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As if drawn by a magnet, the hairpin dutifully collided with her palm at her command.

“High God of Death and Curses,” Naia declared. “Come to me and I shall break my curse.”

The fighting ceased.

Her limbs threatened to tremble, but she tensed her muscles.

Ronin twisted around, his eyes widening on Naia.

Theon appeared behind him, and Naia met the god’s gaze once more with a final request.

Theon’s eyes grew dull and distant, pulling from her to Ronin.

Cassian appeared before her, unable to refuse the request, for it involved his curse.

His suit, once pristine, was now a mess of rain-soaked fabric and specks of blood. Not a drop on his skin.

They had been so close.

“Tell me,” he said in a slow, tongue-rolling manner of speaking that made Naia’s skin crawl, “how you intend to do so.”

“My father broke his curse binding him to Kaimana. It was why, in the beginning, you told him he could not strike Mira. If he did so, he would be taken to Moros—away from his children. Yet, he did, knowing the consequences, which made it a grave sacrifice for him. Unknowingly, he broke his curse and freed himself, but he still had to face the consequences of his crime he committed long ago with his beloved and their child.”

Cassian’s eyes flashed with irritation, yet he remained silent. His reaction gave Naia the rush of confidence she needed to keep going. She’d hit the vein, and she clung to her victory for dear life, knowing if she stopped for a second to think about the reality of what she was doing, she would fall apart.

She clutched Wren in her grasp, using the prick of the hairpin’s wings against the skin of her palm like a lifeline to keep herself afloat.

“Take me in place of my son,” she said firmly. “My soul will be yours to do with whatever you wish. I hand over my freedom to you. You take me into your land, and I suffer for eternity. The sacrifice I am making, as my father did, pays the debt.”

Ronin took a step towards her. “Naia, stop!”

Theon’s arms enclosed around Ronin’s chest and yanked him back.

Ronin shouted furiously, fighting against Theon’s inhuman strength.

Naia resisted the instinctive urge to look past Cassian onto Ronin.

A curse could not exist without a way to break it. There were rules, even for the High God of Death and Curses.

With a malevolent gleam in his eyes, Cassian took a menacing step, invading her space. A tremor rolled down her spine. “I will make your immortal life a living hell, Little Goddess. I hope you realize that.”

The curling feathers of ink began receding on her fingers, the burden easing along with it. The curse had been a heavy burden chained to her back, and she hadn’t realized its brevity until the moment the weight of it vanished. Only to be left with the harrowing reality awaiting her.

A life without Ronin or Ash.

Glimpses of such life flickered in her thoughts, constricting her airways, and bruising the inside of her chest. I don’t want to do this?—

You must.

Yuki, Akane, and Avi emerged from the house as Ronin thrashed to free himself from Theon’s hold.

Cassian handed Ash back over to Naia.

Finally.

She welled up, staring down at her child’s face. He was asleep. With the horrific events unfolding around him, the remarkable ability to sleep undisturbed was noteworthy.

“You get it from your father,” she murmured.