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10

The Magic Parchment

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” I asked Gin.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, you did die the last time I took you on an excursion,” I reminded her.

“Leda, I’m a phoenix. I was born to be reborn.”

“Still.” Thinking about Gin dying made me antsy, so I was trying not to think about it. “Maybe Nero, Harker, and I should retrieve the pages.”

“No way, those are our pages.” Tessa put her arm around Gin. “Gin’s and mine.”

“That’s right. You three might be some badass angels in the Legion’s army, but we are all a part of this. Gin and I. Bella and Zane too. And Calli. Someone brought all of us to her for a reason. We have to figure out why.” Gin looked at our foster mother. “Right?”

Calli nodded. “Right.”

“It’s not safe,” I said.

What had happened in the Lost City last night had made me cautious. It had reminded me how very real, how very dangerous this whole endeavor was. After all, we were digging around in some pretty powerful people’s plans, and they might not like it.

“Our lives will never be safe, Leda,” Zane said. “Not until we figure out what’s going on.”

“Remember how annoyed you were when the First Angel took you out of the field and grounded you behind a desk for your own protection?” Bella reminded me. “You knew you had to figure out the past to secure your daughter’s future, but Nyx wouldn’t let you leave. You felt powerless. Just as we do now.”

“Point taken.” I looked at my family. “But if we do this, I’m not sure I can protect all of you.”

“You see, Leda, that’s where you have this all wrong,” Bella told me. “I believe we were meant to protect you, not the other way around.”

“That’s what Ava meant for you to do,” I said.

“It doesn’t matter whether it was Ava’s idea or our own.” Bella set her hand on my shoulder. “We will protect you.”

“From Ava,” Gin said.

“And all the other demons,” Tessa said.

“Guardians,” Zane added.

“And gods,” said Bella.

“We’re in this together, Leda,” Calli told me. “Let them come, whoever those foolish souls who seek to use us all might be. We will show them what family truly means.”

“I love you all.” I drew them into a hug.

“Of course you do. We’re awesome.” Tessa waved her hand, opening up a passageway that transported all of us to the Sea of Sin.

The Sea of Sin was a vast savannah on the plains of monsters. It was home to beasts and warlords alike, the world’s most horrible and vicious varieties of both. The dull, brown grass stretched across the flat expanse, as far in front of me as I could see. At my back lay a dense wall of jungle.

Treasures of the past were still hidden here at the Sea of Sin, just waiting for anyone bold enough to claim them. That ‘anyone’ was usually a warlord, though sometimes others braved the wild plains in search of brighter fortunes. They usually met monsters instead.

Calli stepped into the jungle. “I found Tessa and Gin in here.”

Fifteen years ago, Calli had been one of those brave souls to seek treasure here. She’d found it too—and she’d found the monsters and warlord bands too. She’d also found two young girls, only four years old: Gin and Tessa.

We’d been walking for a while when Calli stopped. “Here.” She pointed at the base of a very large, very old gum tree. “That’s where I found Tessa and Gin.”