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“Ha, ha.”

“So how are you taking this?” He scrubs a hand through his thick mahogany hair, and the frown deepens. “Hell, I don’t even know what ‘this’ means.”

“Join the club,” I mutter. I do know a little, but I really don’t want to talk about it, as though saying it out loud will make it more real.

“So how did you end up here three years ago with amnesia?”

Good question. One that I can actually answer. “I was living on Valandria with Khaosti’s brother, Khendril. He was my… guardian. But the shadowguard”—Lucifer’s private army of scary monsters— “found us. Lucifer is hunting for me because I’m the only one who knows where the last mirror into Hell is. Without it, he’s stuck there. Anyway, Khendril did a spell to send me to Khaosti—there was no one else. But something went wrong, and I ended up here instead, with no memory.”

“Wow. That is some weird shit.” He peers at me as though expecting me to sprout horns and a tail. That’s not going to happen. I hope.

Anyway, Zayne can’t talk; he’s hardly normal himself. He’s a basilisk shifter and has been, ever since he got bitten by one of the shadowguard who came hunting for me. He can freakingfly; it’s sort of cool. But then so can I. Something else I haven’t shared.

“What happens now?” he asks. “Is there some sort of plan?”

“Oh, yes, there’s a plan.” The only thing is—it’s a horrible plan, with an almost guaranteed miserable—if not downright disastrous—ending. The sort of ending where you and everyone you care about meets a grisly fate and the rest of the world descends into a reign of cruelty and chaos.

Thanks to my dad.

Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure there isn’t a plan B. So I might as well get it out there. “I have to go to Hell, and while I’m there, I think I have to destroy my father.”

Zayne is silent for a long time. I don’t say anything either—it’s a lot to process. Finally, he reaches across and pats me on the thigh. “You always did want to find your family. Now you’re going to get to visit with your dad. That’s got to be good, yeah?”

I let out a snort of laughter. “Yeah. I’m super looking forward to it.”

His expression turns serious, a rare occurrence for Zayne. “You don’t have to do this alone. You have friends. We’ve got your back.”

I press my lips together, and my eyes prick. But I blink before Zayne can see the unshed tears and realize how much his words mean to me. Because I’ve already screwed up his life enough. Besides, someone needs to stay here to keep an eye on Josh. I swallow. “Thanks. I have to go back to talk with Hecate. Train some more.” I grin. “I’m a witch, you know. I could probably turn you into a toad or something.”

He shudders. “No thanks. There’s enough going on in here with me and my new best friend without adding a toad to the mix.”

“How is the shifter thing going?”

“Okay. Good. So-so.” This is the moment I should mention my own shifter status. But maybe one thing at a time.

“So why are you still here?” he asks. “Can’t you get back to Valandria?”

“I can get back.” I can do a whole lot of things now that I’ve remembered. But I have the potential to do so much more. I know that much. That’s why Ineedto go back and finish my training. Though I’m not sure how much more Hecate can teach me.

“So…?”

I take a deep breath. I suspect he won’t like this next bit. “I’m waiting for Khaosti. He was supposed to follow me here.”

A look of disgust crosses his face. “Shit. I’d hoped you’d dumped that asshole.”

That still might happen. I don’t know if I can get over his betrayal. But in the end, he did choose me. He went directly against his father, Khronus, King of Astrali, the most powerful man in all the worlds. To saveme. That has to mean something. “He saved me from his father, gave me the chance to get away, and then smashed the mirror I’d come through so no one could follow. I thought he’d go through one of the others. And maybe he did but ended up somewhere else. Maybe Valandria.”

“Makes sense. So go there and find out. We’ll come along.” He nods at Josh, cuddled in my arms. “He needs a little adventure.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“It’s hardly safe here. He’s better off sticking with us.”

“We’ll see. I’m going to give Khaosti a little longer, just in case he ended up in the middle of Africa or something and is making his way here.”

The truth is, I’m prevaricating. Sort of.

But I’m scared.