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This wouldn’t be what she wanted. It’d happened once already, and the results had been a devastating chaos that affected a number of generations. They’d promised it wouldn’t happen again. It couldn’t.

It was why the charm was created to begin with.

“He can’t do that.” I leaned forward on the table, capturing the fae brother’s attention. “It’s notjusta portal that can be open and closed, like what you two use.”

Brayden’s forehead furrowed. “But the books say—”

“‘The books’ say a lot—but also don’t tell you everything either,” I cut in. Putting information out into the world in obvious locations was more harmful than anything—this was why I wrote, besides for the fun of it—so there’d be an accurate record somewhere.

Hidden in plain sight.

“That is theonlyway he can get back to the Underworld. But the problem is, after Damen opens that portal, there’s no way to close it again,” I told them. “It’s a two-way street too. As he’d be able to go to the Underworld at will, so will anything be able to leave—if they can make it past him.”

Bryce and Brayden paled, looking to the onmyoji.

“Why in the world are you carrying that around on yourneck?” Bryce’s question was almost accusing.

Damen’s expression closed off—and I knew from experience that he was beginning to feel defensive. I didn’t blame him, or Bryce. It was a serious thing to be carrying around—logically speaking, the charm should be locked away.

But we understood. I glanced at Julian to see that he, too, was ready to intervene.

He wore it because it was the closest he could be to beinghome. And when he was upset, holding it was a reminder of his cause.

Necromancers, witches, and shifters resided in this realm—we always had. Fae could, generally, freely travel from their world to this one without much risk.

But onmyoji…

No one had visited the Underworld for centuries. It took an enormous amount of power to do so, even though some had grown close and most felt that longing—the sense of never belonging.

They were creatures of the Underworld, working within a universal connection that none of us could understand. However, it wasn’t without risk, because when working between worlds, ours was easily targeted.

The easiest solution had been to minimize the use of this particular portal. Besides, most entrances had been closed to contracted individuals only—or those who had the strength to do it.

And after the last time that onmyoji had wreaked havoc, Huo had chosen to stay here permanently. To be with us… and to protect this world and to lead as an example.

No one, outside of us, truly understood just how much he’d given up.

The only way he would ever use that necklace was when he had truly and completely lost all hope.

“Never mind.” Julian jumped to the onmyoji’s defense. After all, no matter how bad things got, he had also sworn to prevent that portal from opening.

Unless there wasnoother choice, we could not use that portal for Bianca. We’d had this fight too many times, and ineverylifetime, that’d been Mu’s constant.

But…

My stomach twisted as a sense of foreboding pulled at me.

Biancawasn’tthe same either. She and I had also been overthisin detail, and I completely understood where she was coming from. She’d suffered a lot in this life, and there were aspects of her—other than the obvious—which were different too.

Would she want—and expect—Damen to go down this route? Had she finally reached the point where she was ready to give up on humanity?

We’d never even thought to discuss it yet.

What was the right decision? Because I could see it in his eyes. He’d do it too, and wouldn’t feel guilty at all. The only thing holding him back was the promise they’d made to each other.

“Let’s wait a little while longer,” I said finally. The uncomfortable tightness in my chest grew stronger, and goose bumps broke out over my arms. I rubbed at my skin, glancing nervously toward Julian and Damen. “It’s stopped… whatever it is. Right?”

At least, I thought so.

Julian clutched at his shirt and reluctantly nodded. We were both torn between the undeniable urge to do whatever it took, but also wanting to make sure that eventually this would be a safe world for her. Once that portal opened, chances of that happening slimmed dramatically.

As long as she was alive, there was still hope.

And once we could physically get our hands on whoever was the cause of this, things would be better.

But it wasn’t fair to put everyone at risk over the actions of a few.

While there was still a pressing need to find Bianca, it wasn’t nearly as urgent as before. That gave me hope that, maybe, she was with Titus.

If they were together, everything would be okay. He’d never let anything happen to her.