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"I don't know," I admit. "But at least give me time to think about it before we ruin this child's life. There's a piece we're missing. I'm sure of it."

An urgent knock at the door interrupts us and when no one makes a move, I go to answer it.

I'm stunned to see the tall, stunning Earth Dragon in human form standing there. Her skin is a deep ochre and her eyes are emerald green with touches of brown. Her wings are also flecked with the same green, and drape around her like a cloak. Her hair falls to her knees in thick waves of different shades of earthy brown mixed with the greens of a lush wilderness, with thin vines woven through tiny braids.

"Brock'Mir," I say, instinctively touching her ring on my hand. We met briefly of course, the day I got her ring, but we've never really spoken, and I certainly didn't expect her to show up at my front door.

"Maiden Fate," she says formally, her voice husky and full of earthy resonance. "You must come with me. To the Broken Cathedral. We have all felt the death of two more of my brothers." Her face is pained when she says this, and the reality of what is happening hits me harder than it did before.

In the chaos of the world ending and trying to solve the mystery, somehow, I lost sight of the fact that these immortal creatures are losing their family, their siblings, one by one. My brother's death is still raw in my heart, and on instinct I pull the dragon into my arms, though she towers over me. "I am so sorry," I say through thick emotions. "I have been through some fraction of the pain you are going through and I know it is hell."

She stiffens a moment, then relents and returns the affection of the hug briefly, before pulling away. Her eyes glisten with emotion but it is quickly wiped way by her pragmatism.

"Thank you, Eve," she says. "But I'm afraid there is no time for mourning right now. My mother has arrived, and she is threatening to destroy the world now, not in the timeframe she originally promised. You must come and help me stop her, or everyone in the Otherworld will die tonight."

Chapter 14: The Cave

So close thatyour hand on my chest is my hand,

So close that your eyes close as I fall asleep

~Pablo Neruda, Sonnet XVII

Shit.Double and triple shit.

I rush back into the house to explain to the guys where I'm going.

"We're going with you," Sebastian says, standing.

"I'll be fine," I say. "Besides, Racul's body needs to be handled, the babies need to be watched, someone needs to keep an eye on Ana, and we can't leave Matilda alone. Also, someone needs to get word to Lily about what happened. She's probably at the grove with Kaya."

"I'll send a note out to let Lily know what happened, and I'll send a runner to fetch Ifi and Elal to handle the body," Elijah says.

"I'll keep an eye on Matilda," Liam says. "And take care of the babies."

Derek looks over. "I can make sure the dome holds for Ana until we figure out what to do."

"So everything is handled," Sebastian says. "Which means I'm coming with you."

I'm about to argue when Liam interrupts. "You're going to face off with the most powerful being in the world, who wants to destroy everything today," Liam says, his face stoic. "You should take at least one of us for the extra power."

"I know, but like I said, I'll be fine." I grin but he's not buying it, and my smile drops. "Look, I won't lie. I'm nervous as hell, but we don't have time to argue. I've got to go now."

As if on cue, my head splits and I double over in pain. Sebastian catches me in his arms before I fall to the ground. "What happened?" he asks, concern written all over his face.

"She's starting to tear the world apart. I have to go now!"

"You can't go alone like this," Sebastian says, sending earth magic to steady me through our bond.

When I can stand, I nod reluctantly. "Fine, let's go," I say. We rush back to Brock and I grab her hand. "He's coming with us," I say to the dragon, who looks skeptical but there's no time to argue. "Ready?"

She nods, and I focus. I've never done this with two people before, but how much harder can it be?

Ha! Famous last words.

I feel like I've contracted food poisoning as I dematerialize us and travel to the Broken Cathedral. Waves of nausea crash through me but I somehow manage to avoid vomiting into the void. Amora and the Darkness Dragon are arguing when we land on top of the Cathedral, in the same spot where I killed Jerry—or he killed himself through me—and I break out into a sweat at the memory, which doesn't help the nausea one bit.

Amora is in her dragon form, hovering over us and casting a giant shadow over everything. Golden light blazes forth from her mouth as she screams out her pain into the world, shaking its very foundation. The storm we've been dealing with all day rages uncontrollably around us.