ten of us out just in time.

  We had lost everything. Our home, our protectors, our sense of safety. We were children ripped from the only life we’d ever known, thrown into a world that now saw us as threats. The grief was thick, heavy, clinging to the walls of the van like smoke. None of us had the words for what we’d left behind. None of us wanted to try.

  Thalos hadn’t told us much since then, only that it wasn’t safe anymore and we had to split up for our own protection. We’d been on the road for days. Thalos would drop off a pair of us in a safe place, stay with them a day or two to make sure they were settled, then return to the van and continue the journey.

  He was quiet most of the drive, focused, tense. His dark eyes flicked to the rearview mirror every few minutes, always scanning, always watchful. Even Damian, who usually couldn’t go five minutes without teasing someone, was quiet.

  Zoe sat beside me, her golden wings tucked tightly against her back, her eyes dull with exhaustion. Peter was across from her, head leaned back against the window, fingers twitching like he was mapping out an escape route in his sleep. Xandor and Hector sat shoulder to shoulder, exchanging tense looks. Helena, Leander, and Ella were curled in the back, watching the trees blur past in silence. Bay sat beside me, always close, always steady.

  One by one, we stopped. A small town in the mountains. A coastal fishing village. A cabin tucked deep in the woods. Each time, Thalos would turn to the pair in question, explain where they were going and what they needed to do to stay safe. Then he’d say goodbye. No long speeches. Just a clasp on the shoulder, a hug, a whispered promise.

  Eventually, it was just Bay and me.

  The forest outside the van windows blurred into shades of gray and green as the rain traced silent paths down the glass. I sat curled up in the passenger seat, my knees hugged to my chest, forehead pressed to the cool window. I didn’t cry—not because I wasn’t sad, but because I felt like if I started, I wouldn’t stop.

  Bay sat in the back, quietly humming to herself, braiding a small piece of her hair over and over again. Her calmness helped. It always did. But even she seemed off—like she was trying to be brave for me.

  Guardian Thalos drove with one hand on the wheel, the other resting against the old bronze ring on his finger. He hadn’t said much since we left the last drop-off. It was just us now. Bay and me. The last two.

  I glanced up at him, nervous. “Where are we going?”

  He didn’t look at me, but his voice was gentle. “Someplace safe. A quiet town. You’ll be able to live there without being found—at least for a while.”

  I swallowed. “Will we be alone?”

  He finally met my eyes in the rearview mirror. “You’ll have each other.”

  That should’ve made me feel better. It kind of did.

  We drove for hours, the rain never letting up. Eventually, the van slowed and turned onto a dirt road. Trees crowded around us like sentinels. When Thalos stopped the car, he turned around in his seat.

  “It’s time,” he said. “This is where you’ll stay.”

  Bay climbed out first, grabbing our bags. I hesitated, hand on the door. My heart beat too fast. My fingers trembled.

  Thalos stepped around to my side and opened the door for me. I slid out slowly, boots hitting the mud.

  He knelt to my level, his face kind. “Nix, I know this is scary. But you’re strong. And you have Bay. Watch out for each other.”

  I nodded, my throat too tight to speak.

  He pulled the ring from his finger and held it out to me. “Take this.”

  I stared at it. “Why?”

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  “If anything ever happens to me, I want you to summon me. Just once. I’ll answer any questions you have. I promise.”

  I didn’t want to take it. The idea of him being gone—

  But I did. I took the ring, cold and heavy in my palm.

  He pulled me into a hug, tighter than I expected. “You’ve got a good heart, Phoenix. Don’t lose it.”

  Then he hugged Bay, whispering something I couldn’t hear.

  When he climbed back into the van, he didn’t look back. The taillights disappeared into the trees.

  Bay stood beside me, silent for a moment. Then she said, “We’ll be okay.”

  I wasn’t sure if she was telling me or herself.

  But I nodded anyway.

  The bathroom mirror was fogged along the edges, a soft haze creeping inward like ghostly fingers. I stared through the blur, my reflection staring back—pale skin with undertones like mist, long black hair cascading down my shoulders, and eyes the color of frozen lakes. Icy blue. Unsettling, some said. Haunting, others whispered.

  I didn’t mind.

  There was a quietness in the early morning light, a stillness that seeped into my bones. I leaned closer to the glass. My breath didn’t even fog the surface anymore. Maybe I’d spent too much time around the dead.

  A loud thump and the patter of hurried footsteps shattered the silence.

  “Nix!”

  Bay’s voice rang out before the bathroom door flung open. She stood there, wild curls frizzed from sleep, eyes blazing like the ocean before a storm.

  “They’re coming!” she practically shouted. “Helena and Zoe—they’re actually coming to Oregon. They’re on their way. Right now.”

  My fingers curled around the edge of the sink. A small jolt of surprise hit my chest. “You’re sure?”

  Bay nodded so hard her hair bounced. “Zoe reached out to me. I don’t know how—it was like, in my head. But I felt her. And Helena’s with her. It’s really happening. The ten of us, we’re finally going to be together again.”

  I turned back to the mirror. Something in me stilled.

  So it begins, I thought.

  Then a thought struck me, sharp and sudden. “What about Guardian Thalos?” I asked. “He should have told us they were coming.”

  Bay’s expression faltered, and the light in her eyes dimmed. “He’s gone,” she said quietly. “He… he died. He was killed by a monster before he could move Helena and Zoe.”

  The weight of it settled on me like a shroud. Thalos—gone.

  But then a memory surfaced. The day he split us up. He’d handed me a ring. His ring. Said it would be important someday. Made me promise that if he died, I’d summon his spirit. He said he’d answer every question I had.

  I looked at Bay. “I still have his ring.”

  Her brow furrowed. “You’re thinking of summoning him?”

  I nodded.

  Bay stepped closer. “Are you sure, Nix? You hate calling spirits. You always said it hurt them.”

  She was right. I’d accepted my abilities long ago—reanimating skeletons didn’t bother me. They were bones. Tools. But spirits? Spirits remembered. Spirits felt. And pulling them back… it was never painless.

  But I had made a promise. And something deep inside me whispered that we would need answers only Thalos could give.

  “I’m sure,” I said.

  Bay nodded slowly. “Okay. Then we do this together.”

  The beach was quiet now, waves whispering against the shore beneath a moonless sky. I sat in the sand, knees tucked close, the bronze ring cool in my palm. Bay knelt beside me, her fingers brushing mine in silent reassurance. Her presence steadied me, like it always did.

  I held the ring tighter in one hand and reached out with the other to take Bay’s. “If I’m doing this… I want you to see him too.”

  Bay nodded, her expression suddenly serious. I could see the worry behind her eyes, a tension coiling beneath her usually steady surface. She knew what this meant—what it would cost me.

  I inhaled slowly, steadying myself. I didn’t summon spirits unless I had no other choice. Animating skeletons was different—detached, mechanical. Spirits, though… they were people. Memories. Emotions. Pulling them back meant disturbing the rest they’d earned, and every time I did it, I felt a piece of that pain. It wasn’t something I ever took lightly.

  But I had made a promise.

  Bay squeezed my hand in support, but she didn’t speak. She knew this was something I had to do—something I’d promised. I glanced over and saw the flicker of worry in her eyes, the weight of what we were about to do settling heavily between us.

  My fingers trembled slightly as I positioned the ring in my palm, heart pounding louder than the waves beside us.

  I whispered the chant with deliberate care, the ancient words foreign but familiar. A windless hush spread over the beach, as if the world itself held its breath. Magic stirred beneath my skin, cold and electric, and the ring pulsed in my hand like a second heartbeat.

  Bay gripped my hand tightly, grounding me.

  A shimmer of golden-blue light formed in front of us, crackling like the static before a storm. Then he appeared.

  Thalos.

  Not the pale, drifting ghost I feared he might be—but solid, grounded, familiar. Yet, pain clung to him like a shadow. His shoulders hunched slightly, and his expression flickered with discomfort, like simply being here strained him. He looked just like I remembered: tall, steady, worn from years of battle and burden, but kind. His eyes settled on me first, soft with sorrow, then shifted to Bay.

  “You kept your promise, Nix,” he said, his voice warm with pride and sadness.

  Bay inhaled sharply beside me. “You’re really here.”

  We couldn’t touch him—our hands passed through the light that made up his form—but the ache in our chests said enough. I whispered his name, barely audible over the hush of the waves. Bay’s eyes shimmered with tears, and I felt my own vision blur. He was gone, truly gone, and seeing him like this made the loss sharper. We bowed our heads in unison, a silent tribute to the man who had once protected all of us like we were his own.

  Bay’s voice was steady, but I could feel the tension radiating off her as she asked, “What is coming for us?” Her tone held no room for hesitation. We were finally coming back together, finally stepping into the world we were meant for, and she needed to understand the threat that waited on the other side. The weight of her question lingered in the air, heavy and demanding, and I knew Thalos wouldn’t let it pass unanswered.

  Thalos took a deep breath, his expression darkening as he spoke the name. “Cole.”

  The sound of it sent a chill down my spine. Even Bay, always so sure of herself, went completely still beside me.