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“Is that a comforting thought? Will it help you meet the eyes of your mother’s murderer without hatred?” She licked her lips. “And without craving revenge?”

“It wasn’t Stash’s fault.”

Ava laughed. “You keep telling yourself that, Leda. But your heart knows the truth.”

“You don’t know anything about my heart,” I shot back. “You don’t even have a heart!”

“I assure you, that is not true,” she said with all the emotion of a can opener.

“If you had a heart, you would help us break Bella’s curse.”

My statement seemed to amuse her. “Why should I help you?”

“How about because I’m going to make you?” I clenched my fists.

“Careful,” she chuckled, low and sinister. “I might just kill you. After all, I don’t really need you anymore, do I? You’ve already served your purpose. You gave birth to that delightful little girl. Where is she anyway?” Ava looked around for Sierra.

Fire flared up inside of me. Rage. Fear. The need to do anything to protect my daughter. Even ripping Ava’s head off her shoulders.

“You will never get our daughter,” Nero told Ava coldly. He looked like he could murder her with his stare.

Ava tried to pretend he didn’t scare her, but I knew he did.

“Well, no matter,” Ava said lightly. “The child will soon be mine.”

The walls cracked. And I wasn’t sure if it was from my magic or Nero’s.

“What are you really doing here, Ava?” I bit out.

“You know why I’m here.” She folded her fingers elegantly in front of her, like the wings of a swan. “Tell me the prophecy, and I’ll cure Bella.”

“I talked to Thea.”

Ava perked up. “Oh?”

“And Khalon.”

Ava frowned at the mention of her son’s name.

“Khalon played you, Ava,” I said savagely. “He used you to find Thea. There never was a way for the demons to win.”

“You’re lying!” she hissed.

I ignored her. “But there is a way for all of us to win: gods, demons, and humans. We need to work together to defeat the Guardians. We can’t trust them, but we have to trust one another.”

“You’re lying,” she said again, her voice quieter this time.

“No, I’m not.”

Ava cracked her knuckles.

“But you are lying,” I told her. “You don’t know how to cure Bella’s curse, do you?”

“There is no cure,” Ava said with a vicious glower. “Your sister will be stuck like this. Forever.”

Then she disappeared.

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