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“The Cure to Nectar and Venom,” I told her.

“The gods put a great deal of effort into mining Nectar,” said Faris.

“And the demons put a great deal of effort into mining Venom,” Grace added.

“So why should we wish to ‘cure’ it?” Faris huffed, looking quite indignant.

I looked at Cadence. “Do you want to explain it?”

And so she did. She told everyone how the Immortals had developed a Cure to counter the infertility caused by the poisonsin Nectar and Venom. And that it was an all-or-nothing spell. Either everyone was cured, or no one was.

“So if this Cure is cast, it will wipe out all Nectar and Venom in the universe?” Nero said.

“Yes,” replied Cadence.

“Preposterous!” growled Faris.

“Agreed,” said Grace.

“Gods and demons would keep all their powers, and they would have no more dependency on poison,” Bella pointed out. “You could have children.”

“We already have a child,” Faris snapped with a glare for my mother, “and she is trouble enough as it is.”

“I never thought I would say this, but I agree with Faris,” Aerilyn said. “Sure, the Cure would remove our dependency on Venom, but without Venom, we would also find ourselves unable to create new soldiers for the Dark Force.”

Harker nodded. “And the Legion of Angels. No, this is a very bad thing.”

“The effect of this extends far beyond the Dark Force and the Legion. Demons and gods would be unable to give anyone the gift of magic. We couldn’t make new witches, vampires, or any other supernaturals.” Grace’s glance slid to Faris. “Things would go back to the way they used to be, before we could bestow magic on humans.”

An ominous shadow darkened his face.

“How were things back then?” I asked.

“Bad,” Faris cut out. “Times were dark. There was so much waste.” His gaze shifted uneasily. “So much death.”

I couldn’t imagine what ‘too much’ death looked like to Faris, but apparently even brutal gods had their limits.

As though he’d read my thoughts, Faris said to me, “You think us cruel and callous, child, but back then, it was so muchworse. We were all so much worse. We had to be. In order to survive.”

Grace’s lips thinned, and her cheeks paled. What the hell had the gods and demons done that was so bad, so horrible, that they could scarcely bear to think of it now? Deities weren’t known to be squeamish when it came to dealing out death and destruction.

“Everything changed when we discovered how to give magic to humans,” Grace said. “We can’t go back to the way things were. It would destroy everything we have worked for these past few centuries.”

“Things would not go back to the way they were,” my dad spoke up. “Because unlike before, deities would be free of their dependence on Nectar and Venom. They would be able to have children more easily, unhindered by the poisons’ side effects. And so, unlike before, you would be able to replace your fallen soldiers in the armies of heaven and hell.”

“That’s only part of it,” Faris said coolly.

“Yes, and now we come to the crux of the issue.” Dad’s eyes hardened. “Power. This is about power.Yourpower.” He folded his arms over his chest. “You’re afraid you will start to lose your hold over your worshippers if you can no longer perform this miracle, if you do not have the power to bestow magic on people.”

“That is ridiculous,” Faris snapped back. “We fear no such thing.”

Dad’s eyes locked with his, and he didn’t disengage. “I don’t believe you.”

“So you want to let Lavinia cast this so-called Cure?”

“Actually, no. I believe we need to do everything in our power to stop her.”

Faris looked genuinely surprised.