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Barely eyeing the bag now held by Kaiden, Saefii didn’t comment on the one-of-a-kind armour, so Alex presumed she didn’t want the assembled masses to know about the offering. Alex had already shared her gratitude with Zaylin—if the empress truly was fine with the gift being given to a mortal, then Alex was sure her helper would know to pass on her appreciation.

“It was a pleasure for us to host you for your short stay this week,” Saefii said, her voice carrying for the audience to hear. “We’re grateful for the company you offered and the adventures you shared with us. And though we will likely never meet again,we wish you the warmest of blessings, mortals of Medora. May your futures be bright and your lives full of light.”

As one, the Tia Aurans repeated her final line, each of them offering the same salute Zaylin had just given Alex—the only exception being Saefii, of course, since the empress bowed to no one.

Once the immortals rose again, at a gesture from Saefii, a man with a shaved head stepped forward until he was directly in front of Alex and her friends.

“Gatekeeper I may be, but I have never set foot in your world, so all I can do is summon aneidenpath to open a bridge between Tia Auras and Medora,” he said. “You will have to guide the path to take you where you wish to arrive.”

Alex nodded, having had plenty of experience with providing such directions before.

When the man called forth the doorway, Alex felt the gravity of the moment—the weight of all they’d been through over the past week, and the uncertainty of all they were about to return to.

Turning to Saefii, she quietly said the only thing she felt she could, given her still crippling disappointment. “Thank you for your hospitality, Empress. We’re grateful that—that—”

She stumbled over her words, unsure how to finish, since she didn’t feel very grateful at all.

Seeing that Alex was floundering, D.C. stepped in, her diplomatic training saving the day, even if her eyes were still blazing with that inner fire. “What Alex is trying to say is that we’re grateful for the opportunity to have been considered as ambassadors for Medora, and we’d like to make you aware that the invitation will always be open for you to visit our world, should you ever wish to do so.”

Likethatwas going to happen. But Alex was thankful for her friend’s quick thinking.

Other than a regal nod of her head, Saefii didn’t respond,and it quickly became clear that she had said all that she intended to say.

Turning to her friends, Alex asked, “Ready to go?”

At their barely restrained confirmation, she cast her gaze around the throne room one final time, catching the smiling eyes of Raife and the tranquil face of Aes Orsa. She then took in Saefii, Tayros and Calivere’s emotionless expressions, before finally focusing on Zaylin’s figure, shadowed in the back corner of the room. Silver eyes held hers for a long moment before Zaylin gave a single nod of farewell.

That was all Alex needed to remind her that her time in Tia Auras was done, so with a single step, she walked through the doorway, crossing worlds and finally—finally—returning home.

Twenty-Eight

Figuring it was the best place forthem to arrive, Alex directed the doorway to deliver them straight to the Library; specifically, into the caverned space she and Kaiden had first departed from.

It was a bumpy trip—travelling between worlds always seemed to require more effort than shorter distances—but once she and her friends were out the other side, the relief that flowed between them was palpable. But there was also a feeling of uncertainty.

Especially when they saw that Athora was waiting for them.

The hooded Tia Auran said nothing as they stood before him, just as they said nothing in return, allowing him to come to his own conclusions about what had transpired during their time away—and what the outcome was.

It didn’t take him long to realise the truth.

In a familiar monotone that echoed throughout the cave, he simply said, “You have failed, then.”

And without another word, he vanished, his disappearance so sudden, sofinal.

Staring at the place where he’d just been standing, Alex pressed her hand against her stomach to ward off the stabbing pain of desertion, managing to guard her expression just in time to look up at her friends.

“What are we supposed to do now?” D.C. asked.

Kaiden gently drew Alex’s hand from her abdomen to hold it in his own, understanding her hurt and giving a comforting squeeze. “The first thing we need to do is find out what’s happened while we’ve been gone,” he answered. “It’s been a week since we left, so we need to check in before we do anything else.”

Alex pushed aside her sense of abandonment to agree with him. “I say we head straight to the Tower and hit up Darrius for information. We’ll know more after that, and hopefully be able to…” What they’d be able to do, she wasn’t sure, so she finished, if somewhat lamely, “… come up with a plan.”

“You don’t want to see your parents while we’re here?” Bear asked.

She did. Desperately. Especially having missed them so much during her time in Tia Auras. That feeling hadn’t abated as the days had progressed, and she still longed to be held by them. Nevertheless, she said, “I’ll come back later. They’re safe where they are—our priority is to make sure everyone else is, as well.”

It was a sacrifice, delaying a visit to her parents and the consolation they would provide, but Alex had spoken true— while she knew Aven could access the Library, even if he had somehow discovered that her mother and father were in Medora, he still would have had a challenging time finding them hidden away inside the Ancient Egyptian habitat. Despite Alex’s vision of the future, they weren’t his target—they weren’t even on his radar yet. And she was determined to keep it that way.