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This was the source—the origin of all that she was.

“Underwhelming, don’t you think?” Aiden sneered. “The great embodiment of the goddess of Time reduced to a mere rock. In the end, they tore themselves apart. As it turns out, wielding all the awesome power of creation was a little more difficult than they imagined.”

He rapped his knuckles against the stone. “Isn’t that right, sweet Lachesis? You always thought you were so much better than me. You resented that Father made you to be mywife. You played the role of benevolent goddess, all while plotting behind closed doors to steal a power you could never truly understand. Well, how did that work out for you?”

The Time Shard remained resolute and unchanging.

“She’s pouting,” he said. “She always did hate getting outsmarted. And you know what the saddest part is? She could’ve been everything that she aspired to—wise, noble, a beauty beyond compare—if she just hadn’t been such a ravingcunt.”

At that, the Time Shard flickered. Taly felt the pulse echo in her blood, in the thunder that rolled across a red-hued sky.

“Oh, c’mon, it’strue,” Aneirin shot back. “You manipulated our siblings, sowed doubt, and painted me as a threat to your precious order. And all because I gave your favorite little plaything a way out. You knew you couldn’t destroy me outright, so you sought to corrupt me instead.”

He roared across the desolate wasteland, “I was a god of Life!” And there was genuine grief there beneath the divine fury. “Butyou,” he snarled at the Time Shard. “You thought you could replace Life with Death—as if the two were opposites.”

With a furious yell, he flung his arms over the field where the ranks of undead stretched across the barren expanse. “Well?” he bellowed, voice shaking the earth, the air, the sky itself. “Is this enough death for you? Did I live up to your expectations?”

There was no answer. Only the wind moved, howling through the bones of the fallen.

His eyes were wild with hatred, red hair lashing around his face. “We’re going to do a little ritual now,” he said to Taly. “You see, three of my siblings are on the other side of that Gate, and we’re overdue for a reunion.”

Aiden grabbed Taly by the arm, dragging her in front of the Time Shard. With a hard shove, he forced her to her knees.

“You don’t have enough juice to open the Aion Gate—not on your own. But what you do have is… potential. This is the part that would normally require a sacrifice. That’s why we brought her.” He jerked his head toward Aimee, sobbing silently as two dark-robed figures restrained her. “But you have something sweeter to offer, don’t you? Something Lachesis has beendyingto sink her teeth into. That’s another thing the history books left out—your gods don’t care about your suffering. The pain’s the point.”

Taly was on her knees, hair damp with sweat, but she met his gaze without blinking.

The storm behind his eyes quieted, if only for a moment. “You’re just like her, you know.” He reached for a lock of blonde hair, fallen from its braid. Taly flinched away, and his expression hardened. “I would find it maddening, but I know you can’t help yourself. You were designed, after all, to entice her.”

Another dark-robed figure handed him a knife that he used to cut the bindings on her wrists.

Taly was immediately on her feet. She wrenched back the sleeve of her tunic and thrust her arm forward. The ink was still fresh, the skin around it healing—two concentric circles with a solid line dividing them down the middle.

Having seen what it did to Aneirin when he was in Kalahad’s body, Ivain had insisted they all get the symbol placed somewhere it couldn’t be removed.

Aneirin took one look at it and laughed. “That’s right, you did find that little gem, didn’t you? And not to downplay the achievement—I will kill whoever brought that wretched thing into the light of day. But it won’t protect you from her.” He gestured to the Time Shard. “And it won’t protect him from me doing this.”

He raised the curved, wicked edge of the dagger to his throat.

“You won’t be able to save him in time,” he said. “Just in case you were thinking about being defiant. My essence is slowly poisoning his blood. Even if he is half human, it’s still a tight fit.”

“What does that mean?” Taly growled through clenched teeth.

“It means, dearie, that humans are mine. My most devious little creation and the reason for my fall from grace. They bear enough of my, shall we say,sparkto let me slip in and out. That’s why Lachesis was so eager to get her hands on you. You’re theonly one alive compatible with her essence. She slipped away from me more than once trying to get a look at you, but that’s okay—you seemed far more amenable to her overtures than mine, and really, it was just about ticking off boxes in the end. The offerings, the trials—”

“What trials?”

“The ones Azura was so kind to oversee. Trials of separation, persistence,death.” He mimed ripping out a heart, chuckling. “Ringing any bells?”

Taly shook her head. “No.” She swallowed hard, trying to work some moisture back onto her tongue. “Azura wouldn’t. Why would she…?”

“Give up power willingly?” he supplied. “Or perhaps, it’s the sting of betrayal that unsettles you?”

It must’ve shown in her face—the devastation.

He tutted softly, as though he were indulging a naïve child. “Oh, you poor thing. Let this be a lesson. Azura is on Azura’s side—always has been. Don’t believe me, just ask her predecessor. Except, oh wait… you can’t.” He leaned in, his smile sharp. “Who do you think tipped me off about your little plan to blow up my fortress? Not very nice, by the way—blowing up a man’s evil stronghold.”

The dagger glinted menacingly as he dragged it across the skin, leaving a faint, threatening line. “Do you really want to test me right now? Or will you behave like a good girl?”