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“Hah. As if I’ve ever had a choice. What about my goddamned destiny?”

“You forge your own destiny. And there is always a choice. You just have to accept the consequences.”

“But I don’t know what they are.”

“You stand at the crossroads, child. And you carry the fate of the world in your hands.”

Great, just great.

“You need to see yourself as you are…and as you could be.”

Suddenly, the mist shifts, parting like a curtain.

I see myself, lying in the blood-soaked grass, my body broken, the sword beside me, my eyes closed. I see Khaosti, his face twisted in fury and pain, fighting his way toward me. I see Zayne, still on his knees, clutching his thigh, struggling to rise.

I see what happens next—the way the battle turns, the way the enemy closes in, the way the last shred of hope dies with me.

Selene lifts a hand, and the vision vanishes, swallowed back into the mist.

“This is one path,” she says, and for the first time, there is an edge to her voice, a weight of command. “Is this your choice?”

I just shake my head, grief welling up inside me. They can’t die. “Please,” I beg. “Show me another way.”

She gives a slight nod, and the mist shifts again. This time I’m not dead. I’m standing, sword raised, power blazing from me. The bodies of my enemies lie all around me. And my people are on their knees, worshipping me.

Ugh!That’s not much better. “Hey, the whole worshipping thing is more your style than mine. Does it have to be one or the other?”

I swear her lips twitch. “Your choice. The Gods failed this world, but through you there is a chance to make good on the mistakes of the past.”

“I don’t know how. It’s too much.” And why can’t they make good on their own freaking mistakes? Why do I have to do it? I don’t say that, obviously.

“You have been given my celestial fire. The power to defeat your enemies.”

“I have?” I’m not sure what that even means.

“Just remember that all magic has a price.”

I didn’t actually know that. I want to ask for more details. Like how much I’m going to have to pay. And what exactly is the currency?

But she’s already talking again. “And you are not alone. You have help. The power of Vortex has been bestowed upon your bonded mate.”

I want to ask who my bonded mate is—and what that even freaking means—because I don’t want to make anypresumptions. Also, what kind of powers did Vortex have? I know he was Selene’s mate, and together they created the world. Other than that, I know nothing. But before I can say anything, she steps closer. Her power ripples through the air between us, charging it, thickening it, as if the universe itself is holding its breath.

I don’t think about dying. I think about a world without Khaosti or Zayne and Thanouq. And my heart hurts. If there’s a chance I can save them, it’s worth the risk of finding out that I’m not good. That I’m my father’s mirror. I can worry about that later. Now, all that matters is saving the people I love.

I take a deep breath. “I want to live.”

I flinch as her fingers press to my chest, just over my heart. A jolt of energy surges through me, and suddenly, I can feel it—the power inside me, coiling, burning, alive. It’s always been there, waiting, caged by my fear, my doubt, my refusal to let it be free.

Selene’s eyes lock onto mine. “Just remember, you may be your father’s daughter, but you are also the daughter of my heart.”

A choked sound leaves my throat. I hadn’t expected that—it’s sort of nice to know someone likes me. At the same time, it’s not much help. I could do with something a little more tangible. “I—I don’t know how to do this.”

Selene tilts her head. “Then learn,” she snaps.

The moment she says it, all the stars above us erupt, consuming everything.

I fall and rise all at once, my body breaking apart and reforming, filled with fire and stardust, moonlight and power. It floods through my veins, unraveling every lock I had placed on myself.