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“I started researching that after the plains of monsters formed on Earth,” Grace said. “I found some tales in our older books. These tales describe the world where the Immortals conducted their first experiments on magic, on splitting magic into separate types in order to understand how the different parts work. I believe this world was Earth. Do you know what this means, Ava? It means Earth is far more precious than we’d thought. It’s one of a kind, a place where magic—and the people who wield it—can be anything. A place where any magic or combination of magic can exist. Magic can be chaos and order, light and dark, active and passive. All depending on how it’s shaped.”

“You’re right, Grace. This conference is an opportunity. Being here is an opportunity. An opportunity to destroy the Guardians. And the gods too.”

“The council sent us here to negotiate with the gods,” Grace reminded her sister. “They’re concerned about what happened on Earth. They fear other worlds could suffer the same fate—and broken worlds don’t make for very nice places to rule.”

“But you just said this can’t happen to any other world. Because the Earth is special,” Ava pointed out.

“I didn’t actually say this couldn’t happen to any other world. I just explained why I believe it happened on Earth. I doubt plains of monsters will spontaneously pop up on other worlds. But I can’t prove it yet. And that doesn’t negate the council’s wishes for us to negotiate with the gods.”

“Multitasking, my dear sister,” Ava said with a sly smile. “We can do both. Besides, both we and the gods know exactly how these negotiations will end. They’ll end the same way they have every other time we’ve tried to negotiate with the gods. No agreement will be reached, and we’ll just continue fighting.”

“That does seem likely,” Grace agreed.

“But just because the demons and gods as a whole can’t come to an agreement,” Ava said. “That doesn’t mean a demon and a god can’t come to a private agreement. That’s where Faris comes in.”

“Faris won’t betray the other gods for us,” Grace told her.

“No, he won’t. Faris will always act in a way that furthers his own interests. Actually, that’s what I’m counting on for my plan to work.”

“And what exactly is your plan?” Grace asked.

“For you to create a weapon powerful enough to defeat the Guardians and turn the tide of this immortal war. And Faris is going to help you do it.”

“Because he has a thing for me,” Grace said drily.

“No, because he’s a power-hungry lunatic who won’t be able to resist the ultimate weapon. The fact that he finds you enticing can only serve to advance our plan.”

“Our plan? This sounds an awful lot like it’s your plan, sister.”

“Remember all those years ago when we pledged to find a way to destroy the Guardians?” Ava reminded her. “That was our plan. And now we finally have a way to do it.”

“So what makes this weapon so powerful? And why do we need Faris’s help?”

“The weapon will be powerful because it will use the full spectrum of magic,” Ava said. “And we need Faris for his light magic. You see, Grace, you and Faris are going to have a child. That child will have all the powers of the demons and the gods. The ultimate weapon.”

Grace folded her arms across her chest. “Even if Faris agrees to work with me, he will try to take this child—this weapon—for himself.”

Ava winked at her. “Well, then it’s a good thing we’re smarter than Faris is.”

* * *

Ava’s plan was good,but she didn’t take it far enough. Grace had had a few hundred years to think it over and had improved upon her sister’s plan. Because this wasn’t just about the child of a demon and a god. It was about the child of that child. Grace would make a child with the power of gods and demons, but she wouldn’t stop there. If she played her cards right, that child’s child could have all the powers of the Immortals. And that child would truly be the ultimate weapon.

So Grace and Ava, in their move to fight the Guardians, came up with the same plan as the Guardians,I commented to Nero.

The Guardians wanted us to come together because of a Prophecy,he replied.

A Prophecy with several different outcomes.

Exactly, Leda. The Guardians acted to bring us together because they’d heard that you would be something special—and that our child would be just the weapon they needed.

“I’m offering you a chance to finally play the smart game,” Grace told Faris when she visited him on one of his worlds.

“Go on.” Faris looked annoyed, but also intrigued.

“You’ve been concentrating entirely on collecting the individual members of your Orchestra,” she said. “But if you want to win this game, you need to get one powerful conductor. One powerful weapon. Someone with all the magic of the gods and the demons.”

“The Immortals are long gone,” replied Faris. “There is no such person anymore.”