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Your parents always wanted to have more children.

They just hoped they could grow that love.

For all of you.

But it never worked out.

It was very likely that they would never get their wish.

Nyx arrived before we’d finished watching the morning news. And as always, the former First Angel didn’t waste any time getting straight to the point.

“I know about the sixteen rings,” she declared.

Mom’s gaze slid from me, to Dad, to Nyx. “How?”

“Damon told me.”

Eira never should have invited Damon over for a sleepover. He was such a goody-two-shoes. And a tattletale.

“I sent soldiers.”

“Legion soldiers?” Dad’s face was blank.

And so was hers. “Yes.”

“If you want to be First Angel again, Nyx, you should have just said so.”

“I don’t.”

“And yet you are giving orders to my soldiers.”

“There wasn’t time to contact you, Nero. We had to move fast.”

“And?” Mom said. “What happened?”

“Our soldiers encountered complications on the ring worlds,” Nyx replied. “The demons had sent soldiers as well.”

“How did they know about the ring worlds?” Nero asked.

“Apparently, Troy Fireswift told one of his buddies in the Dark Force,” Nyx said tightly. “According to Damon, his friend likes to ‘mix things up’. Troy thought it would be amusing if both the gods and the demons sent soldiers after the rings.”

“I bet his father was amused,” Mom said.

Nyx’s eyes hardened. “Unlikely.”

“What happened on those worlds?” Dad asked. “Did our soldiers and theirs fight?”

“Not exactly. It was mostly posturing. Arguing over who got to recover the rings.”

“How many rings did we get?”

“None.”

Dad frowned. “I expected better of our soldiers. Even against demons. I will institute a new training regimen at the Legion immediately, a program designed to teach our soldiers how to fight deities. It’s about time they learned how to fight something stronger than they are.”

“I have a lot of experience in that,” Mom said. “Want some help?”

“No. I don’t think teaching my soldiers how to get deities tangled up in a clothesline will help, Pandora.”