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“You also require time for your power to settle after reunification tonight. One week and then we will begin. In the meantime, should you need help stabilizing, you may reach out to me. I’d rather you try on your own at first, but it you fail, contact me.”

“How do I do that?”

He twirled his right hand and with a brief flare of his white power, something materialized between his fingers.

He held it out to me and I found myself staring at a mystical small disk-like object. It was a translucent opalescent material etched with Celestial script. In the center, a faint glimmer of stardust swirled slowly.

“This is an Echo Coin,” he told me. “When it’s time to begin, speak the wordVocareas you hold it. I will hear it no matter where I am, and come to you.”

He placed it in my free left hand.

And then he unfurled his wings and plucked out one of them, wherein he then pressed it to the right cuff, dissolving it within an instant, and freeing me entirely. He destroyed the left cuff completely as well until there was nothing left, like the restrictive things had never been.

He held out his hand to me and I took it, allowing him to ease me back to my feet.

“The soothing sensation I bestowed upon you to calm your power will maintain for a few hours, but then it will fade and it will be down to you.”

I nodded. “Understood.”

“Until then, Ariana,” he said, stepping back, and offering me a benevolent smile, before then shooting up into the air at rapid-fire speed and flying away in a captivating majestic show.

I was left standing there and pocketing the Echo Coin, as I stared out at the ruins, and fought to start processing everything that had been bestowed upon me tonight.

That processing was interrupted as a huge surge of energy tore through the area.

In the next moment, Grandfather teleported in with a burst of silver light. Dad was right behind him with his red magic.

And a couple of seconds later, Pops’ vibrant-green lightning shot through the sky, just before he touched down in front of them, a second away from creating one of his infamous shockwaves of his defensive power that would knock out the power of every magic-wielder in his vicinity.

“Hold!” Grandfather called out.

Pops stilled and retracted his magic as he saw what Grandfather and Dad had registered—that I was here alone.

All three of them looked stunned as they took me in, and I realized it was because during myprocessingattempt just before they’d arrived, I’d unconsciously walked over to the scorch marks on the ground—the site where Mom had perished.

“Are you—” Dad started.

“I’m fine,” I cut in. I shoved a hand through my hair. “I know. I know everything. That a brutal battle happened here. That Mom died right here. I know about the bargain that was made to saveherlife and about the one you made to spare mine. That’s why Cassius is here, to ensure that’s seen through, to prepare me. He’s myGuide.” I shook my head at the three of them. “But you knew that last part, didn’t you? You’ve known they were going to send someone to do this for the longest time.”

“Listen, Ari, I know tonight was a lot—” Pops spoke this time.

I held up my hand. “Don’t. Not right now.”

“This is all my doing,” Grandfather said. “Don’t blame them.”

“Thank you for coming for me. I know it can’t have been easy to track me through the heavy cloaking spell I’d felt him employ. But I’m fine. I’m unharmed. And I need to get back to people I care about who weren’t so lucky during this shitshow tonight.”

Dad stepped forward. “We need to talk about this. All of us.”

“And we will.” I glared out at them. “Onmyterms for once.”

“You need time to process,” Pops said.

“Yes. I really do.”

“Then we shall grant you that. As you wish,” Grandfather uttered, laying his hand firmly on Dad’s shoulder, seeing his obvious reluctance to let this go, even for a little while.

I was done, though.