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"Where have you taken my daughter?"Poseidon screamed, completely beyond reason, almost mad with rage. And fear—there was no denying that was fear in his voice. My heart gripped with sympathy. I'd be fucking terrified if something like Cronus stole my kid.

She'll be put to excellent use,Cronus replied in his resonant, all-consuming voice. My breath hitched, warmth running down the sides of my face. Oh great, now my ears were bleeding.

"Where?"Poseidon raged, slamming into Cronus on the top of an impossibly high wave, so much magic in the blow that the ground shook. I tensed, prepared to grab my family if the dome fell.

She's right here,Cronus purred and—snatched Poseidon right off the top of his wave, shoving the god into his awful, gaping mouth.

For a second I just froze. Horrified.

"Go!"I yelled, snapping back to life. "Kai—use your snakes, figure out a way to fly. I'm going to get Harvey."

"Likefuckyou're going alone," he hissed, so guttural that cold warning travelled down my body.

I spun towards him, but Lucifer’s inky cloud soared suddenly, filling the spaces around Cronus. My stomach turned. Cronus was just playing with them, taunting them close so he could consume them.

"Don't!" I yelled at Lucifer, staggering forward a dangerous step on the pale dome like I could stop him.

He'd helped me, housed me, given me the means to find my mates, and I couldn't just stand here and watch him get devoured by a power-hungry3psychopath.

The second Lucifer became a friend, he became one of my people. And I didn't leave my people behind.

"Em, get Verena out of here. Kai, find Harvey. Wane—" I turned to him, taking his face in both my hands and trying not to notice how dirty and bloody the back of my hands were. "Do you trust me?"

"There isn't a single part of me that doesn't," he replied, his throat bobbing like he already knew what I was going to say.

I kissed the space between his dark brows, lingering. "He wants your shadows, maybe more than he wants to devour all the children of the gods."

"Bait him," Wane agreed before I had to ask. "Use me. Wherever you go, I go, itzaia."

My throat swelled; I nodded.

We were killed by Cassander Locke because we were all together, all in one convenient location. But splitting up? Maybe some of us would survive.

"I love you," I told him, then turned to face Em and Kai, making eye contact. "I love you all so much I can’t breathe. Remember what Adhiti said, whatRhea—his wife—said. I can kill him. I'll be alright."

It was a sad attempt to convince them and reassure myself, all rolled into one.

"I'll get her to safety and come back for you," Emlyn promised, dragging me close for a long, heated kiss. I held onto him, tracing his tongue, memorising the shape of his mouth, the curves of his lips. Would this be the last time I kissed him?

No. Don't be defeatist, bitch. You've got this. You're the great-great-granddaughter of a titan. The daughter of a man who refused to give up when life dealt him shit hand after shit hand. Dad hadn't broken. He'd been brave. I would be, too.

"No," Kai said when I turned to him, his voice guttural and eyes flared with panic. "Don't kiss me; I don't want your goodbye."

"It's not goodbye," I argued softly, sliding my hands into his ashen red hair. "You think you can get rid of me that easily? No chance, Malakai Virex."

For all his refusal, it was Kai who grabbed the lapels of my jacket and wrenched me against his body, crushing my mouth and kissing me like the world was ending around us. It certainly looked like it was.

He drew back and met my eyes in a dangerous glare. "Who do you belong to?"

My heart skipped a beat. I swallowed and said, "You. Always you."

He flicked his tongue against his dry lips and demanded, "And who do I belong to?"

"Me," I rasped. "You're mine."

"And don't fucking forget it," he snarled, kissing me again. It was over far too fast. My stomach twisted into knots.

I'd see them again, wouldn't I?