Chapter One

Halimah Samra fiddled with her braid as she sat in class. She stifled a yawn. It was another hot afternoon, and she found her attention straying from the day's lecture. The soft glow of magic floated around the classroom as her classmates attempted to mimic their professor's spell.

Halimah really did yawn this time, and during the brief moment when her eyes closed, something hit her on the back of the head. Halimah's eyes snapped open as she whirled around to look behind her. A boy with green hair was watching her from a few rows down. He looked at Halimah expectantly as he motioned to the ball of paper that had fallen beneath Halimah's seat.

Halimah just gave him an exasperated look as she quickly leaned over to snatch up the paper. After making sure the professor's eyes weren't on her, Halimah unfolded it. Bang! There was an explosion as the paper in her hands was shredded into pieces by a mini cyclone. Halimah threw her arms in front of her face as bits of paper shot in every direction.

Halimah swiveled around to glare at the green-haired boy. He just smirked back.

"Halimah Samra." A voice sounded from the front of the classroom. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Halimah slowly turned back around to face her stone-faced professor and winced as she rose to her feet. "I messed up, sir," she said as she lowered her gaze to her desk. "My focus wasn't on your lesson. Ewen distracted me, sir."

"Ewen? What does Mr. Hanif have to do with your incompetence?"

"I didn't mean to disrupt the class, sir," Halimah continued. "I just noticed that Ewen had a number of enchanted papers and I was worried he would try and do something foolish with them."

The professor turned to address the green-haired boy. "Mr. Hanif, is this true?"

"Sir," Ewen said. There was a shuffling as he quickly stood up as well. "Halimah is trying to move the blame onto me. I don't have any enchanted papers."

But as he was speaking, Halimah absently waved a hand behind her back. A moment later, there was a loud bang as paper exploded from the rows behind her.

"Mr. Hanif," the professor said angrily, "you just lied to your professor! You said you didn't have any enchanted papers. You've earned yourself detention! I'll be seeing you after class."

Halimah smiled to herself as she sat back down and folded her hands on her lap. This wasn't the first time Ewen had tried to get her in trouble; the two of them were constantly at each other's throats as they fought for the position of top of the class.

The first time Ewen tried to sabotage her this week had been a couple of days ago during their history class. Halimah had been landed an entire week of after-school detention because of it. She had let it slide that time, but she wouldn't let Ewen get his way twice in one week.

When the chiming bells signaled the end of class, Halimah packed away her books and marched out the door. She was positive Ewen was scowling at her retreating figure, but she didn't look back.

Halimah's classmates waved to her as she walked through the gradually emptying hallways of the academy, and she greeted them back. All of them knew her name and associated it with the girl who was always in detention. But even though she was constantly in detention, they still held to some degree of respect. It was a fact that Halimah had made it onto the academy's list of top twenty mages. So had Ewen, though, much to Halimah's annoyance.

Halimah flipped her braid over her shoulder as she made her way outside. As she passed through the courtyard, Halimah squinted through the brilliance of the sun. No matter how bright the sun was, she could always see the two moons in the sky.

When Halimah reached the opposite side of the courtyard, the school grounds had considerably cleared out. Everyone had either gone home or to their dormitories. But not Halimah—she still had detention to serve. Halimah lingered outside the door to her history classroom for a moment. Just as she reached out to turn the handle, the door swung open of its own accord. "Miss Samra," a voice greeted her.

Halimah let out a sigh as she stepped inside. "Professor Lethco." The rows of desks in the classroom were empty, and Halimah made her way over to one of them before setting her book bag down on the bench next to her.

There was a flash of movement as a gray cat gracefully leaped onto the table in front of her. "This is your third day here," the cat said crossly. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you what you need to be doing."

"No, sir." Halimah made her way over to the corner of the classroom and picked up the wooden bucket waiting for her. This she carried out of the classroom and down the hall. After she filled it up with soapy water, Halimah returned to Professor Lethco's classroom. And as she got to work wiping down the tables, Professor Lethco began talking to her.

"While I was looking through books about the great war to create my lesson plan," the cat said, "I was suddenly reminded of something."

"What were you reminded about?" Halimah asked when it became obvious that her professor wanted her to converse.

"The winged folk," Professor Lethco said simply.

Halimah's hand stilled for a moment from where she was cleaning the tables. "The winged folk," she echoed as she swiftly resumed her task. "Let me guess—were you reminded of the time the king of the day angels declared war on the night angels and all of Hali? Even though I was just a baby during the war, you and the other professors all lived through those times. Or were you thinking about how the gods were reduced to mortals when they gave up their immortality to stop him?"

"Neither, actually. I suddenly remembered how during the war, a rumor was spread that the wing-folk could link their consciousness with a human of Hali and communicate with them during their unconscious state."

Halimah's hand stilled again. But just as her head snapped up to look at the cat, the door to the classroom was thrown open. "Ewen!" Halimah exclaimed angrily as her gaze flew to the door.

"Professor Badat sent me here to pick up papers," Ewen said sourly.

"Papers?" Professor Lethco asked mildly. "Oh, yes. That's right." There was a flash of plum-colored smoke, and Ewen had to hastily throw out his arms to catch the stack of papers that suddenly materialized. With a glare over his shoulder at Halimah, Ewen turned and marched out of the room.

Once Ewen was gone, Halimah waited for Professor Lethco to resume his conversation. But much to her dismay, he began rambling about his other classes and lesson plans. "Sir," Halimah finally said when her curiosity got the better of her, "about the winged folk—"

"Will you look at the time!" The cat cut her off. "You should run along now, Miss Samra."

Halimah exhaled through her nose as she dropped her rag back into the bucket. "Yessir."

That night, Halimah lay awake in her dormitory room. She silently cursed Ewen as she stared up at the ceiling. Her history professor had been about to tell her something important. She hadn't known the winged folk could communicate with humans. When she had first seen the woman with the violet wings in her dreams, she thought she was going crazy.

Halimah tried her best to clear her mind as she squeezed her eyes shut. She'd see Professor Lethco again tomorrow during her detention.

In her dreams, Halimah was floating in a void. Everything was pitch black. But as she looked on, a single star flickered to life. And then another, and another, and another. The entire void slowly filled with an array of twinkling lights, and standing with her back to her as a woman with violet feathered wings.

Before Halimah could call out to her, the winged woman turned her head to look back at Halimah. Halimah's words seemed to escape her, but before she could find her voice again, she had awakened to the sun spilling in through the window of her room.

✦ ✦ ✦

"Professor Lethco?" Halimah called as she knocked on the door to her history professor's classroom. She had tried the handle a moment ago but found that the door was locked.

"Haven't you heard?" an unpleasant voice sounded from behind her. "Professor Lethco left right when the final bell chimed."

Halimah didn't even need to turn around to know Ewen was standing behind her. She frowned as she turned around to face him. "What do you want this time? Are you following me?"

Ewen gave Halimah a look. "If I could have it my way, I'd stay as far away from you as possible. I'm only here to collect you because Professor Lethco left. You're going to be serving detention in Professor Badat's classroom with me."

"Detention? With you?"

"You landed me a week in detention, don't you remember?"

"Oh, that's right. I nearly forgot."

Halimah spent the entire hour of detention ignoring Ewen, and Ewen spent the entire hour ignoring her. When she could finally head back to her dormitory, Halimah walked as quickly as she could. It was the weekend now and she'd have to wait until next week to find Professor Lethco.

When Halimah finally fell asleep after a long night of studying in the shared common room, she opened her eyes to find that she was floating.

Back in the void of stars, Halimah anticipated the winged woman's arrival. This time as she waited, Halimah examined her surroundings. Her thick hair billowed around her as she turned her head. She could see the galaxy. And the moon. And the second one.

"Hello," a feminine voice purred. Halimah twisted around to find the woman with the long flaming hair and violet wings floating a good distance away.

"Hello," Halimah breathed.

✦ ✦ ✦

"Professor Lethco!" Halimah called as she skidded into the classroom. The moment the bell chimed, signifying the start of their passing period, Halimah sprinted through the grassy courtyard to reach her history class. She looked around the classroom. She had made it before most of the other students. "Professor Lethco?" Halimah said again as she scanned the room for the cat.

"Miss Samra." Halimah looked down to see the gray cat seated calmly on the floor. "It's the start of a new week. Don't tell me that I need to give you detention for yelling in the classroom and running in the halls."

Halimah blinked at the cat. "Professor, I want to ask you something."

"I'm about to start class," Professor Lethco said distractedly. "Can it wait for later?"

Halimah reluctantly nodded her head. But even as her professor started the class, she got the feeling that once the bell chimed, the cat would dismiss her again. Making up her mind, Halimah shot to her feet.

"Miss Samra?" Professor Lethco looked at her in surprise from the front of the classroom. Halimah could feel the eyes of her classmates on the back of her head.

"Professor!" Halimah said loudly, "I have a confession to make!" Professor Lethco stared at her, stunned as Halimah continued, "I was the one who enchanted Ewen's papers. I was the one who put him in detention."

"Do you take my class as a joke?" the cat asked irritatedly. "Detention, Miss Samra. I'll be seeing you here after school."

Halimah did her best to hide her smile as she sat back down.

After school, Halimah returned to her history classroom. "Professor Lethco," Halimah said as she hurried over to the cat, "please, what do you know about the winged folk and how they communicate?"

Professor Lethco turned to face Halimah from where he was magically cleaning the blackboard with flashes of purple smoke. "Miss Samra, tell me, why are you suddenly so interested in the winged folk? Even primary school students know that they haven't come down to Hali since the gods put a stop to the war."

"I think I've been seeing one of them in my dreams," Halimah said quietly. "And I'm not a person who dreams often. It must be a dream—but each time just seems so real."

Professor Lethco just looked at Halimah for a long moment. "Are you sure you're contacting one of the winged folk in your unconscious state? Are they a night angel or day angel?"

"A night angel."

Professor Lethco fell silent at that. Finally, he closed his eyes for a brief moment as he seemed to gather his thoughts. "Miss Samra, if you wish to find the answers you seek, I recommend you take a walk down to the Temple of Life."

"The Temple of Life? But even since the goddess herself passed away, her temple has been abandoned."

"I never said you had to enter the temple. I only said that you should take a walk to it. But I'll have to warn you, if you really are communicating with a night angel, you could end up in danger."

"Danger?" Halimah's voice wavered. "Is it really that serious? I—maybe it was nothing more than a dream after all."

"I'll warn you to think carefully about your next move," Professor Lethco said seriously. "Only a wielder of soul magic can be contacted by a night angel."

"A wielder of soul . . . But a wielder of soul can only appear if a god has a child with a mortal! No." Halimah shook her head as she took a step back from the cat. "My parents both passed away when I was younger, but they were ordinary people! They never went to the academy—they only knew basic magic! I knew my mother. I won't believe she was the goddess of life. Besides, I can't be a wielder of soul—I practice air magic! See?" Halimah desperately held out a hand, and rosy pink light flickered to life in the air around her. "My magic is pink, not silver-white."

"If you want the answers you seek," Professor Lethco repeated, "take a walk down to the Temple of Life. If you truly are a wielder of soul magic, it's my responsibility to take you to one of the former gods. They will teach you how to control your magic."

"And what if I'm not?"

"Then you return to the academy after your little walk and continue your schooling. At least then you can rest assured that it was only a dream and that you're the daughter of an ordinary couple after all."

Halimah spent the rest of her detention cleaning the tables in silence. The Temple of Life was located on the beach not more than an hour's walk from the academy. Halimah let her gaze linger on the tall grassy fields waving in the wind outside. She couldn't see the beach from here, but she knew it was out there. Could it be calling to her?

✦ ✦ ✦

Halimah was floating in the void.

"Hello," a voice purred.

Halimah twisted around in the air to find the female night angel drifting along beside her. "Are you real?" Halimah asked desperately. "Or are you a dream?"

"Am I real?" The woman's lips flicked into an amused smile. "Do you want me to be?"

Halimah opened her mouth, but then closed it again when no sound came out.

The woman just gave her a knowing smirk.

✦ ✦ ✦

In the morning, Halimah had made up her mind. After tying back her thick hair and marching downstairs to the students' shared cafeteria, Halimah finished her breakfast as quickly as she could. If she wanted to go to the beach, she needed to be long on her way by the time class started in case any of the school staff went looking for her. Halimah was so preoccupied that she didn't even bother replying to the sarcastic comments Ewen shot in her direction when he passed by.

Before long, Halimah was off on her way. She left the cafeteria early enough that there weren't any other students around to witness her stray from the path to the academic buildings. She quickened her pace as she hurried through the tall grass. Halimah was still in denial. Soul magic was one of the strongest types of magic; it was something so pure that it could extinguish any evil. Her magic wasn't like that at all.

Halimah wasn't a horrible magic wielder—she had made it onto the list of top twenty students for a reason. A smug smile flickered across her face. She had placed seventeenth according to the results of last year's end-of-year test. Ewen had come in one place behind her at eighteen. But the two of them were always neck in neck, and in previous years, Ewen had always placed above her on the exam. There was still one year left until they both graduated, though, and Halimah was determined to get the last laugh.

As the tall grass finally gave way to the powdery beach, Halimah hesitated as the ocean glittered in front of her. The beach was calm, and the water was clear and sparkling. What was she doing skipping class? This wasn't like her at all. But the night angel in her dreams . . . It had started nearly three months ago, and she couldn't go on this way anymore.

Halimah determinedly made her way down the long stretch of beach. She could see the Temple of Life in the distance, and it grew steadily closer with each step. But then all of a sudden, Halimah pivoted. It was like her feet were moving on their own as she began to walk toward the water. Halimah's panic began to overtake her as she tried to regain control of her legs.

Halimah fought with all her strength against the force pulling her toward the ocean. But even as her magic sparked in a rosy-pink glow around her, she couldn't break free. Halimah's heart began to beat faster as her shoe touched the lazy water lapping up against the sand. Before she could blink, she was up to her knees in the cool water. Her school uniform felt heavy as it became waterlogged.

Halimah tried to scream—to call out for help—but her mouth wasn't working either. All she could do was continue to descend into the water. Halimah's heart sank as she found herself up to her neck. There hadn't been anyone on the beach or in the fields when she had come here. Halimah squeezed her eyes shut as her head went under.

Even as the water began to flood her lungs, Halimah's feet continued to lead her deeper into the ocean. Halimah could feel her mind straining as she tried to gather her magic. Rosy-pink light flared through the water. Halimah screamed, and the trail of bubbles that spewed from her mouth nearly shocked her into silence. She could move her mouth again. There was no point in it now, though. She felt lightheaded.

Just as Halimah's eyes fluttered close, silver light erupted around her. Her eyes snapped open. After getting over her momentary shock, she frantically squinted through the brightness for its caster. Had someone come to save her? No, Halimah realized with a jolt. The silver light was coming from her.

The feeling had returned to her limbs, and Halimah shot to the surface of the water. Her dark hair was plastered to the sides of her face as she gasped for breath. But she was breathing too quickly. All Halimah could do was look hopelessly up at the clear sky as her heavy clothes pulled her back under the surface.

✦ ✦ ✦

Everything felt foggy. As Halimah drifted in and out of consciousness, she felt the warmth of the sun beating down on her from above. She could feel the sand of the beach at her fingertips. Halimah's eyes felt heavy, but even as she lay there, she could feel a pressure on her chest. A moment later someone pinched her nose, and then there was light pressure on her mouth.

Halimah fought through the fog as she forced herself to open her eyes. Green filled her vision, and she had to blink a couple of times to make sure she was awake. "Ewen?" Halimah choked out.

"You're awake!" Ewen exclaimed breathlessly as he sat back on his heels.

Halimah just stared up at him.

"What?" Ewen's expression changed from relief to annoyance in a matter of seconds. "If I didn't give you air, you wouldn't have woken up at all."

Halimah shook her head as she slowly sat up. "What happened? Why are you here?"

"I followed you," Ewen admitted unapologetically as he rose to his feet. He made no move to help Halimah to hers, and Halimah remained sitting on the sand. "You were too suspicious this morning. I thought I might be able to catch you trying to find some illegal method to help you cheat on the final exam. What were you doing in the ocean? Even if you're my rival, you're also my classmate. I can't just let you throw away your life like that."

"I—" Halimah said, at a loss for words, "thank you."

"You should use your magic to dry your clothes. If you show up to class the way you are now, you'll be stuck in detention for an entire month. Nothing I do will be able to get you into more trouble then."

Halimah just sighed as she climbed to her feet. She summoned her magic, but instead of the rosy-pink color she expected, the light that surrounded her was silver.

Ewen whirled around from where he had started back up the sandy beach to stare at her in disbelief. "Halimah, is that . . . soul magic?"

Chapter Two

Halimah stared in shock at the silver light radiating from her. "I—but I'm not a wielder of soul!"

"It looks like you are now," Ewen said weakly. "Halimah, are you the daughter of one of the gods?"

Halimah rapidly shook her head, and the silver light faded. Her clothes were still soaked through and she began to panic. Her magic wasn't working. "I need to go find Professor Lethco!" With that said, she took off at a sprint down the beach. Sand flew in her wake as she reached the fields of golden grass.

"Wait!" Ewen called after her. "Class is in session! You can't just bust into his classroom."

"We're both in trouble now for ditching. We're going to end up in detention either way!"

"I just saved your life! And this is how you thank me? With detention?"

Halimah slowed her pace. Even if she did burst into Professor Lethco's classroom, he wouldn't talk to her until school was out for the day. "I'm going back to my other class," she said shortly. "You should go to your classes as well."

Ewen nodded curtly as he fell into pace with her. There was a flash of green light, and then Halimah's clothes were dry again.

"Thank you," Halimah said softly. Ewen just nodded again, and the two of them walked the rest of the way through the tall grass in silence.

Halimah was especially absentminded during her lessons for the remainder of the day. And now that her magic had changed . . . She couldn't just use it in front of her classmates.

"Halimah Samra!" Her professor slammed her fist down on her desk. Halimah blinked back to reality at the sound. "If you think you can daydream through my lessons, how about we have you demonstrate how to use air magic to grow and shape fires."

Halimah just stared at the candle that had appeared on the table in front of her in a puff of smoke.

"Please, go ahead," her professor said silkily.

"I—"

"Halimah isn't feeling well," Ewen interrupted as he stood up from his seat on the far side of the classroom. "I spent the morning trying to convince her to go see the nurse, but she was stubborn and ended up coming to school anyway. Please let her go to the infirmary."

Halimah stared at Ewen as she tried not to let her surprise show on her face. Ewen just gave her a look that read, Are you going to take my help or not?

"Is it true, Miss Samra?" Halimah's professor asked.

Halimah dipped her head in a nod. "Yes, it's true that I haven't been feeling well today."

"If it's really that serious, I shouldn't keep you from seeing the nurse. Off you go."

Halimah quickly shoved her books into her bag before scurrying out of the classroom. But instead of heading in the direction of the infirmary, Halimah walked toward Professor Lethco's classroom. Even though she had been practicing magic for years, the new magic now flowing through her veins felt so foreign. She had no idea how to control it—no idea how to wield it. She was in some of the highest magic classes at the school. Shaping magic was difficult enough as it was, but now that Halimah was completely out of touch with her magic, there was no way she'd be able to continue the year like this. Professor Lethco said that if Halimah really was a wielder of soul, he would take her to the former gods. Only they would know how to help her train and wield her new power.

When Halimah reached the door to Professor Lethco's classroom, she hesitated for a moment before pushing it open. She could feel the eyes of the students in the classroom fall on her as she searched for her history professor.

"Miss Samra?" Professor Lethco asked from the front of the classroom.

"Professor Lethco," Halimah said quietly, "may I have a word? It's urgent."

Professor Lethco let out a sigh as he turned back to address his students. "Continue reading pages eighty through ninety. I'll be back after I speak with Miss Samra."

The door swung shut behind Professor Lethco as the cat joined Halimah in the walkway. Halimah glanced at the empty courtyard through the large stone arches that made up the walkway, before finally turning to face the cat. "I walked down to the Temple of Life. I—my magic is silver now."

Professor Lethco inhaled sharply. "Does anyone else know about your magic?"

"Only Ewen," Halimah said quickly. "No one else knows."

"You know where my office is, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Wait for me in my office. I need to collect Mr. Hanif."

Before Halimah could ask any more questions, the cat hurried off down the sunny walkway. Halimah just blinked after him for a long moment before turning and making her way to the professor's office.

As Halimah waited around inside, time seemed to drag by. She paced back and forth, pausing every once in a while to glance out the window at the swaying fields beyond. After what felt like an eternity, there was the sound of footsteps, and Halimah turned to watch as Ewen entered the room.

When Ewen saw her, he just folded his arms over his chest and looked in the opposite direction.

Halimah let out a sigh. "Ewen . . . Thank you for earlier."

"Which part? The one where I saved your life? Or the one where I kept your new magic from being revealed to everyone?"

"Both. I know the two of us haven't exactly gotten along very well all these years, but I have the feeling that I'll be leaving the academy very soon."

"You're leaving?" Ewen asked almost eagerly as he turned to look at Halimah.

Halimah frowned as she nodded her head. "Did Professor Lethco tell you anything?"

"He told me to wait here in his office. When he finishes teaching his class, he'll come and talk to us."

Halimah walked over to stand in front of the window. After another long stretch of time, the door creaked open and Professor Lethco entered the office. "Miss Samra, Mr. Hanif, I'll ask the two of you to follow me."

Halimah exchanged a glance with Ewen as their professor turned and left the room. Halimah briskly exited the classroom and followed the cat down the open walkways. She could see Ewen out of the corner of her eye as he trailed after them. Halimah began to feel more confused as Professor Lethco led them off the school grounds and into the grassy fields surrounding it.

"Professor—" Halimah started, but Professor Lethco cut her off.

"Patience, Miss Samra. You don't know who could be listening in on our conversation."

Halimah fell silent.

Eventually, the three of them arrived at a small town. They came to a stop in front of one of the houses, and the door swung open for them on its own accord. Once they all entered, the door closed with a click.

"Professor," Ewen started as he looked around the living room they were now standing in, "is this your house?"

"That is correct, Mr. Hanif. The two of you will rest here tonight and prepare for our journey to see the former gods."

"See the former gods?" Halimah asked in disbelief. "You're taking me to them after all?"

"You are a wielder of soul, Miss Samra," Professor Lethco said heavily. "I'm sure you understand what it means to possess soul magic: you can have the potential to become a protector of our great Hali. Now that the gods have been reduced to mortals, they've all been looking for young talents to take over as protectors of Hali."

"Professor," Ewen cut in, "why do I have to go? I won't be any use to the former gods. I still have to complete my last year at the academy."

Professor Lethco let out a sigh. "Mr. Hanif, I'm afraid you can't go back now either. After all, you know about Miss Samra's new powers."

"I swear I won't tell anyone—"

"What if someone comes to the academy demanding the whereabouts of the wielder of soul?" Professor Lethco looked at Ewen seriously. "If they threaten you, I'm sure you will talk."

"Is it likely that someone will come to the academy?" Halimah asked weakly.

"Follow me," Professor Lethco said instead. He lead Halimah and Ewen over to the dining room table. After they had both taken a seat, the professor continued, "Not many people know this, but about three months ago, the former god of fire, Thuc, vanished."

Three months ago . . . "But that's when the night angel first appeared in my dreams!" Halimah said quickly.

"According to the letter I received from Gwenevieve, someone snuck into the Temple of Fire in the middle of the night. Nearby townsfolk reported that there seemed to be the sounds of fighting. A few people went to investigate after the sounds stopped, but when they entered the temple, there was no one there. Thuc and his partner had vanished. We fear they might have been abducted."

"Gwenevieve?" Halimah just stared at her professor. "As in the former goddess of the sea, Gwenevieve?"

Professor Lethco just nodded distractedly.

"How do you know the former goddess of the sea?" Ewen asked the cat in equal shock. "And how did we not know that Thuc and his partner vanished? This isn't a small matter."

"We've been trying to keep it quiet," Professor Lethco explained heavily, "but the news is slowly beginning to spread. It will only be a matter of weeks before all of Hali knows."

"Doesn't Thuc have a son?" Halimah suddenly remembered. "What happened to his son?"

"His son?" Professor Lethco said in surprise. "No, there was nothing about his son. But then again, Saedyn hadn't been seen in quite a while. If I remember correctly, he should be around the same age as the two of you. I don't even know if he even lives at the Temple of Fire anymore."

"Could someone have been targeting them?" Ewen asked, troubled.

"The former gods are still far more powerful than any ordinary human," Halimah said as she shook her head. "Who would have the power to abduct them in their own temple?"

"The day and night angels, I fear," Professor Lethco said simply. "I just hope my suspicions can be proven wrong. We'll need to make haste tomorrow morning; if the former gods really are being targeted, either Gwenevieve or Favian could be targeted next."

"Who are we going to go to?" Halimah asked quickly.

"Favian," Professor Lethco said as he waved a paw. "The former god of the sky is closer than Gwenevieve." Halimah watched as a bag flew down the stairs from the upper level of the house. The professor snatched it up and began summoning various objects from all over the room. All of them zoomed neatly into the bag. "I've packed everything we need. I'll have to trouble the two of you to sleep on the living room floor tonight. We depart in the morning."

✦ ✦ ✦

When night fell, Halimah fell asleep almost instantly. Her brain was exhausted.

She waved her arms and propelled herself through the starry void. Without warning, she collided with something quite solid, and she bounced backward.

The woman with the violet hair and violet wings was back with a smile on her face. "Consider this me protecting you from drifting too far."

Halimah pushed with her hands, but there was some kind of invisible barrier keeping her from moving forward.

"Your true magic has been awakened," the night angel said softly. "I helped awaken it for you when I sensed you were near a temple. I wasn't trying to hurt you when I had you walk into the water, but when your magic was awakened, I had to make sure no one else would be alerted of the emergence of a wielder of soul. We need your magic. We need you."

✦ ✦ ✦

Halimah watched the professor's house until it melted into the horizon. The three of them were riding in a small wooden wagon as it magically zoomed down the path cut between the tall grass. This would be Halimah's first time leaving the Firefly District. When she had mentioned this to her professor, he had seemed very eager to help list out all the historical sites they would pass on their way to the Temple of the Sky.

The speed they were traveling was almost dizzying as the land blurred by, and it wasn't long until the golden fields had disappeared from view.

"We've just entered the Fisher's Cove District," Professor Lethco informed Halimah loudly over the roar of the wind. The three of them had been traveling for a few hours already, and Halimah's limbs were starting to go stiff. "A few more hours and we'll have crossed the border to the Sand Dance District."

When they finally crossed into the Sand Dance District, even though the sun was beginning to sink beneath the horizon, the temperatures had risen drastically—all the greenery had been replaced with dirt and vibrant red-orange sand. It was late afternoon by the time the Temple of the Sky finally came into view.

"Ah-ha," Professor Lethco said triumphantly. "There it is."

But as they continued to near it, a blast of pale blue light exploded out of the top of the temple, shooting into the sky like a beacon.

"Stop the cart!" Ewen shouted in a panic.

The professor waved a paw and the cart skidded to a halt. The three of them watched in shock as a figure shot out of the top of the temple. He had dark skin, long hair, and a robe that seemed to shimmer with all the colors of the sky.

"That's Favian," Professor Lethco said in disbelief. "What happened?"

But his question was answered a moment later as two winged figures rocketed into the air after the former sky god. Both of them had flaming violet hair and violet wings.

"Night angels," Halimah breathed. She looked on in astonishment as the night angels chased Favian through the air.

"What are night angels doing here?" Ewen's mouth had fallen open in shock. Unlike Halimah, this was his first time laying eyes on the winged folk. "We have to help Favian!"

Just as Ewen lifted a glowing hand, Professor Lethco vigorously shook his head. "Mr. Hanif, if you value your life, you do not want to catch the attention of the night angels."

Ewen looked torn, but he reluctantly lowered his arm.

From the sky above them, the former god of the sky pointed a hand at the night angels, and a blast of pale blue light flashed toward them. The night angels just flapped their large wings and easily dogged the light. Halimah blinked as she tried to keep up with the action. The night angels moved so fast that they were nothing but blurs of violet against the fading sky.

One of the night angels waved something that looked like a net of living flame in the air. All Halimah could do was watch in horror as the night angels scooped Favian up into the net and vanished into the sky with another flap of their wings.

"What?" Ewen exclaimed in shock.

The professor just shook his head as if he too couldn't believe what they had just witnessed.

The three of them stared at the spot where the former sky god had vanished before Halimah found her voice. "What happens now?"

"We just saw the former sky god get kidnapped," Ewen said in disbelief.

Professor Letcho finally recovered from his shock. "Did they take Favian away because they knew I was bringing the wielder of soul here? We need to go see Gwenevieve before it's too late."

"How about we go into the temple?" Halimah suggested, shaken. "Maybe Favian left something behind as a warning." The professor nodded in agreement, and the three of them clambered out of the cart and hurried to the temple's entrance.

The Temple of the Sky was made from pale sunbaked clay that contrasted with the deep red sands surrounding it. Half of the temple sat on land, while the other was suspended over the ocean behind it, the same design as the Temple of Life. The inside of the temple was cool, and tall glass windows lined the main hall of the temple, giving them a spectacular view of the sparkling blue ocean outside.

Halimah stifled her gasp as they pushed open the double doors to the next room. The room was completely trashed. A fight had gone down here: the ceiling of the room had been blasted apart, and dust was still floating to the ground.

"This was the dining hall," Ewen remarked as he glanced at the shattered plates and goblets littering the floor. Halimah watched as the green-haired boy suddenly closed his eyes in concentration. Green light radiated from Ewen and enveloped the entire room. All the broken tables and silverware drifted off the ground before pieceing themselves back together. Even the chunks of broken ceiling flew back up and mended themselves. Within moments, the room looked as if a struggle had never taken place.

Halimah folded her arms over her chest as a shadowy figure fell through the roof. Ewen was rewinding the scene. All of the shadows were nothing but memories. Just a couple of days ago, Halimah herself would have been able to cast this spell. During the journey to the Sand Dance District, she tried to use her magic for little things, but found to her dismay that her new magic just wouldn't cooperate.

Halimah looked closer at the shadowy figure again. It was Favian. Two more shadows fell through the roof. These ones had wings: night angels. Halimah watched as the shadows of the night angels disintegrated into nothing.

"I got it!" Ewen said in triumph, and the green light faded a moment later. "Look"—the green-haired boy gestured toward the table at the front of the hall. The shadow of Favian was sitting at the table as he examined some kind of map spread out in front of him. Then the former sky god looked up as if someone had knocked on the door. Shadow Favian smiled, and his lips moved as if he were talking. A second shadowy figure walked through the doors to the dining hall.

Professor Lethco sucked in a breath. Halimah and Ewen both sent quizzical looks in his direction, but the professor responded with a quick, "I'll tell you later."

The new shadow figure walked over to Favian and they exchanged some words. Shadow Favian looked relieved to see the new person and gestured for them to have a seat. The newcomer sat down, and Halimah finally got a good look at him. He couldn't have been much older than herself. From his appearance alone, he must have been mixed with blood from the Crystal District, the same way over half of everyone in Hali was mixed in some way or another. The boy had pale skin, striking amber eyes, and black shoulder-length hair that was tied away from his face. When Halimah looked closer, she realized that his hair was streaked with silver.

The two of them seem to be having some sort of important conversation. Shadow Favian then handed the new figure a goblet and the two of them clinked their glasses together. They drank deeply. The new person stood up, and after bidding the sky god farewell, left the hall. His shadow vanished when it reached the doors to the hall.

Favian drank the rest of the liquid in the goblet before returning to his map. A few minutes later, the two night angels burst into the room, shattering the large glass windows as they swept in from over the water. The fighting started, and then all the shadows disappeared from view as they shot upward.

"Well," Professor Lethco said at last. "There you have it."

Ewen was frowning. "It's too bad that the rewind doesn't work with sound. I can't read lips very well either."

"Who was that other boy?" Halimah questioned.

"That was Saedyn," Professor Lethco said thoughtfully. "Son of the flame god, Thuc."

Halimah furrowed her brow. "What would Thuc's son be doing here?" As she was talking, Ewen walked over to the goblet Favian had been drinking from. The green-haired boy casually picked it up and the goblet glowed green in his hand for a moment before he set it back down.

"Magic suppressant."

"Magic suppressant?" Halimah repeated. Even though magic suppressants only lasted for a couple of hours, that was already more than enough time to hide the sky god somewhere no one would find him. "Did Favian know he was drinking that?"

Professor Lethco leaped up onto the table. "Probably not. The former gods have always been on good terms, and I'm sure he never suspected any ill intentions from Thuc's son."

"Did Sayden put that in his drink?" Ewen asked uncertainly. "But why would he be working with night angels? And if he's the son of a former god, wouldn't that make him a wielder of soul magic too?"

Halimah just let out a sigh. "We shouldn't linger here. Professor Lethco is right, we need to go see Gwenevieve as quickly as we can."

After zooming the rest of the way through the Sand Dance District, the group entered the dense forests of the Everglade District.

When darkness fully engulfed the forest, the trio found a small clearing to spend the night. The professor pulled out sleeping mats from his bag, and Ewen collected scattered branches for a fire.

Halimah lay on her back with her head resting on her arms. It wasn't so bad sleeping under the cover of the trees. The fire crackling nearby was warm, and with heavy eyes, Halimah watched the stars flickering miles above through the leafy canopy.

Chapter Three

Halimah was floating in the void of stars, and the woman with violet wings was watching her keenly with sparkling coal eyes.

"Do you know anything about the kidnapping of the former sky god, Favian?" Halimah decided to ask.

"Maybe."

"Then do you have any idea why he was kidnapped by night angels?"

The woman shook her majestic head. "Ever since the Second War, us winged folk have been searching for hosts. Yes, both night angel and day angel. Everyone on Hali thinks that the day angels are so pure, so good, but little do they know, the day angels are looking for a wielder of void to act as their host."

"Void magic? But void is the most destructive form of magic!"

"It is also the rarest and one of the most powerful forms of magic along with soul magic."

"What does a host do?"

"The winged folk will be able to communicate with the person through their consciousness. They'll be able to talk to them and try to convince them to do certain things. They can control the power inside their host, but they can't do anything with it unless their host agrees. Only then can they channel the magic through the host and use it as their own."

✦ ✦ ✦

Halimah woke with a start. The sun was just barely beginning to show its golden head over the trees, and the forest was full of fog.

"Ah, good." Professor Lethco's voice floated over to her. "You're awake."

Halimah turned to find him and Ewen sitting in front of the fire.

The professor handed Halimah a piece of flatbread. "After you've finished eating, we'll continue walking."

As Halimah ate in silence, she thought back to what the night angel had told her the previous night. In comparison to the four main types of magic—life, water, fire, and air—soul magic was already rare. Children born to a mortal and a god were soul magic wielders. But void magic was something completely different: void magic wasn't something someone could just learn. Void magic was the darkness to soul magic's light. It was something anyone could be born with at random, but given that there could only be one void wielder per century, that's what made wielders of void practically a myth.

✦ ✦ ✦

"Hello again," the night angel said.

Halimah opened her eyes and found herself floating in the void of stars. "I have soul magic. What do you want to do with it?"

The woman angled her head to the side. "Use it to help people of course."

Halimah frowned faintly. "You said that the winged folk can control the host's magic. Does it work the other way, too? Can the host control the winged folks' magic?"

"The winged folk can lend their host power. You're a magic student. I'm sure you know that the stronger your magic is, the more it will take from you."

Halimah furrowed her brow. Everyone knew this basic principle. But at the academy, her magic was average to the point where even if she completely exhausted herself with it, it wouldn't harm her in any way. But now with her new magic . . . Halimah wasn't sure what its limits were, and she was skeptical enough to know not to get ahead of herself and test it out.

✦ ✦ ✦

"We crossed the border to the Starlight District a few hours back, so the Temple of the Sea should only be a little further away," Professor Lethco announced. "We'll see it when we reach the top of this hill."

They had left their wagon back in the forest since Professor Lethco had claimed walking would be good for them, and with all the hills in the Starlight District, all his previous visits had ended up with his carts breaking. Although they had been walking for hours, Halimah couldn't help but marvel at the landscape. The sky was painted with feathery white clouds, and birds chirped in the distance.

"Can we please stop and take a break?" Halimah panted as they made their way up a particularly steep hill.

Ewen didn't seem to be having a great time either: he was scowling even more than usual and kept muttering things about how he would much rather be back at the academy.

"Look!" Professor Lethco exclaimed. "There it is!"

At long last, they had reached the top of the hill. A lush valley spread out beneath them, and a beach of white sand bordered the ocean just beyond that. Sitting half on the sand, half over the water was a temple made of a crystal-like stone. It had large arched windows, and every inch of the structure gleamed in the midday light.

The trio took in the view before beginning their descent down the hill. "Let's hope Gwenevieve is there," Ewen said with a sigh.

When they reached the bottom of the hill, Halimah noted in delight that the grass around them was sprinkled with flowers in various shades of purple. But she didn't have time to admire them for long before Professor Lethco yelled, "Look out!"

Halimah snapped to attention. Were the night angels here?

But it wasn't night angels that the professor had warned her about. Instead, a huge wave of water was rushing toward them. Halimah braced herself for impact, but to her surprise, the water formed a sphere around them.

"Don't move!" a girl's voice commanded.

Halimah turned her head to find a girl around her age standing in front of them. The girl had violet eyes, freckles, and curly black hair that fell to her hips. She was also wearing a flowy blue dress.

"You probably don't mean any harm," the girl continued, "but it's the protocol that I ask you to state your business here with the former sea goddess."

There was something familiar about the girl . . .

"Lyria?" Halimah and Ewen simultaneously asked in disbelief.

"Ewen?" The curly-haired girl blinked. "Halimah? Professor Lethco?"

"Ah, Miss Rahimi," Professor Lethco said happily. "What a pleasant surprise."

The barrier of water around them vanished, and the girl's face broke into a grin. "Welcome! It's been so long since I've seen all of you."

The professor nodded his furry head. "Yes, yes, indeed." Lyria Rahimi was ranked number one back at the academy, and Halimah had only crossed paths with her a handful of times on campus since their schedules had never aligned. It was true that Halimah hadn't seen Lyria around this year. It turned out that she was training as an apprentice under the former sea goddess, Gwenevieve.

"Follow me to the temple," Lyria said eagerly. "I'll go tell the others about your arrival, and then I can take you to Gwenevieve."

"Others?" Professor Lethco asked good-naturedly. "The other apprentices?"

"That's right." Lyria gestured for the trio to follow her toward the temple. "There are two others. Originally it was just me, but then when Thuc vanished, his apprentice didn't have anyone to train her. Gwenevieve offered to mentor her for the time being too. And then Favian's apprentice just arrived yesterday. He's still a little shaken about what happened to the former sky god. Ah, here we are." They had reached the double doors to the temple, and Lyria opened them with a wave of her hand.

The entrance hall was a spectacular sight: the floor and walls were made from the same gleaming stone as the exterior, and the large glass windows let in the dancing sunlight.

"You must be exhausted from your journey," Lyria commented. "I'll take the three of you to our guest rooms. It gets dark in a few hours, so you'll probably want to spend the night."

Professor Lethco inclined his head. "That would be wonderful."

All of a sudden, a slip of paper appeared in the air in front of Lyria. She reached out a hand, frowned, and plucked it from the air. Halimah watched her expression change slightly as her eyes skimmed over the words.

Lyria tucked it into a pocket in her dress. "Unfortunately, Gwenevieve just took off for Hali Central. She won't be back until dinner."

"We'll just talk to her when she gets back," Professor Lethco reassured her.

Lyria led them up the stairs to the upper level of the temple. "Anyways, these three rooms are yours for as long as you wish to stay. All of you should come down to the dining hall at six for dinner. Gwenevieve will be there, and so will the other apprentices. I think they'd be delighted to meet you."

Halimah, Ewen, and the professor watched as Lyria turned and glided back down the stairs. Once she had vanished from sight, Halimah turned to address her professor. "Professor, could I have a word?"

The cat nodded his head, and Ewen took it as his cue to enter his own room.

Halimah opened the door to one of the remaining rooms and walked inside. The room was quite big, with a bed and couch sitting on opposite sides of the space. The back wall was made entirely from glass, and Halimah could see the calm ocean stretch for miles.

Professor Lethco walked over to the couch and jumped up onto one of the cushions. "Ah," he said. "We can finally rest our legs."

Halimah took a seat on the other side of the couch. "There are a couple of things I'd like to ask you."

"Ask away."

"What do you know about hosts for winged folk?"

Professor Lethco just stared at her for a long moment. "If you'll excuse me," he finally said as he hopped down from the couch, "there are a couple of things I need to go and clarify." And with that, he vanished in a puff of plum-colored smoke.

✦ ✦ ✦

Six o'clock rolled around at last. And since the professor hadn't come back, Halimah left her room alone and headed down to the dining hall. The doors were already open, and Halimah walked straight into the large room. She quickly spotted Ewen seated at the polished wood table and slid into the chair across from him. "Have you seen the professor?" she asked quietly.

"No," Ewen said with equal quiet. "Why?"

Halimah shook her head. "Never mind."

Lyria appeared in the doorway accompanied by two new figures. The boy on Lyria's left had long hair, dark skin, and wore a simple white tunic. The girl on her right had shoulder-length hair that was a shade of red so dark it almost looked purple. Unlike the olive skin tone Halimah, Ewen, and Lyria shared, she had a lighter shade and was dressed entirely in black.

Lyria's violet eyes fell on Halimah, and she glided over.

"Hi, Halimah, Ewen," she said with a polite smile. "Let me introduce you two to my friends. This is Fern." Lyria pointed to the girl with the dark red hair. "And this is Maliq." She pointed to the boy with the long hair.

"Lulu, be careful where you're pointing, will you?" Maliq laughed as he and Fern took a seat on either side of Ewen. "The last thing we'd want is for you to wash our guests away with a tidal wave."

Lyria giggled as she slid into the seat next to Halimah. The red-haired girl, Fern, remained unaffected by the exchange; her expression was blank and almost bored as she glanced out the window.

"It's an honor to meet both of you," Ewen said. "What kind of magic do you two practice?"

Maliq's eyes were bright. "I practice life magic. You see, even though I don't use air magic like Favian, he still chose me to be his apprentice. Fern over here practices fire magic. I don't think you've introduced yourself yet. What kind of magic do you use?"

"I'm Ewen," Ewen said. "I practice air magic."

"And you?" Maliq turned to Halimah expectantly.

"My name's Halimah. I used to practice air magic too, but not anymore."

Maliq opened his mouth as if to say something else, but then stopped when Lyria exclaimed excitedly, "Look! Gwenevive and the professor have arrived!"

Halimah turned to the doorway to watch a beautiful woman in aqua robes glide into the room with Professor Lethco at her heels. So this was the former sea goddess in person. Her long turquoise hair rippled out behind her, and her golden eyes sparkled with centuries worth of wisdom. They all watched as Gwenevieve settled herself at the head of the table, and Professor Lethco took the chair next to her.

"Thank you, Halimah, Ewen, and Christopher for joining us here for dinner," the former sea goddess said warmly.

It took Halimah a moment to realize that "Christopher" must be the professor's first name, and another moment to realize she hadn't known that until now.

The former sea goddess waved her hand. Dishes appeared on the table in a flash of aqua light. As they ate, Halimah decided to ask Maliq about what happened at the Temple of the Sky before Favian's kidnapping.

"Here's the odd part," Maliq told Halimah around a mouthful of bread, "the day of his kidnapping, a boy came to the temple. He couldn't have been much older than me, but his hair was already streaked with silver. I remember Favian sent me to answer the door for him. One moment I'm talking to him, and the next I'm waking up on the sand next to the temple. I didn't even remember being knocked unconscious. But when I returned to the temple, both Favain and the boy were gone."

Halimah frowned. She looked at Ewen to see if he had heard Maliq's story too. Ewen nodded at her to confirm that he had been listening.

"Fern." Ewen turned his attention to the red-haired girl. "Do you remember anything about the night when Thuc was abducted?"

Fern's expression remained one of boredom. "Just like Maliq, there was a boy with silver-streaked hair. I met him outside the Temple of Fire. I remember talking to him. The next thing I can recall was that I woke up hours later in the entrance hall. Thuc and his partner, Lianna, had vanished."

Halimah and Ewen exchanged a glance.

When they finished eating, Halimah, Ewen, and the professor stood up from the table and followed Gwenevive to her study. Neat stacks of books were piled in every corner of the study, and a circular window let in the light from the moon. The former sea goddess took a seat behind the polished wood desk in the middle of the room, and Halimah, Ewen, and the professor stood in front of her.

"Gwenevieve," Professor Lethco said gravely, "I think you know why we've come here."

"Christopher"—Gwenevieve looked down at the cat—"I am sure I do. Is it true?"

"Maybe the girl is the key," Professor Lethco said as Gwenevieve's golden eyes swept over Halimah.

Halimah inhaled sharply. "The key to what?"

Gwenevieve's eyes shone. "The key to bringing peace to Hali. After all, you are the child of a god too."

Chapter Four

Halimah shook her head in disbelief. "I'm what?"

"You're what?" Ewen echoed, thunderstruck.

"I knew your parents," the former sea goddess said matter-of-factly. "Yasvitha, the Goddess of Life was a kind woman. And her partner, Farr, was a man of joy itself. Yes"—Gwenevieve's long turquoise hair caught the light—"before the war, Yasvitha gave birth to you. Infants are rare. They need to be protected at all costs. After all, they are the future of our world. Both your parents needed to fight to defend Hali, and ultimately, your mother became a mortal to stop the war. They wanted to try and live a normal life for you, Halimah. They loved their world and even named you after it. You are a wielder of soul magic. And so is Saedyn, the former flame god's son."

"Favian the child of a god too, though," Ewen started as he furrowed his brow. "Wait, that's right—he was a wielder of soul. But then he took up his mother's position as the god of the sky. After that, his magic changed from soul to air."

"On the topic of soul magic," Gwenevieve said as she addressed Halimah, "I will begin teaching you how to control your new magic tomorrow. I hope you are ready."

✦ ✦ ✦

Halimah woke to the sound of someone knocking on her door.

The sun had just barely begun to show its golden head over the water. After rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Halimah slid out of bed and walked over to the door. "Who is it?" she called tiredly.

"It's me." Ewen's voice sounded from the other side of the door.

Halimah stifled a yawn. "Who's 'me?'"

"Ewen!"

"Okay, okay. Come in." Halimah beckoned the green-haired boy over the threshold before shutting the door behind him. "So," Halimah said awkwardly, "is there any particular reason why you're here?"

"There is, actually," Ewen said as he refused to meet Halimah's eyes. "I didn't know about your parents. I'm sorry."

Halimah blinked in surprise. "My mother passed away when I was eight, and my father when I was fourteen. I've learned to move on."

"I just want to say I'm really sorry. From how you made your way around the school, you just seemed so joyful and carefree. I thought you had it all. I never had a good relationship with my parents. I think I was jealous and took it out on you."

"I—apology accepted."

Ewen sighed as he changed the topic. "It's an honor to be trained by a former god. Gwenevieve offering to teach you just like that—well, that isn't something that happens every day."

"Are you jealous?"

"If I'm being honest, yes. I am a little jealous."

Halimah gave Ewen a small smile. "I'll ask the former sea goddess if she'd be able to train you too. I think it's only fair; I'm the one who got you dragged away from the academy. This is the least I can do to make it up to you."

As the two of them headed downstairs to breakfast, a figure came running down the stairs to greet them. "I caught you just in time," Lyria said breathlessly. "Halimah, Gwenevieve sent me to tell you to meet her on the beach next to the temple. Ewen, my fellow apprentices and I want you to help patrol the valley. The more eyes the better. Gwenevieve has warned us about the night angels."

As Lyria hurried off, Halimah automatically looked at Ewen.

"What are you looking at me for?" the green-haired boy asked with a wry smile. "Go on—Gwenevieve is waiting for you."

"I don't think I'm ready," Halimah said truthfully. "I'm about to have to relearn everything I thought I knew about my magic."

"Think of it as just another class," Ewen said lightly before hurrying to catch up with Lyria. Halimah was left standing alone in the vast entrance hall. She drew in a deep breath, then released it slowly. Determination sparked deep inside her. She would master her magic for the sake our her parents—for the sake of the world they had given so much to protect. Today, Halimah was going to learn how to use her new magic.

Chapter Five

Halimah spent the morning relearning the fundamental basics of magic. And to her dismay, her progress was barely visible at all. Halimah staggered backward in defeat. Every inch of her ached, and her head throbbed painfully. The new magic surging through her veins was so foreign—so powerful to the point where Halimah struggled to shape it.

"I think that is enough for today," the former sea goddess said lightly.

"Yes," Halimah said breathlessly. "Thank you."

"I will see you at the dining hall tonight for dinner." Gwenevieve turned and glided back to her temple.

When the last of the former sea goddess's footsteps faded, Halimah flopped onto her back and threw an arm over her face to shield her eyes from the glow of the sun. It was so peaceful here on the beach. With the waves lapping gently against the white sand and the soft breeze on her face, Halimah was content to lie there forever. She had discarded her shoes a while back, and the sand was warm between her toes.

"Halimah?" a voice asked.

Halimah removed her arm from her face and spotted Ewen walking toward her. "What are you doing here? Isn't it time for lunch?"

Ewen sat down on the sand next to her and looked up at the sky as well. "Gwenevieve didn't go easy on you?"

Halimah just shook her head. "I've never felt so drained in my life."

"I'm curious about the night angel you see in your head." Ewen casually changed the topic. "Professor Lethco and I were talking the other night. Can you describe her?"

Halimah threw an arm over her eyes again. "She has hair like a living flame, coal-colored eyes, and violet wings."

"Are you in a certain place when you see her?"

"A void filled with stars. But in all honesty, I don't know how seeing a bunch of stars will help me with anything."

Ewen laughed, and Halimah turned to him in surprise. She had never heard him laugh before, let alone seen him smile in a way that wasn't a sneer.

"So what if it doesn't help you with anything?" the green-haired boy said, still laughing. "It must be beautiful, isn't it? That's not something everyone gets to see." The laughter faded from his eyes. "Why do you look so surprised all of a sudden?"

"You should smile again. Laugh, more. I don't know. It's nice to see you smiling."

Ewen blinked at her before bursting out in laughter again. "It's not as if I've never smiled before in my life."

The two of them remained on the beach until the sun had fully disappeared, and the last of its rays melted into the star-strewn sky. Halimah hadn't realized how much time they spent talking until she looked up to find that the sky had melted into night.

"Now this is beautiful," Halimah said as she gazed up. Purples and blues and pinks shot between the clusters of twinkling stars, and the two moons of Hali cast their silver light down on the world below.

Ewen rose to his feet. "We should probably head back to the temple. Dinner starts soon." He extended a hand and helped Halimah rise to her feet.

Lyria, Maliq, and Fern were already sitting at the long wooden table when the two of them arrived.

"Halimah, Ewen." Lyria gave them a small smile as she waved them over.

"Hi, Lyria." Halimah slid into the vacant seat beside Lyria, and Ewen sat down across the table next to Maliq.

"So," Lyria asked eagerly, "how did training with Gwenevieve go?"

Halimah sighed through her nose. "It's a good thing Gwenevieve is a patient woman."

Lyria laughed. "I thought that too when I first started my apprenticeship here. When I wasn't able to master an enchantment right away, Gwenevieve would coach me and watch me practice for hours. She's a wonderful teacher—though I'll bet you that kind of patience only comes with being a couple of hundred years old."

"Good evening Miss Samra, Mr. Hanif." Everyone turned to watch Gwenevieve and Professor Lethco stride into the room. The professor stopped at the foot of Halimah's chair. "I assume your lessons went well?"

Halimah looked down at the cat. "Good evening, Professor. How has your day been?"

The professor swished his furry tail. "I've been trying to find information on Saedyn."

Halimah leaned closer. "Did you find anything?"

Professor Lethco's whiskers twitched distastefully. "Unfortunately, my efforts so far have been in vain. Even with both Gwenevieve and myself asking around, no one seems to know anything about his current whereabouts. Or anything about him in general. Though, we have been trying to be very discreet as we don't want to cause any unnecessary panic."

"Professor"—Lyria swiveled around in her chair to join their conversation—"I'm sure at this point everyone in Hali knows about the missing gods."

"Indeed, Miss Rahimi," the professor said seriously, "they're all aware of the missing gods. But none of them know about Saedyn's involvement. And in fact, we still don't know if he even has anything to do with it. We don't want to start any false accusations."

"Maybe you should try to get in touch with him," Lyria suggested.

"We would," Professor Lethco said with a frown. "The only problem is since we don't know where he is, we don't know how to contact him."

Lyria hummed as she brushed her curly hair over a shoulder. "I've never met the flame god's son before. Does he seem like the kind of person who would harm others?"

"I'd like to say that no one in Hali is the kind of person who harms others for their own personal gain. Unless you count the winged folk."

"That's it!" Halimah blinked. "Since Saedyn is the other host, he's probably been influenced by a night angel!"

Lyria nodded along. "So then the night angels want to use him to get rid of the former gods. With the gods gone, they could stage a full-out war with the day angels without any interference," she concluded fearfully.

"I couldn't help but listen in on your conversation," Maliq spoke up as he braced his arms on the table. "There has to be something we can do to prevent a third war."

"I wouldn't worry about it now if I were you," Fern said silkily. "We still have Gwenevieve on our side."

"I agree with Fern," Gwenevieve said lightly from the head of the table. "Let us not worry about anything right now. Tomorrow when all of us are rested and fed, we can discuss what to do next."

✦ ✦ ✦

"Greetings."

Halimah didn't even need to look around to know that she was floating in the void of stars. "Do you want to start a war with the day angels?" she asked.

The woman pursed her lips in agitation. "Why would we want to do that? We finally get to live a semi-peaceful life, and you think we'd want to go to war?"

"Well," Halimah started slowly, "you do know that the gods are disappearing, right?"

The night angel nodded.

"We have a suspicion that the flame god's son, Saedyn, is involved in some way or another." Halimah closely watched the woman's expression, but the night angel gave nothing away. "He's a host too," she continued when the night angel remained silent.

"That is true."

"Do you know how I can contact him?"

The woman's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Contact him? Why would you want to do that? If he really is the one behind the kidnappings, that would be very dangerous."

Halimah just looked at the night angel expectantly. "So there is a way?"

The night angel's face was impassive for a moment before her lips twisted into their usual smirk. "There is." The woman flipped her long, flaming hair over her shoulder. The violet flames crackled, and Halimah instinctively flinched away. "But it requires quite a bit of magical energy. I doubt you could do it now, especially with your current skill level."

"Then maybe you could do it for me. You told me a couple of days ago that the winged folk can channel their power through the host."

"You really do want to contact him, don't you."

Halimah nodded determinedly.

The night angel lifted her arms in front of her. Flame sparked along the length of her wings. Halimah squinted against its radiance, and then she was sitting up in her bed back at the Temple of the Sea.

She was there, but not at the same time. Everything was hazy. Her body was moving without her controlling it. Halimah's legs carried her out of bed, down the stairs, and out the temple's front entrance.

Then the night angel's voice echoed in her head. "To perform this bit of magic, I need to move you far away from the others."

Halimah was in a state of shock as her body floated off the ground and drifted over the ocean. Soon the Temple of the Sea was only a speck against the star-strewn sky. The vast ocean was spread out beneath her and the dark waters rippled peacefully. Eventually, she came to a stop in midair, and Halimah watched as her arms lifted in front of her. A moment later, she was enveloped in bright silver light.

"I've got you connected," the night angel's voice said. "But I'm afraid you have to do the rest. I left you with the end of the string. You can choose if you want to pursue it or not."

What string? Halimah thought back, since her mouth didn't work.

The night angel didn't respond.

Halimah sighed. Or at least she tried to. Halimah cast out her mind. The stars and the ocean faded away, and sure enough, there was a string. Not exactly a string, but a thread of silver pulsing through the darkness of the void. Reaching out, Halimah hesitantly twined her fingers around the end of it.

Nothing happened.

Halimah tugged at the thread. She didn't know what she was supposed to be doing, but she kept tugging. After what felt like an eternity, a faint pull rippled across the string from somewhere far away.

Then all of a sudden, she was sitting in a grassy field. Sunlight filtered in from between the trees, and Halimah blinked as she looked around. The string was still clutched tightly in her hands.

Something seemed off. The harder she looked at her surroundings, the more they seemed to waver and blur like smoke. And then there were footsteps. Halimah whirled around.

A boy around her age was standing in front of her, and the other end of the pulsing silver thread glowed in his hand.

Chapter Six

Saedyn was the spitting image of his shadow back at the Temple of the Sky. He was clothed entirely in white, and his shoulder-length hair was tied back from his face. Even though he was young, his dark hair had almost completely turned the color of snow.

"Who are you?" he said.

Halimah opened her mouth and then closed it again.

"I've never seen you before." Saedyn's amber eyes seemed to stare straight into Halimah's soul. "Why are you contacting me?"

"I have a few questions to ask you." Halimah finally found her voice.

Saedyn's eyes flickered briefly with sadness. "I could break this connection right now." His pale fingers tightened on the delicate silver thread.

"Wait!" Halimah called. "I know you're a host."

Saedyn's hands stilled. "And what if I am?"

"You have the ability to communicate with the night angels. And recently, the night angels were seen kidnapping Favain, the former god of the sky. Do you know anything about this?"

Something shifted behind Saedyn's eyes. "Gwenevieve sent you, didn't she."

Halimah remained silent.

Saedyn just angled his head to the side. "Yes, I was the one who orchestrated the former sky god's abduction, as well as my father's."

Halimah flinched at the coldness of his voice. "Why are you doing this? A third war would be the end of Hali."

Saedyn's tone was icy. "A third war will be the end of Hali!"

And with that said, he yanked violently on the thread. The delicate string snapped in his fingers.

Halimah's eyes snapped open as she was jolted back to reality. The silver glow around her was fading quickly. And then she was falling. Halimah yelped in surprise as she hit the surface of the dark water she'd been levitating above. She heard the splash in her ears moments before the cold crashed into her like a solid wall.

Halimah's head broke the surface of the water and she gasped for breath. The frigid air stung savagely at her throat. Silently cursing the night angel, she tried in vain to swim in the direction of the temple. The sun was slowly beginning to rise, and the sky was lightening from dark purple to pink.

Halimah thrashed around in the icy water. Her clothes were so heavy . . .

Then something flickered in the distance. Whatever it was, it was rushing toward her on top of the water. As it neared, Halimah almost choked as she accidentally swallowed a mouthful of water. It was a dragon made out of water.

The dragon glided across the surface of the ocean and scooped her out of the water in one of its claws. When they reached the beach, the water dragon set her down gently on the sand before bursting into droplets.

"Halimah!" Lyria cried as she rushed over to Halimah. Her violet eyes were wide in concern. "What happened to you? You know what, don't tell me now," she said quickly as she helped Halimah to her feet. "We need to get you inside before you catch a cold." Blue light flared around Lyria, and then suddenly Halimah was dry again.

Before they could enter the temple, the front doors flew open, and Ewen and Professor Lethco hurried out to greet them. "We saw Lyria's water dragon pull you from the ocean," Professor Lethco said worriedly. "Just what happened tonight?"

"It was Saedyn who used the night angels to capture the gods," Halimah told them breathlessly.

"You have to be careful, Halimah," Professor Lethco said stiffly. "What you just did—that was reckless. Just wait until Gweneveive finds out about this."

Halimah stared at the ground. Maybe she had gotten ahead of herself—gotten a little too confident. Too reckless.

"Come, Halimah," Lyria said gently. "Let's get you back to your room. I think you'll feel better after a good rest."

"Okay," Halimah said, relieved to be led away from Ewen and the professor's reproachful stares. Lyria took her gently by the arm, and the two of them walked into the temple.

✦ ✦ ✦

"So, did you get what you wanted?" The night angel floated beside her. Her flaming hair rippled like water.

Halimah was lying flat on her back with the stars twinkling in the void above her. "I'm just going to go ahead and ask it: were you purposely trying to kill me?"

"Kill you?" the woman said in surprise. "Me? When Saedyn severed the connection, you regained control. It wasn't my fault I got kicked out."

Halimah shot the woman a look. "I found out that it was Saedyn who was behind the gods' kidnappings. But why would anyone want to start a war?"

The night angel picked at her nails. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Then a thought popped into Halimah's head. "Since Saedyn is a host too, does he come to this void as well?"

"He does. In fact, he's probably in this exact same void right now."

"Really? Does that mean I can see him here?"

"Silly, do you know just how big this place is? The void expands infinitely in every direction. You wouldn't be able to find him here even if you tried."

"Maybe I can't. But maybe you can?"

✦ ✦ ✦

Halimah awoke to a tremendous headache. Even the slightest movement of turning her eyes sent a sharp pain shooting through her head.

A knock sounded on the door.

"Who is it?" Halimah asked dizzily.

"Professor Lethco," the professor's voice called from the other side of the door.

"You can come in."

The door swung open, and the cat stepped into the room. "How do you feel?"

"Terrible," Halimah answered truthfully.

The cat leaped up to sit at the foot of her bed. "I told Gwenevieve what you said to us earlier—that it really was Saedyn behind the kidnappings."

"Did she have anything to say about that?"

"Yes, she's going to do an investigation. If Saedyn really is after the former gods, it won't be long until he'll try to come for Gwenevieve. You know . . ." Professor Lethco changed the topic, "It's almost time for dinner."

It was then that the clouds in Halimah's head seemed to subside. "Dinner? Was I out all day?"

"Everyone's been quite worried. Especially Mr. Hanif."

Halimah stared up at the ceiling for a moment before sliding out of bed. "Let's not keep everyone waiting, then."

In the dining hall, Gwenevieve swept into the room. Her turquoise hair floated behind her as if blown by a phantom wind. "Before we eat, I have some announcements to make," the former sea goddess said lightly. "Halimah confirmed that it was indeed Saedyn behind the kidnapping of both the former flame and sky god. I will talk to him."

"I don't think it would be a good idea for you to leave your temple anytime soon," Maliq said worriedly as he addressed the former sea goddess. "It's not safe for you to go anywhere alone."

"I agree," Lyria jumped in. "If you're going to go somewhere, let us accompany you. I don't know what kind of protection we can offer against night angels, but it's better than having you set off by yourself."

Gwenevieve smiled softly. "I appreciate your concern, but I need to do this on my own. I have ways to stay hidden and undetected."

"But—" Maliq and Lyria protested at the same time.

Gwenevieve just raised her hand to silence them. "I am going to take my leave tomorrow at first light. My temple is in your hands for the time being."

Halimah spent most of the dinner staring out the large windows lining the back of the dining hall, watching the ocean and its gentle waves. She watched the stars and how they cascaded through the crystal-like sky. Everything was going to be okay. Tomorrow, Gwenevieve was going to set out to talk to Saedyn. She would convince him not to start a war—not to destroy Hali.

Chapter Seven

"Welcome back!" Lyria and Maliq shouted happily.

The former sea goddess smiled tiredly at them. "It is good to be back. Regrettably, I have some bad news to share with all of you. I spoke with Saedyn. He has no intention of giving up. But for now, as long as I am still here, Hali will be fine."

"Do you know where Saedyn is?" Fern asked, and everyone turned to look at her. "If we know where he is, we can go there now and try to stop him from doing whatever he's trying to do."

The former sea goddess sighed. "Since I contacted him magically, I, unfortunately, am not aware of his current whereabouts."

Fern fell silent at that.

✦ ✦ ✦

Halimah awoke before the sun had even begun to show its golden head over the surface of the water. She hadn't been able to communicate with the night angel. In fact, for the past few nights, when she had opened her eyes in the void of stars, there was no one there. Trying not to dwell on it, Halimah quickly dressed and headed downstairs to the dining hall.

No one else was awake yet, and the temple was silent. On her way to the dining hall, Halimah walked past the former sea goddess's study. The door was partially cracked open, and the light from inside filtered out into the hallway. She paid it no head until she heard the faint voices speaking from behind the door. Gwenevieve and Professor Lethco.

Halimah paused for a moment but then shook her head. She knew better than to eavesdrop. She took a step past the study, but that was when she heard her name. Doubling back, Halimah pressed her ear as quietly as she could against the door.

"Are you sure?" Professor Lethco's voice said in exasperation.

"If what Saedyn says is true," Gwenevieve was saying, "then we really are not left with many options."

The professor's voice fell silent.

"Halimah is stronger than she knows," Gwenevieve continued softly. "I have seen the raw power pulsing through her veins. But yes, at the end of the day, it is her choice. We cannot force her to do anything she does not want to do."

"What would Yasvitha think?" Professor Lethco finally said. "How do you think she'd react if she could see her daughter now?"

There was silence until Gwenevieve said, "I wish Yasvitha was still here. But during the war, she was severely injured. And then she became a mortal . . . If I had just checked on her and her partner more—"

"Her last few years were some of the happiest in her entire life. You had your own injuries to nurse at the time."

"She was like a sister to me."

"I know."

"They all were my dearest friends—Imellia, Yasvitha, Thuc. Lianna too. I miss Imellia. After that second war, I have not spoken to Thuc in years either. I think I am afraid that if I leave my temple, I will run into Rania."

"Gwenevieve," Professor Lethco said quietly—reassuringly—"everything will be fine. It will take more than the threat of war to break our spirits. Besides, you have some of the best mages of their generation here at the temple standing with you. You should go talk to Rania."

Gwenevieve's voice dropped to a whisper, and Halimah had to strain her ears to catch the next few words. "For her sake, I have been careful not to show my face. She wants nothing to do with me."

"I doubt that. She's still your partner."

Both of them fell silent, and Halimah decided this was a good time to move on. She silently backed away from the door and continued on her way to the dining hall. Halimah didn't know what to think. She felt guilty for listening in on such a private conversation, but at the same time, she had learned new information about the former sea goddess. Halimah sat alone in the dining hall and watched the sun slowly rise from the window.

Halimah closed her eyes and concentrated. She could feel the magic begin to flow through her. The magic would bend to her will. When Halimah opened her eyes, there was a soft silver glow surrounding her. What should she try to create? Halimah went with the first thing that popped into her mind. Slowly, her magic took the form of a cat. Halimah watched in amazement as the silvery cat flicked its tail and twitched its whiskers.

"Nicely done, Miss Samra," Professor Lethco said. Halimah turned to find the cat striding toward her. Her concentration broken, the silvery cat faded away, and the glow around her followed shortly after.

"How's Gwenevieve?" Halimah asked.

"She's still recovering from her trip," the professor told her with a sigh. "She's quite tired."

It seemed that Professor Lethco hadn't noticed her eavesdropping earlier. And she felt guilty. "Um, Professor?"

"Yes?"

"Well, the door to Gwenevieve's study was open, and I accidentally heard you two talking." As she spoke, Halimah watched the cat for a reaction.

The professor just leveled her a look. "It isn't polite to listen in on other people's conversations, Miss Samra."

"I know. And I'm really sorry. I just couldn't help myself when I heard my name mentioned."

"Ah," Professor Lethco said. "Gwenevieve and I were going to talk to you over dinner tonight about the role you might play later if things take a turn for the worse."

Halimah opened her mouth to reply, but then movement at the entrance of the dining hall caught her eye. Lyria, Maliq, Fern, and Ewen were walking into the hall together.

Just before they finished eating breakfast, Maliq rose to his feet, and an odd expression passed over his face.

"Maliq?" Lyria's brow creased in concern. "What is it?"

"The wards I set up around the temple were disturbed. Something's coming."

Everyone sprang to their feet and rushed to the front of the temple. Halimah's jaw dropped in horror as she beheld the sight in front of her. About twenty night angels were flying toward the Temple of the Sea.

"Shields up!" Fern cried.

Five shimmering shields sprang into existence around the temple: water, fire, life, air, and a shield of plum-colored light which had to belong to Professor Lethco. Halimah had instinctively tried to shape her magic as well, but she quickly realized she didn't have the ability to make a shield anymore.

When the night angel leading the group reached the first shield, she stopped in the air and looked down at the magic wielders on the beach below.

"Hand over the sea goddess," the night angel called. Her flaming violet hair rippled behind her. "All we want is the former goddess."

"We won't!" Lyria yelled angrily.

"Then don't blame us if any of you get hurt," the night angel said silkily, and a ball of flame formed in her upturned hand. "ATTACK!"

All twenty night angels tucked in their wings and dove straight down. They were nothing but violet blurs against the pale blue sky. Fire rained as the night angels blasted away at the shields.

Halimah's stomach sank as she watched the first shield crack. And then the next. And the next.

Lyria and Maliq hurried to try another tactic, and their elemental dragons sprung into the sky to meet the night angels. One or two of the night angels flapped upward to avoid the dragons, but there were just too many of them.

Fern's shield of flame seemed to be holding out the longest against the night angels' bombardment, but cracks were slowly beginning to spiderweb their way across the shield's surface despite the red-haired girl's efforts to repair the holes.

Beneath Fern's flame shield, Professor Lethco's shield of plum-colored light still glowed brightly. And then suddenly, a light flared across her vision.

All of the night angels were thrown backward as a new shield, this one of pulsing turquoise light, surrounded the temple. Halimah looked around and instantly spotted Gwenevieve striding down the temple's steps. The former sea goddess's long gown and hair drifted behind her like ocean waves, and her golden eyes blazing as she beheld the night angels.

The night angels blinked in shock as they pointed wildly at Gwenevieve. Quickly recovering, all twenty night angels dove again and rocketed straight at the former sea goddess's shield.

"They will not be able to get past my shield," Gwenevieve reassured Halimah and the others as the night angels were thrown backward again. "I can hold them off long enough for all of you to run. They are after me."

Fern's eyes flicked with flame. "We're not going to leave you!"

The former sea goddess shook her majestic head. "I do not want any of you to get hurt."

"We don't want you to get hurt either," Lyria countered, still conducting her water dragon to snap at the night angels circling outside the shield. "We—"

But whatever Lyria was going to say was cut off as a blast of silver light exploded over the landscape.

Halimah inhaled sharply. She knew who the light belonged to.

Chapter Eight

"Saedyn!" Maliq exclaimed as he took a step backward.

Saedyn inclined his head in acknowledgment. Even though he was smiling, the gesture didn't reach his cold amber eyes. It was an awful smile—there was nothing warm in it at all. Saedyn's shoulder-length hair was tied back into a ponytail as always, but this time the entirety of his hair had turned a snowy white.

Saedyn's eyes lazily moved over the group gathered behind the former sea goddess's shield. His gaze landed on Halimah, and his eyes widened in surprise and recognition. For a moment, the iciness seemed to vanish.

You, he mouthed. Halimah just stared back with wide eyes.

Quickly recovering from his shock, Saedyn's eyes turned steely again, and that awful smile crept back over his lips. "We meet again, Gwenevieve," he said. His voice was clipped and coated with frost.

Gwenevieve frowned from where she stood on the sandy beach in front of the temple's entrance. "Leave here immediately, Saedyn. You have until three." The former sea goddess raised her hand three, holding up three fingers.

"Three?" Saedyn laughed in feigned amusement. "Until you do what?"

"One." The former sea goddess lowered a finger. "Two."

"I dare you."

"Three."

"Do your worst!"

The world exploded into light, both aqua and silver. Halimah sprinted to duck under the crystal-like staircase. Ewen quickly followed her, and they joined Lyria, Maliq, Fern, and Professor Lethco who were already crouching low under the steps. Ewen threw out a shield of solid air around the group, and all of them held their breath as they watched Gweneieve go head-to-head with Saedyn.

Saedyn was throwing blast after blast of blazing silver light at Gwenevieve, and the former sea goddess skillfully countered each attack with her own aqua magic. Even though she was engaged in fighting, Gwenevieve's shield remained intact around the Temple of the Sea.

The night angels circled in the sky above. Halimah watched as one night angel dove down behind Gwenevieve with a ball of fire forming in her hands. Halimah opened her mouth to yell a warning, but Lyria beat her to it.

"WATCH OUT!" the curly-haired girl screamed.

Too late. All the night angels were suddenly diving at once. They reached Gwenevieve at the same time and swarmed her in a whirlwind of violet feathers. Halimah's heart beat a mile a minute in her chest as she watched the former sea goddess vanish from view behind the swarm of night angels.

Maliq and Fern sprinted toward Gwenevieve, but a shield of silver violently erupted around the temple. Maliq and Fern yelled in anger as they collided head-first with the silver barrier. "Let us out!" Fern demanded as she clawed at the shield with flaming hands.

Ignoring her, Saedyn lazily walked over to where the former sea goddess now lay in a heap on the sand. "Take her away," he instructed the night angels. Instantly, two night angels swooped down to scoop up Gwenevieve. The former sea goddess's head lolled to the side like a rag doll, and without a backward glance, all twenty night angels flapped their violet feathered wings and took to the sky. They were gone in seconds.

Saedyn turned to look back at the group trapped behind his silver shield. His amber eyes glinted. "What will you do now that your goddess is gone?"

Maliq and Fern began shouting all sorts of threats in response.

Saedyn only laughed in amusement before his voice turned to ice. "I'm warning all of you now to stay out of my way." Then silver light flared as it seemed to sweep over the entire Starlight District. Halimah could practically feel the magic crackling in the air.

When the light cleared a moment later, the Temple of the Sea was engulfed in blazing silver flames. Halimah shrieked in surprise as she dashed out from under the stairs. Heat radiated in every direction, and flame covered every inch of the temple. Lyria grabbed Professor Lethco—the cat was too shocked to protest—and ran up beside Halimah. Ewen joined the group, and both he and Lyria flung up shields of pulsing magic.

Saedyn's silver shield still surrounded the temple. They were trapped inside with the fire. Lyria desperately tried to use her magic to extinguish the flames, but the water seemed to have no affect on the silver inferno.

Halimah whipped her head around to look back at Saedyn. For a brief moment, her gold-flecked eyes met Saedyn's amber ones. And then he was gone—vanished in a flash of silver light. Saedyn's shield winked out of existence, and all of them sprinted into the grassy field beyond, trying to get as much distance as they could from the burning temple.

When they were far enough away from the temple, they stopped running and turned back to watch the roaring flames. Lyria sniffed from Halimah's side. "I can't believe it. Gwenevieve—the temple—everything."

"Professor," Ewen spoke up after a long moment of silence, "where should we go from here?"

"That, Mr. Hanif, is a very good question," the cat said. "Er, Miss Rahimi, would you care to kindly set me down?"

Lyria sniffed. "Oh. I'm sorry, Professor."

"Because of the recent circumstances," Professor Lethco told them, "Gwenevieve and I discussed what we would do if she ever was taken away. We agreed on finding her partner, Rania, in Hali Central and ask her to take care of the Temple of the Sea in Gwenevieve's absence. But obviously, that wouldn't be our plan of action now," the cat concluded as he gestured at the burning temple.

Ewen frowned. "I think we should still go to Rania. She's Gwenevieve's partner after all. She might be able to help."

"We should head off now," Halimah said anxiously. "The sooner we find Rania, the sooner we can stop Saedyn and get Gwenevieve back."

"Wait." Maliq stepped up. "Are we all going to Hali Central? Now that all the former gods are gone, who's going to protect the people if anything dangerous shows us?" He sighed heavily. "As much as I want to go looking for the gods, it's our responsibility as apprentices to take over for them in their absence."

"Maliq is right," Lyria said softly. Her violet eyes were still shimmering with tears. "It's up to us to protect the people of Hali."

Fern stepped forward as well. "Then I guess this is where we part ways." Her tone was solemn. "I'll head north to the Temple of Fire."

"And I'll go south to the Temple of the Sky," Maliq said.

"I will go back to my home district of Firefly and watch over the Temple of Life." Lyria fiddled with a strand of her hair. "It wouldn't make sense for any of us to stay here at the Temple of the Sea. I'm scared to see what it will look like when the flames die down."

Ewen nodded. Snow-like ash still clung to his green hair. "Halimah, Professor Lethco, and I will go to find Rania."

Everyone fell silent for a long moment.

Fern was the first to turn. "Goodbye, then." They all watched in silence as the red-haired girl made her way through the grass toward the mountains in the distance.

"I guess I shouldn't stick around either," Maliq said sadly. "I do hope we have the chance to meet again. It was a pleasure to know all of you." He saluted to all of them before heading in the opposite direction as Fern.

"You should go, too," Halimah said gently to Lyria. The curly-haired girl hugged each of them tightly before wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

Lyria smiled weakly. "We will meet again. I know it." She waved one last time before vanishing in a flash of blue light.

Halimah stared at the burning temple. "It's down to the three of us again."

✦ ✦ ✦

The three of them had found Professor Lethco's wooden cart, and now as they zoomed along, the buildings of Hali Central were outlined against the distant horizon. As the road grew progressively more crowded, they climbed out of the cart and continued on foot. The grass and trees that lined either side of the path swayed peacefully in the light breeze.

"Once we get into the city itself, we'll head straight for Rania's residence," Professor Lethco was saying from where he was perched on Ewen's shoulder. "Rania was originally from the Sunrise District, though in her early years, she traveled down to the Sand Dance District to study under the previous sky god, Imellia. Anyways"—Professor Lethco hopped down from Ewen's shoulder—"we have arrived. Welcome to Hali Central."

Houses, big and small, lined the paved streets. People were milling about, and the sound of children whooping with laughter floated through the air. The sun shone brightly in the center of the clear blue sky as they entered the heart of the city. Professor Lethco led them past apartments and shops until they came to a quieter street.

"Ah," the cat said as he stopped in front of a two-story house, "here we are."

After getting a confirmation nod from the professor, Ewen stepped forward to rap his knuckles against the smooth wood. He stepped backward, and the three of them waited in silence.

"What if no one is home?" Halimah said after a while.

Professor Lethco flicked his tail. "That is a good question."

Ewen frowned and knocked on the door again. This time, footsteps sounded. Halimah held her breath as the door swung open.

A woman around her mid-thirties stood in the doorway. She had glowing olive skin and thick black hair that was pulled back into a long braid.

"Hello," Rania said as her deep bronze eyes swept over Halimah and Ewen. "Can I help you?"

Professor Lethco gave a small cough from behind the two of them. "Greetings, Rania."

Rania's eyes widened slightly as her eyes fell on the cat. "Christopher?"

"Yes, yes," Professor Lethco said in a distracted manner.

"If you're here for information about Gwenevieve," Rania said stiffly, "I'm afraid I can't help you. I have no clue where she was taken."

"You know about her kidnapping?" Halimah asked quickly.

Rania folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe. "The whole town knows. I'm sorry to disappoint you all."

She made to close the door, but Professor Lethco hurriedly interjected, "Wait! Miss Samra here is Yasvitha's daughter—a wielder of soul magic."

Rania furrowed her brow as if she was fighting some kind of inward battle. But then she sighed and stepped aside. "Come in."

Halimah tentatively took a step over the threshold. Ewen followed close behind her. The interior of Rania's house was decorated in simple orange ornaments that gave Halimah the impression of miniature suns. Shelves full of books lined the walls of the living room, and piles of even more novels were stacked neatly under chairs and tables.

"I wasn't expecting guests anytime soon," Rania admitted as she shut the door behind them and hurried over to make room for them on the couch. "Please, sit."

Halimah and Ewen took a seat on the orange cushions. Rania sat down on the rug in front of them. "So," she said, "let's do some introductions, shall we? My name is Rania."

"My name is Ewen," Ewen introduced himself. "I'm a student at Firefly's academy."

"I'm Halimah," Halimah said. "I'm also a student."

Rania pushed her braid over her shoulder. "Ewen, Halimah, Christopher, please tell me about the Temple of the Sea. From what I understand, it's currently on fire. How did it get that way?"

Halimah and Ewen looked at each other.

"It's the doing of the former flame god's son, Saedyn," Halimah decided to start.

"Night angels attacked the temple," Ewen continued. "Twenty night angels and Saedyn himself came to take Gwenevieve away."

"Night angels," Rania said thoughtfully, more to herself than the others. "Night angels . . . What I don't understand is why the night angels are working with Saedyn."

"I spoke with him," Halimah said softly.

Rania's head snapped up. "You spoke with him?"

"I asked him if he was trying to start a war. I asked if he truly wanted to destroy Hali. His words were, 'A third war will be the end of Hali.'"

"A third war will be the end of Hali," Rania echoed. "Then I guess we just need a way to save Hali."

"Do you know of a way?" Ewen asked quickly.

"I don't," Rania said slowly. "But I know where you can find one."

"Really?" Halimah exclaimed at the same time Ewen said, "How?"

Rania just shook her head. "Stay for the night. I'll spend tonight weighing our options. Tomorrow I'll have a solution for you. I hope all of you won't have any problem sleeping in the living room." Rania stood up from the floor and straightened her tunic. "Until then, enjoy your time in Hali Central."

✦ ✦ ✦

After a long day of meandering through the city, Halimah, Ewen, and Professor Lethco met up with Rania at a restaurant.

"How have your past few hours exploring Hali Central been?" Rania asked as she closed her menu and set it down on the table in front of her.

"I've never seen such a bustling city before," Halimah admitted. "It's so beautiful and full of life."

"Yes, I thought so too the first time I came here." A small smile crossed Rania's lips. "That is also why I ultimately decided to make Hali Central my home."

"Why didn't you stay with Gwenevieve?" Halimah couldn't help herself from asking.

Rania just sighed heavily. "I think Gwenevieve doesn't want anything to do with me at this point. I don't know if she'd even want me back at the Temple of the Sea."

Halimah frowned. "Gwenevieve doesn't seem like the kind of person who holds grudges."

Rania was spared from responding as a waiter waltzed up to their table with a bright smile on his face. After ordering, Rania resumed their conversation. "Do tell me what Gwenevieve has been doing these days. Before she was kidnapped, I mean."

"Before any of the kidnappings happened, Gwenevieve was training an apprentice," Professor Lethco told her importantly. "The other two gods were too. Thuc was the first to select a young and skillful mage to be his apprentice."

Night had engulfed the city by the time the group had finished eating dinner. They were heading back to Rania's house, and the number of people crowding the streets was slowly dwindling. As they walked, they passed a group of middle-aged women talking in alarmed voices. Bits and pieces of their conversation floated over to them: "The Temple of the Sky is burning too?"

Halimah looked at Ewen. He nodded. He had heard too.

"Excuse me"—Ewen walked over to the women—"what was it you were saying just now about the Temple of the Sky?"

"Dear, dear," one of the women said in a horrified whisper. "You haven't heard?" Halimah and Ewen leaned closer to pick up her words. "Earlier today, the Temple of the Sky was reported to be burning with silver flames."

Halimah's stomach sank. Was Maliq all right? He had been heading for the Temple of the Sky. Was the Temple of Fire going to be targeted too? The Temple of Life? Halimah really hoped that Rania had the answers they were looking for.

Chapter Nine

"Last night," Rania started as she met their eyes one by one, "I saw many versions of the future. I seldom practice divination anymore, and last night reminded me why I stopped. What I saw terrified me; the sky was alight with silver fire, burning, burning. There were two sides tearing each other to pieces. The strange thing is, the people of Hali are fighting alongside the night angels."

"Let me guess," Professor Lethco said, "we're fighting the day angels."

"Yes." Rania's eyes were weary. "It's us and the night angels against the day angels."

"Did you see Saedyn in any of these visions?" Halimah asked softly.

Rania shook her head. "Strangely enough, I didn't see him in a single one. I searched and searched for him in each future I came across, but he isn't in any of them. I think—" she trailed off. There was an odd expression on her. "I think he might be dead."

"Saedyn dies?" Ewen looked just as stunned as Halimah felt.

"I wouldn't think too hard about it," Rania said tiredly. "I only searched through a handful of futures. But one thing is certain: if we don't do anything, destruction will be inevitable. There is a prophecy, hidden away somewhere on Hali."

"A prophecy?"

"This was never documented in the history books, but during the First War, a day angel and night angel fell in love with each other. They didn't want another war like the first one to break out, so they created this prophecy as a way to prevent another war in the future. They didn't want to see their world destroyed. Ultimately, it was because they forged the prophecy that they were murdered. Neither of them had much magic left, and they couldn't have resisted even if they tried. That was the true start of the Second War."

"How do you know about the prophecy?" Ewen questioned.

Rania traced the whorls etched across the surface of the wooden table with her fingers. "They told the gods. And then the gods told us. They told them how to find it. While we don't know the exact location, they told us that the prophecy responds to soul magic." Halimah felt both Ewen and Professor Lethco's eyes fall on her, but she kept her attention on Rania. "When all the gods combine their magic, it creates a magic in between soul and void. I think the winged folk designed it that way so if one god wanted to use the prophecy, the other three would have to agree as well. But in our current situation . . ."

"I'm a wielder of soul," Halimah said quickly. "Is there some kind of magic I can do to locate it?"

"To locate the prophecy's hiding place, you have to reach out with your magic and follow the pull of the soul. You will be the compass. Close your eyes," Rania said softly. "I'll guide you." Halimah did as she was told and shut her eyes. "Now, place your hands on top of mine. I will act as your anchor." Rania's warm fingers wrapped around her own. "Hold on tight," she whispered.

And then Halimah was suddenly tumbling through a void of stars. She whizzed past flecks of light so bright that her eyes stung. Halimah flung out her arms in an attempt to slow her descent. And suddenly she stopped. Everything had gone silent. Even the ringing in her ears had subsided. From somewhere far, far, away, Rania's voice drifted over to her. "Find the light. Let it guide you."

Halimah looked around. What light was Rania talking about? There were only stars.

She took a deep breath and then began propelling herself forward through the void. Halimah waved her arms as if she were swimming and slowly drifted past stars and dust. What was she supposed to be looking for? Was it a bright light? A small light? One of the thousands of stars flickering lazily around her?

Halimah summoned a small amount of her magic from deep inside her.

And then Halimah felt it. It was so small, so faint, that it was no wonder she couldn't feel it until now. It happened again. A tug. It was tugging her toward the right. Halimah turned and waved her arms to drift in the direction of the pull. That way. It was over there! She flung out an arm toward the source of the tug.

Halimah's eyes snapped open.

"Looks like you found it," Rania smiled faintly.

Halimah blinked in surprise as she realized her arm was still extended. She was pointing due east. "We should go now!"

"Wait," Ewen interrupted. "Before we do anything, do we know how much time we have until things take a turn for the worse?"

Rania's smile faded. "There's exactly a month before fighting breaks out and the world is consumed in flame. Halimah's pointing east—toward the Sunrise District. If you go by wagon, you'll reach the border in about a day. When you reach Sunrise, Halimah, you should search for the light of the soul magic again just like we did today to make sure you're heading in the right direction. One of you should act as an anchor," Rania added as an afterthought to Ewen and the professor.

"Thank you, Rania," Professor Lethco said with a sigh. "We appreciate your help. We should head off now."

Rania stood up. "Let me help you pack for your journey."

She and the professor walked upstairs, leaving Halimah and Ewen alone at the table.

"How far are you willing to go for Hali?" Ewen asked after a while.

"My parents loved our world—they named me after it," Halimah replied. "I will defend it with my life. I'll make them proud."

Rania and Professor Lethco returned from the upper story shortly. "I've packed food and blankets," Rania told them as she set the bags down on the table. "Feel free to borrow my wagon. I'm sorry I won't be going with you, but someone needs to watch over Hali Central, especially with all that's happening now."

Halimah and Ewen stood from the table, and Rania walked them to the door. "Thank you again," Halimah said gratefully as they stepped out onto the street.

Rania smiled warmly. "Of course."

"Oh, one more thing." Halimah looked back. "If you see Gwenevieve, try talking to her. I think you'll realize that she doesn't hold anything against you."

"I've got the wagon set up," Professor Lethco called from the side of the house. Halimah flashed Rania one last smile before hurrying over to the professor.

Fortunately, Rania's wagon was a lot nicer and a lot less rickety than Professor Lethco's had been. The trio waved goodbye to Rania, and the wagon took off down the street.

✦ ✦ ✦

As Rania had predicted, Halimah, Ewen, and Professor Lethco reached the border to the Sunrise District within a day. With all their traveling, the only district Halimah hadn't seen yet was the Crystal District. The Crystal District was the northernmost district one could go to, and it was home to towering mountains and sparkling snow. Crystal was also where the Temple of Fire was located. On the other hand, the Sunrise District was full of rolling green fields decorated with golden flowers. Fluffy clouds drifted through the pale blue and pink-streaked sky. The group had stopped by an inn in a small town to spend the night. Before the sun had begun to rise the next morning, they were off.

It was the morning of their third day of travel, and the chilly wind bit mercilessly at Halimah's ears and nose. She had wrapped one of the wool blankets Rania had packed for them around her body, but that did nothing to keep the harsh winds from causing her eyes to water. It took her a moment or two to realize that the cart was slowing down.

"Miss Samra, would you care to find which direction the prophecy's hiding place is?" Professor Lethco's yellow-green eyes seemed to glow through the fog.

Halimah closed her eyes, but then hesitated and reopened them. "Are you going to be my anchor?"

"Mr. Hanif would probably be the better choice." Professor Letcho held up his paws as if to prove something that Halimah had missed.

"Alright." Halimah sighed and held out her hands.

Ewen stared at her hands blankly before timidly placing his hands on top of hers. "Try to be quick, will you?"

Halimah only had to close her eyes for a brief moment before she reached out an arm toward the light. Her eyes fluttered open. She was still pointing east, but this time, her arm was more to the right.

"Perfect," Professor Lethco said, and the wagon began to move again.

✦ ✦ ✦

Much to Ewen's dismay, Halimah returned to the void of stars multiple times later in the day to check if they were still on the correct path. But by the time the sun had dipped beneath the horizon, Halimah didn't even have to close her eyes to feel the tug guiding her toward the prophecy's hiding place. It was a strange feeling—almost as if something was whispering to her. Beckoning her.

The trio spent the night sleeping under the stars of the Sunrise District. The galaxy above them was filled with pinks, oranges, and reds.

The next day, they rolled into a forest. The trees around them were tall even though their trunks were skinny. Leaves rustled above them as the wind swept through the branches.

The pull was so strong now that Halimah was certain that whatever they were trying to find would make an appearance any second. They had left their wagon in a clearing and were now continuing by foot. All of a sudden, the tugging stopped. Halimah blinked and looked around in surprise. But there was nothing there besides the trees. Retracing her steps, Halimah backed up. The tug had returned. She took a step forward. It stopped again.

"The pull stopped," Halimah told Ewen and the professor. "I think it's safe to say that the prophecy is hidden somewhere in this forest. We just have to look for it now."

The three of them decided to split up and search the forest. If someone found something, they would alert the others immediately. But so far, none of them had found anything out of the ordinary.

Halimah walked aimlessly through the trees. With aching legs, she sat down on an overturned log and rummaged in her bag for some food. After finding a snack, Halimah reached into her pack for her bottle. It was empty. Halimah frowned slightly. She had passed a small stream earlier. Standing back up, Halimah walked back the way she had come.

Five minutes later, she came upon the stream. Kneeling down, Halimah filled her bottle with the clear water. She absently watched a cluster of miniature fish dance up the stream. Their scales sparkled as they reflected the light filtering through the trees. Then something caught Halimah's eye. Below the water—below the mud and dirt it flowed over—something glittered.

Halimah blinked. There was a hole. But that couldn't be. The hole appeared to be an opening to some kind of space beneath the water. Something was sparkling in the space under the stream.

"Hey!" Halimah yelled excitedly into the forest. "I think I found something!"

Ewen and Professor Lethco came running.

"Look." Halimah lowered her voice as she pointed at the hole under the water.

Ewen's eyes widened as he knelt down beside Halimah to look closer. "The water is flowing right over it without falling through."

Halimah nodded. "There has to be magic here. I'm going to take a closer look." She pulled off her shoes and socks.

She made to step out into the water, but her foot passed right through the mud. It wasn't mud, she suddenly realized. It was an illusion.

Halimah yelped as she fell through the water and into the chamber below.

Chapter Ten

Halimah heard Ewen and the professor yell her name as she landed painfully on her back. Dripping with water, Halimah slowly sat up. She was in a cave. Crystals of pinks and purples and blues grew on the walls, and each seemed to give off their own soft glow.

"Are you alright?" Ewen was yelling from somewhere far above.

"I'm fine. Come on down! I think I found the hiding place!"

A moment later, two loud splashes sounded, and Ewen and the professor dropped to the ground beside her.

"What is this place?" Ewen asked in awe as he surveyed the crystal-filled cave.

Professor Lethco frowned at the water soaking his fur. "No wonder no one ever found this place."

"How big do you think the cave is?" Halimah asked. Her voice echoed.

Professor Lethco set off across the mossy floor. "Let's find out, shall we?"

Halimah exchanged a look with Ewen before the two of them hurried after the cat. Somewhere far ahead, a silver light was glowing, and Halimah's breath caught in her throat. It was the same light she had seen when she had been in the void of stars. She quickened her pace. "That's where it is!"

They passed under a stone arch and into a larger cave beyond. The crystals growing in this cave were pure silver, and Halimah had to squint against their brightness. In the middle of the cave, there was a stone pedestal. And on top of that pedestal, there was a box. It was whittled from dark brown wood and carved with intricate symbols. The three of them stopped in front of the box and stared at it.

"How do we open it?" Halimah whispered. "I only need to look at it to know that it's been magically sealed."

"It's probably written on the box," the professor said. He jumped up onto Ewen's shoulder to get a better view of the engravings etched on the box's lid.

"I've never seen those symbols before . . ." Ewen started.

"That, Mr. Hanif, is because this is the ancient language of the winged folk. Ah-ha. It says right here." Halimah watched the cat's yellow-green eyes move back and forth over the swirls. "Soul magic."

"I can do that—"

"I don't think you understand, Miss Samra. Opening the prophecy box will take a tremendous amount of magic. It will tax you deeply. It might even take a toll on your body."

Halimah fell silent for a moment. "Just tell me what I need to do."

Professor Lethco looked at her sideways. "You really want to do this?"

"Yes." Halimah didn't even have to think about her answer. "This is my world too. I don't want to see any harm come to it."

Professor Lethco sighed before jumping from Ewen's shoulder onto Halimah's. "Put your hands on the box," he instructed. "Close your eyes."

Halimah rested both hands on the lid of the box. She could feel the carvings in the wood against her palms.

"Channel your magic into the box until it yields to you. Channel your magic until it opens."

Taking a deep breath, Halimah reached out and summoned her magic to her. When she felt it bubbling under her skin, Halimah released the magic into the box. She could feel the energy flowing from her into the whorl-covered wood. Instantly, she began to feel fatiuged.

"What do you think you're doing?" The voice of the night angel rang in her head. "You don't have enough strength."

The weariness crashed into Halimah like a wave. "I need to open . . . open this box . . ."

"What's so important about the box?" the night angel questioned. "Is the thing in the box really more important than your life force?"

"I need to open the box," Halimah said again. The energy was still flowing from her fingertips. The fog in her mind was growing thicker and thicker. The light around Halimah flared so brightly that her eyes began to burn. She quickly shut them as a sensation like fire began to pickle over her skin. It started as a mere tingle at first but rapidly grew into something much larger. Burning. Her skin was burning with a flame so hot she was freezing.

Suddenly there was a clicking sound, and then she was flying backward. Halimah hit the ground with a thud and everything went black.

✦ ✦ ✦

"Halimah! Halimah! Wake up!"

"Miss Samra!"

"Professor, I don't think she's breathing!"

"No, she is . . . just barely."

"And her hands are like ice! Professor, do we have any blankets?"

"Here—I have one in my bag."

"This was a terrible idea! Why couldn't I have used my magic instead?"

"The box only opens to soul magic, Mr. Hanif. Your air magic wouldn't work no matter how much you used."

"Speaking of said box, the stupid thing didn't even have anything inside!"

Halimah didn't have time to dwell on his words as a second wave of agony washed over her and she blacked out again.

✦ ✦ ✦

The next time Halimah regained consciousness, she painfully managed to crack an eye open to find herself lying on a pile of blankets in front of a warm fire.

"Halimah!" Ewen rushed over to her. "You're awake!"

"What happened?" Halimah asked groggily.

"You got knocked unconscious," Professor Lethco answered.

"How about after that?"

"Well," Ewen said, "we're just relieved you woke up."

"You've been asleep for three days," Professor Lethco added.

"What about the box?" Halimah asked in a rising panic. She frantically looked around the cave, all the while trying her best to ignore the sharp stabbing sensation that occurred every time she moved.

Ewen and the professor exchanged a glance.

"What?" Halimah asked again, frantically this time.

Ewen's brown eyes met Halimah's gold-flecked ones. "When you opened the lid, there was nothing inside."

"Nothing?" Halimah's head went blank. "Can I see it? Please?"

Professor Lethco nodded at Ewen, and the green-haired boy gingerly passed Halimah the wooden box. Carefully, Halimah took the box in her hands and lifted the lid. She stared blankly down at it. Her insides were just as empty as the box. But the box could only be opened by someone with soul magic . . . Professor Lethco had said it himself.

Then Halimah's stomach plummeted. "It was Saedyn."

Ewen and the professor nodded.

"We came to that conclusion too," Professor Lethco said gravely. "It wasn't recent either. Ewen tried the same enchantment he used at the Temple of the Sky, but we couldn't find anything since it happened too long ago. Also . . ." the cat gestured to Halimah's hair.

Halimah quickly glanced down at her hair. One thick strand of her hair had turned white.

Halimah opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She closed it, still staring at the white streak in disbelief. "My hair," Halimah found her voice at last.

"You used too much magic energy for your current state to handle," Ewen explained regretfully. "Soul magic isn't anything like your old magic."

Halimah shuddered and pulled the blankets tighter around herself. "Have we been in the cave all this time?"

"Yes," Professor Lethco said solemnly. "When you opened the box, you seemed to be in a lot of agony. We wanted to give you time to recover as much as you could before we set off."

"Where are we going next?" Halimah asked. She refused to look at the white streak in her hair.

"Back to my house," the cat said simply.

Chapter Eleven

"We have returned," Professor Lethco announced as his house came into view behind the dancing gold grass of the Firefly District. The wagon stopped in front of the house, and the three of them climbed out. Fortunately, Halimah had almost fully recovered during the past few days on the road and could now walk without the world spinning around her.

Professor Lethco walked over to the door, and just like before, it swung open on its own accord. "Miss Samra"—Professor Lethco turned to address Halimah—"the guest room is up the stairs. It's the second door to the right. You need to rest."

"I'm fine, really," Halimah tried to protest, but the professor wouldn't have any of it.

"I'll prepare dinner in a few hours. I don't want to see you downstairs until then."

Halimah sighed as she climbed the stairs to the guest room. After she took a seat on the bed, she gazed out the window at the peaceful fields. Even though this was the same place she had grown up in, something seemed different. The world itself hadn't changed, Halimah realized. She was the one who had changed. What would her parents think if they could see her now? They had kept their identities a secret for her sake. They just wanted her to be normal and happy.

Halimah smiled to herself as she thought back to her parents:

One night while her father was tucking her in for bed, young Halimah suddenly asked, "Papa?"

"Yes, my golden one?" Farr responded with twinkling eyes.

"Can you tell me a story?"

"Ah, my golden one"—Halimah's father flicked her lightly on the tip of her nose—"it's getting late."

"Please?" young Halimah begged.

Farr sat down next to his daughter. "Alright. Which one this time? It will have to be short."

Halimah's face broke out into a smile. "Can you tell me the story of the boy and the girl who fell in love? The story about the adventures they had together? The epic battles they fought?"

Farr smiled at his daughter. "Of course." He leaned over to turn off the lamp on Halimah's bedside table, and the room fell into darkness. Then he snapped his fingers, and the hundreds of little fairy lights strung around the room flared to life. Farr cleared his throat. "Once upon a time, there was a young boy who met a young girl. They met in the Firefly District—the same one we live in now."

Young Halimah sighed contentedly.

Farr wrapped an arm around her shoulders before continuing, "The first time the boy laid eyes on the girl, he knew that he would love her even after the world faded away—even after its remains were nothing but dust drifting among the stars of the universe. Their first meeting was when the boy was walking along the sandy beach, gazing up at the sky. Then he noticed the girl standing all alone in the water. And she too was gazing up at the sky. The boy walked over to the girl and used his magic to conjure a bouquet of flowers from thin air. Those, he held out to the girl."

"What type of flowers were they?" young Halimah interrupted.

"Pink and gold and sparkly. Like the ones I always buy for your mother."

"Oh! Those flowers!"

"Yes, the girl turned around and giggled. And suddenly, the boy became quite shy and his face turned as red as a tomato."

Halimah giggled.

"The girl just smiled. She took the flowers from the boy and tucked one behind her ear. After that, the two of them became best friends."

"When did the boy tell the girl that he loved her?"

"I'm getting to that part. Besides, you already know the ending." Farr cleared his throat again before continuing. "Later, the boy moved in with the girl at her temple."

"What did the temple look like?"

"The temple was full of life. It was big and made out of a stone that sparkled in the light from the midday sun."

"It sounds wonderful!"

"One day, the boy and the girl were planting flowers in their garden when the girl said to the boy, 'this brings back memories of the first time you gave me these very same flowers.'

"The boy smiled and said, 'That truly was the happiest moment in my life when I first met you.' And then—"

"My, my, what kind of nonsense are you filling our daughter's head with now?" Halimah's mother's voice called from the doorway. Her dark hair glowed in the light from the living room behind her as she leaned against the doorway.

Halimah turned to her mother. "Please, Mama? Can we finish the story?"

Yasvitha's eyes danced with laughter. "You need to get some sleep. You have school tomorrow, remember?"

Farr stood up and walked over to join Yasvitha by the doorway. Then both of Halimah's parents turned back to smile at her. "Sweet dreams, our golden one."

Halimah watched her father and mother share a smile as the two of them stood silhouetted against the warm light from the living room.

"Looks like I've interrupted your thoughts." Ewen's voice came from the doorway. Halimah turned around to find him leaning against the doorframe.

"No." Halimah shook her head as she blinked away the slight stinging in her eyes. "It's fine."

Ewen's expression was unusually gentle. "Are you thinking about your parents?"

"Yes," Halimah said softly.

"Would you like to talk about it?"

Halimah fiddled with a strand of her dark hair, but then stopped when her fingers brushed the white strand. "That would be nice, actually."

Halimah spent the next couple of hours telling Ewen about her father, her mother, and her childhood. Occasionally, she would hesitate, worried that she had been boring the green-haired boy with her rambling. But each time, Ewen just encouraged her to keep talking. He listened intently to everything she said, nodding or shaking his head at particular bits of information.

When she was done talking, Halimah let out a breath. She felt much lighter.

The stream of sunlight filtering into the room had turned golden in color as the sun began to sink, staining the sky outside pink and orange. Halimah and Ewen sat side by side, shoulder to shoulder.

Halimah hugged her knees to her chest, hyper-aware of how her arm brushed against Ewen's. During her years in the academy, Ewen himself had scared everyone away from wanting to befriend Halimah. For the longest time, he had been her bitter rival. But now . . .

"What about your parents?" Halimah asked softly. "What about your past?"

Ewen dropped his gaze. "It isn't the most exciting story. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

Halimah nodded her head as she smiled faintly. And so Ewen ended up telling Halimah how his parents favored his siblings over him. In the past, he always had to compete with his siblings for attention. His parents had never cared, and instead, encouraged their rivalry.

When Ewen finished with his story, he stood up. "I have an idea. Come with me."

Halimah blinked. "Didn't Professor Lethco say I can't go downstairs until dinner?" But she ended up following Ewen out of the guest room and down the stairs anyway.

Ewen led Halimah out of the front door and into the field of golden grass beyond. Eventually, the two of them reached a small river. "Here!" Ewen said excitedly, hurrying over to the edge of the water. "Come look!"

Halimah hurried over as well and curiously crouched down to see what Ewen had found. There, growing out of the mud next to the water was a patch of flowers. Their delicate petals were a soft pink in color, and the inner stamens were flecked with bits of glittering gold. These were the flowers from her childhood.

Closing her eyes, Halimah cleared her mind of everything except the image of the flowers. Their size, shape, texture. She could feel the magic flowing through her. She would shape it to her will.

When Halimah opened her eyes, there was a small pile of silvery flowers lying on the ground at her feet. Halimah felt a smile spread across her face.

Ewen smiled back, and his green hair glowed in the dying light as he bent down to pick up one of the silver flowers. He twirled the stem in between his fingers before presenting the flower to Halimah. Laughing, Halimah took the flower and tucked it behind her ear. Her magic was finally hers to control again.

✦ ✦ ✦

"Do I know that Saedyn has betrayed us?" the night angel repeated Halimah's question. "I'm aware, thank you very much."

"I'm going to try to talk to the day angels," Halimah told her. "We're going to try to convince them to ally with the night angels."

"You do know that the only thing the day angels are interested in is a wielder of void. I'm sure if you brought a wielder of void to talk to the day angels, they'd happily listen to everything that person has to say."

"But where can I find a wielder of void?"

The night angel smirked as she flipped her flaming hair over her shoulder. "And that's the dilemma."

✦ ✦ ✦

Halimah woke the next morning to the sound of Professor Lethco's voice. "You'd better come downstairs, Miss Samra. A night angel is waiting outside."

No longer tired, Halimah leaped to her feet and hurried down the stairs. She ran to the front door and threw it open to find Ewen already standing outside. He was suspiciously watching the night angel waiting a good distance away. "She was refusing to talk to us until we brought you down," the green-haired boy informed Halimah.

The night angel turned to Halimah. "Wielder of Soul. Are you ready?"

"Are we going to speak with the day angels now?"

The night angel nodded. "I'm sorry, but we need to talk to them before Saedyn does."

Halimah exhaled sharply through her nose. "Alright. Tell me what I need to do."

"Find the king of the day angels—he's the one you'll need to speak to. I will create a portal that will allow you to enter the realm of the day angels. All you will need to do is step through."

"Can I bring my friends with me?" Halimah asked as the gravity of her situation began to sink in.

"You can bring the cat." The night angel nodded in Professor Lethco's direction. "The boy would attract too much attention."

Professor Lethco jumped up onto Halimah's shoulder, and Halimah nodded to the night angel. The night angel held out her arms, and a sphere of golden light formed above her upturned palms. The sphere grew larger and larger until it was the size of a door. The night angel stepped backward, and the door solidified itself on the grass in front of her.

The door swung open, and golden light radiated from the doorway. It was so bright that Halimah had to shield her eyes. "All you need to do is walk through the door," the night angel said quietly. "When you're done talking, come back through. We'll be waiting."

Chapter Twelve

Halimah squeezed her eyes shut as she passed through the brilliant golden light. Even though the radiance stung her eyes from behind her closed lids, she kept moving forward.

When the light finally faded, Halimah slowly opened her eyes. She wasn't in the Firefly District anymore. Instead, she was standing in the middle of a paved street. Towering structures built entirely of stone reached toward the sky above her. The world was bathed in pale pink sunlight, and it would have been beautiful if Halimah wasn't worrying about what she was about to do.

Tearing her eyes away, she turned back to the doorway from which they had come. It was almost completely invisible except for a faint outline of glowing gold light.

Everything was silent. Eerily silent. Halimah felt her skin prickle. "We need to find the king," she said to Professor Lethco. "Do you know where he is?"

The cat nodded. "We'll probably find him in the castle at the highest point of the realm of the day angels." The cat raised his head. Halimah looked up too.

The castle was floating in the sky. It was barely a pinprick in the distance.

Suddenly the sound of heavy wingbeats sounded, and Halimah barely had time to whirl around before two day angels touched down on the ground behind them. Both day angels had large feathered wings the color of metallic silver and piercing gemstone eyes.

"An unwinged one," the female day angel said. Her lapis-blue eyes sparkled with curiosity. She appeared to be around the same age as Halimah and had silky hair the color of ink. "How did you get here?"

The male day angel turned to the female with a skeptical look on his face. "Never mind that, now that she's here, we should take her to the king. The king will know what to do with an unwinged one. For all we know, they could be spies for the night angels."

The female day angel shot the male day angel a look. "And what if they are? What if they want to talk about an alliance?"

The male day angel sighed heavily as he ran a hand through his silver-blue hair. "Oh, not this again."

"Not this again?" the female echoed. Her eyes flashed.

"Forget it." The male day angel held up his hands in surrender. "If they do turn out to be spies for the night angels, there isn't anything I can say other than that they'll deserve what is coming to them." With that said, he rocketed into the sky and vanished behind one of the towering stone structures.

The female day angel extended a hand to Halimah. "Take my hand," she said gently. "I'll take you to the king." Professor Lethco nodded silently from Halimah's shoulder. Reaching out shakily, Halimah placed her hand in the day angel's.

There was a flash of light, and then Halimah was standing in front of a set of large double doors. She didn't need to ask to know that they were now inside the castle.

"Be careful what you say," the day angel said quietly to Halimah. "The king is not one to be messed with. I'll wait for you outside." The day angel stepped over to the doors and knocked three times. "Your Majesty," she called, "you have visitors from the land of the unwinged folk. They request an audience with you."

There was silence for a moment—silence so thorough that Halimah could hear her heart pounding away in her chest. She was positive Professor Lethco and the day angel could hear it too. Then a deep voice finally responded, "I will speak to them now. Let them in."

The double doors smoothly swung open.

"This must be the throne room," Professor Lethco whispered in Halimah's ear. But even if the professor hadn't told her, it was apparent that there was only one place this could be. The walls were made from a pale-colored stone, and large arches were cut in the place of windows. A soft breeze wafted in through the arches, and Halimah could see the sky and the clouds beyond.

On the far side of the room and up a flight of marble-like steps was an elaborate throne. But it was the person sitting on the throne that captured Halimah's attention.

The king of the day angels sat with his large silvery wings draped lazily over the back of the throne. He had long unbound silver-blue hair, pale skin, and wore the most intricately embroidered robe Halimah had ever laid eyes upon. The corners of his mouth flickered upward in a smile. Halimah resisted the urge to shudder. It was the most unnerving smile she had ever seen.

"So," the king of the day angels said, and his deep voice reverberated throughout the room, "what brings you here?"

"I'd like to speak with you," Halimah said. Her voice was much more confident than she felt.

The king leaned forward on his throne, and his long silken hair cascaded down his back. "Speak. Let's hear what you have to say."

Something about the king's mannerisms made Halimah feel uneasy, and she took a deep breath before beginning. "I don't know if you're aware or not, but strange things have been happening on Hali. All the former gods have been captured and are currently being held someplace unknown. On top of that, their temples have been set on fire with silver flames."

The king nodded along. His face gave nothing away.

"These actions were set in motion by Saedyn, the son of the former flame god," Halimah continued. "Now he wants to have the night angels fight the day angels. We can't let that happen—a fight like that will destroy Hali. We suspect he's going to come here. We think he's going to give you, the day angels, false information so that you'll go to war with the night angels. And a third war would bring disaster to Hali."

"A war with the night angels," the king mused. "But wait, who is this 'we' you speak of?"

"The night angels."

"The night angels," the king repeated before shaking his head. His shoulders quivered in silent laughter. "They sent you here?"

Halimah nodded. "They want to ally with the day angels. Against Saedyn. Please, Your Majesty, would you be willing?"

The king leaned back on his throne. "Of course not."

Halimah felt her heart sink. "I—I'm sorry?"

"You think my subjects would willingly ally themself with the creatures they're instructed to kill on the spot? You think they would ally themselves with the things working in our very mines?"

"How did things get this way? What did the night angels ever do to be worked as slaves?"

The king of the day angels smiled a smile that didn't quite reach his cold eyes. "After the First War, we took a considerable amount of prisoners. We clipped their wings and brought them to work in our mines to craft weapons. I'm merciful, you see . . ." Then the king's eyes flashed. "You're a wielder of soul magic." This time his false smile evaporated completely.

"I am."

Slowly, the king rose to his feet, and his feathered wings flared behind him. "I see how it is. The night angels sent you here not to talk of peace, but instead to use you against me."

"No!" Halimah shook her head, panicked. "Please, Your Majesty! The people of Hali and the night angels don't want to fight you. They don't want to see Hali destroyed."

Then it clicked. Was the king apprehensive of her magic? The night angels had told her before that the day angels were after a wielder of void. It all made sense now. A wielder of void would be a weapon able to annihilate the night angels. So that meant a wielder of soul was a threat to the day angels.

The king ignored her words. "I will let you go this time, Wielder of Soul," he said softly. His navy eyes glinted dangerously. "I want you to give the night angels a message from me. I want you to tell them that we'll deal with this Saedyn later."

"Saedyn's a wielder of soul too!" Halimah cried desperately. "You'll need to be allied with the night angels to stop him!"

"What makes you think he's so powerful?" the king of the day angels asked as he slowly descended the step of the dais. He drew closer to Halimah with each step.

"If you go after the night angels," Halimah said quickly, "Saedyn will just go after you afterward. And then you'll have no one beside you to fight against him."

"My answer is still no. Us day angels have been preparing for too long to stop now. The war is about to begin. I've waited a hundred years since the First War for this. The night angels have a week before we blast them out of the sky."

Halimah didn't know what had overcome her as she took an angry step toward the king. She felt Professor Lethco's claws dig into her shoulder in warning. "You're going to put Hali at risk just because you don't want to coexist with the night angels?"

"We can't coexist. Why live side by side when you can rule over them all?"

"The night angels only want peace. They only wish to protect the people of Hali."

The king clicked his tongue in amusement but took a step back as silver blazed in Halimah's eyes. "I will consider it." He turned and walked back up the dais to his throne. The king of the day angels waved his hand lazily. "You are dismissed."

Halimah spun around and marched out of the throne room.

The day angel that had brought them to the castle was waiting just beyond the doors. "How did it go?" she asked expectantly.

"He said that he'd think about it." Halimah shook her head in frustration.

"I couldn't help but listen in on your conversation," the day angel said quietly. "Just getting the king to think about doing something is impressive. Take my hand."

Halimah twined her fingers through the day angel's, and they were whisked away in a flash of light.

When they reappeared on the paved street lined with towering stone buildings, the cat leaped down from Halimah's shoulder. "While you were arguing with the king, I was using my magic to search for the kinds of weapons His Majesty was talking about."

"Did you find them?"

The professor nodded gravely.

"Not all of us day angels agree with the king," the dark-haired day angel spoke up. "Did he tell you what he did to the night angels they captured after the First War?"

"He told us that he had their wings clipped and—"

"Clipped their wings?" the dark-haired day angel laughed humorlessly. "Yes, he did that and much, much, more. For the past century, the king has been using the imprisoned night angels as slaves. He's keeping them locked up underground, forcing them to craft weapons that will be used against the night angels. Even though I'm part of his court, I don't have much influence in the castle. With that said, I'll try my best to talk to the king—to make him see that allying with the night angels against Saedyn is the right thing to do."

"Thank you." Halimah bowed her head respectfully.

The day angel smiled sadly. "I'm just doing what I can to make sure that the king doesn't destroy any more of what we love during his conquest to rule the land and skies."

Halimah thanked the day angel again and watched as the dark-haired female took off into the sky. Her figure disappeared from view in seconds.

"Let's head back to the ground," Halimah said quietly to the professor. The cat nodded, and they stepped back into the doorway of glowing golden light.

When the light faded, Halimah and the professor had returned to the golden fields of the Firefly District. The night angel who had created the golden doorway was sitting on the ground with her large violet wings draped over the ground behind her. When she noticed Halimah and the professor, she jumped to her feet with hopeful eyes.

Halimah shook her head dejectedly. "He said he'd think about it."

The night angel sighed heavily. "I apologize for not telling you more about the king of the day angels before you went to meet him. But we thought if you knew just how much of a snake he actually was, you'd be hesitant to speak with him."

"Would you like to come in?" Professor Lethco asked as he gestured at his house.

The night angel smiled but shook her head. "I appreciate your offer, but I need to head back and report to our queen."

"Alright." Professor Lethco swished his tail. "Oh, before you go, I have a few things to tell you about the weapons I found in the day angels' realm. I'll leave you with a message to bring to your queen." The cat closed his eyes and began glowing with a faint plum-colored light. Slowly, a pulsing orb of light formed in the air in front of him.

The night angel tentatively extended a hand and plucked the light out of the air. Her face paled, and she inhaled sharply before she took off into the sky.

Halimah stared at the professor in alarm, but he just motioned for her to follow him into the house.

"How did the talk go?" Ewen asked the moment the two of them stepped inside.

Halimah just shook her head.

Professor Lethco jumped up onto the arm of the couch. "The day angels have some very powerful weapons. They plan to exterminate the night angels."

There was silence for a long period of time, then Ewen spoke up. "On a different note, Rania has vanished."

"Vanished?" Halimah's heart sank.

"Apparently it happened only yesterday," Ewen said gravely. "I just heard the news an hour ago when I went to the marketplace."

Halimah shook her head hopelessly.

"Don't worry," Professor Lethco said.

"Don't worry?" Ewen echoed worriedly. "What do you expect us to do?"

"There's still me."

"And what can you do?"

"I'm a cat," the professor said simply.

Chapter Thirteen

It was the next day, and Halimah was returning from the marketplace. She had just reached the professor's house when a flash of blue light had her throwing her arms up to shield her eyes.

"Halimah!" a familiar voice exclaimed.

Halimah blinked in surprise as the light cleared to reveal a girl in a light blue summer dress, a second girl clothed entirely in black, and a boy with long hair. Lyria, Fern, and Maliq were standing in front of them.

The door to the house swung open to reveal Ewen and the professor. "Lyria?"

Lyria was smiling faintly as her violet eyes sparkled. "I'm so happy we caught you!"

"Lyria," Halimah said, still in a state of shock, "it's really great to see you too. But what are you doing here? I thought the three of you went to different temples."

"We did." Lyria waved a hand as the wind blew strands of her curly hair in every direction. "But that isn't important right now."

"We've found where Saedyn's been keeping the former gods," Maliq cut in seriously. "The three of us have been looking for you all week."

Ewen frowned as he took a step forward. "You said you found where the former gods are. Where exactly is that?"

Maliq sighed heavily. "He hid them in plain sight—they're locked up at the Temple of Fire."

"Is there a reason you didn't just charge in there and free them yourselves?"

"Oh, we tried." Lyria shook her head in discouragement. "We couldn't get in. There are wards placed around the temple that can only be broken with soul magic. We need your help, Halimah."

"I say we leave now," Fern said importantly.

"Now?" Halimah echoed.

"How about we go inside and talk first?" Professor Lethco offered. "We have something you three might want to hear about the day angels and night angels."

Inside the professor's house, Halimah and Ewen took turns explaining what had happened after the six of them had parted ways.

"That doesn't leave us with much time," Maliq said as they finished. "I don't even know if we can rescue the gods within that time."

"We need to try," Halimah said determinedly. "Let's go."

The world flashed a flaming red as Fern transported them away from Professor Lethco's house. Halimah stifled her gasp of surprise as towering snow-covered mountains shot up to take its place. They had been teleported to the Crystal District.

Halimah looked around at her soundings. Everything was still. Even the air was still.

Lyria, Maliq, and Fern were standing to Halimah's left, and the former drew a map in the snow with her foot. The curly-haired girl and her companions didn't appear to be affected by the cold in the slightest.

"Wait"—Halimah furrowed her brow—"where's the temple?"

"Ah." Maliq's eyes sparked knowingly. "It's below us."

Lyria nodded. "We're going to have to do a little walking. We couldn't risk accidentally teleporting into the wards."

"Follow me," Fern said. "I'll lead the way."

Carefully, the six of them began making their way down the ice-covered mountain. "Some of these mountains are actually made out of pure ice," Professor Lethco was telling Halimah from where he was perched on her shoulder. "In the right light, they sparkle like crystals. Hence how the district got its name."

"Here we are," Lyria's voice called from around the rocky ledge. Halimah turned the corner and found that the others had stopped walking. At first glance, there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary about the path. But when Halimah took a step closer, an odd sensation washed over her. Something was whispering to her. Friend, the strange power called, I can sense your presence.

"Who are you?" Halimah whispered. She could feel the stares of her companions on the back of her head, but she paid them no heed as she took another step closer to the whispers.

Friend, the power called again—louder this time, I am at your command. What do you wish me to do?

"Could you let us in?" Halimah asked as nicely as she could. "Please?"

Of course friend, the power whispered into her ears and mind and soul.

"Can my friends come too?"

Of course, the power echoed, they may come if you will it. And then the voice faded. Halimah could no longer feel the tug.

"I think the wards are down," Halimah said in shock.

"They are!" Fern exclaimed. "Let's hurry!"

The six of them hurried onwards, this time with Maliq in the front and Fern bringing up the rear. "There it is," Maliq said quietly as he motioned for everyone to halt. "That's the Temple of Flame."

The Temple of Flame was one of the most breathtaking structures Halimah had ever seen in her life. It was built out of a reddish-orange crystal that seemed to pulse with living flame.

"I thought it was on fire," Halimah said, still mesmerized by the colors.

"It was," Lyria said. "Until a few days ago, that was. The fire just stopped. All the fires did. And look, there isn't even a scratch on the temple."

"This way." Fern took the lead again and led everyone toward the front entrance. The inside of the temple was eerily quiet and each footstep echoed.

"Now that we're inside," Lyria whispered to the group, "we should split up and search for the former gods."

"Ah," Professor Lethco said from Halimah's shoulder. "There's no need for that, Miss Rahimi. Even with the wards back up, I can sense Gwenevieve's presence. She and the others are directly beneath us."

"I was an apprentice here at the Temple of Fire before Thuc was kidnapped," Fern said quietly. "I know my way around. The stairs are this way." As they walked, the red-haired girl continued to talk, "Thuc's temple has a portion built entirely inside the mountain. It only makes sense that Saedyn's been keeping the gods there. Why didn't I think to check earlier?"

When they reached the end of the hallway, Fern pushed open a door to reveal a staircase leading down into the heart of the mountain. After descending the steps, the group entered the underground portion of the temple. Doors lined the hall, and all of them were closed.

"Professor," Halimah said as she looked around, "do you sense the former gods?"

The cat shook his head. "I can feel their presence all around us. They're here somewhere—I just don't know which door . . ."

Ewen walked over to the door closest to the staircase. "Well, we've got to start somewhere." The green-haired boy twisted the handle, and the door swung open to reveal an empty bedroom. "Not in here."

And so the six of them began making their way down the hall, taking turns trying the different doors as they went. Halimah reached out a hand to open a door halfway down the hall. The door swung open swiftly, and Halimah nearly jumped out of her skin.

She was standing face to face with a night angel. And not just any night angel—it was the night angel she had been seeing in her dreams.

"You!" Halimah breathed. Halimah could hear Lyria, Maliq, Fern, and Ewen shifting into defensive stances behind her.

The night angel angled her head to the side, and a faint smile played on her lips. "Shh." Her coal eyes sparkled knowingly. "I wouldn't wake him if I were you."

"Wake who?" Halimah asked. She was too rooted to the spot to take a step back.

"Saedyn, of course."

Halimah craned her neck, trying to look past the night angel in the doorway, but the violet-winged woman was standing right in front of her. "What are you doing here?" Halimah said, still in a state of shock.

"I could ask you the same thing. But do try to keep quiet, will you? Let the poor boy sleep in peace." And with that said, the night angel shut the door in Halimah's face.

"What was that about?" Lyria asked weakly. "You know that night angel? And Saedyn is in that room?"

In a daze, Halimah walked to the next door over and pushed it open. They still needed to find the former gods. And there, sitting in a chair on the far side of the comfortably furnished room, was Gwenevieve. The former sea goddess turned to look at Halimah and the others with an expression of mild surprise on her face. "What are all of you doing here?" she asked.

"We're here to rescue you!" Maliq hurried into the room. "We need to hurry!"

"None of us former gods are in any danger." Gwenevieve's golden eyes flickered as she let out a sigh. "Any of us could have walked out of the temple if we chose to do so."

"What?" Fern shook her head in disbelief. "But we saw Saedyn capture you!"

Gwenevieve looked at everyone in turn. "I think it is about time I told you the truth. The kidnappings were staged. In fact, I did not know about this until I went to speak with Saedyn. You all remember how I left the temple for a short period of time to talk to him. Saedyn asked me to listen to what he had to say. Saedyn loves this world as much as the rest of you. He was determined to do everything he could to protect it. He found the prophecy hidden in the Sunrise District. It showed him what he needed to do to save everyone. He had to unite the winged folk. Only then would war be prevented."

"That's right." A familiar voice sounded from the doorway. Everyone turned to find Rania standing with her arms folded across her chest. Three other figures stood behind her: two men and one woman. The first man had dark skin and wore a robe that seemed to ripple with every color of the sky, the second man had a lighter complexion and long black hair, and the woman was fair with pale brown locks.

Halimah knew who these people were. Favian the Sky God, Thuc the Flame God, and the latter's partner.

"To be seen as such a threat, Saedyn needed to make it look like he was ridding Hali of its gods," Rania concluded.

"What about the night angels?" Ewen asked. "Didn't they say that Saedyn had betrayed them? Didn't they say that Saedyn wanted to rule over Hali?"

The woman who must have been Saedyn's mother shook her head gently. "Since you're here, you can ask him yourself when he wakes." She entered the room with Rania, Favian, and Thuc trailing close behind. "Saedyn has nearly exhausted himself to death," Saedyn's mother continued sadly. "He's been using too much magic too quickly. However, he was insistent that it was his responsibility to save us all."

The door to the room swung open, and everyone whirled around again. This time, it was Saedyn who stood in the doorway. His white hair was unbound, and there was an expression of surprise on his face. But it faded almost instantly as his eyes turned cold. "I—"

Thuc sighed. "You can drop the act. It's alright. We told them."

Saedyn's expression changed again. The iciness of his eyes vanished. He just looked tired. Saedyn slumped down to a sitting position on the floor next to the door and pinched the bridge of his nose as if trying to ward away a headache. He took a shuddering breath, and when he spoke again, there was nothing of the previous coldness in his voice. "I don't know what would have happened if I were to use any more magic."

"Our friends here would like you to explain what you've been doing with the night angels," Favian said lightly. "Do you feel up to telling them now that you're here? If not—"

"I can talk." Saedyn brushed his white hair out of his eyes. "I owe all of you an explanation. What do you want to know?"

"Why did they say that you betrayed them?" Lyria asked timidly.

"It was part of my plan." Saedyn exhaled. He refused to make eye contact with anyone in the room. "We needed to get them on the same side as all of you and the day angels."

"I'm honestly still surprised you believed the story my fellow night angels gave you about Saedyn wanting to take over Hali." The night angel from before stepped into the room. "Saedyn is the last person who would want to bring harm to anyone."

Halimah blinked. "You told me you didn't know much about Saedyn. I guess that was a lie too, then."

"No one was supposed to know about our plan except for Saedyn, the night angels, and us former gods," Thuc explained as he took a seat on the ground. Halimah, Ewen, Lyria, Maliq, and Fern followed his lead.

"Saedyn's been preparing for this for a little over a year," Saedyn's mother said tiredly. "He was the one who convinced Thuc to take an apprentice long before we knew about his plan."

"An apprentice?" Maliq asked. "Why an apprentice?"

"Once the former gods were out of the picture, someone needed to go to the realm of the day angels," Saedyn answered tiredly. His amber eyes were blank. "They needed to be someone with strong enough magic in case things didn't go so smoothly. But then you showed that you had soul magic as well." The white-haired boy looked up at Halimah. "Like me, you're a wielder of soul. I knew that you would be the best choice to send to speak with the day angels. I knew that they wouldn't dare to hurt you." Saedyn leaned back against the wall and bleakly stared up at the ceiling. "If the day angels don't ally with the night angels, they'll stop at nothing to annihilate each other. And they won't care if Hali is caught in the crossfire."

"You really don't care if everyone hates you?" Fern asked quietly.

"I love my world," Saedyn said simply. "I love my family."

Ewen arched a brow. "You're willing to sacrifice yourself?"

"If I need to, I won't hesitate."

"Now, now," Thuc said worriedly, "there's no need for anyone to be sacrificing themselves. After we prevent the day angels from annihilating the night angels, all of us will work together to clear Saedyn's name."

They all turned to Saedyn, but the white-haired boy was still staring at the ceiling.

"Using such large amounts of magical energy is quite agonizing, as you experienced for yourself," Professor Lethco murmured so only Halimah could hear. "At his age, it's a miracle Saedyn's still alive."

Halimah flashed back to the cave where she had used her power to open the prophecy box. She shuddered as she recalled how her skin had boiled and froze until she passed out. That was how the white streak in her hair had come to be. Halimah cast another glance at Saedyn.

"He's been using his magic to keep the fires around the other three temples burning," Favian said quietly. "The flames themselves don't do any harm to the temples but burn hot enough to keep any passersby away. And they attract the day angels' attention. As you've all probably figured out by now, soul magic is the only thing day angels fear—it's the only thing that can do any serious harm to them."

"And void magic is the only thing that can do serious harm to us," the night angel said from where she stood on the side of the door opposite Saedyn. "Void magic and whatever kind of weapons the day angels have been working on. Word got out that they've been trying to simulate the effects of void. Fortunately, they still haven't found a true wielder of void," she finished in satisfaction. "Lucky for us, we have not one, but two wielders of soul."

"We're coming up with a backup plan just in case things don't work out," Favian told them. "Maybe all of you will be able to help us out. Saedyn seems pretty confident in his own plan, but he shouldn't need to do this by himself. As of now, we're just hoping for the best and preparing for the worst."

✦ ✦ ✦

Later that night, Halimah found herself sitting next to Ewen and Lyria as everyone gathered around the large table in the dining hall for dinner. Saedyn was sitting between his parents, and his head was resting on the table in front of him. The night angel was nowhere to be seen, and Professor Lethco was talking animatedly with Gwenevieve and Rania.

"So," Favian said as he leaned across the table to address Halimah, Ewen, Maliq, Lyria, and Fern, "we just received word from the day angels. They've decided to join the night angels."

"That's wonderful!" Lyria exclaimed.

"Yes"—Favian smiled as he turned to Saedyn—"this is very good news."

Saedyn raised his head from the table. There was a crease between his brows, and he blinked slowly as if coming out of a daze. "They agreed to work with the night angels?"

Thuc patted his son on the back. "They did. All we have to do now is figure out how to end the fighting completely."

Suddenly Saedyn sat up straight. "I have a plan."

✦ ✦ ✦

Halimah had a hard time falling asleep that night. She rolled over in bed, and her eyes fell on where Professor Lethco was curled up across the room on a cushioned chair. Even though Halimah trusted the former gods, she still felt uneasy about the idea of spending the night alone in the unfamiliar temple.

Eventually, sleep finally claimed her.

Halimah opened her eyes to find herself floating in the void of stars. The night angel was drifting in the space in front of her.

"I see you're back," Halimah said. "You were in Saedyn's head this whole time?"

"That is correct."

"Soul magic can counter void, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"If Saedyn's plan doesn't work . . . Someone's going to have to stop the day angels' void weapons."

"You don't think Saedyn hasn't thought of that?" the woman said lightly. "Saedyn knows his plan has a very low success rate. When it comes to it, he's going to use the last of his magic to destroy the void weapons."

"But that means that he'll die!"

"The poor boy's already dying. He grows weaker with each passing day. His life force is fading. It took way too much out of him to decode what the prophecy needed him to do."

"But—but he sounded so confident at dinner."

"His parents were in the room." The night angel's eyes were sad. "He couldn't just tell them he was going to get himself killed."

"I could use my magic," Halimah suggested. "I could stop the weapons."

"You're not nearly strong enough, unlike Saedyn, who's had years of training with his soul magic."

"No one should have to die. If it comes down to it, would you help me?"

Chapter Fourteen

Everyone in the Temple of Fire had been teleported by Professor Lethco to the summit of a snow-capped mountain a few miles away. Halimah sat in the snow with Ewen, Professor Lethco, Lyria, Maliq, and Fern. The six of them were bound by a thick chain of pulsing silver magic, and their backs were pressed together as they waited quietly. The former gods and their partners were tied up as well a short distance away.

A strong wind whirled around them, sending snow flying in all directions. Halimah twisted her neck to watch Saedyn as he stood looking out over the mountains. The winged folk would show up any minute now. Everything was in place.

The booming of hundreds of wings sounded in the distance. Halimah looked up just in time to watch the night angels and day angels descend from the sky. The night angels crowded on one side of the mountain, while the day angels crowded the other.

Saedyn turned from where he had been looking out over the mountains. The coldness in his eyes was back, and all traces of exhaustion were gone as if it had never been there. "Hello," Saedyn said cooly as his amber eyes traveled over the winged folk.

One of the night angels standing at the front of the crowd drew a sword of pure flame from the air and brandished it threateningly at the white-haired boy. "You have ten seconds to give us the former gods and the children," the night angel called.

"And what if I don't give them to you?" Saedyn said in mild amusement.

"We attack."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Saedyn's amber eyes flashed. The chain of magic binding Halimah and the others flared and grew tighter.

"Saedyn, was it?" a deep voice drawled from among the day angels. The sea of day angels parted to reveal the king. His feathered wings were covered in crystal-like armor, and his unbound silver-blue hair floated in the breeze behind him. "Hand over the former gods. Let's get this over with quickly."

Saedyn frowned silkily at the king of the day angels. "I could end you right now if I so desired."

The king of the day angels smiled, but there was a hint of nervousness in the way he took a step back. Then the king's navy eyes fell on Halimah.

"I remember you," the king said.

Halimah glared silently up at him.

"Let us ask you again," a commanding female voice called from the crowd of night angels. "Free the former gods."

The night angels parted like a wave to let the woman to the front.

"That's the queen of the night angels," Professor Lethco said quietly. Halimah squinted as she tried to get a better look at the violet-winged woman. The queen had short-cropped hair and an authoritative presence that could be felt all the way from where Halimah was tied up.

Neither the queen of the night angels nor the king of the day angels needed a crown to make their position clear.

"Come and get them if you wish," Saedyn replied.

The queen of the night angels flared her violet wings. "Have it your way." There was a tremendous boom as hundreds of winged folk took to the skies. Halimah squeezed her eyes shut as snow and wind pelted her in the face.

The sky was full of violet and gray blurs as all the winged folk dove toward Saedyn. The white-haired boy just smiled. And then the world exploded in silver light.

Halimah squeezed her eyes closed again as the light crashed over her with a radiance equal to that of the sun. Cries sounded from the skies as night angel and day angel alike were flung backward.

"How can he still have that much magic?" Lyria whispered. "Earlier today he looked like he was going to collapse at any moment."

The sky was alive with feathers as the winged folk countered Saedyn's attack. But the white-haired boy kept pummeling them with blast after blast of silver light.

"Look!" Ewen said suddenly as he gestured with his head. "It's the king of the day angels!"

Halimah craned her neck to watch the king of the day angels dodge Saedyn's magic before finally landing in front of the former gods. He examined the chain of pulsing silver light binding them with a faint frown on his face. A group of night angels flew down and landed next to the king. All of them cast him uneasy glances. Halimah couldn't hear what they were saying over the noise of the winged folk in the sky above, but it looked like the night angels had offered to help remove the chain. After all, soul magic wasn't fatal to them.

Saedyn kept blasting the winged folk backward, but each time, the silver light dimmed. A blast hit the ground next to where the king of the day angels had landed, and he quickly took to the air, with the night angels following close behind. It was clear that Saedyn was growing weaker with every passing minute.

Halimah watched wide-eyed as Saedyn swayed on the spot for a moment. But the moment passed and Saedyn returned to blasting the winged folk away.

The sun had almost completely dropped from the sky, and the last of its fiery red light had melted into starry darkness. Then the queen of the night angels shot down like a bullet from the sky. Her wings a violet blur against the approaching night. A large number of night angels flanked her as they landed in a circle around the former gods.

Then all of a sudden, a group of night angels flew over so quickly Halimah hadn't even noticed them. They surrounded Saedyn in seconds and bound his arms together with special magic-suppressing chains. Saedyn hissed and thrashed, but the night angels held him firmly. The chains binding Halimah to her friends vanished. Halimah didn't need to look to know that the one binding the former gods had disappeared as well.

The queen of the night angels helped the former gods and their partners to their feet with a warm smile on her face. "You're free now," she said gently. Then she angeled her head in Saedyn's direction. "You should watch over this one."

"Don't worry," Rania said as she leaned over to take Gwenevieve's hand. "We will."

"Looks like the two of them have worked out their differences," Halimah said quietly to Ewen.

The green-haired boy smiled. "I'm happy for them." Ewen's fingertips brushed Halimah's. Halimah blink in surprise, but then hesitantly twined her fingers through his. They were warm. Ewen gave her hand a squeeze.

The queen of the night angels flapped her large violet wings and drifted over to where the king of the day angels was standing on the other side of the summit. The king tensed as the queen landed beside him.

"What would you say to us keeping this truce?" the queen asked. "Let us put aside the years of being enemies. Let us start over as friends. We can work together." The queen of the night angels extended her hand, palm up, for the king of the day angels to take. "Let us start over."

The king stared down at the queen's hands, his silver-blue hair waving behind him in the wind. All eyes were on them.

"Sorry," the king of the day angels said at last. "But none of you night angels will be alive when the sun rises." Then the king whirled at the speed of light. He drew a sword of crackling magic from the air before swinging it straight at the queen of the night angels.

Surprised, the queen darted to the side, but not fast enough. There was a terrible crunching noise as the king's sword plunged right through the queen's violet wings.

Halimah watched in horror as the king twisted the blade deeper, and the magic of the blade turned the violet feathers to ash. The queen of the night angels screamed in pain as the king of the day angels violently yanked his sword out. Crimson blood sprayed. The queen of the night angels drew her own magical blade in an instant.

Everyone was too shocked to do anything as the two rulers went head to head. Their blades clashed like thunder. The queen of the night angels was an impressive fighter. But the king of the day angels was just as good. The queen had already been weakened, and her ruined wings bled heavily onto the snow behind her.

The former gods and their partners flared with light as they raised their arms, but then day angels appeared behind them and bound them from head to toe in magic-suppressing chains.

A group of night angels rushed at the king, screaming angrily as they came to aid their queen. But another group of day angels flew up to engage them in a savage fight of flames and feathers.

There was a blur of blue flame as the king of the night angels plunged his sword through the queen's torso and pinned her to the rocks. "You're going to love what I've prepared." The queen hissed, but the king just laughed as he continued, "I'll have to thank you for getting Saedyn out of the way for me. You didn't think we'd really ally with you, did you?" The king raised his arms to the heavens above. A blast of light shot into the sky and exploded in the air.

Halimah slowly looked up, afraid of what she was going to see. Her eyes widened in horror as she beheld what looked like thousands of shooting stars flying at a rapid speed from the day angels' moon. And all of them were heading directly toward the night angels' moon.

"Our weapons are full of void magic," the king of the day angels boasted with a mad gleam in his navy eyes. All the night angels gathered on the summit and took to the air. They howled with rage and misery as they charged toward the king. Without a glance at them, the king flung out an arm and blasted all the night angels out of the sky.

The sky was on fire as silver streaked toward the night angels' moon. Soul magic. Soul magic could stop it. Halimah whirled around, but it looked as if Saedyn had come to the same conclusion. Somehow, the white-haired boy had broken free of the magic-suppressing chains and was now sprinting toward the edge of the mountain. Halimah's feet began to move of their own accord as she ran after him.

"Wait!" Ewen's voice yelled from behind her. "Halimah!"

But Halimah couldn't wait. Time was running out. If Saedyn used whatever remaining magic he had to stop the day angels' weapons, he would die. It had to be Halimah.

Saedyn leaped off the side of the mountain. Instead of falling to his death, the white-haired boy began running up into the sky. Silver light flashed around his feet as he created platforms with each step.

Halimah didn't let herself have a moment of hesitation as she hurled herself off the edge after him. She needed to keep running. And then she was moving upward into the sky. Silver flashed around her, but Halimah paid it no heed. The stars. She was going to touch the stars.

"Halimah!" Ewen was screaming. He had stopped at the ledge of the mountain, unable to follow her any farther.

"Saedyn!" Halimah yelled.

The white-haired boy looked over his shoulder in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"You're going to die if you use any more magic," Halimah shouted as the wind whipped her hair around her.

Saedyn's amber eyes flickered with sadness. "I know."

"Your family loves you!" Halimah cried. "You can't just leave them!"

"You don't understand. It's because I love them so much that I'm willing to sacrifice myself."

Halimah bit her lip. "I'm sorry about this." Halimah inhaled sharply, and the silver light flared brightly around her body. Saedyn's eyes widened in surprise as Halimah sent a blast of silver light at him. A second later, the white-haired boy was tumbling toward the summit of the mountain.

Halimah continued to run up as the icy wind tore at her face. The stars flashed around her, guiding her forward. Then something caught her eyes. Toward the back of the trail of silver lights, some of the shooting stars were beginning to dip. They were heading down toward Hali.

Halimah ran faster as her legs burned. Higher. Just a little higher.

Then she stopped and turned to face the weapons head-on. The silver streaks grew brighter with each passing second.

Halimah squeezed her eyes shut as she drew every inch of magic from inside her and flung it at the weapons. The impact almost sent her tumbling out of the air. But Halimah kept her balance. She was floating now—floating in the middle of the sky. Halimah flung her arms in front of her, channeling more and more and more energy at the void weapons. The night sky was illuminated with silver.

Halimah's eyes widened as the weapons in the front began to melt away, disintegrating as they touched her soul magic. But there were thousands and thousands of missiles. And it was beginning to take a toll on her. Halimah started to panic. Her blood was starting to boil. Her skin started to freeze.

Halimah kept channeling her magic at the weapons and expanded it so her silver light flared through the entire sky, destroying the weapons heading toward Hali.

Pain. Halimah could barely breathe. But it was working.

Then a little voice was whispering in her ear. "Halimah!" It was the night angel. "It looks like you're going to run out of power. Take my power, I know it's not much, but please use it."

Suddenly the burning sensation decreased as Halimah felt a thrum of magic course through her. Thank you, Halimah silently thanked the winged woman as her head cleared.

"You're welcome," the night angel's voice echoed. "And thank you."

Chapter Fifteen

Halimah was burning from the inside out, yet she hadn't even obliterated half of the weapons. There were still so many more. Black spots danced across her vision.

No. She couldn't pass out.

Screaming in a mixture of determination and pain, Halimah flung out even more magic. The silver light glowed brighter and brighter and brighter. The weapons were breaking apart—they were turning into powdery dust.

Someone was howling in rage from the summit of the mountain miles away. The king of the day angels. But Halimah knew he wouldn't dare come up and stop her. Soul magic was fatal to day angels after all.

A spike of agony shot through Halimah so thoroughly that she had to bite her tongue to keep from blacking out. Halimah's hair whipped into her face. She nearly blinked in surprise. It was white. All of it.

Screaming through the pain until her throat was raw, Halimah blew through the last of her magic. It tore from her like a tidal wave and crashed into the remaining void weapons. Every last one of them had been turned to a fine powder.

Then Halimah felt herself falling. She was so tired. So exhausted. The stars blurred past Halimah as she fell down, down, down. She was so far away from everyone on the summit.

Halimah felt the wind rush past as the ground shot up to meet her. And then there was a rush of violet wings, and she was swept out of the sky. Through her blurred vision, Halimah could make out the flaming hair of a night angel.

"You can thank me later," the night angel said softly. It was the night angel that Halimah had been talking to in her head.

"Thank you," Halimah breathed. Her voice was raw.

"Let's get you away from all of this." The night angel flapped her large feathered wings. But then there was an explosion of icy light. The king of the day angels had struck them down. They were both falling. Halimah felt herself tumbling from the night angel's arms. Everything was blurring. Halimah drew one final grain of magic out and flung it into the air. A beacon. Here! The light cried. Help!

Halimah's limp fingers scraped the side of the rocks. Maybe she could grab on. No, she was too weak. Then someone grabbed her arm.

Halimah looked up to find Ewen leaning over the side of the ledge. His hands gripped her arm firmly. "Hold on, Halimah!" Ewen called over the howling of the wind. His face was pale. Ewen pulled with all his might, but Halimah was still dangling in midair. "I'm not strong enough," Ewen panicked. "Professor! Help!"

There was a flash of plum-colored light, and then two sets of magical hands were pulling Halimah up onto the powdery snow blanketing the mountain.

Together, Ewen and Professor Lethco pulled Halimah onto solid ground. Halimah lay in the snow, gazing blankly at the star-filled sky above her. Ewen knelt beside her.

"It's over," Ewen said gently as he took one of Halimah's hands in his own. "Halimah, are you alright?"

Halimah just smiled. Everything was blurring. Then darkness finally swooped down to claim her.

✦ ✦ ✦

"You saved us all." It was the night angel.

Halimah was floating in the void of stars. It was over. Then everything came rushing back to her. Halimah glanced down at her hair. All of it had turned white.

"Thank you for saving me," Halimah said, still in a daze. "How can I ever repay you?"

"You don't have to," the night angel said as she angled her head to the side. "You already did. You protected my home—my family and people. I'm forever grateful."

"It's what anyone would have done."

A faint smile played on the night angel's lips. "I'm just sorry I couldn't have been more of a help. After you passed out, things got crazy."

"What?"

"The king of the day angels was infuriated." The night angel closed her eyes as if reliving the previous events. "He tried to slaughter all of the night angels on the summit. There was blood everywhere. Luckily, the former gods were able to use their magic to force both sides to retreat."

"What happened to the queen of the night angels?" Halimah asked quickly. "Is she alright?"

"It would take more than a flaming sword to kill our queen. Your friends took it upon themselves to get the queen to safety. She'll be fully recovered in no time."

"What happened to me? After I blacked out, I mean."

"Your friends took you back to the Temple of Fire. Favian tried everything he could to heal you. I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Halimah blinked at the sadness in the night angel's eyes. "What do you have to be sorry about?"

The night angel shook her head. Her expression was surprisingly soft. "I'll be happy to talk to you whenever you want. People are worried about you. I think it's time for you to wake up and tell them that you're fine." The night angel spread her violet wings, ready to take to the sky.

"Wait," Halimah called.

The night angel turned to look at Halimah over her shoulder.

"I still don't know your name. What should I call you?"

"My name," the night angel said slowly. Then she smiled. "My name is Sera."

✦ ✦ ✦

Halimah winced. Every inch of her was sore. Her head felt foggy. She couldn't see anything. Was it still night? How long had she been asleep?

"Halimah!" Lyria's voice cried. "You're awake!"

"Hi, Lyria." Halimah sat up in bed as she tried to squint through the dark to no avail.

"It's good to have you back, Miss Samra," Professor Lethco's voice said happily.

"Was I out for a long time?" Halimah asked, dreading the answer.

"A whole week."

That wasn't as bad as Halimah had thought. "Can we turn the lights on at least?"

"The lights are on, Halimah," Ewen said quietly.

"But I can't see you . . ." Halimah lifted a shaky hand to her face. She couldn't see her fingers. Everything was a dark and foggy blur.

"Halimah," Ewen said gently. "You saved everyone."

Halimah took a deep breath to steady her increasing heart rate. She could have died. But she hadn't—she had survived.

"We're really sorry about your vision," Lyria said regretfully. "We tried everything we could."

"It's alright, really," Halimah said genuinely. "I'm just happy I was able to get out alive."

"We're happy, too," Ewen placed a hand on Halimah's shoulder. His touch was familiar and reassuring.

✦ ✦ ✦

Halimah sat next to Ewen and Professor Lethco in the dining hall later that evening. The former gods were sitting on the other side of the table, and all of them were talking in lowered voices. "The king of the day angels is angry," Thuc was saying. "He's bound to attack again. Next time, he'll come after us too."

"Can you stop them the same way you did in the Second War?" Favian asked.

"We had Yasvitha back then," Thuc said with a sigh. "We need four gods for that magic to work."

"I can act as the fourth god," Halimah spoke up. Even though she couldn't see, she could practically feel all of their eyes turn to her.

"Are you sure?" Gwenevieve's voice said.

Halimah found herself smiling. "Hali is my home. I'll protect it with my life."

✦ ✦ ✦

After dinner, Halimah sat shoulder-to-shoulder with Ewen on one of the temple's balconies. The chilled wind bit at her face, but Halimah embraced it. "I think it will take a while to get used to this," Halimah commented.

"You don't have to worry," Ewen said. "I promise I'll find a way for you to get your sight back."

"Favian and the other former gods already tried everything they could. I heard that even Saedyn came by to try. Speaking of whom, how is he doing? I don't remember Saedyn being at dinner."

"Ah," Ewen said with a heavy sigh, "Saedyn was injured worse than you. He was dying. I think you both were. Thankfully we had all three gods and their partners here to help you two make a recovery. I was really, really, worried about you, you know."

"Ewen—" Halimah started as she turned her head at the sound of his voice. "Thank you for coming on this journey with me."

"Halimah," Ewen said seriously, "I know my actions in the past weren't very admirable, but after getting to know you, I just want to continue hanging around you. I hope you can let me."

Halimah smiled faintly as she rested her head on Ewen's shoulder. The green-haired boy wrapped a comforting arm around Halimah's back.

✦ ✦ ✦

From that point on, time felt as if it had sped up. Halimah, Ewen, and Professor Lethco returned to the Firefly District after bidding farewell to the former gods, their partners, Saedyn, Lyria, Maliq, and Fern.

They had all decided it was best for Halimah to spend a couple of weeks recovering at the professor's house before she went anywhere, and now Halimah lay in the guest room.

A knock sounded on the door. "Come in," Halimah called as she sat up.

The door swung open with a creak, and light footsteps padded across the carpet. "Hello, Miss Samra."

"Good morning, Professor." Halimah smiled as the cat leaped up to sit at the foot of her bed.

"How are you feeling today?" Professor Lethco asked.

"I'm feeling pretty good, actually."

"That's good to hear. Oh, it seems like Mr. Hanif has arrived."

The sound of the front door opening and closing downstairs drifted up to the guest room. Shortly after, the door to the guest room opened as the green-haired boy entered the room. "Hi," Ewen said as he shut the door behind him.

"Hi." Halimah gave a small wave in the direction of his voice.

"Good morning, Mr. Hanif," Professor Lethco said. "I'll leave you two to talk."

Once the cat was gone, Ewen took the professor's place at the foot of Halimah's bed.

Halimah smiled faintly as Ewen twined his fingers through her own.

✦ ✦ ✦

Halimah spent the next few days walking with Ewen through the grassy fields of the Firefly District and along the serene beach.

The green-haired boy held her hand at all times, guiding her carefully over uneven patches of ground. Halimah used her free hand to brush the dry grass with her fingertips. Today, they were at the beach again. Halimah dipped her hands into the cool ocean waves. She could smell the salt in the air—feel the soft winds blowing her unbound hair.

Ewen laughed. "This really takes me back. I remember saving your life here."

Halimah found herself laughing as well. "When you kiss me this time, will you also scowl and tell me it was a reluctant one?"

"Of course not. Don't believe me? Then I'll tell you right now that I've fallen in love with you."

Chapter Sixteen
One Year Later

Ewen Hanif sat on a rock at the beach. It had been a year since Halimah had officially let her magic transition from soul to life. Even as a mortal, Halimah's magic now matched those of the former gods. With Halimah as the fourth god, everything seemed to fall into place. Some six months later, after finishing his semester and graduating from the academy, Ewen himself had become Halimah's partner. All these months he had searched far and wide to find a healer capable of restoring his partner's sight. But there had been no one. Ewen wasn't about to give up, though.

"We better head back." Ewen stood up from the rock and brushed sand from his clothes. "Saedyn's going to arrive at the temple any minute."

Halimah turned from where she was standing in the waves and smiled brightly.

The two of them made their way along the beach hand in hand. When they reached the Temple of Life, Ewen helped Halimah up the crystalline steps. This was their home now.

Saedyn was waiting for them in the entrance hall.

"Hello," Halimah called.

"Halimah, Ewen." Saedyn gave them a faint smile as he inclined his head politely in greeting. Ever since Halimah had taken up the position of acting goddess of life, Saedyn had taken it upon himself to visit every week. Even though Saedyn didn't say it, it was obvious he blamed himself for Halimah's lost sight. Saedyn wasn't the only one who visited constantly. Sera, the night angel Halimah had been communicating with, came to visit at least once a week as well.

"The two of you can talk," Ewen said. "I've got a couple of errands to run."

"Okay," Halimah squeezed Ewen's hand once before letting it go. Smiling, Ewen turned and headed back out of the Temple of Life.

With a flash of green light, Ewen transported himself to Hali Central. He had put in multiple requests for the best healers the district had to offer. So far, Ewen had gotten no less than fifty different healers look at Halimah. Even though none of them had been able to figure out how to return Halimah's lost sight, Ewen wasn't going to stop looking.

✦ ✦ ✦

Ewen returned to the temple later that night to find Halimah sitting alone in the dining hall. Ewen slid into the seat next to his partner. "Were you waiting for me?"

"I was." Halimah pushed a plate of food in front of Ewen. "I saved this for you."

"Thank you."

"Saedyn told me something interesting today," Halimah said lightly as Ewen ate. "He told me that he had been talking to Rania recently."

"Does this have anything to do about the future?"

Halimah nodded her head. "He told me that before the end of the month, the Wielder of Void will come to us."

"Us?" Ewen said blankly. "Here? The Temple of Life?"

Halimah looked up at the ceiling. "Rania also said that, apparently, this person will have good intentions."

"So there is a wielder of void," Ewen said thoughtfully.

For the next few days, Ewen found himself on edge. Part of him half expected the Wielder of Void to burst through the front door at any minute. Halimah had been more jumpy than usual too. But after a week passed and no one had broken down the doors, Ewen began to relax again.

One morning, Ewen was working in the garden with Halimah. The two of them were talking quietly among themselves when the gentle tinkling of chimes sounded in the entrance hall. Someone was ringing the doorbell.

With a quick word to Halimah that he would check who it was, Ewen got to his feet and made his way to the front doors. As he neared, Ewen heard a soft clucking noise coming from behind them. A chicken?

Shaking his head in bewilderment, Ewen pulled open the doors.

A scrawny boy around Ewen's age stood on the other side of the threshold with a brown-speckled chicken cradled tightly in his arms. The boy had hair the color of burnt wheat and was dressed in what looked like a mail carrier's outfit.

"Hi!" the boy said in nervous excitement. "I heard that you were looking for a healer."

The chicken the boy was holding gave a soft cluck.

"Oh, this is Gloria," the boy said at the look of surprise on Ewen's face, "and my name's Crow Cledwyn."

Chapter Seventeen
One Month Earlier

Crow Cledwyn awoke to the sound of soft clucking. After blinking away sleep, he slowly opened his eyes to find his vision obscured by a mass of warm brown feathers.

"Gloria!" Crow exclaimed as he rolled over to bury his head in his pillow. "It's too early." The sun hadn't risen yet, and the street outside his window was still bathed in darkness.

Gloria clucked indignantly in response and began nipping at Crow's arm with her beak.

Crow found himself laughing. "Okay, okay, I'm up now."

After carefully setting the chicken to the side, Crow climbed out of bed and changed into his day clothes. As Crow finished pulling on his socks, Gloria nipped at his fingers in a way that meant the two of them better hurry up. In turn, Crow scooped Gloria up into his arms and hurried to the door of his tiny studio apartment. Gloria clucked in a way that said, I was trying to wake you up.

Crow grabbed his letter-carrying bag from where he had hung it on the handle of the front door. Then, in one swift movement, he placed Gloria inside the bag and slung it over his shoulders. Crow took the stairs two at a time to the ground. His apartment was on the third floor of a four-story building a short distance from the heart of Hali Central.

Crow ignored the strange looks people cast in his direction as he sprinted down the street. He had Gloria to thank for keeping him on top of things. Ten years ago, it was Gloria who found him. In fact, the newly hatched chick had followed Crow around for an entire day. Crow had wondered whether Gloria was lost and tried to help her find her way back home. But when there was no home to be found, Crow took the baby chick back to his apartment to care for.

Crow arrived at the post office with five minutes to spare. "Good morning, Crow," Ms. Rosa called as Crow dashed past.

"Good morning, Ms. Rosa!" Crow called back as he looked over his shoulder and nearly tripped over a stack of cardboard boxes. "I'm not late!"

Ms. Rosa was the kind old lady who sat in the office every day magically sorting through the piles of mail. She was currently squinting through her thick glasses at the envelope floating in front of her. "I don't remember a time you were ever late." Ms. Rosa glanced around the heaps of overflowing envelopes levitating near her desk. "The boss told me to give these to you." The old lady pointed to a box of letters in the corner of the room. "These are yours for the day."

"Go it!" Crow hurried over to the box and began transferring the letters into his bag. When he was done, he jumped to his feet and dashed back the way he had come. "Bye, Ms. Rosa!"

✦ ✦ ✦

The streets were slowly becoming more and more busy the farther the sun rose into the sky. Crow spent the day running around Hali Central delivering his letters. No one knew the city better than him—he had visited every part of it. Crow had let Gloria out of his bag hours ago, and the chicken now trailed behind at his feet.

"I know we had to skip breakfast this morning," Crow said as he stroked Gloria's feathery head. The two of them had just sat down on a park bench for their lunch break. Even though the park was attracting more people as the lunch crowd increased, the empty space on the bench next to Crow remained unoccupied. People were casting looks in his direction, but Crow paid them no mind. "I just . . ." Crow trailed off as he split one of the pastries he bought in half and absently set the larger portion down in front of Gloria. "I was having that dream again."

Gloria cocked her head to the side as she waited for Crow to continue.

"I was standing in the middle of a field of green grass. And this girl with silver wings was there too. A day angel. She was in the sky flying. Wait—I know her name. I think it was Cora!"

Gloria pecked at her pastry.

"It couldn't just have been a dream." Crow gazed up at the white clouds wafting peacefully through the pale blue sky. "It can't be a coincidence that she keeps coming back. What do you think, Gloria?"

Gloria just kept pecking away at her pastry.

"I think it's strange too. Sometimes she speaks to me."

Crow took a bite of his own pastry but found that he couldn't swallow. Sighing, Crow set his potion down in front of Gloria as well. The chicken looked at him and clucked in a way that said, This is why you're so scrawny, you know.

Crow stroked Gloria's head before getting to his feet. But as he stood, the conversation of a group walking past caught his attention. "I still can't believe the night angels and day angels came down to the Crystal District to battle the former flame god's son," one man was saying.

"Oh, it was terrible," a woman's voice piped up. "I thought the sky had exploded in a silver fire."

Almost a year had passed since what had gone down on the mountains of the Crystal District, and yet it was still people's favorite thing to talk about. That day had been burned into everyone's heads. The night of the event, Crow had just gotten home from work and when the sky outside began flashing with pure silver light. He had stared out his window completely stunned before rushing onto his balcony to get a better view of what was happening. Blast after blast of silver light illuminated the mountaintops. Crow had remained on the balcony, too stunned to go back inside. That was when the sky exploded in silver fire.

✦ ✦ ✦

Crow was exhausted by the time he got back to his apartment late that night. He climbed the flights of stairs with much effort before searching through his bag for his keys. The apartment was dark, and Crow quickly lit a candle. He fumbled around in the dark for a good minute as he tried and failed to strike a match. Most people would use magic to light a candle or turn on a lamp, but Crow hadn't used magic in years. Once one of his co-workers had asked him why he never used magic. Crow responded that he didn't know how—which wasn't far from the truth.

Ever since he was young, Crow had been left to fend for himself. And as a result, he had never gone to a proper school. There weren't many jobs in Hali Central that one could do without magic, but Crow had finally found an opening at the post office. Now he was just working until he could scrape enough money together to pursue a proper education.

Crow sleepily poured a jar of preserved vegetables into a plate. This he brought over to the rickety table. "Dinner is ready," he called. Gloria clucked tiredly and flapped over to join him at the table. The chicken stared distastefully at the vegetables.

"This is how we save money," Crow said with a shake of his head. "I know, I'm not fond of it either." As they ate, Crow looked out the window at the stars glittering in the inky sky beyond. His reflection stared back at him in the glass.

Crow dropped his gaze. His co-workers claimed that he looked like a delinquent, and they weren't wrong either. Within the past year, Crow had gone through a series of growth spurts that had only accentuated the look. But he hadn't always looked this way. In fact, his co-workers claimed that he looked much more innocent when he was younger. Other people had seemed to think so as well and always pitied him when they found out he didn't live with his parents. It was dangerous for them to get too close, though, and Crow ultimately decided it was for the best if they kept their distance. But no matter how many times he sharply cut his hair, everything within—for the better or for the worse—remained the same.

✦ ✦ ✦

"Hello, Crow."

Crow was standing in the middle of a grassy field. But when he looked closely, the image seemed to waver around the edges like smoke. "Hi, Cora."

Cora gave Crow a small smile.

"I told Gloria about you," Crow said mildly.

"You did? What does Gloria think of me?"

"I think she's grateful." Crow dropped his gaze. "I am too. I don't understand—why are you so nice to me?"

Cora smiled sadly. "I've been trying to visit you more often, but things have been a little chaotic right now in the realm of the day angels. I have to be careful, too. I can't let the king find out about you."

"So you're protecting me?"

"Yes." Cora's lapis eyes seemed to stare into the very depths of Crow's hazel ones. "I'm doing everything in my power to keep you hidden."

✦ ✦ ✦

The following night, it was Crow's turn to lock up the post office after work. The building was quiet, and a stillness seemed to hang in the air. Anxious to leave, Crow walked over to the front door, but just as he placed his hand on the handle, a loud crash sounded from the back room.

Without giving himself a moment's hesitation, Crow whirled around and sprinted toward the source of the noise. He flung open the door to find Ms. Rosa lying on the floor, her rickety chair in splinters around her.

"Ms. Rosa!" Crow knelt next to the elderly woman. "Are you okay?" Crow sucked in a breath. Ms. Rosa's eyes were closed, and there was a bloody gash on her forehead. When the woman didn't respond, Crow began to panic. That was when he noticed blood dripping from the desk Ms. Rosa had been working on. Her chair must have collapsed, in turn sending the woman falling headfirst into the desk. She needed medical attention immediately, but it was late, and Crow was the only one in the post office.

Gloria clucked worriedly from the doorway as Crow continued to panic. The nearest healer's clinic was miles away, and the blood wouldn't stop dripping from Ms. Rosa's forehead . . . A healer could use their magic to heal Ms. Rosa.

An idea struck Crow. Just as he raised his hands, he paused. He hadn't used magic in years. He didn't even know if he still could. But he had to try.

He was doing this for Ms. Rosa, Crow reminded himself as his hand shook. Crow hovered a hand over the gash on Ms. Rosa's forehead. After pushing everything else out of his mind, Crow took a deep breath as he closed his eyes.

"Crow?" Cora's voice echoed in his head.

"Cora?" Crow couldn't hide his surprise. "Please!" he begged as he got over his shock, "I need to heal her."

"Alright," Cora said without any hesitation. "I'll guide you."

Crow blinked as dark tendrils slowly began to spiral throughout the room. What was he doing? His heart rate was increasing too quickly. The faces of his parents flashed into his mind. He could see their horrified expressions as they beheld the dark magic.

Crow drew even more magic from deep inside him. His palm glowed with darkness as he channeled his magic into stopping the flow of blood and clotting the wound.

Heal, Crow begged his magic. Please heal her.

Ever so slowly, Crow could see Ms. Rosa's skin begin to knit back together under his hand. Ignoring the way the tendrils sucked away the light as they danced through the room, Crow channeled even more of his magic. Finally, the glow faded from Crow's hand, and the light returned to the room. Crow slumped down against the desk, shaken. But he had done it: the gash on Ms. Rosa's forehead had closed completely.

Warm feathers brushed Crow's fingers. "Hello, Gloria," Crow said tiredly. He took a shuddering breath. "I . . . my magic . . ."

Gloria clucked softly as she pressed her head against Crow's hand.

Suddenly there was the sound of something falling to the floor, and Crow's head snapped up to find one of his co-workers standing in the doorway.

"Mr. Davan—" Crow jumped to his feet.

"Crow." Mr. Davan just stared in shock. Then his expression contorted. "Crow, you use void magic!"

"No!" Crow rapidly shook his head as Mr. Davan flung out a hand. Crow couldn't do anything but struggle as he was magically suspended in the air a moment later. "You must have seen it incorrectly! I was just trying to heal Ms. Ro—"

"You could have killed her!" Mr. Davan bellowed. His words slurred together.

Crow blinked. "Mr. Davan . . . have you been out drinking?"

"Crow?" Ms. Rosa's voice had Crow quickly looking over at the woman.

"Ms. Rosa!" Crow exclaimed. "You're okay!"

"My goodness," Ms. Rosa said as she reached up to touch the spot where the gash had been on her forehead. "All I remember is that my chair broke, and then I hit my head on the desk . . ." She drew her hand away as she stared open-mouthed at the blood. Then her eyes traveled to Crow. "You—you healed me." She frowned as she looked between Crow and Mr. Davan. "My goodness, let the poor boy down."

Mr. Davan glared but reluctantly lowered Crow back to the floor. "Ms. Rosa, this boy has evil magic. I saw it with my own eyes!"

Ms. Rosa let out an amused laugh. "Nonsense. Mr. Davan, have you been drinking again? Did you get lost on the way home and wound up back at work instead?"

Mr. Davan gave Crow one last suspicious look before he turned and marched out of the room.

Crow hurried over to kneel next to Ms. Rosa. "I couldn't just let you lay there like that. I—"

Ms. Rosa peered up at Crow through her shattered glasses. "Thank you, Crow."

"You should probably get yourself some new glasses," Crow said softly.

"You're right." Ms. Rosa frowned as she took off her glasses to examine the damage. Then her eyes widened. Ms. Rosa blinked slowly as her gaze traveled from her glasses to Crow.

"What is it?" Crow asked worriedly. "Does something else hurt?"

Ms. Rosa shook her head. "My dear boy! I can see you perfectly! In fact, I don't think I even need glasses anymore!"

Crow blinked in confusion. "What?"

"My vision," Ms. Rosa said in disbelief, "it's completely corrected itself." She shakily got to her feet. "You have some special magic, Crow."

Crow quickly jumped up to steady the old woman. "Ms. Rosa, you should go home. I'll clean up here."

Ms. Rosa nodded her head. But then suddenly she let out a gasp. "You're injured!"

Crow's gaze instantly fell on where Ms. Rosa had rolled back the sleeve of his cardigan. "I'm fine," Crow said quickly as he let his arm fall from Ms. Rosa's grasp. He hastily rolled his sleeve back down to hide the numerous scars and gashes peppering his arm. "You should worry about yourself right now. Do you need someone to walk with you?"

Ms. Rosa just gave Crow a worried look as she shook her head.

✦ ✦ ✦

That night, Crow quickly changed out of his work outfit and into his pajamas. The two moons of Hali were shining brightly outside the window. As Crow pulled the curtains shut, a metallic glint in the corner of the room caught his eye. Crow frowned to himself as he padded over to pick over the handheld knife lying there. Something flickered in his eyes as he stared at the blade, but it passed as he walked over to the kitchen counter and set the knife down in one of the empty drawers beneath it.

After making his way back over to his bed, Crow yawned, flicked off the lamp on his nightstand, and finally burrowed under the covers.

When Crow opened his eyes, darkness was pressing down all around him. In fact, it was so dark that he couldn't even see the hand he raised in front of his face. And that was when he heard the voices. They were just whispers—quiet enough that he had to strain his ears to make out what they were saying. As he made his way toward them, the darkness slowly began to lighten. Now he was standing in the living room of a small wooden house. Light filtered in between the branches of the towering trees outside. It was early afternoon, and a couple was sitting at the table: a man with hair the color of burnt wheat and a woman with hazel eyes.

Crow turned his attention to the young boy sitting on the carpet in the middle of the room. The boy's eyes were wide in curiosity as he stared down at his hands. They were glowing with a vacuum-like darkness. Ever so slowly, tendrils of darkness began to snake their way through the room, dancing over the walls and floors.

That was when Crow's mother screamed.

Crow watched his younger self jump, and the darkness vanished from the room as quickly as it had appeared. But the damage had been done. Crow's mother wouldn't stop screaming. Her eyes were full of horror as she just stared at her son.

Crow's father got to his feet and slowly walked over to the young Crow as if approaching a wild animal. "Get out."

Young Crow was trembling from head to toe as his eyes filled with tears. "What did I do wrong?"

"Get out of this house!" Crow's father roared. Then Crow was screaming as wind seemed to pelt him from all sides. All the air was gone. He couldn't breathe. Young Crow clawed at his throat as the air formed a vacuum around him.

Then suddenly the air came rushing back, and Crow gasped for breath as he collapsed onto the floor in a daze. Suddenly he sat up. Those dark tendrils had filled the room again. His parents were staring at him in horror as the darkness crept toward them, and in that brief moment of shock, Crow ran. The door was too far away, and instead, Crow sprinted toward the window. Just as he tried to throw it open, a bolt of magic struck the glass next to his face. The breaking glass shredded his skin as he threw his arms up in front of his face.

"I never want to see you again!" Crow's father bellowed as Crow finally managed to climb outside and tumbled onto the grass with a thud. "You wretched wielder of void!"

Chapter Eighteen

Crow awoke in a cold sweat. His skin was prickling. He could almost feel the shards of glass cutting into his flesh.

Crow slowly sat up. He rolled out of bed and nearly collapsed as the room swam around him. With one hand against the wall, Crow stumbled toward the kitchen. In a blink, the handheld knife was in his hand. Just as he rolled up his sleeves, he paused. The scars scattered over his arm stared back at him.

Gloria gave a squawk.

The knife clattered to the ground as Crow looked at the chicken, startled. Crow slid to the floor but made no move to retrieve the knife. He had promised himself he would stop. As Gloria hopped over to comfort him, Crow pressed his hands over his face. When he finally calmed down, Crow glanced at the clock above his door. He still had about an hour until he usually woke up, but he was afraid he couldn't go back to sleep now even if he wanted to. Instead, he took a seat by the window, watching the stars dance outside until the sun came up and chased away the darkness with its golden radiance.

✦ ✦ ✦

When Crow arrived at work, the first thing he did was check on Ms. Rosa. The old woman was sitting in a new chair as she sorted through the stacks of letters on her desk.

"How are you feeling?" Crow asked as he walked over.

Ms. Rosa smiled as she looked up from her sorting. "Good as new."

Then Crow lowered his voice as he glanced around the room. "Is Mr. Davan . . .?"

Ms. Rosa lowered her voice as well. "I just spoke with him a few minutes ago. You don't have to worry—he doesn't remember anything from last night."

Crow nodded in relief.

"Ewen is looking for a healer," Ms. Rosa said after a long moment.

"Ewen?" Crow said blankly. "Ewen who?"

"The partner of the acting goddess of life," Ms. Rosa said knowingly.

Now Crow remembered. Halimah Samra had been a wielder of soul. And a year ago, she took up the position of the acting goddess of life. Halimah had gone blind after the fight on the mountains, and now Ewen was searching for a healer who had the power to restore his partner's vision. "As much as I'd like to," Crow started, "I don't think I have the ability—"

"Maybe you'll reconsider when you see the reward." Ms. Rosa leaned closer as she lowered her voice. "Ten hundred silver pieces!"

"Ten hundred?"

The old woman nodded. "You've always said you wanted to go to school. With this money, you'll definitely be able to afford all the books and equipment, and then some."

"I'll give it a try," Crow said determinedly.

✦ ✦ ✦

After packing a couple of items from the few belongings he owned, Crow was ready for his journey to the Temple of Life. He had spoken with his boss, and the two of them came to the agreement that Crow could leave for a week. Before he left, Crow tried his best to make himself look more presentable. He got his hair evened out, and for the first time in a while, there was a smile on his face when he looked at himself in the mirror. If he succeeded, he'd be able to go to school.

Crow scraped together the last of his monthly savings to pay a man with a cart to take him to the border of the Firefly District. From there, Crow made the rest of the journey on foot. Gloria clucked softly as they made their way through the tall fields of golden grass.

Soon, Crow and Gloria arrived outside the Temple of Life. The temple was a gorgeous structure with large, arching windows, sitting half over the sparkling ocean and half over the sand.

Gloria clucked happily and began hurrying toward the entrance of the temple. "Gloria!" Crow laughed as he ran after the chicken. "Wait up!"

Crow finally managed to scoop the excited chicken into his arms outside the huge doors to the temple. Looking around, Crow's eyes landed on what appeared to be the doorbell. He gingerly pressed it, and the sound of soft chimes filled the air.

Gloria flapped her wings, and Crow nearly dropped the chicken. "Gloria, please calm down! I can't hold you when you're so excited like this!"

Then the doors to the temple opened. A boy only a few years older than Crow himself was standing in the doorway. He had vibrant green hair, and his brown eyes were wide with surprise as he beheld the chicken in Crow's arms.

"Hi," Crow said. "I heard that you were looking for a healer." Gloria clucked softly in his arms. "Oh, this is Gloria"—he gestured with his head to the chicken—"and my name's Crow Cledwyn."

"Ewen Hanif," the green-haired boy introduced himself. His face broke into a smile. "Please come this way. I'll have you wait in the dining hall. Halimah will be down in a couple of minutes."

Ewen left Crow in the dining hall before heading back the way they had come. Crow took a seat at the table, and a few minutes later, Ewen returned. This time he was accompanied by a girl with thick white hair. Ewen helped the girl into the chair across from Crow before taking a seat beside her.

"Hello," the girl said with a smile. "I'm Halimah."

"I'm Crow. It's really great to meet you."

Halimah's gold-flecked eyes stared unseeingly at some spot to the right of Crow. "I heard that you might be able to restore my vision."

"I'll try my best," Crow said. The nervousness was creeping back into his voice.

"It's alright if you can't," the acting goddess of life said gently. "Please don't push yourself too hard at my expense."

Crow nodded, suddenly feeling much better. "I'll begin, then." He closed his eyes. How had he drawn the power from inside him again? He needed to replicate what he did the other day with Ms. Rosa.

Ewen's gasp told Crow that the tendrils of darkness had begun to spiral through the room. Heal, Crow told the power. And then suddenly he was floating in the darkness.

Crow waved his arms around only to collide with a large rocky shape. After a moment's hesitation, Crow placed a hand on the rock and let his magic seep inside it. Ever so slowly, the rock began to glow. As it grew even brighter, Crow could now make out the hundreds upon hundreds of rocks drifting in the darkness. Crow understood now. He had to light them up. One star at a time.

Crow opened his eyes. "I think I can do it," he said breathlessly.

"Thank you," Halimah breathed. "You're welcome to stay here at the Temple of Life as long as you need."

Crow looked over at Ewen. The green-haired boy just gave him a smile and a knowing look that read, We knew you were a void wielder.

✦ ✦ ✦

That night, Crow found that he was too excited to go to sleep.

The guest room was at least double the size of his entire apartment, and the huge bed was a hundred times more comfortable. Crow didn't know what sleeping on a cloud was like, but if he had to guess, it would certainly feel a lot like this.

Gloria was already fast asleep on the pillow next to him. Crow had been able to light a handful of the stars in Halimah's consciousness before he became too exhausted to continue. Everyone had been right—magic took so much energy.

✦ ✦ ✦

"Guess what, Cora—I'm at the Temple of Life!"

"That's wonderful." Cora smiled as she sat down across from Crow on the grass. "I'm assuming you've met Halimah. I've met her before too."

"You have?"

"Before she became an acting god, that is," Cora amended. "I took her to see the king of the day angels once."

"Oh, Cora, I wanted to thank you for helping me heal Ms. Rosa."

Cora smiled gently. "Void magic is one of the rarest forms of magic—and one of the most powerful along with soul magic. Just keep in mind every time you use your void magic, it puts you at risk of being spotted by the king of the day angels. Since you're only using small amounts, I've been able to mask it."

"How do I know if I'm using too much?"

"Don't push yourself. What makes void magic dangerous is that it doesn't take much training to master. As you are right now, you could probably do just as much with your magic as one of the former gods if you so desired."

Crow frowned. "But I get tired really fast."

"That's because you've hardly ever used your magic before."

"What about soul magic though? Isn't soul void magic's counter?"

"It is. In most cases, soul magic is used for good while void is used for destruction."

"But I'm using my magic to heal people."

"Void can be shaped to the wielder's will. And your will is for it to heal. A lot of past void wielders were blinded by the power they possessed and consumed by their magic, but I know your heart is in the right place."

✦ ✦ ✦

When Crow awoke the next morning, he walked downstairs to the dining hall with Gloria in his arms. Crow had agreed with Halimah and Ewen that he'd spend two hours every day before dinner to work on healing Halimah's sight. That meant he had most of the day to do whatever he liked. Crow rarely had this much free time, and he wasn't sure what he should do first.

Suddenly there was the sound of someone clearing his throat. Crow looked down in surprise to find a gray cat staring up at him.

"Oh, don't mind me," the cat said irritatedly. "Feel free to just walk past me."

"I'm so sorry," Crow apologized hastily. "I didn't notice you sitting there."

The cat flicked its tail distractedly. "Are you the healer?"

Crow nodded his head. "I'm Crow Cledwyn. And this is Gloria." Crow set Gloria on the floor next to him.

"Good day to you, Gloria."

Gloria clucked in acknowledgment.

"Er," Crow said awkwardly, "Gloria doesn't talk."

"Oh," the cat said, a little put out. "Anyway, I'm Professor Christopher Lethco. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"You're a professor?" Crow asked excitedly.

"Indeed, Mr. Cledwyn," Professor Lethco said importantly. "I teach at the academy here in the Firefly District. I'm here today to see the acting goddess of life."

The three of them made their way into the dining hall to find Halimah and Ewen already sitting at the long table. "Good morning," the acting goddess of life called from the head of the table.

"Good morning, Halimah," Professor Lethco said.

"Christopher!" Halimah said brightly. "Is that you? Thank you so much for stopping by."

"Of course, of course," the professor said with a flick of his tail.

After they finished breakfast, Crow found himself walking with the professor through the temple. Professor Lethco halted and turned to look up at Crow. "I heard that you're a wielder of void."

"No," Crow said automatically. Then he sighed. "Kind of."

"Kind of?"

"I am a wielder of void," Crow amended. "I just haven't used my magic much."

"Is there any reason why you don't?"

"No, not really."

✦ ✦ ✦

Crow spent the morning walking up and down the sandy beach with Gloria. When he returned to the temple, he found Professor Lethco sitting next to the doors to the entrance. "Hello, Professor."

The cat looked up at Crow. "Hello, Mr. Cledwyn. I was hoping to catch you coming in. Saedyn's in the dining hall. I thought I'd introduce you two. Both of you are wielders of rare magic, after all."

"Saedyn? Saedyn as in the former flame god's son?"

"Indeed."

"I thought he went into hiding."

The cat sighed. "That's what most people think."

Crow curiously followed Professor Lethco into the dining hall where a boy around Crow's age was talking quietly with Halimah on the far side of the room. Both Halimah and the white-haired boy turned as Crow and the professor stopped in front of them.

"Saedyn," the cat said, "this is Crow Cledwyn. Crow, this is Saedyn."

Saedyn's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Crow. "You're a wielder of void." He had unbound white hair that fell just past his shoulders and eyes the color of amber. "I can feel my magic recoiling from you," Saedyn said softly. "Does yours do the same?"

Crow looked at the other boy in confusion for a moment before he finally understood. Crow could feel the void magic inside him crawling. It was almost as if the magic knew there was a force in the room strong enough to oppose it.

"It does," Crow said in equal quiet.

"Sera has been informing me about the night angels," Saedyn said as he turned to address Halimah. "The queen has scouts keeping tabs on the day angels' movements. The king of the day angels appears to be up to something. If the king finds out about him"—Saedyn inclined his head in Crow's direction—"things will get ugly fast. Anyways, I should be going." Saedyn turned and brushed his white hair out of his eyes. "It was nice meeting you, Crow."

"Wait," Crow said quickly. "I'd like to ask you a few things about your magic, if you don't mind."

✦ ✦ ✦

Crow was sitting in the grassy field under the vibrant blue sky. Cora was sitting in front of him, sunning her large silver wings. "I was wondering," Crow said after a while, "what is your relation to the king of the day angels?"

"I hate him. It's hard not to when he was the one who killed my older brother."

"The—the king killed your older brother?"

Cora nodded solemnly. "I'm sure you're familiar with the story of the day angel and night angel who fell in love and tried to bring peace to the winged folk."

Crow nodded, wide-eyed.

"Well, my brother was the day angel in the story. The king didn't want peace, so he killed him."

✦ ✦ ✦

"Ewen, I have a favor to ask." Crow had just finished using his magic to help Halimah's vision. He was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something. "Do you think you could send a letter to my boss for me? I told her that I'd be back in a week, but with the way things look, I'll be away for much longer than that."

"Alright," Ewen agreed. There was a puff of green smoke, and then paper and ink appeared in front of Crow.

Five minutes later, Crow had finished his letter. He read over his work proudly before setting the letter off to the side to dry. Ewen looked down at the letter. "Almost everything on the page is spelled incorrectly. And your handwriting is ghastly."

Crow's heart sank. "I've never been to school before."

"I can help you write the letter," Halimah offered. "You can tell me the words, and I'll help you spell them."

"Really?" Crow felt his spirits lift. "Thank you!"

"Don't mention it," Halimah said with a smile. "The next time Professor Lethco comes to visit, I'll ask him if he has any availability to tutor you."

Suddenly a flash of aqua light flooded in from the entrance hall. "Looks like Gwenevieve has arrived," Ewen noted. "You're welcome to come and say hello with us, Crow."

Gwenevieve, the former goddess of the sea? Crow couldn't let this chance to meet one of the former gods slip. Crow quickly jumped to his feet and followed the two of them out of the room.

A woman with long turquoise hair was standing in the middle of the entrance hall, her long gown rippling at her feet like ocean waves.

"Good day, Gwenevieve," Halimah greeted the former sea god.

"Likewise, Halimah," Gwenevieve replied.

Halimah gestured in Crow's direction. "This is Crow."

"Crow." Gwenevieve's golden eyes swept over Crow. "Wielder of Void."

"Hello," Crow said timidly. "It's nice to meet you."

✦ ✦ ✦

The next day, Crow was drifting among the stars of Halimah's consciousness again. Each time he used his magic, he felt he could use more without tiring. As he moved from star to star, something snagged Crow's vision: a strand of silver was floating among the darkness. Curiously, Crow swam through the air toward it. Before Halimah had become the acting goddess of life, she had been a wielder of soul. The silver strand had to be made from soul magic.

The closer Crow got to the strand, the further it seemed to move away. It was repelled by his magic.

Crow took a deep breath as he reigned his void magic back in. Then ever so carefully, he reached out toward the thread. This time, it didn't drift out of reach. Crow wasn't sure what exactly he was doing as he closed his fingers around the thread, but he gently tucked the silver thread away for safekeeping.

When night came, Crow went to bed early. After he opened his eyes in the void, Crow drew the silver thread from its hiding place. It floated in front of him—the only light in the surrounding darkness. Maybe it had been wrong for Crow to take it like that, but it didn't seem like Halimah had needed it. Or was even aware of it for that matter.

Crow twined his fingers around the string and gave it a faint pull. Suddenly, he was falling. Down, down, down he went with the wind howling in his ears. Crow hit the ground with a thud and instinctively curled up as he lay there in a daze.

The cold hit Crow a moment later. His teeth chattered in his skull, and it took him a few moments to realize he was lying in a mound of snow. He shakily got to his feet. The glowing silver thread was still clutched tightly in his fingers.

The wind howled around him as it whipped the snow blanketing the ground into the air. It was night, and he was standing on the top of a mountain. The scene was blurred around the edges as if it were made from smoke.

As Crow looked on, bursts of silver light exploded in the distance and illuminated the top of one of the mountains miles away. It was just like what had happened a year ago. Crow hurried through the snow, trying to get a closer look at the light.

Just then, thousands of silver streaks shot into the sky. Panicking, Crow tugged at the string again. The world melted away as Crow tumbled through the air. His feet slammed into the ground moments later, and Crow fell backward into another drift of snow. Crow's mouth fell open in shock as he took in the scene before him: night angels and day angels were flying at each other as their echoing shrieks filled the air.

Suddenly, a pair of arms grabbed Crow and pulled him up from the snow. Crow whirled around with wide eyes.

"Crow?" Saedyn asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?" The white-haired boy didn't look angry—just confused. Unlike the other figures moving about, Saedyn was the only one who wasn't rippling like smoke.

"I—" Crow started. "Where are we? What's going on?"

"We're reliving the events that played out on the mountains of the Crystal District," Saedyn said as the wind swept his white hair in every direction. "Look, there's me."

Crow turned in the direction Saedyn was pointing. Sure enough, a second Saedyn had just tumbled out of the air and landed on the snow with a thud. "What happened here?"

"I got blasted out of the air by Halimah." Saedyn's amber eyes were sad as he explained. "She knew I was going to die if I used any more magic. We shouldn't stay here." Saedyn took hold again of Crow's arm, and the mountains melted away. The sounds of the fighting faded along with them until all that was left was a void of stars.

Crow blinked as he looked around. "Where are we now?"

"My head," Saedyn said simply as he let go of Crow's arm. "Would you like to tell me how you got here?"

"This thread led me here." Crow showed Saedyn the glowing silver string wrapped around his hand. "I found it floating in the acting goddess of life's consciousness while I was working on healing her eyes."

Saedyn sighed. "Is there any particular reason why you're here?"

"Sorry. No, I was just curious about the thread . . ."

"You should be more careful. For all you knew, you could have been walking straight into the hands of the day angels."

Crow fell silent.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Saedyn said after a while.

"What?" Crow asked, confused.

"The void of stars."

Crow raised his head to the twinkling pinpricks dancing in the surrounding darkness. "It is."

"I'll admit it gets lonely here sometimes. It's nice not being alone here for a change." Crow watched Saedyn's face redden slightly as the white-haired boy dropped his gaze. "I'm sorry—I said too much."

"Don't apologize," Crow said quickly. "I know what you mean. I'm usually in a void, too. But a void without stars. Just darkness."

"Only darkness?"

Crow nodded. "It used to scare me, but I'm slowly starting to get used to it."

"Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be normal?" Saedyn looked at Crow. "To not have rare magic? I know I should feel special—honored even—but I don't. I just feel tired. Scared."

Crow gazed upward at the stars. "I didn't choose to be a wielder of void."

Saedyn sighed. "I completely understand."

Chapter Nineteen

Crow spent the afternoon working with Professor Lethco on his handwriting. It was difficult, but Crow was determined to learn.

"Are you sure you don't want to take a break?" Professor Lethco asked. "Come, let's go take a walk along the beach."

Before long, Crow was gazing out over the calm water. Professor Lethco walked over and sat down beside him. "You seem like you've got something on your mind, Mr. Cledwyn," the professor observed. "Let me guess, you found the link to the void of stars that the wielders of soul travel to."

Crow stilled. "How did you know?"

"I had a suspicion that you'd find it. Halimah herself can't travel to the void anymore, so I thought the link might be floating around."

Crow spent the rest of the afternoon practicing his writing before moving on to work on Halimah's eyes. He went to bed early again that night and tugged on the silver thread. Like the previous night, he appeared on the snowy mountains of the Crystal District. Crow wrapped his arms around himself as the frosty winds blasted him full in the face.

The sky was flashing with silver as Halimah and Saedyn ran higher and higher into the sky. Crow watched as Saedyn tumbled away from the stars before finally falling back to the snow with a soft thud. But something about Saedyn seemed different from the other memories reliving the battle above. This Saedyn wasn't leaving behind a hazy after-image like the rest of the memories.

Crow quickly made his way through the snow. When he reached the white-haired boy, he dropped to his knees beside him. "Hey," Crow said.

Saedyn blinked. "Crow?"

"I don't think you want to lie in the snow all day." Crow offered a hand to help Saedyn to his feet. "It's cold."

Saedyn smiled weakly as he took Crow's hand. "Thank you."

"Did you notice me before I spoke to you?" Crow questioned as he followed Saedyn down the mountain and away from the fighting.

"No." Saedyn's white hair was coated with ice as he shook his head. "It was supposed to be me. I was supposed to die."

"What?"

"The prophecy said so," Saedyn continued as he refused to meet Crow's gaze. "I knew from the start I was going to die. So why—why didn't I?"

At a loss for words, Crow opened his mouth but then closed it again.

"I was prepared to die. But Halimah stopped me. And now it's my fault she's blind." Saedyn fell silent.

"I'm healing Halimah, though," Crow pointed out. "She'll have her vision back in no time."

✦ ✦ ✦

Crow spent the next day running along the beach with Gloria and working on writing with Professor Lethco. "Ah, yes," the cat was saying, "the acting goddess of life wanted me to tell you that Saedyn is coming to visit today."

Crow's hand stilled over the letters he was writing. "He is?"

Before Professor Lethco could respond, footsteps sounded, and Crow looked up as Halimah and Ewen entered the dining hall. "Hello," the acting goddess of life said cheerfully.

"It seems like your lesson has been cut short," Professor Lethco remarked. "Remember to do your homework." Once the cat left, Crow hurried over to greet Halimah and Ewen.

"We were wondering if you'd be able to start the healing earlier today," Ewen said. "Saedyn's going to be arriving soon."

Crow nodded, and Halimah and Ewen sat down across the table from Crow.

When Crow opened his eyes an hour later, he could sense someone else's presence before he even turned around. "Impressive," Saedyn said from where he was standing in front of the dining hall's entrance.

"Saedyn!" Crow grinned.

The white-haired boy smiled faintly. "Hello, Crow."

Crow lowered his voice. "Do you think we could talk?"

Sayden nodded.

"Let's go talk somewhere else," Crow said as he glanced at where Halimah and Ewen were still chatting together in the dining hall. "How about we talk in my room?" When they reached his guest room, Crow took a seat on the floor in front of the large window, and Saedyn sat down across from him. "How long ago was it when you first found the prophecy?" Crow asked, getting straight to business.

"I first came across it about two and a half years ago," Saedyn recounted. "The night angels were the ones who came to me and asked if there was anything I could do to help them. They told me about the prophecy and inquired if I was willing to get it."

"What happened next?" Crow asked softly.

Saedyn took a deep breath before continuing determinedly, "Opening the prophecy box was only the beginning. I still remember the first time I looked into the prophecy and asked it how I could protect everyone. It showed me my death."

During dinner, Crow listened to his tablemates discuss the best course of action to take regarding the king of the day angels. Professor Lethco had gone home for the night, and the temple was fairly quiet. Crow yawned, but then suddenly, a cold prickle shot through Crow's body.

Confused, Crow looked around at the others at the table to see if they had felt the same thing. Halimah and Ewen were still talking, completely oblivious to the cold Crow had just felt. Crow felt Saedyn looking at him, and as their eyes met, it became clear that Saedyn had felt it too.

"Halimah, Ewen," Saedyn interrupted them. His tone was serious. "There's been a disturbance in the air—in the flow of magic."

Halimah's expression darkened as she jumped to her feet. "It must be the king of the day angels."

Ewen jumped up as well. "Where?"

"The same place as last time," Saedyn said grimly. "The mountains of the Crystal District."

"I'll alert the former gods," the acting goddess of life said as she closed her eyes. She began to glow with a soft pink light. "The four of us will head there immediately."

"I'll go too," Ewen declared.

"Someone needs to stay and protect the temple," Halimah said worriedly.

"I could stay here," Saedyn offered.

Halimah gave Saedyn a grateful smile before she grabbed Ewen's hand, and the two of them vanished in a flash of light.

✦ ✦ ✦

Crow drifted through the void of stars as he waited for Saedyn to appear. He wasn't sure how much time had passed before he finally sensed the other boy's presence. Floating through the void, Crow made his way toward Saedyn's silvery glow. But when he finally found the white-haired boy, Crow froze. Saedyn was suspended in midair, with his eyes closed and hair billowing around him as if he were underwater. "Saedyn?" Crow asked hesitantly.

Saedyn didn't respond. Crow floated over and grabbed hold of Saedyn's shoulders in an attempt to shake him awake, but Saedyn's head just lolled limply from side to side.

Then Crow blinked as Saedyn started to fade away; his figure becoming more and more transparent. Suddenly Crow was struck with an idea. Opening his eyes, Crow forced himself out of the void. He was back in his room—back in his bed. It must have been the middle of the night. Careful not to disturb Gloria, Crow slipped out of his room, still in his pajamas.

If he could find Saedyn and wake him up in the real world, the dream world would cease. There were many guest rooms on the second floor of the temple, but Crow could sense Saedyn's magic. He knew where to find the white-haired boy.

Crow sprinted the remaining distance to the guest room at the end of the hall. Without pausing to think, Crow pushed open the door and entered the room.

Crow found Saedyn lying on the bed. He was still wearing the same outfit he had on during dinner, and he looked peaceful—despite the fact that his eyes were flickering behind their lids.

Crow grabbed Saedyn's arm and shook him awake. "You're having a bad dream!"

Saedyn's eyes fluttered open and he stared up at Crow in surprise. "Crow?"

"You're awake." Relief flooded through Crow.

"You didn't have to come." Saedyn sighed as he sat up to brush his white hair out of his face. "You came to the void of stars again?" the white-haired boy asked at last.

Crow nodded. "Yes."

Saedyn stood up to open the curtains. "Just a couple of years ago, I would have opened the curtains with magic. Now I can't bring myself to do so. I guess I still haven't fully recovered. I know anyone else would probably tell you off for meddling in their personal affairs, but I'm just really glad you got me out of the void. I'd rather not have to keep reliving the moment where my life force begins to ebb away."

"Wait, you said your life force began to drain away. But was your eyesight affected?"

"How did you know?" Saedyn's eyes widened. "My vision was significantly weaker after the events of the Crystal Mountains."

"It was a lucky guess. I could fix it for you."

"The same way you're healing Halimah's eyes?"

Crow nodded. "Your hand," he instructed. "After some experimentation, I figured out that being in physical contact with the patient is ultimately more effective when channeling the magic."

Saedyn extended his right hand, palm facing up. Crow reached out and hesitantly took the white-haired boy's hand in his own.

The moment their fingers touched, Crow felt a jolt of static. It was almost as if his void magic didn't know what to do—it was reeling away and crackling with excitement at the same time. Crow tried his best to ignore it as he closed his eyes. Slowly, the room filled with dancing midnight tendrils.

After what felt like hours, Crow finally drew himself back to reality. Dark tendrils were still dancing around the room when he opened his eyes, and as he watched, they gradually faded away in the brightness of the moonlight. Crow let go of Saedyn's hand. "Do you notice any difference?"

"Yes." Saedyn's tone was surprised. "I can't believe it—I can see better already!"

Crow smiled. "I'm glad I could help. I should probably get back to my room now before Gloria wakes up and finds that I'm missing. How about I work more on your eyes tomorrow?"

"If you don't mind, I think I might take you up on that offer."

✦ ✦ ✦

When Crow awoke in the morning, he changed clothes before heading down to the dining hall for breakfast. As he neared the hall, Crow could make out voices talking quietly from within.

After pausing at the doors, Crow tentatively peeked his head inside. Halimah and Ewen were back. The two of them were sitting at the head of the table, but they weren't alone: Gwenevieve was there too, along with a number of new faces.

Crow quickly withdrew his head. He turned to retrace his steps and nearly collided with something furry on the ground. "Professor Lethco?" Crow exclaimed in a shocked whisper.

"Good morning, Mr. Cledwyn," the cat said. His yellow-green eyes glowed as he looked up at Crow pointedly.

"I'm so sorry!" Crow bowed his head apologetically. Then he dropped his voice, "The former gods are in there! All of them!"

"Indeed." Professor Lethco nodded as he took a seat on the polished tiles. "Apparently they stopped a group of day angels last night from dropping some kind of weapon on the night angels."

"The day angels are attacking again?"

The cat sighed. "I'm here now to ask the former gods about the specifics." With a flick of his tail, Professor Lethco walked into the dining hall.

Wait, Crow wanted to call after him. Crow turned to move away from the doors again, this time only to nearly walk headfirst into Saedyn. "I'm sorry," Crow apologized in embarrassment.

"It's alright," Saedyn said mildly. "Are you not going into the dining hall?"

"The former gods and their partners are there," Crow explained. "I don't want to interrupt their conversation."

Saedyn smiled faintly. "Then I guess I probably shouldn't interrupt either. Would you care to take a walk outside?" Crow followed Saedyn out the front doors of the temple and onto the beach beyond. "My mother and father were in there," Saedyn told Crow as the two of them walked.

"What are your parents like?" Crow asked as he watched the waves drift along the horizon.

"My parents are kind," Saedyn said. "They don't want any harm to come to me, and they've done so much for me already. I want to help them protect the world they love too. What about yours?"

"I don't exactly have parents anymore," Crow said quietly. Gloria brushed up against Crow's ankle from where she had been trailing behind.

"I'm really sorry," Saedyn said sadly.

Crow and Saedyn spent a good portion of the morning sitting with their backs against the large rocks at the far end of the beach. They talked about anything and everything that crossed their minds. "Were you homeschooled?" Crow decided to ask.

"I was. With my magic being different, my parents took it upon themselves to teach me. I spent most of my childhood in the Temple of Fire. I didn't mind, though."

Suddenly Saedyn inhaled sharply.

"What is it?" Crow asked worriedly.

The sleeve of Crow's cardigan had slipped up, and Saedyn was staring at the cuts and gashes that peaked out from beneath the sleeve. "Crow!" Saedyn exclaimed in horror. "What happened to you?"

"This is nothing," Crow said as he hastily made to tug his sleeve back down.

Saedyn shook his head in alarm. "This isn't nothing. Are you alright? Who did this to you?"

Crow let out a sigh as he rolled his sleeve back up to show Saedyn his arm. "I did this to myself. I haven't exactly had the easiest time with my magic being the way it is, but I think I've slowly been getting better recently."

Saedyn shook his head again, still horrified.

After a while, Crow, Saedyn, and Gloria headed back to the Temple of Life.

When lunchtime rolled around, Crow picked Gloria up from where she was jumping on the bed and made his way downstairs to the dining hall. Halfway down the staircase, Crow paused. Someone was speaking. A girl. Cautiously, Crow peered around the corner.

Three people he had never seen before were standing in the middle of the entrance hall in front of Halimah and Ewen. The girl in the center was wearing a periwinkle summer dress and had long curly hair. She was chatting happily with Halimah. The boy to her left had long black hair, while the third girl had hair a shade of red so dark it could have passed for purple.

Crow was debating whether he should go downstairs when Ewen spotted him. "Crow, would you like to introduce yourself to our guests?"

"Oh, Crow," Halimah said, "I don't think you've met Lyria, Maliq, and Fern yet. The three of them are apprentices to the former gods."

"I'm Lyria," the curly-haired girl said with a polite smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Hi," Crow said timidly. "I'm Crow."

"I'm Maliq," the boy with the long hair said.

"And I'm Fern," the red-haired girl said shortly.

Halimah smiled. "Come join us, Crow. We were just about to sit down for lunch."

In the dining hall, Crow sat quietly between Maliq and Ewen. Footsteps sounded, and everyone turned to the doors of the entrance hall to watch the former gods and their partners step inside. There was silence as they settled themselves at the table until Gwenevieve said, "I think some introductions are in order."

The woman next to the former sea goddess nodded. "My name's Raina. I'm Gwenevieve's partner."

"I'm Favian," the dark-skinned man on the other side of Gwenevieve introduced himself. Favian was wearing a robe that seemed to flash with every color of the sky.

"I've heard so much about you," Crow said as his words tumbled out in a rush. "About all of you former gods!"

"I'm Thuc," the man sitting toward the end of the table spoke up, and his deep voice reverberated throughout the room. "This is my partner, Lianna." Thuc had long black hair and wore a robe of flaming orange. His partner, Lianna, was pale with warm eyes and a smile on her face. Saedyn sat between his parents and gave Crow a smile.

"It's an honor to meet all of you," Crow said as he looked around the table in admiration.

Favian's eyes twinkled. "And it's just as much of an honor for us to meet you, Wielder of Void."

Lunch flew by quickly, and Crow found himself talking with everyone at the table. They were all very friendly, and he felt at ease by the end of the meal.

Back in his room, Crow got to work finishing his assignment for Professor Lethco. The professor had instructed him to write a short story using the new words Crow had learned the previous day. A knock sounded on the door. "Who is it?"

"Saedyn," Saedyn's voice called from the other side of the door. "I just wanted to stop by to say hello."

Crow hurried over to open the door. "I've been writing a story for Professor Lethco," Crow explained as he beckoned Saedyn into the room.

"Really?" Saedyn's amber eyes lit up. "If you don't mind sharing, I'd love to hear it."

✦ ✦ ✦

Crow floated through the stars of Halimah's consciousness, only vaguely aware that this time he had an audience. Crow opened his eyes and the dining hall reappeared around him. Clapping sounded, and Crow turned to find Lyria and Maliq applauding.

"That was awesome!" Maliq said enthusiastically as Crow removed his hands from on top of Halimah's. "I've never seen void magic before!"

"Yes!" Lyria agreed as her violet eyes sparkled. "It was beautiful."

"Beautiful, but also dangerous," Fern said with a sigh.

✦ ✦ ✦

It was the middle of the night, and Gloria was sleeping on top of his chest. After carefully sitting up, Crow gently shook the chicken awake.

Gloria clucked sleepily as she opened her eyes. "I'm going to go to Saedyn's room," Crow told her quietly. "I offered to help restore his vision again tonight."

Gloria clucked twice as Crow slid out of bed.

"You're asking why I'm doing this in the middle of the night?" Crow said as he padded over to the door. "Saedyn doesn't want his parents to know that anything is wrong with him. You're welcome to come along."

When Crow reached the door to Saedyn's room, he knocked quietly. The door flew open almost immediately, and Saedyn beckoned him inside. "I'm really sorry we have to do this so late," Saedyn whispered as he shut the door behind Crow.

"I don't mind." Crow set Gloria down on the floor. He took a seat too. "I brought Gloria along this time."

The curtains were drawn back from the large window on the back wall of the room, and the glass was a reflective mirror as Saedyn lit the lamp on his desk. "Welcome, Gloria." Saedyn smiled faintly as he sat down across from Crow. The white-haired boy held out his hand, and Crow took it. Then Crow closed his eyes and let the darkness carry him to the void of stars.

Chapter Twenty

White spots bloomed across his vision from the lamplight, and Crow blinked as Saedyn's room came into focus. A moment later, exhaustion crashed into him like a wave. "All I need is a few more nights, and I'll have your sight completely restored," Crow said confidently.

Saedyn didn't respond.

Crow looked over only to find that Saedyn had fallen asleep. That was when Crow realized he was still holding Saedyn's hand. He tried to slowly unlace their fingers, but Saedyn wouldn't let go.

Crow must have drifted off to sleep because the next time he opened his eyes, sunlight was streaming in through the window. Still groggy, Crow blinked once. Twice. Then everything came rushing back to him. Crow hastily sat up.

"Good morning." Saedyn's voice brought Crow back to reality.

"I'm so sorry! I—"

Saedyn just smiled faintly. "You have nothing to apologize for. If anything, it was my fault for falling asleep first."

Crow nodded, at a loss for words. "How's your vision?" he finally asked.

"It's so much clearer already. Thank you."

Crow found himself smiling back. "I'm glad."

"I thought I might mention that last night was the first night ever where I didn't enter the void of stars. I just fell asleep and awoke in the morning without any visions at all."

Crow furrowed his brow. "Come to think of it, I didn't awaken in my void either."

"Oh." Saedyn frowned suddenly. "I think I forgot to tell you that I'm returning to the Temple of Fire today with my parents."

"You're leaving?"

"After lunch. But I'll be back next week. Would you like to take a walk along the beach again today? We still have plenty of time before lunch."

Crow nodded eagerly.

✦ ✦ ✦

After Crow worked on Halimah's eyes, everyone at the temple sat down in the dining hall for dinner. Crow found himself talking with Lyria and Maliq again—which he didn't mind in the slightest, since both of them were lively and enthusiastic.

"There's something I'd like to ask you three about," Crow said as he looked at his companions. "What's it like to go to school?"

Lyria, Maliq, and Fern looked at him in surprise. Then to his relief, Lyria let out a giggle. "Up until recently, I was attending the magic academy in the Firefly District."

"That's where Professor Lethco teaches," Crow recalled.

Lyria nodded. "He was actually one of my professors. Ewen and Halimah used to go there too."

Crow turned to Maliq and Fern. "What about you two?"

"I go to school in the Sand Dance District," Maliq explained. "My favorite part about school is having the opportunity to meet new people and make friends."

"I go to school in the Crystal District," Fern said when Crow turned to her. "I live for being able to learn new things every day."

"It is pretty fun," Lyria agreed. "I bet you'd love school, Crow."

When dinner was over, Crow headed to his room to go to bed.

Crow opened his eyes to find himself standing in the infinite field of grass, the blue sky a peaceful ocean above. He didn't need to wait long as the day angel descended from the sky. "Hello, Crow," Cora said lightly.

"Hello," Crow greeted her. "I was wondering if I could ask you a question. Last night was the first night I didn't enter the void," he explained. "And Saedyn said that he didn't enter his void either."

Cora hummed thoughtfully. "I don't know if I mentioned or not that void and soul magic cancel each other out. If you two were in close proximity to each other, it would make sense that neither of you entered your respective voids. That aside, there's something I have to tell you." Cora's tone was grim. "The king of the day angels is planning to try to wipe out the night angels again. Last time his plan was to wipe out the entire night angel population in a series of quick and fatal blasts. But this time, I'm sure whatever method he's picked certainly won't be a quick and painless death for the night angels."

"How much time do we have before he attacks?" Crow asked worriedly.

"I'm not sure. The king's always been too suspicious of me to tell me anything important. I've been trying to do some investigating of my own, but as of now, I haven't been able to figure anything out."

"How are we going to stop him?"

Cora smiled sadly. "As long as the king doesn't get to you, there's still hope."

✦ ✦ ✦

Crow was back in the void.

After tugging on the silver thread wrapped tightly around his fingers, Crow crossed the bridge into Saedyn's consciousness. Unfortunately, for the past few nights, Saedyn had been absent from the void of stars. Crow could assume that he had been speaking to the night angel because whenever that was the case, Crow wasn't able to communicate with him.

As Crow floated among the stars, there was a flash of silver light. The darkness melted away to reveal the peak of a snow-capped mountain.

It didn't take long for Crow to find Saedyn. He was tumbling through the air as he fell back down toward the mountain. Lifting a hand, Crow channeled his magic into a net. This was just a dream, after all. In a dream, he could control his magic in any way he wanted.

The net of dancing dark tendrils flashed into existence and their shadows reached out to suck the light from the stars above. Saedyn hit the net with a soft thud. He blinked. "Crow?"

Crow waved. Then after running over, Crow lowered the net to the ground and allowed Saedyn to climb to his feet. "I wasn't going to just let you fall."

Saedyn laughed. "Thank you for catching me."

Crow bowed dramatically before laughing as well.

✦ ✦ ✦

When Crow awoke the next morning, he changed into his mail carrier uniform and trudged downstairs for breakfast. Gloria hopped along at his feet. But as Crow neared the dining hall, he stopped as he witnessed a peculiar sight.

Lyria, Maliq, and Fern were crouched next to the closed doors, their ears pressed against the wood. Crow walked over to the trio. "Good morning."

Lyria and Maliq nearly jumped a foot into the air as they whirled around. "Crow!" Lyria said in a shocked whisper. "You nearly gave us a heart attack!"

"I'm sorry," Crow whispered back apologetically.

"The two of them are listening in on the conversation between the acting goddess of life and her night angel friend," Fern informed him. "I can't say I approve, but here we are now."

"I think you'd probably be able to hear better if you went inside," Crow noted as he crouched down next to the doors as well.

Only a couple of seconds had passed before the doors to the dining hall opened. Lyria, Maliq, and Fern hastily scrambled to their feet.

Halimah, Ewen, and a night angel stood in the doorway. "Hello," Halimah said brightly.

"Good morning," Lyria said with equal brightness. "I hope you don't think we were trying to eavesdrop."

Halimah just laughed. "Next time just knock. You're all welcome to join our conversation."

Crow noticed that the night angel at Halimah's side was watching him.

"Hello, Wielder of Void," the night angel said with a smile.

"Hi." Crow found himself shrinking backward. The night angel's piercing eyes seemed to stare into his very soul.

"Saedyn's told me a lot about you," the night angel continued. "I want to thank you for looking after him."

"You don't have to thank me," Crow said in surprise.

The night angel sighed. "I do. I doubt anyone else would have found out about his eyesight, let alone try to fix it. My name's Sera, by the way."

"I'm Crow." Crow smiled up at the night angel. "And this is Gloria." Crow gestured at the chicken in his arms.

Sera raised her brows as her eyes fell on Gloria. "Why hello there, Gloria. I see you have lovely wings like me."

Gloria clucked happily.

✦ ✦ ✦

A couple of days later, Crow was heading down to the dining hall for breakfast, Gloria hopping along at his feet.

Lyria, Maliq, and Fern had left the previous morning. The trio bid Halimah, Ewen, and Crow farewell before departing for their respective temples. Now the temple was a lot quieter in their absence. After pushing open the doors to the dining hall, Crow's foot froze midair as he made to cross the threshold.

Saedyn was sitting at the wooden table with a smile on his face. "Surprise."

"Saedyn!" Crow exclaimed as he rushed over to the table. "When did you get here?"

"I just got here less than an hour ago, actually."

Gloria flapped her wings and clucked excitedly.

"Gloria's happy you're back too," Crow translated.

"Hello, Gloria," Saedyn said warmly as he reached out a hand to stroke the chicken's feathers.

That night, Crow made his way across the hallway to Saedyn's room. Before he could even reach out a hand to knock, the door swung open, and Saedyn beckoned him inside. Crow set Gloria down on the floor as Saedyn quickly shut the door behind him. "Thank you for coming," the white-haired boy said.

"Of course."

Saedyn smiled faintly as he extended his hand for Crow to take.

Crow placed his hand on top of the white-haired boy's, and the void of stars came into existence. He moved from star to star and found himself in front of the final one in no time. After placing his hand on the stone, Crow watched it glow and glow and glow.

The following night, Crow found himself hurrying across the hallway to Saedyn's room. He didn't need to go there anymore, given that he had completely restored the white-haired boy's vision, but he found himself leaving his own room regardless.

Quietly, Crow knocked on Saedyn's door. He didn't have to wait long as the door swung open. Saedyn stood in the doorway. His expression was only mildly surprised.

"Hi," Crow said as he dropped his gaze to the floor. "I, uh . . ."

Saedyn just smiled faintly as he beckoned Crow inside. After that, they talked for hours before Crow grew too tired to keep his eyes open anymore.

When it came time for Saedyn to return to the Temple of Fire, Crow found himself missing the white-haired boy even before he departed. The next month was more of the same: lessons every afternoon with Professor Lethco and healing sessions with Halimah in the evenings. And then there was the ever-present worry hanging over their heads of what the king of the day angels was up to.

When Saedyn visited the temple, the two of them would spend the day together walking along the beach and then talking in the white-haired boy's room at night.

Lyria, Maliq, and Fern stopped by a few times during the month to say hello, and Halimah's vision was significantly improving. In fact, the acting goddess of life could now see in heavy blurs of color.

Right now, Crow was sitting at the desk in his room as he worked on his assignments for Professor Lethco. Gloria had fallen asleep next to the glass inkwell, her head tucked under a wing. A short distance away, Saedyn was lying on Crow's bed, caught up in reading a novel. His white hair was slightly longer than it had been a month ago and kept falling into his amber eyes.

Crow looked up from his writing to watch as Saedyn brushed loose strands of hair away from his face. His eyes never even left his book once.

Suddenly, an alarmed voice rang through his head. "Crow!" It was Cora. Her voice was panicked. "I've discovered what the king's been working on all this time! It's Flames of Ice!"

Flames of Ice? Crow thought back. What's that?

"Us day angels specialize in ice-based magic the same way the night angels specialize in fire-based magic," Cora explained quickly. "It's a magical flame of pure ice-fire so cold it turns everything it touches to ice. The king plans to unleash it on the realm of the night angels! The fire is nearly unstoppable. Everyone and everything it touches will freeze. Then the king plans to fly in and use his magic to shatter the newly crystallized kingdom."

Do you know when the king is going to unleash the flames?

"No." Cora's voice was strained. "It's not done yet either. The king used a tremendous amount of power just to ignite a spark in the heart of the frozen flame. That's what that first disturbance you felt was—it took the king weeks to recover. There was also an attack on the night angels that day, but he never expected that to succeed. It was just a cover-up. Now he's been having the day angels slowly channel magic into flame now instead of all at once."

So we just need to prevent him from using the flame?

Cora sighed in defeat. "I don't know if there's anything we can do about it, but the queen of the night angels could probably stop the flame."

The queen can stop it? Crow thought hopefully. What if we just warned her now? I know someone who can get the message across.

"Please do." Cora's voice seemed to relax slightly.

"Saedyn," Crow said as he jumped up from his chair.

The white-haired boy looked up from his book, instantly concerned as he took note of Crow's tense figure. "What's the matter?"

"Cora found out what the king of the day angels is planning. She said he's working on something called 'Flames of Ice.' Apparently it's a fire that can freeze whatever it touches. The king wants to freeze the entire realm of the night angels and then shatter it to pieces."

Saedyn shook his head in alarm. "I'll tell Sera. We can't let that happen."

"I know," Crow agreed as a slight tremor crept into his voice. "There has to be something we can do too, right? I mean, we have magics different from the others . . ."

"Crow?" Saedyn asked with wide eyes as Crow trailed off.

"I just had the craziest idea."

Saedyn smiled faintly. "Let's hear it."

Crow took a deep breath. "You're a wielder of soul. And soul magic is the one type of magic that is fatal to day angels."

Saedyn angled his head to the side.

"If we could somehow get you up to the king of the day angels . . . That way he won't be able to use his Flames of Ice."

"Say we do go with that plan," Saedyn said slowly. "How would I even get into the realm of the day angels? The king knows to stay away from me at all costs." Then Saedyn's eyes widened in realization. "Are you going to get me up there?"

"Since the king doesn't know about my existence yet, I feel like we could use that to our advantage."

Saedyn frowned. "We'd need to think this through very carefully. There's no denying he'd be suspicious of you at first. I get the feeling you'd have to become someone the king could trust to even pull it off."

"What do you want me to do?" Crow asked uncertainly.

"I think the first thing we should work on is your expression," Saedyn said importantly. "You can tell a lot from a person by just looking at their eyes. You should try to make them cold. Like this." The white-haired boy closed his eyes for a moment. When he reopened them, the spark in them had vanished, and the amber glow was no longer warm. Instead, they had turned to ice. He blinked, and the ice melted away. "I always hate doing that," he said with a shudder.

"I don't like that either," Crow said quietly.

Saedyn smiled sadly. "Something tells me to get the king of the day angels to trust you, you're going to need to put on a dark persona like his."

A knock sounded on the door. "Mr. Cledwyn?" Professor Lethco called from the hallway, "I've come to get you for our lesson."

✦ ✦ ✦

During dining, Crow couldn't help fidgeting. He and Saedyn had concluded that they should tell Halimah and Ewen about their plan the next time they saw them. Which just so happened to be now.

Crow glanced over at Saedyn, and the white-haired boy turned to meet his eyes. Saedyn nodded slightly. After taking a breath, Crow cleared his throat to get his tablemates' attention. "Saedyn and I found out what the king of the day angels has been up to," Crow started as Halimah and Ewen turned to look at him. "We thought of a way to sneak into the realm of the day angels. But we need your help."

"What exactly is the king up to?" Halimah said weakly.

"The king's been creating Flames of Ice. He's going to try to attack the night angels again."

✦ ✦ ✦

Crow was sitting on the beach, gazing out over the calm water. Gloria sat on his lap, and her soft body was a warm ball of feathers.

Footsteps sounded behind him, and Crow turned. For a moment, his eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of snowy-white hair. It was Halimah.

The acting goddess of life smiled at Crow as her long gossamer dress flowed around her legs. "Hello, Crow."

"Hello." Crow smiled tiredly as Halimah took a seat next to him.

"You seem like you've got something on your mind," Halimah said lightly. Her long white hair rippled in the wind as she stroked Gloria's feathers.

Crow turned back to the ocean. "Everything is just . . . It's kind of overwhelming all of a sudden."

Halimah nodded sympathetically. "Just a year ago, I thought the same thing. Back then, as a wielder of soul, there were a lot of times when I felt overwhelmed as well. But I had friends—so many wonderful friends who supported me the entire way. Ewen, Professor Lethco, Lyria, Maliq, Fern, and everyone else. Friends are some of the most important people in life. They help us climb to our feet when we've fallen down—help us rise and triumph and succeed."

Crow raised his head to look at Halimah, but the acting goddess of life was just staring over the ocean. Her cloudy eyes were bright with determination.

"Keep your friends close, Crow. With them at your side, you can accomplish the impossible."

✦ ✦ ✦

At night, Crow would tug on the thread connecting him to Saedyn and meet the white-haired boy in the void of stars. From there, the two of them would look through Saedyn's memories of the Crystal Mountains and find all the moments with the king of the day angels for anything that might be able to help them.

Fortunately, they still had plenty of time. Cora had been providing Crow with daily updates on the king's progress with the weapon and had predicted it would take the king a couple of months at the very least to commence an attack.

That night, Crow was sitting next to Saedyn. The two of them silently sat on the white-haired boy's bed as they listened to the rain pattering on the temple roof. At some point in time they had joined hands, and how their linked hands rested on the blankets between them.

✦ ✦ ✦

Since the majority of their plan was going to take place at the Temple of Fire, the former gods had concluded that they should relocate everyone involved to said location. And that meant that Crow was going to go too.

Crow was extremely excited about getting to see the legendary structure built into the side of one of the Crystal District's mountains in person. But that also meant that today was going to be Crow's last day at the Temple of Life. As Crow walked through the gleaming halls of the temple, he couldn't help but wonder if this would be the last time he'd ever be here.

It was raining too much to walk along the beach, so Crow and Saedyn decided to go to the indoor garden instead. They sat on the grassy ground as the rain dripped down the sides of the glass walls outside. The pleasant fragrance of flowers filled the room, and Gloria clucked happily as Crow set her down next to him.

"Are you afraid?" Saedyn asked quietly.

"Yes," Crow admitted. "I am."

Saedyn sighed. "I had the opportunity to face the king of the day angels in the past, but I was too scared to take it. At the time, my magic was unstable. I think I was scared to die at the hands of someone like the king."

"I'm really happy you didn't die," Crow said softly. "If you died, I never would have gotten to meet you."

✦ ✦ ✦

Crow sat at the dining hall table across from Halimah. After placing his hands on top of the acting goddess's, Crow closed his eyes as he entered the void.

Bright stars greeted him as he opened his eyes. The hundreds of lights were pulsing and flickering softly. But there were still hundreds of stars left to light back up.

Drawing his magic up from deep inside him, Crow felt his determination and resolve grow. This was his magic. If he wanted to fix Halimah's vision fully, why could he do just that? And with that in mind, Crow released the grip on his magic, and everything exploded in a burst of roaring midnight.

Chapter Twenty-One

"Crow?"

Crow opened his eyes to find Halimah staring at him. The clouds in her gold-flecked eyes had vanished entirely. She blinked once. Twice.

"Halimah?" Ewen asked in concern.

The acting goddess of life turned to look up at her partner. "I can see again," Halimah whispered. "I can see light and color, and—" Halimah looked back at Crow with wide eyes. "I can see you. Thank you."

"Thank you," Ewen echoed.

Crow nodded.

"Well," Ewen said after a while, "I'll make sure to get the reward money to you before we depart for the Temple of Fire. You've earned it, Crow."

The money! Crow had completely forgotten about that part of the agreement. "I—" Crow started. Something about taking the money felt wrong. He knew it was why he decided to come to the Temple of Life in the first place, but . . .

"Don't." Ewen cut Crow off with a look. "Don't tell me that you won't accept the money."

"Yes." Halimah nodded as she elbowed Ewen playfully. "We insist."

✦ ✦ ✦

Crow awoke early in the morning to pack his few belongings. Crow and Saedyn met Halimah and Ewen in the entrance hall as they prepared to depart. "We're going to teleport directly into the Temple of Fire's entrance hall," Halimah explained as heavy rain tapped loudly on the roof high above. The acting goddess of life closed her gold-flecked eyes, and pale pink light flared around her, engulfing the entire entrance hall.

When the light faded, Crow blinked in awe. He was now standing in the entrance hall of a completely different temple. The walls were made from a red-orange stone that seemed to pulse and glow with living flames. Snow was falling outside the large arched windows, and the white was a stark contrast to the warm flames.

Crow rushed over to the window. He pressed his hands against the frosted glass and looked out at the tiny flakes drifting about the crystal-like mountains. Saedyn walked over to join him with laughter dancing in his amber eyes. "You've never seen a snowfall before?"

Crow shook his head.

Just then, an overjoyed shriek had both Crow and Saedyn whirling around. Lyria had appeared in the entrance hall. "Halimah!" Lyria embraced the acting goddess of life tightly. "I heard about your vision! I'm so happy for you!"

Maliq and Fern entered the entrance hall as well. Both of them had smiles on their faces.

"Thank you, Lyria," Halimah said with a laugh. "I have Crow to thank."

"Hello everyone," a new voice called. Crow looked over to watch as Thuc and Lianna walked over to join Halimah and Ewen in the center of the hall.

"Mother, Father," Saedyn greeted them. "Crow and I are going to head upstairs first."

Thuc smiled warmly. "Go ahead. Gwenevieve, Rania, and Favian are going to arrive sometime in the afternoon. Just be sure to meet us in the dining hall for dinner. We might even have a few other special guests joining us."

Other guests? Crow didn't have time to dwell on it as Saedyn excitedly tugged on his arm and led him toward the staircase to the upper story of the Temple of Fire. "You want to go outside in the snow, right? It's always really cold outside. I'll find you something warmer to wear."

Saedyn led Crow through a doorway on the second floor of the temple, and they entered what resembled a normal living room complete with a couch and many bookcases. More doors stood on the other side of the living room, and Saedyn guided them to the one on the far right. "This is my room," Saedyn explained.

The first thing Crow observed about the room was the writing desk tucked away in one corner and the wardrobe in the other. The walls of the room were a fresh cream color, and Crow noticed that someone had hand-painted little flame-like designs in a red-orange paint around the windows.

Saedyn went to the wardrobe and began rummaging around for a warm outfit. "Here you go," the white-haired boy said as he handed Crow a pair of trousers and a tunic. "While you change, I'll head downstairs to try to find you some snow boots." Giving Crow one last smile, Saedyn turned and hurried out of the room.

Crow smiled faintly at the place where the white-haired boy had vanished. Then after setting down his bag, Crow changed into the outfit Saedyn had picked out for him. When he was done, Crow walked over to the mirror on the wardrobe door. "What do you think, Gloria?" Crow looked back over his shoulder to where the chicken had hopped out of his bag.

Gloria clucked approvingly.

✦ ✦ ✦

After spending time hiking around in the snow, Crow and Saedyn made their way to the dining hall for dinner. When they arrived, Lyria, Maliq, and Fern were already sitting at the long table.

"Hello!" Lyria's eyes sparkled as she smiled politely.

Maliq saluted in their direction. "It's been a while since we've all sat down for dinner like this."

Crow nodded in agreement as he and Saedyn slid into the chairs across from the trio. It had been quite a few weeks since they had all seen each other at the Temple of Life. Halimah and Ewen entered the room a few minutes later, closely followed by Gwenevieve and Rania.

"Hello, Mr. Cledwyn," a familiar voice said from the floor. Crow looked down in surprise to find Professor Lethco.

"Hello, Professor!"

The cat leaped up onto the table with a flick of his furry tail. "Thuc and Lianna thought I might be useful, so they kindly asked me if I'd like to come along to their temple as well. Oh, speaking of whom, here they are right now."

Turning around, Crow watched as the former flame god and his partner entered the hall. But they weren't alone; they were accompanied by a tall woman in flowing golden robes. Her violet hair was cropped in a pixie cut, and the violet feathered wings protruded out of her back.

Crow heard Lyria inhale sharply from across the table. "It's the queen of the night angels!"

Crow stared as the queen walked past and pulled up a seat next to Gwenevieve. The two women greet each other like old friends. Which they probably were, Crow concluded.

After they finished eating and all of the plates were cleared away, Halimah and Saedyn began to explain the plan to the queen of the night angels. Crow sat quietly at Saedyn's side. Even though Crow was probably the most important one in the plan, he found that he didn't have much to say.

"Crow." the queen of the night angels was looking right at him.

Crow blinked.

The queen just smiled. "It's been quite some time since I've been in the same room as a wielder of void."

Crow nervously returned the smile.

"On a more serious note, the king of the day angels is not someone who can easily be fooled."

Crow swallowed. "I'm aware."

"I'm sure that you're also aware that the king and I have a long history as well."

Crow's eyes widened as he shook his head.

The queen of the night angels sighed as she braced her arms on the table in front of her. "Before there were separate realms for the night angels and day angels, we all lived together as one united people. One day, a young male proposed that there should be someone who everyone would look up to—someone who would take it upon themself to protect everyone. His idea was accepted, and he was appointed king. He was clever beyond his years and his mind was his strongest weapon. Now that there was a king, it was only fitting for there to be someone at his side. A queen. And he wanted me.

"But at the time, I was already in love with another male. A night angel. Things got bloody quickly, but the night angels stood by me. They wanted to see the king off the throne. They wanted me on it instead. When we couldn't agree, we separated. Us night angels went to one of Hali's moons, while the day angels to the other.

"I knew the majority of the day angels rejected the king's ideas and philosophies, but they were too terrified about what he'd do to them if they rebelled." The queen ran a hand through her short hair. "Those poor day angels. Not a day goes by when I don't think about what I can be doing to help free them from the king. So when I heard about your plan, I knew I needed to help. If any of you ever need me at all, please, don't hesitate to ask."

✦ ✦ ✦

Crow awoke the next morning to the soft rays of the sunrise streaming in through the window. Yawning, he sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Saedyn was asleep next to him, his white hair spilling over the pillow like fresh snow. The two of them had stayed up late discussing the plan, but Crow couldn't remember when he had fallen asleep. Timidly, Crow reached over to brush Saedyn's hair away from his face. The white-haired boy's eyelids fluttered open as he looked up at Crow.

"I—I'm sorry." Crow dropped quickly his hand away.

Saedyn just laughed as he sat up as well. "You don't need to apologize." Crow blinked as Saedyn caught his hand and gently rolled back the sleeve to examine the scars that covered Crow's arm. "When you were packing the other day," Saedyn said quietly, "I saw that knife in your bag."

"I've stopped using it," Crow said truthfully. "I've come to realize my magic isn't a bad thing. I'm able to heal people after all."

The two of them spent the majority of the day walking around the Temple of Fire. After dinner, Thuc surprised Crow by offering to teach him how to have better control over his magic.

When night fell, Crow and Saedyn were back in the white-haired boy's room.

"Hey," Crow said quietly. His voice echoed in the silence. "I realized that I've never seen you use your magic before."

Saedyn hummed thoughtfully. "I think you're right—I don't even remember the last time I used my magic myself."

"But you're still going to be able to blast the king of the day angels, right?"

Saedyn sighed. "I can still do that. But I think I've come to associate my magic with pain. It did this to me, after all." He gestured to his hair. "My father actually came up with a way for me to channel my magic through a magical book to help mitigate fatigue, but I've been hesitant to do anything with my magic."

Crow held out a hand as he sat up. "I don't think associating pain with your magic is going to be healthy. I don't think it's a bad idea to start working to change that."

The white-haired boy seemed confused, but he took Crow's hand anyway.

Crow adjusted their hands so their palms were pressed together and their fingers were lined up. "I'm going to use some of my void magic," Crow explained. "Don't worry—it's only going to be a little bit. If you feel comfortable, maybe you can try to match it with your soul magic."

Saedyn nodded hesitantly.

Exhaling slowly, Crow let his magic fill the room. Tendrils of darkness danced around his hands, and they lazily floated over to drift around Saedyn's as well. "Just try to use a little of your magic," Crow encouraged softly.

The white-haired boy took a breath, and then suddenly the room was illuminated in silver. Crow could see Saedyn's wide eyes as they reflected the silver glow.

"How do you feel?" Crow asked.

Saedyn stared in amazement at the light. "Fine."

The two of them were silent for some time as they watched the tendrils of darkness swirl around the pulsing silver stars.

✦ ✦ ✦

The following morning, Crow stood in the empty dining hall across from Thuc. Thuc had insisted that he teach Crow a few tricks that could come in handy while in the realm of the day angels.

"Your magic is your friend," Thuc said knowingly as he lifted a hand. Flames burst into existence at his fingertips, and the magic streamed through the air like a golden banner.

Crow watched open-mouthed as Thuc simultaneously shaped the flames into a snowflake, a cat, and a chicken. "Impressive!"

Thuc smiled as the flames vanished. "The only limit of your magic is your imagination. If I'm being honest, I never thought I'd get the opportunity to meet a wielder of void, let alone teach one. You can't blame me if I'm a little excited."

Crow let out a laugh. When he first came downstairs for the magic lesson, he hadn't known what to expect. But there was something calming about Thuc's energy.

"Okay, let's see," Thuc said importantly. "The first thing you should know is how to create an alarm system just in case someone decides it might be particularly funny to try to sneak up on you." And so the former flame god spent the next hour showing Crow how to create and perfect an undetectable warning system. "I think you're getting the hang of it," Thuc said encouragingly as Crow placed a line of void over each of the dining hall's large windows. "This kind of magic doesn't stop people from getting in, but it will alert you of their presence. Anyways, I think that's enough for now. You should go take a break—you deserve it."

Beaming, Crow bowed respectfully before hurrying out of the hall. This had been his first magic lesson.

✦ ✦ ✦

Over the next few days, Crow observed that Saedyn had started using his magic for small things like lighting lamps and candles. Saedyn had told Crow that he would try channeling his magic through the magical book, and now the book could always be seen with him.

Crow spent the mornings and afternoons with Thuc learning more about his void magic. Crow was pleasantly surprised with himself at his ability to quickly pick up information and replicate Thuc's magic. But maybe that was just because the former flame god was such a good teacher: he was always patient and encouraging whenever he gave Crow instructions.

Sera visited the Temple of Fire daily to report their progress to the queen of the night angels. While she didn't stick around long, the night angel made sure to greet Halimah and Saedyn each time she visited.

Now currently sitting on the floor in Saedyn's room, Crow wondered what the realm of the night angels was like. Gloria sat on his lap and was clucking contentedly as she nipped at Crow's fingers.

"We've come so far together, Gloria," Crow said softly.

Gloria puffed out her feathers as she nuzzled her head against Crow's hand.

"Saedyn will take good care of you when I'm away," Crow told the chicken. "Be good, okay?"

✦ ✦ ✦

The rest of the week flew by in a blur of activity, and before Crow knew it, the time to put their plan into action had arrived.

Standing outside the Temple of Fire, Crow looked back at all his friends.

Saedyn stepped forward. "Please stay safe."

Crow offered him a smile. "I will. Take care of Gloria for me."

"Are you ready, Mr. Cledwyn?" Professor Lethco asked from the snow-covered ground.

Crow nodded, all too aware of his steadily increasing heart rate. "Ready."

"Good," the cat said simply. Then the world disappeared in a flash of plum-colored light as Professor Lethco transported the two of them away from the temple.

When the light cleared, Crow was standing in the middle of a dense forest. This was the Everglade District.

"Good luck, Mr. Cledwyn," Professor Lethco said importantly. "I wish you the best." And with that said, the cat vanished in another flash of light.

Crow stared blankly at the spot where the professor had been standing. The sounds of birds chirping floated toward him from the trees, and rays of afternoon sunlight filtered in through the leaf-covered branches.

Crow turned around and set off through the trees. He could do this. In fact, Thuc had drawn a map and shown Crow the way to the small cabin tucked away between the trees. They had gone over the paths until Crow had them memorized by heart.

Before long, Crow was standing in front of the wooden cabin. This was the place he was going to stay until the day angels found him. In exactly an hour, Cora would drop all the shields she had placed around Crow to hide his magic. And after that, it would only be a matter of time until the day angels swooped in to collect him for their king.

Exhaling slowly, Crow stepped inside the cabin. The furniture was slightly worn, and the lamps flickered softly. It was made to look like Crow was living there for years.

After what seemed like nothing short of an eternity, Cora's voice drifted through his head. "Okay, Crow. Are you ready? I'm going to drop the shields." Then her voice drifted to Crow again a moment later. "It's done. I'll see you at the castle. Good luck."

✦ ✦ ✦

Crow was waiting in the living room. It was late evening, and the sun had dropped completely from the sky. Everything was silent over the past week until the wards he had set up around the cabin were suddenly disturbed. Crow jumped to his feet, and his heart nearly jumped from his chest when a loud knock sounded at the door.

Crow walked over to throw open the door.

Two day angels stood on the porch: one male and one female. Their metallic silver wings glinted in the lamplight. "Wielder of Void," the female day angel said, "our king has found you at last."

"He requests that you enlighten him with your presence," the male day angel added as he looked down at Crow.

Crow met each of their gazes. "King? What does he want?"

"He's been searching for you, Wielder of Void." The female day angel extended a hand toward Crow. "Come with us."

"Why should I?"

"If you worked for our king," the male day angel said, "you'd have the opportunity to do something great with your magic."

Crow pretended to be considering their words. "Say I do come with you," he said slowly, "would there be a reward?"

The female day angel nodded. "Yes: power."

Chapter Twenty-Two

Crow casually leaned against the wall as he eyed his surroundings. After he agreed to go see the king, the day angels teleported him to a large room and told him to wait for the king to call him inside.

"Wielder of Void," a deep voice called from behind a pair of double doors. "Enter."

Without giving himself a moment's hesitation, Crow pushed open the doors and stepped into the throne room.

The entire room was cut from a polished white marble that reminded Crow eerily of bone. Large arches open to the elements lined the walls like windows, and stars twinkled lazily in the sky outside. At the back of the room, a gigantic throne sat on top of a glimmering staircase. But it was the person on the throne that Crow's eyes fell on immediately.

The male had long unbound silver-blue hair, pale skin, and glittering navy eyes. He wore an intricately embroidered robe of frost-colored fabric. "Hello, Wielder of Void," the king purred. His voice rumbled through the room.

"Your Majesty." Crow quickly bowed. The screaming in his head was so loud it was a miracle the king couldn't hear it. Crow's voice was screaming in his mind to get as far away from the king as he could. "I heard that you could give me power."

Crow looked up to watch as a thin smile played across the king's face. "I can. Tell me, Wielder of Void, what is your name?"

"Crow."

"Crow," the king echoed. "How old are you, Crow?"

"Sixteen."

The king leaned against the arm of his chair as he rested his chin on his hand. "Already craving power at such a young age?"

"My parents abandoned me as a child when they found out I was a wielder of void. Is it wrong for me to want revenge? Is it wrong for me to want the power to prove that I'm everything they feared I would be and more?"

"Wrong?" Amusement flickered in the king's eyes. "Not in the slightest. I can help you, Crow."

Crow forced himself to look intrigued. "Really?"

"Yes," the king said simply. "I can help you—if you help me."

"Deal."

The king's navy eyes glittered. "I'm looking forward to working with you, Wielder of Void. Let's talk again tomorrow." As if on cue, the doors to the throne room opened, and a female day angel walked in. Her lapis eyes were downcast.

Crow's heart nearly skipped a beat, but he didn't let it show on his face. Crow could see the king watching him out of the corner of his eye.

"Cora," the king said lazily, "show Crow to his room."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Cora shakily bowed her head. Then she turned back to Crow. "Come with me, Wielder of Void."

Even as Crow followed Cora out of the throne room, he could feel the king's eyes on the back of his head. This had to be a test of some sort.

They walked in silence, and the only sound was the echoing of their footsteps over the cold marble floor. Cora led Crow up a flight of stairs and down a long hallway. "These are the guest rooms," Cora said flatly. Even without the king around, they still needed to keep up the act. "You can stay in the first room on the left."

Crow inclined his head as Cora walked over to hold the door open for him. As Crow entered the room, he paused in the doorway and pretended to examine the carvings etched into the frame. "Are you alright?" Crow whispered.

"I should be asking you that," Cora whispered back. Her voice was so quiet it was nearly inaudible. "Don't worry about me right now—just be careful around the king." With that said, Cora bowed her head and closed the door.

After carefully locking the door, Crow went a step further and used his magic to draw lines by the door and all of the windows. If anyone tried to come in, the magic would alert him.

The guest room was fairly empty; the only furniture was the large bed in the middle of the room. Even as Crow sat down on the bed, his eyes kept darting back to the door. The silence roared in his ears. Paranoid. He hadn't even been at the castle for an hour, and he was already paranoid.

✦ ✦ ✦

Crow was floating in the dark void. Scared. Alone. Crow was about to let his fear take over when he remembered the glowing silver thread wrapped around his fingers. For a moment he just stared down at it. Then he tugged on the thread, and the void faded away to a star-filled infinity.

"Crow," a voice called from somewhere behind him.

Crow slowly turned around, and a smile grew on his face.

✦ ✦ ✦

"The king requests your presence in the dining hall," a male voice announced.

Crow stepped out into the hallway where the day angel was waiting. Crow silently followed him down the marble halls. Before they reached the doors to the dining hall, the day angel whirled around with worried eyes. "Whatever the king wants you to do," the day angel said in a desperate whisper, "for the sake of the winged folk, please don't do it!"

Completely caught off guard, Crow had to remember to keep his expression in check. "What do you mean?"

The male dropped his voice even lower. "The king's going to try to use you to annihilate the night angels!"

"You don't want that to happen?"

The day angel shook his head sadly. "None of us want it to happen, but we can't oppose him out of fear of what he might do to our families."

Crow looked at the day angel for a long moment before stepping around him and continuing into the dining hall.

"Welcome, Crow." The king of the day angels was sitting at the head of a long stone table. "Have a seat." The king gestured lazily to the chair across from him at the opposite end of the table. After Crow sat down, the king continued, "I was wondering if you'd care to give me a display of your magic."

"Right now?"

The king nodded.

Void exploded through the dining hall as the dark tendrils rocketed in all directions. The light filtering in from the windows seemed to be sucked away by a vacuum as shadows took their place. Crow let his magic flicker for a few more moments before reigning it back in. The sunlight returned to the room. "Was that satisfactory enough for you, Your Majesty?"

The king nodded, and there was something triumphant flickering behind his cold eyes.

Crow spent the rest of the week making sure that he did the exact same thing every day. In the mornings he would go down to breakfast. After breakfast, Crow would walk around the upper levels of the castle. Then he would go back down for dinner before finally heading back to his room for the night.

All the while, he continued to communicate mentally with Cora and Saedyn. He would give them daily updates on what was happening—which really was not much. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait much longer. A few days later, Crow was back in the dining hall for breakfast. The king sat at the head of the table like usual, and his navy eyes glittered with malicious intent.

"Crow," the king said after a while, "would you care to come with me? There is something I'd like to show you."

"Alright." Crow put on a mask of mild interest as they stood from the table. They took staircase after staircase down into the very heart of the castle and only stopped when they reached a door cut from stone.

The king signaled to the guards in front of it to open the door. The two day angels clapped their hands together, and the door swung open effortlessly. A single pedestal sat in the middle of the windowless chamber, with a pulsing crystal-like orb proudly displayed in the air above it. Even standing at a distance, Crow could practically feel the power radiating off it in waves.

"What is that?" Crow feigned ignorance as he forced himself to take a step closer.

"Careful now," the king said lazily. "This is dangerous magic. But it just so happens that the Flames of Ice isn't nearly the most powerful thing in this room."

"What do you mean?" Crow asked as he kept his eyes glued to the light hovering in the air.

"You," the king of the day angels said lightly. "Your magic is much more powerful than that little blue orb." The king's navy eyes glittered. "Everyone who's challenged me will fall very soon."

Crow leaned casually against the wall to stop from shaking. "Isn't exterminating everyone a little much?"

"You haven't killed anyone before, have you, Crow?"

"No." Crow shook his head as he refused to back down from the king's stare.

"Death," the king said quietly, "death is the ultimate power—the ability to control who lives and who dies." His was masked in shadow as he looked down at Crow. "You're still so young. When I was your age, I had just begun my conquest for power. You and I are cut from the same cloth, Wielder of Void."

✦ ✦ ✦

To his dismay, Crow was joined by the king of the day angels and his attendants at dinner that night. As they finished eating, a knock sounded on the dining hall doors. "Your Majesty," a hesitant voice called. "I have an update from the mines."

The king frowned. "Enter."

Crow blinked in surprise as the doors swung open. It was the male day angel who had begged Crow not to help the king the other day.

The day angel stepped into the room with downcast eyes. "There were two suicides in the mines today," the day angel reported. "The overseers couldn't stop the night angels in time."

The king got to his feet slowly. His face was face impassive. "Two suicides?"

The day angel nodded shakily.

"Our workforce is smaller than it's ever been as it is!"

"Your Majesty, if you hadn't slaughtered half of them—"

The king raised a hand, and there was a flash of light. The day angel was thrown to the ground. His shrieks of agony filled the hall. Crow watched in horror as the day angel's wings seemed to slowly bend inwards on themselves, and then suddenly a sickening crunching noise echoed through the room. Everyone fell silent as the crimson blood began to trickle from the day angel's broken wings.

The king of the day angels let his hand fall back to his side. "As much as I would like to stick around, there are some matters that need my attention," the king said more to himself than the others in the room. And without a backward glance at the day angel on the floor, the king glided from the room with his attendants following close behind.

Crow was left alone in the vast dining hall to stare down at the day angel. This had to be a test to see what Crow would do. He could feel eyes on his back.

As casually as he could, Crow walked from the table to where the day angel lay in a trembling heap on the ground. Crow needed to help him. He couldn't just leave him there suffering.

Scream, Crow mouthed. The day angel's eyes widened in surprise as Crow lifted a foot and placed it lightly on the male's back. As the day angel had been instructed, he let out a convincing shriek of pain.

Drawing his void magic to him, Crow channeled it through where his foot came in contact with the day angel. Heal, Crow commanded his magic. Crow wasn't sure if he could mend the broken bones, but doing so would probably be too risky to begin with. The most he could do for the day angel at this point was to numb the pain until the male could be properly treated.

After removing his foot, Crow turned and walked out of the hall without looking back. For the next hour or so, the day angel wouldn't be able to feel any pain.

Crow continued on his way and didn't stop until he reached his room. After locking his door behind him, Crow redrew the void lines around the windows. Once he pulled all the curtains shut, Crow slumped to the floor, completely nauseated from what he had just witnessed.

✦ ✦ ✦

The sound of birds chirping filled the air, and Crow could feel the warm rays of the sun beating down on his face. He slowly opened his eyes to find that he was lying on the dirt-covered ground among shards of broken glass. He could see his family's cottage out of the corner of his eye.

Squinting against the brightness, Crow twisted his head to examine his arm. He winced. Maybe he shouldn't have looked. But then Crow's eyes fell on his hand. His fingers were clenched tightly in a fist as if he had desperately tried to hold onto something.

Opening his hand, Crow's eyes widened as he took in the delicate silver thread pulsing gently on top of his palm. The world melted away in a flash of silver, and when the light faded, Crow was floating in a void of stars.

"Saedyn!" Crow exclaimed as the white-haired boy floated in front of him.

Saedyn offered Crow a hand. "Would you care for a change of scenery?"

Crow took his hand, and the void of stars faded away to a long stretch of beach. It was the beach next to the Temple of Life. Millions upon millions of stars twinkled playfully in the night sky above, and the smell of salt filled the air.

"What do you think?" Saedyn smiled faintly as the ocean lapped up against the powdery sand just feet away.

"Thank you for taking me here."

The two of them walked along the shore until they reached the rocks at the end of the stretch. Crow lifted his head to the stars as he took in all the bursts of pink, purple, and indigo.

"The ocean seems to stretch on infinitely, doesn't it?" Crow said after a while.

"As infinite as it may seem, if you keep moving forward, you'll eventually end up back where you started."

"And where's that?" Crow inquired sleepily.

"Home."

✦ ✦ ✦

"The king requests your presence, Wielder of Void."

Crow was led to the king's study, and now he was trying his best not to fidget in his seat. "I'm here, Your Majesty."

The king turned to face Crow from where he was pacing in front of the large window on the back wall of the room. "Last night, my attendants informed me that you were quite interested in that servant in the dining hall." The king's navy eyes flickered.

"It felt like I had power." Crow held the king's gaze. "You said you could give me power."

"Power," the king said softly. "Power is what people like us live for." The king took a seat on the chair opposite from Crow, and for a brief moment, the sleeve of his intricately embroidered robe slipped back.

Crow blinked. Faded cuts and scars peppered the king's arm. And on the pale skin of the king's inner arm, there was a dark spot that resembled a bruise. But it wasn't a bruise—the darkness seemed to have tainted the veins around the spot as well. "Your Majesty, what's that on your arm?"

"These?" The king of the day angels looked down at his arm. "When you're alive as long as I've been, you're bound to make enemies and get injured at some point in time."

Crow pretended to lose interest. "Alright."

As the king absently rolled his sleeve back down, Crow's head spun. Liar, he wanted to call the king out. But as it was now, it would do Crow more good to drop the topic.

The king of the day angels waved a lazy hand. "The real reason I called you here today is to talk about your role in my plan to annihilate the night angels."

Chapter Twenty-Three

Crow had been in the realm of the day angels for nearly a month now. And today was the day he, Saedyn, and Cora agreed on to put the second phase of their plan into motion.

Crow made his way to the dining hall for breakfast. When he entered the great room, the king of the day angels was already sitting at the head of the table. Crow inclined his head before pulling up a chair at the opposite end of the long table. "Morning, Your Majesty."

A thin smile played on the king's lips as he waved a hand. Plates of food appeared on the table. As Crow reached for a plate, he pretended to freeze. Lowering his hand, he slowly looked around the room. "Did you feel that, Your Majesty? There's a magic out there like mine."

"The Wielder of Soul!" the king of the day angels hissed. "Do you know where he is?"

"The blast came from directly below us. I think he's trying to enter the realm of the day angels."

The king slowly got to his feet. "He will pay."

"Your Majesty"—Crow stood as well—"allow me to take a group of day angels and cut him off."

The king frowned as he considered Crow's offer. Then he nodded. "I'll summon a league of warriors immediately."

Five minutes later, the doors to the dining hall flew open as ten heavily armored day angels entered the room. "The Wielder of Soul has come out of hiding at last," the king of the day angels primed his warriors. "You and the Wielder of Void will depart now to put an end to him."

The armored day angels dropped to their knees in unison. "Yes, Your Majesty."

The day angels took Crow with them as they descended down to the lands of Hali. When they landed, Crow observed his surroundings. He was back in the Everglade District, and the late morning sunlight filtered in through the leaf-covered branches high above. The familiar smell of pine and earth was prominent in the air.

Crow turned to face the armored day angels. "The Wielder of Soul is in this forest. He couldn't have gone far. The eight of you spread out and search the forest around us." Crow gestured to a group of day angels. "The two of you come with me."

Without waiting for a reply, Crow took off at a run into the dense trees. Dashing over rocks and roots, Crow drew closer and closer to Saedyn.

A flash of brilliant silver light exploded in the trees next to Crow. Skidding to a stop, Crow lifted his eyes to the trees in front of him.

Saedyn was sitting in the branches of a particularly tall tree, his white hair pulled back from his face in a ponytail. He gave Crow a wink.

A loud clanking noise sounded as the two day angels tailing him finally burst out of the trees behind him. Putting on a mask of mild amusement, Crow angled his head to the side. "Hello, Wielder of Soul."

"Wielder of Void." Saedyn inclined his head.

"He wishes to kill our king," one of the day angels hissed. But both of them were extremely tense, and neither made any move to advance.

"Is that so?" Crow said in mild amusement. "You want to kill the king?"

Saedyn nodded. "I need to make everything right."

"Prepare yourself, Wielder of Soul." Crow sent a blast of void magic at Saedyn. Saedyn skilfully countered the blast, and silver light flared through the trees. The moment the two magics hit each other, they vanished as if they had never existed. When used against each other instead of alongside each other, soul would cancel out void.

Crow let his void magic ripple off him in waves and engulf the forest in shadow. Even the sky seemed to go dark as the tendrils of void greedily sucked away all the light. Then silver light flared again to illuminate the empty darkness with twinkling stars.

Crow made a show of looking angry as he whirled on the day angels at his back. "Don't just stand there! Get him!"

The two day angels exchanged a glance. "We can't get close to him—soul magic is fatal to us."

Crow sent another wave of void at Saedyn. This time, the white-haired boy pretended to be caught by surprise and let the void crash into him. He tumbled out of the tree and hit the moss-covered ground with a thud. Saedyn was back on his feet in an instant to dart into a thicket of trees. Crow sprinted after him. He could sense the day angels trailing them from a distance.

Reaching out with his magic, Crow crafted a trap and set it in Saedyn's path. A moment later, pulsing chains sprung up to wrap around the white-haired boy. Crow walked over as Saedyn struggled in vain to free himself. He reigned his void magic back to him, and the forest was flooded with light once more. "I think it's about time that you meet His Majesty," Crow said.

Saedyn's eyes widened convincingly in horror. "I can't use my magic!"

"That's right." Crow crouched down next to the white-haired boy. "My magic cancels yours out."

Wingbeats sounded as all ten of the day angels landed on the ground behind Crow. "The Wielder of Soul has been detained," one of the day angels exclaimed. "Good work, Wielder of Void. You should kill him now!"

Crow didn't take his eyes off Saedyn. "I think the king would reward me if I deliver you to him." He snapped his fingers, and Saedyn fell unconscious. After getting to his feet, Crow marched over to the awaiting day angels. "Let's take him back to the castle."

"Are you sure?" one of the day angels asked hesitantly. "He won't wake up, will he?"

"Of course he won't wake."

Looking more reassured, two day angels walked over and gingerly picked Saedyn up. One of the day angels scooped Crow up as well, and then they took to the skies.

✦ ✦ ✦

Crow stood outside the doors to the throne room, carefully keeping Saedyn magically suspended in the air. The armored day angels stood against the wall, with their eyes glued on the white-haired boy as if he were a bomb that would go off at any moment.

Holding his breath, Crow knocked on the door. "I've brought you a gift, Your Majesty."

"Enter," the king's voice rumbled. The doors swung open on their own accord, and Crow stepped inside.

The king of the day angels was sitting on his throne, with two attendants standing at the bottom of the staircase. Crow watched the king's navy eyes glint as they fell on Saedyn.

"Your Majesty"—Crow bowed—"I present to you the Wielder of Soul."

The king of the day angels slowly rose from his seat, and his robe swished around his feet as he made his way down the stairs.

Crow waved a lazy hand, and Saedyn drifted over. Just a little closer, and then the king would be fully in the range of Saedyn's magic. "He didn't go down without a fight," Crow said. "But I managed to capture him in the end."

"Perfect."

"Oh, and one more thing, Your Majesty."

"What is it, Crow?"

Crow held the king's gaze, refusing to back down for a final time. "For the record, you and I are nothing alike."

As if on cue, Saedyn's eyes snapped open. Crow jumped backward as the white-haired boy flung out his arms. The king's expression of shock was the last thing Crow saw before the room exploded in silver light.

When the light faded, Crow slowly opened his eyes. He nearly staggered. A day angel was lying on the polished floor. But it wasn't the king.

The king of the day angels was still standing. Crow's heart sank. The king had moved so swiftly that he had been able to throw one of his attendants in front of him to take the brunt of the blast.

Saedyn threw another burst of light at the king, but it wasn't nearly as bright as the previous blast. The king conjured a shield, and the silver light ricocheted off. In a panic, Saedyn tried again. But Crow could see that the magic was already taking a toll on the white-haired boy.

The king's eyes flashed. "So the two of you work together. I should have known." Just as the king raised his hands, turquoise light erupted through the throne room, and the king staggered backward. When the light cleared, Gwenevieve and Favian were standing in front of the king. The two former gods glanced back at Crow and Saedyn.

A flash of pale pink light flooded the throne room as Halimah and Thuc appeared. Both of their eyes widened as they took in the scene before them.

The king's features were painted with amusement. "All of the former gods are here in my castle . . ." Then his eyes fell on Halimah. "You," he hissed, "I should have killed you when I had the chance! Guards, capture them!"

The door to the throne room burst open as the armored day angels waiting outside charged in. Favian was there in an instant to meet them with a flash of sky-blue light.

Crow watched in horror as more armored day angels shot in through the glassless windows, diving at Gwenevieve and Halimah. Not only had both women depleted their magic by teleporting to the castle, but now they were terribly outnumbered. Crow lifted a trembling hand as he drew his void magic to him, but then something flashed in the corner of his vision. It was Thuc.

"Saedyn, Crow," Thuc yelled as he sprinted toward them, "grab my hand!"

"Father!" Saedyn cried, reaching his free hand toward the former flame god.

Getting over his shock, Crow really did summon his void magic this time. Darkness exploded through the room, and the day angels were thrown backward. Their shrieks of outrage filled the air, but Crow knew they wouldn't stay down for long.

Thuc reached his son and quickly took his hand. Gwenevieve, Halimah, and Favian used the opportunity to dash over as well. Gwenevieve grabbed Thuc's outstretched hand, Favian took the former sea goddess's, and then Halimah reached out to take the former sky god's. Just as Halimah's fingertips touched Favian's, the acting goddess of life was aggressively jerked back.

Silver feathered wings flared as the king's remaining attendant took to the air with a thrashing Halimah in her arms. The goddess of life struggled, but her efforts were in vain. She had already been significantly weakened, and now the magic she threw at the day angel was easily batted away.

"Halimah!" Thuc yelled.

Favian sent a blast of light at the day angel holding Halimah captive, but a swarm of armored day angels swiftly rose up to deflect it. Ten day angels, twenty day angels, thirty, forty, fifty . . . Crow's head was spinning too much to count properly.

"Go!" Halimah cried. Her voice was shrill. "Go!"

The throne room melted away in a flash of fiery-red light. With the king's infuriated screams ringing in their ears, the group vanished from the castle.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The light cleared to reveal the interior of the Temple of Fire. Crow sank to the ground. He had failed. Not only had he failed himself, but he had also failed everyone else as well. And now Halimah had been captured by the king of the day angels.

"Where's the king?" Lyria hurried over expectantly. But once she took a closer look at their expressions, the color drained from her face, and she clasped her hands over her mouth.

Maliq's eyes widened as he and Fern rushed over to join Lyria. "What happened?"

"What happened?" Ewen echoed as he scanned the group. "Where's Halimah?"

Thuc sighed heavily. "Things didn't go exactly as planned."

"Halimah's still up there?" Ewen asked, thunderstruck. "With the king?"

Favian nodded regretfully. "She told us to go. With the situation being as it was, Thuc didn't have much of a choice."

Ewen was still teetering between disbelief and shock before he angrily turned to Crow.

Thuc held up a hand before Ewen could open his mouth. "No one's at fault here. It's the king himself who was quicker than we expected."

"If anyone's at fault here," Saedyn said quietly as he looked up at Ewen, "it's me. I was the one who missed the shot."

All Crow could do was stare at the ground. He couldn't bring himself to meet anyone's eyes.

"How about the two of you go upstairs," Thuc suggested to Crow and Saedyn. "Lianna's in the hall outside. She's heard everything."

Nodding, Saedyn gently helped Crow to his feet before guiding him out of the chamber. Crow could practically feel everyone's eyes on their retreating figures.

The moment the doors swung shut, a blur of red-orange hurtled toward them. And to Crow's surprise, Lianna swept both of them into a tight embrace. "You have no idea how worried I was about you two." Lianna's voice shook. "When you took longer than we planned, I thought the worst had happened. But here you are now—safe and sound."

"We failed," Crow whispered.

Lianna pulled back to hold Crow's gaze. "We can talk about what to do next later. Right now, I'm just happy the two of you are alive." Lianna released them a moment later with a sad smile on her face. "Rest. You need it."

Saedyn gave his mother a nod before leading Crow up the staircase. When they reached Saedyn's room, excited clucking greeted them as Crow opened the door. "Gloria!" Crow dropped to his knees as the brown-speckled chicken jumped into his outstretched arms. Crow buried his face in Gloria's soft feathers. "I've missed you so much!"

Gloria clucked happily.

Saedyn rummaged through his closet for a clean outfit. "Here, I thought you might want to change. I'll go fetch something warm from the kitchen."

Crow accepted the clothing and nodded his head as Saedyn left the room to give him some privacy. When Crow finished changing, he scooped Gloria into his arms and walked over to the window. Snow was falling outside. The view was so different from the stretch of empty sky outside the floating castle in the realm of the day angels. Just watching the snow seemed to have a calming effect. Crow absently stroked Gloria's feathers as the icy flakes danced lazily on the other side of the glass.

Crow slowly placed his right hand on the window. The glass was cold. As Crow removed his hand, the sleeve of his tunic slipped down. He made to roll the sleeve back down, but he found his eyes lingering on the scars peppering his arms and the small bruise-like mark between his wrist and elbow. Crow stared at the mark for a good minute before finally pulling his sleeve over it.

If only Crow had waited for a time when the king had been alone in the throne room, this could have been avoided. If only Crow had come up with an idea on how to lure the king's attendants away—to keep them busy. If something happened to Halimah, Crow would never forgive himself. This had been his plan. His idea. Had he really been so naive to think that it would have worked?

The door to the bedroom opened, and Saedyn walked in with a steaming mug of tea in either hand. When he spotted Crow, the white-haired boy set down the mugs and hurried over. "This isn't your fault," Saedyn said determinedly. "We'll work out a plan tomorrow. And this time you won't be alone in the realm of the day angels." Saedyn just wrapped a reassuring arm around Crow's shoulders.

Crow breathed in Saedyn's scent of crisp autumn leaves and snow. "I wasn't completely alone. Cora was there too . . ." Crow quickly looked at Saedyn. "Cora will protect Halimah, right? She'll keep her safe?"

"If I were the king of the day angels, I would keep her alive so that she'd have to be rescued. He still needs you, Crow. He's waiting for you to fall back into his hands."

✦ ✦ ✦

The following night, Crow and Saedyn sat shoulder to shoulder on the floor across from the window. They were huddled under a warm blanket as they silently watched the snow dancing in the wind. As time went by, Crow couldn't seem to shake the feeling of guilt. Even so, that was in the past. He couldn't change what had happened. He had to live in the now, not the then. Had to live in the is, not the what-ifs.

Gloria clucked softly as she brushed up against Crow's hand.

Who was Crow living for? Well, that was easy. He was living for Saedyn and Gloria. Lyria, Maliq, and Fern. The former gods and their partners. The night angels and the day angels. The people of Hali. He was living for the people he loved. Love. That was it, Crow suddenly realized.

The king of the day angels had never loved before, nor had he been loved before. He had never known the joy of the most powerful magic of them all. And Crow felt sorry for him.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Halimah winced as she sat up. The chill of the stone floor seeped right through her clothes. After brushing her white hair out of her eyes, Halimah looked around as everything slowly came into focus. The bars of her cell stared back at her. It was dark, and the only light came from a row of dimly lit lamps lining the walls outside her cell. Halimah lifted a hand to her face, and her eyes widened as she took in the shackles around her wrists.

Halimah tried to summon her magic to her. Nothing happened, and she tried again with the same result. The chains were suppressing her magic. She fiddled with a strand of her hair. Was she terrified? Yes. Scared? Well, she'd be a fool if she wasn't.

As she sat there, Halimah racked her brains for all of the information she had learned about the king and the realm of the day angels back at the academy. Soul magic was fatal to day angels. Even though she was no longer a wielder of soul, the king of the day angels wouldn't be able to tell that she had lost all of the magic, would he? If she could convince him that she could still perform soul magic . . . Well, there was no telling if he'd even come down to the dungeons to check on her. If the king had just left her here to rot, that was a different problem.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps sounded in the distance. In turn, Halimah climbed to her feet, ignoring the quivering of her knees. If it was the king of the day angels, she'd face him head-on.

As the footsteps grew louder, Halimah realized that more than one person was approaching. Three people. Halimah had prided herself on her ability to judge how many people were in a room by their footsteps when she was blind.

A moment later, the king of the day angels came into view. Like always, his long silver-blue hair was unbound, and the silky strands glowed in the lamplight as he stopped in front of the bars.

Two female day angels stood behind the king. Halimah's heart began to pound twice as fast as she recognized the day angel who had dragged her away from the rest of her allies. When the day angel noticed Halimah's eyes on her, she sneered coldly.

Halimah turned to look at the other day angel instead, and her jaw nearly dropped. The second female day angel had long inky hair and eyes the color of lapis. She was the one who had flown Halimah and Professor Lethco to the castle a year ago! If the day angel recognized her, the blank expression on her face didn't show it.

"These two are my attendants," the king of the day angels said in mild amusement. "Usually I'd have someone else standing here"—he waved a lazy hand at the dark-haired day angel—"but currently he's still recovering from the damage one of your friends caused."

Halimah held the king's gaze. "I'm sure you're aware that I used to be a Wielder of Soul."

The king's smile faltered as he narrowed his eyes.

"I wouldn't get close if I were you," Halimah said cooly.

"You can't," the king said.

Halimah forced herself to smile. "Come closer and you can find out for yourself."

The king was smiling again, but there was an uncertainty in his eyes now. With a wave of his hand, the bars of Halimah's cell sank into the ground with a soft hiss. "Cora," the king said lazily, "why don't you go and greet our new friend?"

Fear flickered in the day angel's lapis eyes as she took a cautious step forward.

"Now, touch her arm," the king commanded.

Slowly, the day angel reached out a trembling hand toward Halimah. The day angel placed a tentative finger on Halimah's lower arm, and Halimah nearly jumped in surprise as the dark-haired day angel sprung away, hissing as if she had been burned.

For an instant, the king looked horrified.

"She speaks the truth, Your Majesty," the female day angel panted as she clutched her finger.

The king's eyes narrowed, and with a snap of his fingers, the bars of the cell violently shot back out of the ground. "You're lucky that you're no use to me dead." The king's metallic silver wings flared as he turned back to Halimah. "But once I get the Wielder of Void back, it will only be a matter of time before I destroy you and everything you hold dear."

Once the king and his attendants were gone, Halimah slumped to the floor.

✦ ✦ ✦

Halimah awoke to the sound of footsteps in the distance, and she evened out her breathing in a pattern of heavy sleep.

The footsteps drew closer and closer until they finally stopped outside her cell. The was a soft click as the bars slid open and another dull clank as someone set down a tray on the ground. The bars were back up almost immediately, and the footsteps retreated as quickly as they had come.

Halimah waited another few minutes before opening her eyes. A small tray of food sat inside her cell next to her. Tentatively, Halimah reached out and picked up the loaf of bread. Her chains snaked across the ground as she pulled the tray closer to herself to examine its contents.

One loaf of bread, a plate of some soggy-looking vegetables, and a bowl of water. Halimah picked up the plate of vegetables.

The plate . . . As Halimah ran a finger on the plate, her heart rate quickened. Paper. Someone had stuck a note to the bottom of the plate.

Gently, Halimah pried the piece of paper free from the plate. Then making sure that no one was watching, she unfolded it and held it up to the light.

Goddess of Life, the note read, I am going to help you escape from the castle. There is a map of the castle on the back of this note. - Cora.

Halimah's eyes lingered on the signature. She flipped the paper over a moment later and stared at the hand-drawn map of the castle. She located the throne room almost instantly and traced her way down the page to where Cora had labeled the dungeons. But as her eyes skimmed down the page, they stopped in a room in between the dungeons and the throne room.

The keep of the Flames of Ice, Cora's neat scrawl read. Would the king still use it against the night angels? Either way, it was a powerful, powerful, weapon. If only there was a way for Halimah to steal it . . .

✦ ✦ ✦

The next time food was delivered, Halimah waited for the day angel's footsteps to vanish before excitedly pulling the tray over. She quickly found the new note stuck to the bottom of the plate and eagerly unfolded it.

Once you're out of your cell, run to the throne room and jump. I will have allies stationed below to fly you to safety. There is a key to unlock your chains inside the bread. I advise you to keep one chain on you while you make your escape. Magic-suppressing chains don't only make your magic unusable, they also hide the presence of your magic from others. If the king senses your magic, he'll be able to find your location instantly.

Once you unlock one of the shackles, wait for your magic to replenish. When you're ready, wait for your next food delivery. I'll cause a distraction to keep the king and the other guards away from you, but you'll have to be quick. - Cora.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Crow sat quietly at the dining hall table as he listened to the heated debate between the former gods. Snow was falling heavily outside the large windows lining the walls of the dining hall. It had already been three days since Halimah had been captured, and none of them had been able to come up with a plan. Whenever someone proposed a new idea, the flaws were pointed out almost immediately and it was back to the drawing board.

"Our queen's offer to help still stands," Sera spoke up from where she sat with her arms crossed over her chest. Her violet feathered wings were folded neatly behind her, and she had come to the temple in the queen's stead to try and help out.

"That is very kind," Gwenevieve said as she turned to the night angel, "but I think it would be for the best if the queen stayed in her realm. The king of the day angels could decide to attack at any moment. Someone needs to be able to protect the night angels if that happens."

Lyria, Maliq, and Fern were sitting across from Crow and Saedyn, and the trio kept a low profile as they let the former gods and their partners talk. So far, Crow hadn't contributed anything to the table either. His last plan had been a disaster, and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to stomach a repeat of the events that had played out.

Eventually, Thuc stood from his seat at the head of the table and signaled the end of their meeting. As Crow and Saedyn made their way out into the entrance hall, Crow noticed Ewen pacing back and forth. After silently pointing this out to Saedyn, the two of them made their way over to the green-haired boy.

"Hello," Ewen said as they approached.

"Hello," Crow greeted him with a friendly smile.

Ewen just frowned. "Look, you don't have to pretend that everything is alright." He sighed and turned to look out one of the large windows as if he could see all the way to the realm of the day angels. "I just want her to return safely."

"We know," Crow said sadly.

✦ ✦ ✦

"Crow," Cora's voice called through the darkness of the void.

Crow squinted. "Where are you?"

"I can't stay long," Cora said quickly. "The king has his attendants watching my every movement. I can't use too much magic either. That's why we're not in the field like usual."

"Do you know if Halimah is okay?"

"Halimah is safe for now."

"Listen, the former gods are working on a plan to rescue her."

"That's what the king hoped for." Cora's tone was worried. "He wants you back, Crow. He can't complete his plan without your void magic, so he's using Halimah as bait. You can let the others come, but you should stay on the ground where it's safe."

Crow opened his mouth to respond, but Cora was gone.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Halimah's magic had grown tremendously over the past few days. The waiting was by far the worst part, and after what felt like nothing short of an eternity, Halimah's ears picked up the sound of approaching footsteps.

A male day angel stopped outside the bars of Halimah's cell. With a flick of his hand, the bars retracted, and he leaned down to set the tray of food on the ground. The moment the tray touched the floor, Halimah sprung into action. After leaping out of the cell, Halimah whirled around. Pink light flared, and the day angel fell over, unconscious.

Halimah quickly dragged the day angel into the cell. Then with a wave of her hand, the bars sprung back into place. Without looking back Halimah sprinted down the hall. There were more day angels ahead, and her magic stealthily knocked them out.

Halimah hurried up the stairs. The world grew brighter and brighter the higher she ascended. Pushing open the door at the top of the stairs, Halimah stumbled out into the hall beyond. Tall windows lined the walls, and the night sky sparkled brightly outside.

Just like she had seen on the map, Halimah ran down the hall before turning left. The Flames of Ice was only a few flights of stairs ahead. Rounding the corner, Halimah nearly crashed into a pair of stunned-looking day angels. The moment the day angels realized what was going on, they drew blades of magic from the air and lunged at her.

As Halimah dodged the swinging blades, her eyes fell on the panels on either side of the door. Two day angels needed to put their hands there to open it. So once Halimah rendered the day angels unconscious, she carefully levitated them with her magic and pressed their hands to the panels.

There was a rumbling as the stone door swung open. The room inside was small, and the only light came from a pulsing orb levitating above a pedestal. The orb was the size of a small rock and the color of a freshly cut sapphire.

Halimah created a vacuum with her magic and used it to snatch the orb out of the air.

As Halimah ran out of the room, she could hear a commotion coming from the lower levels. Something was happening in the dungeons. Silently, Halimah thanked Cora for whatever kind of distraction she had managed to cause.

Halimah darted into the throne room to find it empty. She slowed to a stop next to the large arches as she clutched a painful stitch in her side. Then her breath caught in her throat as she took in the ocean of stars glittering outside the large arches cut into the wall. A soft breeze drifted through the room to rustle her hair.

Jump. She was supposed to jump off the edge of the castle.

As Halimah made to take a step forward, an arm suddenly swung out of nowhere and collided with her head. White spots flared across Halimah's vision as she staggered.

"So we can touch you after all, you pretty little liar," a female voice purred.

Halimah nearly froze. It was the same day angel who had pulled Halimah away from the other gods.

The day angel looked down her nose at Halimah in amusement. "The king and the others are currently in the dungeons. But I've alerted all of them of your presence. They'll be here any second now. You have nowhere to run."

There was a loud boom as the doors to the throne room were thrown open. Halimah snuck a glance over her shoulder to see the king of the day angels enter the room, and his face twisted in rage.

Halimah just flashed the king a smile before leaping into the open air. In the moments it took gravity to kick in, time seemed to slow. As Halimah's momentum carried her forward in slow motion, she took in the thousands of stars around her. She could see the galaxy—the swirls of vibrant color were like splattered paint. And for a moment, everything was calm.

And then suddenly, time sped back up. Halimah's stomach dropped as she plummeted down, down, down.

With the wind roaring in her ears, Halimah tumbled through the air in a free fall. There was a rush of feathered wings as someone swooped her into their arms. "Goddess of Life," a female voice said in greeting.

"Hello," Halimah said, still shaken. She craned her neck around to try to see the female's face.

"Under the cover of night," the female told Halimah as they flew, "the king's guards won't be able to track us. We sent out decoys just in case, but everything has been going smoothly. I'm taking you to meet the others."

"The others?"

"You'll see," the female said knowingly.

Halimah fell silent as they continued to fly through the gradually brightening sky. Would the king connect Cora to her escape from the castle? Halimah hoped the day angel was alright.

✦ ✦ ✦

After what had to be at least an hour of flying, the day angel began to slow as a large tower-like building came into view. The sun was just beginning to peak its golden head above the horizon, and the sky was painted a soft rosy pink.

Halimah could now see the day angel more clearly: the female had brown sun-kissed skin and long silky hair the color of ink. She was clothed entirely in black to blend in with the night, and her silver wings were powdered with charcoal.

"This is our headquarters," the day angel explained as they swooped in through an open window.

The moment they landed, a loud cheer erupted from inside the building. There was a crowd of about ten day angels in the room, and all of them were clapping and smiling in welcome.

"Headquarters for what?" Halimah asked, wide-eyed as the day angel set her gently on the ground.

The day angel smiled. "The rebellion."

"Navi," someone called from the crowd. "Welcome back!"

"It's good to be back." The inky-haired day angel waved. "Has Nihira returned yet?"

"Not yet," the same day angel replied. "Your sister will probably be here any minute, though."

"Goddess of Life." All the day angels in the room bowed their heads respectfully.

"Did Cora arrange this?" Halimah questioned curiously as she looked around the room. "Thank you for helping save me."

"You know Cora?" Navi said brightly. "My twin sister, Nihira, and I worked out most of the details. And fortunately, we had enough people working for us in the castle to pull it off."

Suddenly there was a rush of wings as a new day angel swooped in through the window. After landing gracefully on the floor, the day angel shook back her sheet of silky hair before walking over to Navi. Apart from the difference in their clothes, the new day angel, Nihira, was the spitting image of her sister.

"We should lie low for the next few days," Nihira spoke up. Her voice was soft like a morning breeze. "The king isn't happy that we took the acting goddess of life away. He sent his guards after us, but we managed to lose them in the main city."

Smiling apologetically, Navi turned back to Halimah. "I don't think we had a proper introduction. I'm Navi, and this is my sister Nihira. The two of us are the leaders of this rebellion against the king. To make sure we aren't caught, our forces are spread out across the entire realm. This building is just our headquarters."

"I'd like to say there's about ten thousand of us," Nihira said quietly. "That's the number that has officially registered, but there are thousands more who are unofficial and support us."

"Our goal is to overthrow the king and put an end to his tyranny," Navi said determinedly. "We will avenge our night angel sisters and brothers. We will create a world where we can live together in peace."

The other day angels in the room cheered and pumped their fists in the air.

Navi laughed. "Alright everyone, back to your positions. You know the protocol."

The day angels saluted the sisters before turning and exiting through a door in the corner of the room.

"Every once in a while," Navi explained as she turned back to Halimah, "the king sends his guards to search all of the buildings for night angels."

Halimah blinked. "Night angels?"

"We're the ones who have been breaking night angels out of the king's mines for years," Nihira said as she brushed charcoal dust off of her wings and clothes. "They've been staying in our safe houses, hidden from the king's guards. But lately, it's been getting more and more risky. We know the king has a weapon and that he wants to use it against the night angels. We can't let that happen. But if we get everyone together and try to storm the castle, he'll likely use it against us instead."

"About that," Halimah said slowly. Her chains clinked as she pulled out the vacuum of magic she had tucked under her belt.

Navi and Nihira's jaws dropped in identical expressions of shock as the icy blue light of the orb inside it flooded the room.

"Is that . . .?" Navi whispered as she clapped a hand to her mouth.

"The king's weapon?" Nihira finished for her sister.

Halimah tucked the magic vacuum away, and the blue light faded. "I took a little detour on my way to the throne room."

Navi and Nihira looked at each other. "This could change everything," Nihira said softly.

Navi nodded in agreement. "Goddess of Life, you are brilliant."

Halimah laughed. "Please, call me Halimah."

"Halimah," Navi amended. "You are brilliant."

"You should be careful with that," Nihira warned as her smile faded. "We don't know if the king and his guards will be able to track it here."

Navi suddenly looked panicked. "We can't just toss it! We don't know what that weapon is capable of."

Nihira frowned. "We need to move it to a place the king will never go even if he can track the weapon's magic."

The two sisters shared a look before nodding. "The realm of the night angels," Navi voiced softly. "The king can travel anywhere he pleases in this realm. If we move the weapon to a different realm, he won't take the risk of facing the queen."

"Then it's decided," Nihira said. "We'll move the weapon at nightfall."

Navi glanced over at her sister. "Just in case anything happens, we should tell the night angels to keep a low profile. They know the drill."

"We're sheltering a number of night angels here," Nihira explained. "We have hidden rooms built into all of our safe houses. We'll give you a tour of headquarters."

"Should I do anything about this?" Halimah gestured to the chains and shackle attached to her wrist.

"Hmm," Navi hummed thoughtfully as she leaned over to examine the length of chain. "This kind of shackle cancels out magic. If you had two shackles, you wouldn't be able to use any of your power. But with only one, you can use your magic while its presence is masked."

"The only place you can find this kind of shackle is in the king's dungeons," Nihira added with a slight smile. "You're using his own inventions against him. If he can't sense your magic, he won't be able to find you."

Halimah looked down at the shackle. "I guess I'll be wearing this for a while."

"We could cut the chain," Navi offered. "That way you'll only have the shackle."

Halimah watched as Nihira drew a dagger-like blade from her leg holster. "Hold still," the day angel instructed as she carefully picked up the chain and got to work slicing it free from the shackle. There was a loud clunk as the chain Nihira was cutting fell to the ground. "There you go."

"Thank you." Halimah smiled gratefully.

Nihira sheathed her blade. "You're welcome."

"Follow us." Navi beckoned Halimah brightly. "We'll show you around."

The two sisters led Halimah out of the room and onto the landing beyond. Halimah's eyes widened as she looked around. Wooden stairs spiraled from the bottom floor of the tower-like building all the way to the top. Glass lamps hung from the ceiling far above, and golden flames danced playfully inside.

"How many people are currently staying here?" Halimah decided to inquire.

"There's twenty-five of us here right now," Navi told Halimah as they made their way down the stairs. "Sixteen day angels and nine night angels. Let's meet the night angels first, shall we?" Navi's eyes sparkled as she came to a stop in front of what appeared to be a section of solid wall. Reaching out with a hand, she pressed one of the stones on the wall. The stone retreated at her touch, and a moment later, a section of the wall rose upward to reveal a wooden door.

"You like it?" Nihira asked Halimah. "We had to create it all mechanically just in case the king's guards ever decided to detect any magic entries."

"It's brilliant."

"It's me, Navi," the day angel called through the closed door. "I'd like to introduce you all to the Goddess of Life."

"Come in," a quiet voice called from the other side of the wood.

Navi gently pushed open the door and held it open for Nihira and Halimah. Halimah stepped over the threshold into what appeared to be a small living room. Three violet-winged night angels stood against the back wall of the room—one female and two males.

Navi shut the door behind her and casually leaned against it. "Everyone, this is Halimah. She's the new goddess of life."

"Hello." Halimah bowed her head to the night angels. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

The female night angel inclined her head. "Likewise, Goddess of Life." She had long hair and ghostly pale skin. When Halimah looked closer, she noticed with a jolt that every inch of the night angel's visible skin was covered in scars.

The night angel noticed Halimah's stare and she smiled sadly. "Don't worry about me. I've been here for nearly fifty years now. I managed to get off better than others."

It took Halimah a moment to notice that one of the male night angels was staring at her white hair with wide eyes. He lifted a finger and pointed.

The female night angel smiled faintly. "I think he's trying to say that he thinks the color of your hair is very interesting. He can't talk," the female night angel added softly. "Neither of them can."

"Oh." Halimah fell silent.

The female night angel gestured to the night angel who had pointed at Halimah's hair. "His tongue was removed during his time in the mines. And him"—she gestured to the other male night angel who hadn't spoken—"he hasn't said a word in years."

There was a long silence until Navi finally spoke up. "Are the others still asleep?"

The female night angel nodded.

"We'll leave you be." Navi beckoned Halimah back toward the door. "Come, let's finish our tour."

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Crow leaned against the rail of the balcony as he watched the snow flutter down from the cloudy sky. His breath puffed out in front of him as he exhaled. Was there really nothing they could do? He hadn't been able to contact Cora at all in the past couple of days. And just last night . . . it had felt as if their connection had been severed completely.

Absently, Crow pulled back his right sleeve to look at the small bruise-like mark. This had been with him for a while now. And as he continued to look at it, Crow suddenly had the urge to tell someone about it. Crow turned around and made his way back inside the temple.

Saedyn was sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace, a book in his hands. When the white-haired boy saw Crow approaching, he set his book down and smiled faintly at Crow.

Crow dropped his gaze. "I . . . there's something I want to get off my chest. Would you be willing to listen?"

Saedyn nodded as he waited for Crow to go on.

"You know how I told you—and everyone else—that I hadn't used my magic for years after my parents threw me out? There actually was a time I used it." Crow rolled up his right sleeve and showed his arm to Saedyn. "This was how Cora found me."

The white-haired boy's eyes widened as he stared at the mark. "So it's true?"

Crow looked at Saedyn in surprise. "You knew?"

"I wasn't sure at first—I've only ever read about it in books before."

"The king of the day angels . . ." Crow's voice dropped. "He has one on his arm too."

"No," Saedyn said in shock.

"It's true."

Saedyn fell silent as he looked back down at Crow's arm.

Crow smiled sadly. "For the longest time, I didn't tell anyone about my magic—I was afraid that they'd respond the same way my parents had. I hid it, but the magic was starting to mess with my head. It was during that period that I overheard a group of students researching different types of magic. I listened to them describe how one could use their magic to take their own life.

"I still remember that day clearly." Crow suddenly realized he was talking faster and faster, and he stopped for a moment to take a deep breath. "I still remember clawing my fingers underneath my skin. I was ready to let my magic do the rest. But it was only when I was on the brink of death that I realized that it wasn't what I wanted. I was confused. I didn't know what I wanted anymore, but at that moment I knew it wasn't death."

"Well," Saedyn said weakly, "I'm really, really, glad you didn't go through with it."

✦ ✦ ✦

Dinner had just ended, and Crow was standing on one of the overhanging balconies with Saedyn, Lyria, Maliq, and Fern. The snow had stopped for the time being, and the night was surprisingly clear.

"We saw the map of the king's castle you presented at dinner, Crow," Lyria said brightly. "It's brilliant! I think the former gods will definitely be able to use it to their advantage."

"I hope so." Crow sighed. The coldness of the air stung his face and lungs, but there was something refreshing about it. After telling Saedyn about his past, the two of them had worked on drawing up a map of the castle. Crow drew as much as he could from memory, and then Saedyn had added the labels according to Crow's instructions.

"Look"—Maliq pointed upward—"we can see the constellations! There's the Tree of Life. Do you see all its branches?"

"The Crystal District is the closest you can get to the stars from the ground of Hali," Fern said softly as she stared up at the thousands of twinkling lights. "You'd have to be one of the winged folk to get any closer."

Crow leaned against the balcony's railings as he stared out at the snow-capped mountains in the distance. No one spoke for a while. There was silence, but it wasn't the awkward kind. It was just . . . peaceful.

Suddenly Fern leaped up onto the balcony railing. Flames crackled at her fingertips, and her eyes narrowed as she scanned the open air. "I saw something." Fern didn't take her eyes off the night sky for an instant.

"Saw what?" Maliq asked as he jumped up to perch on the railing as well.

"It was a blur of wings. Silver wings."

Lyria turned worriedly to Crow. "You should go back inside. If there are day angels around, I think that's probably for the best."

"The three of us will survey the area." Fern's deep red hair whispered in the breeze as she gestured to Lyria, Maliq, and herself. "The two of you should alert the others." A moment later, Lyria, Maliq, and Fern were gone.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Halimah sat on her bed, absentmindedly fiddling with the shackle around her wrist. She had given the Flames of Ice orb to Navi and Nihira to keep safe, and the two day angels promised that they'd do everything in their power to keep it out of the king's hands.

The room she was staying in was simple—outfitted only with a bed, nightstand, and dresser. There was a single window in the corner of the room, but it was made entirely from stained glass. That way, no one from the outside could see into the room.

She had changed into the clean outfit the twins had provided for her, and now Halimah got to her feet. After stopping at the door, Halimah gently turned the handle and walked out into the living room area. The same female night angel from earlier in the morning was sitting on the couch.

"Hello," Halimah said, trying her best not to startle the night angel with her sudden presence.

"Hello." The night angel smiled wistfully as she turned her attention to Halimah.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

The night angel adjusted her violet wings neatly behind her. "I'm kind of glad I have someone to talk to now. I'm Eve, by the way. It really is a pleasure to meet you, Goddess of Life. We heard about how you single-handedly stopped the king's attack on the night angel realm. All of us are in your debt. We also heard how you saved the wielder of soul's life. He could have been the one to stop the king—but at the cost of his life."

Halimah sighed. "I didn't want him to die. I don't want anyone to die. In all the fifty years you've been here, have you and the other night angels tried to return to the realm of the night angels?"

"We haven't tried." Eve clasped her pale hands together in her lap. "We decided that if we were to return to our home realm, we would go together. Even now, half of us aren't in any state to make the journey."

✦ ✦ ✦

The following morning, Halimah sat in the dining room with the day angels when, suddenly, glass shattered as a dark-haired figure crashed through the window. Halimah was on her feet in an instant, and magic sparked at her fingers.

Halimah's tension faded when she realized it was Nihira, but she was carrying another day angel in her arms. The day angel appeared to be unconscious. His silver wings were slashed, and blood dripped down the side of his face. When Halimah did a double-take, Nihira looked like a wreck as well; the day angel was covered in cuts and scratches.

"They're coming," Nihira gasped out as she lay the male on the floor. "The king's guards."

"What happened?" Navi asked in alarm as she waved a hand to repair the broken window. "Where are the others?"

"We were attacked." Nihira clamped a hand over her arm to stop the large gash in it from bleeding. "I don't know how the king's guards found us, but they were violent. I told the others to split up and fly to different safe houses. The guards took the orb from us."

Halimah felt the color drain from her face.

"It was too dark for them to see our faces, but the guards must know by now that we landed around this general area." Nihira tried and failed to rise to her feet, and Navi was there within a second to help support her sister. "They're going to search the building any minute."

Navi frowned. "You know the drill."

Two day angels swiftly walked over to pick up their unconscious friend before turning to leave the room. Halimah followed them up the staircase and to the hidden room behind the wall.

Eve was sitting on the couch, and the night angel jumped to her feet the moment she saw them walk in. She hurried over to help the other two day angels carry the unconscious one to the couch and lay him down in a way that wouldn't crush his wings. "I'll go alert the others," she said softly.

"Remember to stay quiet and not use any magic," Navi said in an undertone as she set Nihira down next to the doorway. "I'll let you know when the guards leave." Navi exited the room and quickly closed the door. There was a soft noise as the stone wall fell back into place behind it.

A moment later, the sound of muffled knocking sounded from the front door. "Open up," a gruff voice demanded. "We're here on orders from His Majesty."

Nihira lay down on the floor and pressed her ear to the wood. She motioned for Halimah to do the same.

"May I ask why you want to search my residence?" Navi's cool voice drifted up through the floorboards.

"We tracked day angel rebels to this location," the voice replied shortly. "We're searching all the buildings around."

Footsteps shuffled around downstairs followed by the sound of muffled voices. Then armored footfalls sounded on the stairs again as the guards made their way to the upper levels of the tower-like building.

Out of the corner of her eye, Halimah saw Nihira resting a hand on the hilt of her blade. For a moment, the footsteps were right on the other side of the wall. And then they passed.

About ten minutes later, the footsteps went back down the stairs. "Good day," one of the guards said curtly.

The door clicked shut, and Navi opened the wall to the secret room shortly after. "They're gone," she announced. "But we should lay low for the rest of the day just in case."

✦ ✦ ✦

That night at dinner, the atmosphere was heavy. Four members were missing from the table, and two more were severely wounded and covered in bandages. Things only got worse when Navi entered the room with a grim expression on her face.

"Cora has been locked up," she announced. "According to one of our spies inside the castle, the king's guards threw her in the dungeons last night."

Halimah stared at her plate helplessly.

"Since the king didn't kill her on the spot," Navi said as if reading Halimah's thoughts, "I think she'll be alright."

"Could I suggest something?" Halimah spoke up.

Navi turned to Halimah expectantly. "Of course."

"I think we should talk to the queen of the night angels."

"Getting the queen of the night angels involved definitely would be helpful—but we've never talked to her before," Navi admitted. "We don't know how she'll react if a number of us day angels just showed up at her doorstep."

"She knows me," Halimah said softly. "I can talk to her and ask her to help."

Chapter Thirty

"As of now"—Thuc pinched the bridge of his nose as if trying to ward off a headache—"we can't be sure whether day angels are here or not. We've put up a shield around the temple, and starting today, we'll take turns keeping watch."

As the former flame god talked, Crow found himself constantly glancing out the large windows of the dining hall as if a day angel would appear at any moment. But whenever he looked, there was always nothing except cloudy sky and frosted mountains.

"We don't know what their motivation or intentions are," Thuc continued. "Until we do, it's better for us to stay on guard."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and breakfast was eaten in silence.

Chapter Thirty-One

Halimah stood next to Navi and Nihira. They were all dressed in flying leathers, and they watched the last rays of sunlight fade into the ever-expanding sea of night.

"Are you ready?" Nihira turned to Halimah. Like her sister, Nihira's long black hair had been braided back away from her face.

Halimah let out a breath. "Yes."

Navi grinned. "Good." The day angel effortlessly scooped Halimah into her arms as if she weighed nothing more than a feather. And with a nod to Nihira, Navi jumped from the window.

Halimah's eyes were wide as they shot toward the stars. The cold wind whipped at Halimah's face and hair, and somewhere far below, a lantern blazed to life.

"That's the signal for all clear," Navi said loudly over the rushing of the wind.

Nihira was a dark blur against the night as the day angel swept in and out of Halimah's line of sight. Halimah was fine not having wings, but she had to admit that it was nice to borrow someone else's.

"We're crossing the border," Navi yelled over the roaring wind after a while. "You might want to shield."

Halimah nodded. There was a flash of pale pink light as she summoned an invisible shield of magic to counter the winds. Everything seemed to calm down within a matter of seconds. Even the howling had subsided.

Navi's eyes sparkled. "Look down."

Halimah dropped her gaze, and her breath caught in her throat. The entirety of Hali was glowing beneath them. Even though it was dark, Halimah could see everything. The snow-capped mountains of the Crystal District, the dusky sand of the Sand Dance District, the spiral of lights from Hali Central. The vast ocean.

The night sky was slowly lightening, and Halimah blinked in awe as she looked ahead. The second moon of Hali—the realm of the night angels—was rising in front of them. The golden glow of city lights was faintly visible against the moon's surface.

"There aren't any guards following us." Navi swooped up from somewhere below them to fly at Nihira's side. "Once we get closer to the realm of the night angels, we should slow and find their border patrol. Hopefully, they won't shoot us out of the sky."

The sunrise was one of the most beautiful sights Halimah had ever witnessed. There was something spectacular about watching the light wash over the land below them. Even in the day, Halimah could still see the stars outlined faintly against the sky and the swirls of the vibrant galaxy beyond.

After what seemed like another hour or two of flying, there was a rush of violet wings as a group of about seven night angels blocked their path. "Halt," the female night angel at the front command. Her smokey eyes surveyed Halimah and the day angels from behind her helmet.

"I'm Halimah," Halimah called from Nihira's arms, "the goddess of life. We come in peace."

"The goddess of life," the night angels murmured.

"The queen of the night angels once told me and my friends that if we ever needed help, we could come to her."

"We believe you." The first night angel angled her head to the side. "But just for an extra precaution, we'll have to escort you anyway."

Halimah smiled. "Thank you."

"I'm Navi, and this is my sister Nihira," Navi introduced herself as they followed the night angels toward the surface of the realm. "We're in charge of the day angel rebellion."

"Day angel rebellion?" the female night angel questioned curiously.

"We doing everything we can to stand up to the king." Nihira explained.

The night angel smiled faintly. "That's wonderful. I'm Sey, by the way. I'm the head of this particular unit. Were the two of you always the leaders of the rebellion?"

Navi shook her head. "We took over from the past leaders, who had taken over from the original founders. It's been a while."

Nihira nodded in agreement. "The two of us have been the leaders for the past seventy years or so."

Sey smiled. "Then I'm honored to welcome you to the realm of the night angels. Look down."

Halimah's eyes widened as she looked down. Grassy fields and wooden buildings dotted the surface of the realm, and violet-winged figures flew back and forth in a carefree manner. While the realm of the day angels had been towering stone buildings, the realm of the night angels was bursting with warm color.

"Here we are," Sey announced. "The castle is coming up straight ahead of us."

Sey was right—stone turrets were suddenly visible along the horizon, and they were quickly followed by the majestic body of the castle.

As they drew closer, Halimah noticed that unlike the king's castle, the queen's was sitting firmly on the ground. Flowering vine-like plants snaked up the castle's walls, and even more sprouted from between the stone bricks.

Before Halimah knew it, they were touching down on the dirt path right in front of the castle's stained glass doors.

Sey's eyes were bright as she turned to face the three of them. "So, are you ready to meet the queen?"

Chapter Thirty-Two

"Get down!" Ewen's voice yelled.

No one needed to be told twice as they dropped to the polished floor. A gust of wind shot over their heads followed by wingbeats and a shriek.

Ewen was helping them to their feet a moment later. "Day angels," he said darkly.

Fire blossomed outside, red, golden, and white. Thuc and Lianna were visible through the large windows in the hall for a moment before they vanished behind a plume of smoke and steam. "Those two are insane." Ewen shook his head. "I've only been guarding the front doors, but they've been running around the entire temple. Rania too—she's on the roof right now."

"I will go assist them." Gwenevieve hurried toward the doors, but before she made it to the exit, a dark-haired figure dropped down from somewhere above.

"There's no need," Rania said in a way of greeting as she flipped her thick braid over a shoulder. "They just flew away."

"They're after me," Crow said quietly, and everyone turned to look at him. "The king wants me back."

"It looks as if the king is getting desperate," Saedyn added. "He sends them to the temple even though three of the four former gods are here."

"Do you think it has something to do with Halimah?" Ewen asked quickly.

✦ ✦ ✦

The following day, Saedyn was quieter than usual during breakfast. His brow was slightly furrowed, as if he were deep in thought.

"Is everything alright?" Crow asked softly.

"What?" Saedyn said distractedly. "Yes. I was just thinking of ways we might be able to get Halimah out of the castle."

Crow gave the white-haired boy a sideways look but returned to his food without asking any more questions.

When everyone finished eating, Saedyn quietly reached across the table and tapped Professor Lethco on the paw. "Could I talk to you outside for a moment?"

The cat nodded and hopped down from his chair.

Saedyn turned back to Crow. "You too, Crow."

When they crossed into the entrance hall, Saedyn made sure that the doors had closed behind him before he began talking. "Professor," he addressed the cat, "you've been teaching magic for many years . . ."

"Indeed I have." Professor Lethco flicked his tail.

"Can you perform transfiguration magic?"

"Yes. Why?"

Saedyn smiled faintly. "I came up with a plan to rescue Halimah that might just work."

"Do tell," said Professor Lethco.

"I want you to turn me into Crow. I will go to the castle in his place."

Chapter Thirty-Three

Halimah stared up at the castle. The most stunning part of it were front doors. They were large and made entirely from stained glass with reds, oranges, yellows, and greens popping out from the intricate design. It was a tree. A tree that told the story of life and love and loss.

"This way." Sey smiled as she pushed open the large doors. Even Navi and Nihira were in awe as they stepped over the threshold. Sunlight streamed into the room from the windows, and the light cut through the faint swirls of dust in the air.

Sey removed her helmet and shook back her sheet of flaming hair. "Could you please let the queen know that she has visitors?" she asked one of the other armored night angels.

Nodding, the night angel quickly took off up the stairs.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long. "Look!" Sey turned to gesture at the staircase. "There she is now."

The queen of the night angels stood at the top of the steps, her head held high. She was dressed in flowing robes the color of sunshine, and her large violet wings were folded neatly at her back.

"Your Majesty." The night angels simultaneously dropped to their knees in a bow.

"Please rise." The queen smiled warmly. "There's no need to be so formal. Halimah! Welcome. Let's go to my study, shall we?"

"It was a pleasure meeting you," Sey addressed Halimah, Navi, and Nihira. "I've got to return to my post. I hope we'll have the opportunity to meet again."

Once she was gone, Halimah and the twins followed the queen through a long hall lined with windows. Soon they stopped in front of a wooden door at the back of the castle, and the queen held open the door for her guests to enter. After shutting the door behind them, the queen of the night angels walked over to the desk and took a seat behind it. And with a wave of her hand, three comfortable chairs appeared in front of it in a flash of golden light. "Please sit."

As the sisters repeated the information they had given Halimah a few days ago to the queen, Halimah found herself looking around the room. On the wall next to the door, there was a painting of a female with long flaming hair and violet wings. It was the queen of the night angels.

When Navi and Nihira finished talking, Halimah turned to the queen. "Your Majesty," she couldn't help but ask, "that painting. How long ago was that?"

The queen smiled somewhat wistfully. "That's one of the few paintings of me from before the First War." The queen was still smiling, but her eyes were sad. "It feels like a lifetime ago that the day and night angels were united."

"We're planning to take on the king of the day angels," Halimah told her.

"Now is the time for action," Navi added. "If we strike now, he won't have the time to build anything even more powerful to counter you."

"Please, Your Majesty." Halimah stood from her chair and bowed as low as she could. "Please lend us your assistance."

The queen stood as well. "If there is anything I can do to end the suffering of those being crushed under the king's hands, I will gladly provide you with my support."

✦ ✦ ✦

That evening, Halimah and the twins went down to the dining hall for dinner. The three of them arrived to find the queen sitting at the head of a long table. A long-haired night angel stood at her side.

"Halimah!" Sera's coal-colored eyes widened as Halimah hurried over to greet her. "I heard that you got your vision back." Sera flipped her long flaming hair over a shoulder. "It's been a little while, hasn't it?"

"It has been," Halimah agreed. "Sera, do you think you could contact Saedyn and tell him what's going on? Everyone back at the temple still thinks that I'm locked up in the king's castle."

"I tried already." Sera frowned as she ruffled her violet wings. "I don't know why, but I can't seem to connect to him. I think there's a shield around the temple. I can't get through it from this distance."

"Would you be up for a trip to the temple?" the queen asked.

Sera bowed. "I'll start making preparations."

"It's becoming more and more dangerous for us night angels to leave our realm," the queen told Halimah, Navi, and Nihira after Sera vanished from sight. "The king has guards stationed everywhere. I think he's paranoid that we're going to attack his realm. Please, have a seat."

"There's something I'm curious about," Halimah said as she pulled up a chair. "Were you the one who chose Sera to be the one to communicate with the wielders of soul, or did she volunteer herself?"

The queen smiled. "At the time, I was looking for someone willing to take on the job. Not many night angels wanted to in case something went wrong, but Sera enthusiastically volunteered. She's confident and passionate about protecting her people. And I find that extremely valuable."

Chapter Thirty-Four

Crow shook his head in a daze, refusing to believe his ears.

Saedyn sighed heavily. "We're out of ideas, and this is the only thing that might have a chance of working."

"It's too dangerous." Crow continued to shake his head. "The king of the day angels—"

Saedyn smiled sadly. "This is my responsibility as a wielder of soul. Besides, I still owe Halimah for saving my life. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her."

✦ ✦ ✦

The first hour after Saedyn's departure dragged by unbelievably slowly. Crow was sitting next to the window with Gloria on his lap. He absently stroked the chicken's soft feathers as he stared blankly at the snow falling outside.

Suddenly something violet blurred past the window. Crow jumped to his feet and pressed his nose to the glass. Crow hastily scooped Gloria into his arms and ran toward the stairs. He recognized this particular night angel. It was Sera.

Crow skidded to a stop at the top of the entrance hall's staircase. The former gods were already gathered by the door, and Crow's heart sank when he saw all of the god's shocked expressions. "What is it?" Crow asked, dreading the answer.

"Halimah isn't at the king's castle," Rania said as if she couldn't believe it herself. "She hasn't been for some time. She broke out."

Crow froze. Saedyn was going to the castle even though Halimah was no longer there.

"I'll go alert the queen." Sera turned and disappeared into the open air with a flap of her violet wings.

Just then, Crow froze. He could feel a disturbance in the air. A powerful magic was rumbling in the sky. From the way the former gods were looking at each other, they had felt it too.

"The king is making his move," Gwenevieve said grimly. There was something like panic in her normally calm eyes.

Thuc's face was pale. "But our son is still up there with him!"

Gwenevieve began to glow with a turquoise light. "We'll leave for the castle now. Crow, you should stay—"

Crow quickly shook his head. "I want to help. If the king is using his weapons, my magic can help stop them."

After looking at him for a long moment, Gwenevieve finally nodded her head. Before Crow could blink, the temple was fading away in a flash of turquoise light. When the light cleared, Crow found himself standing in the throne room of the king's castle.

"Where is everyone?" Rania asked as she looked around. She had a blade drawn in one hand and magic sparkled in the other.

The throne room was eerily empty.

Just then, the entire world seemed to explode in silver, and the disturbance Crow had felt in the air suddenly disappeared.

"That was Saedyn's magic," Lyria said worriedly. "He must be near the king."

Suddenly, Crow felt something soft brush against his ankle. "Gloria?"

The chicken clucked once.

"Gloria, what are you doing here?" Crow asked in a panic.

Without warning, the doors to the throne room violently burst open as the king's guards charged into the room.

Favian's hands flared with blue light as he threw up a shield of pulsing magic. "We can't afford to waste time here! Find Saedyn!"

"This way." Fern hurriedly gestured for Lyria, Maliq, and Crow to follow her.

Crow scooped Gloria into his arms and took off at a sprint after the red-haired girl. Lyria and Maliq ran on either side of him, and their magic flared as they blasted the armored day angels out of the way.

Flames blazed as Fern cleared a path toward the doors. "Crow," the red-haired girl yelled as she slammed her flaming fist into one of the many armored day angels charging at them. "You know the castle! Which way should we go?"

Crow gave himself only a moment's thought before pointing to the hall on their right. "That way."

Fern nodded before plowing forward through the swarm of day angels. Crow used his void magic to throw out shields to counter the blades swinging toward Lyria and Maliq's unprotected backs. The four of them sprinted down the hall. They skidded around the corner and hurtled up the flight of stairs at the end.

"Keep running!" Fern yelled as she whirled around to face the day angels who had tailed them. There were ten day angels.

"I'll help you," Lyria leaped back down the stairs to stand at Fern's side. Her violet eyes blazed with determination as she summoned a tidal wave of water to crash into their pursuers.

The stairs ended at a long hall, and Crow and Maliq sprinted down it at full speed. The further they went, the more the sounds of the fighting below faded. Within minutes, the only sound was their heavy footfalls echoing through the silence.

Suddenly there was a loud boom, and Crow was thrown forward as he lost his footing. Instinctively, he curled around Gloria, using his body to shield the chicken. He painfully slid across the polished floor before finally coming to a stop underneath a window. His ears were ringing dully, and his head was spinning.

Crow slowly sat up, and his eyes widened in disbelief as he took in the damage. Where the hall had once been was a gaping hole in the floor below. "Maliq!" Crow called, scanning for him in a panic.

"I'm here," Maliq's voice called from the level below.

Crow quickly crawled over to the broken floor to look down. Maliq waved up at him. He was covered in bruises, but seemed fine other than that.

Armored footsteps sounded as guards rushed toward Maliq. "Keep going," Maliq yelled as his magic flared. "I'll hold them off!"

Even though Maliq couldn't see him, Crow nodded as he scrambled to his feet. He needed to get to Saedyn.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Halimah spent the morning exploring the queen's castle alone since Navi and Nihira were still asleep in their designated rooms. The sun was slowly rising in the sky outside the large glass windows, and the long halls were bathed in rose-gold light.

When it was time for breakfast, Halimah sat between Navi and Nihira at the table in the dining hall. The queen was at the head of the table again, chatting with the two sisters when suddenly the doors were thrown open as Sera sprinted in. "The wielder of soul was sent to the king's castle," she panted as she skidded to a stop next to the queen. "I couldn't get to them in time to explain that you were no longer there."

"What?" Halimah stared at her. But then everyone in the room paused. "There's a disturbance in the air," Halimah whispered.

"We need to get to the castle." The queen of the night angels stood as well, and her expression was grim. "The king is about to attack. Sera, please get our forces ready to teleport."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Sera bowed before hurrying back out of the dining hall.

"Ready?" the queen of the night angels asked as she lifted her hands into the air.

"Ready," Navi, Blair, and Halimah replied in unison.

There was a flash of light, and the world was ripped away from underneath Halimah's feet. When the light faded, she was falling through open air. A split second later, Navi picked her up, and the four of them circled above the castle.

"The king doesn't have guards stationed above," the queen explained. "No one can get past the guards to even get this high."

"I'm going to send the signal." Nihira took off in a blur of silver feathers.

"I'll look for the king," the queen told them. "I'll leave it to the rest of you to keep the guards busy."

Halimah's heart was pounding a mile a minute in her chest as she nodded. Navi set Halimah down on the castle's roof before swooping down to enter the structure through the large open arches of the throne room.

There was a sudden roar followed by the sound of weapons being unsheathed. Then the clanking of armor faded as the king's guards chased Navi out of the throne room and into the castle beyond.

After parting ways with the queen, Halimah broke into a sprint. She hurried down flight after flight of stairs. She only came across a few guards along the way, and Halimah made quick work of them. There was something she needed to do. Sprinting down the steps, Halimah hurried down to the castle dungeons. The guards barely had time to cry out as she knocked them unconscious with her magic.

"Halimah?" a disbelieving voice called from one of the far cells.

Halimah sprinted over to find Cora's shocked face looking at her from behind the bars. "I've come to get you out of here," Halimah told her. "Stand back."

With a wave of her hand, the bars vanished. Halimah hurried forward and magically cut the day angel's chains from the wall. Cora opened her mouth, but closed it when no sound came out.

"The day angels from the rebellion are on their way to the castle right now," Halimah explained quickly. "The queen's army is coming too."

The two of them took off out of the dungeons at a run, careful to avoid trampling on the unconscious guards. After throwing open the door, Halimah blinked as the bright sunlight from the open windows temporarily blinded her.

"Look!" Cora froze as she pointed to one of the windows. Hundreds upon hundreds of day angels were flying toward the castle. None of them were wearing the armor of the king's guards, and some held blades in their hands while others held pitchforks and shovels. These were the people banding together to rise up against the king.

The king's guards had drawn their blades, but judging from their body language, they were clearly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. A moment later, the rising day angels reached the king's guards, and a roaring filled the air. The sound of metal upon metal mingled with the screams and roars of those fighting on both sides.

Tearing her eyes away from the window, Halimah pulled Cora along as she sprinted down the hall. "We have to find Saedyn—he's here somewhere in the castle!"

Suddenly a tremendous boom sounded from behind them, and Halimah and Cora were thrown forward by the blast of the explosion. The wind was knocked from Halimah's lungs as she hit the hard floor. Cora hissed quietly from the floor next to her. The day angels were already laying siege to the castle.

"This way." Halimah helped Cora to her feet before gesturing to a spiraling staircase. They took the steps two at a time as they hurried upward. Then Halimah let out a cry as she almost collided with someone.

"Halimah?" a familiar voice asked.

"Ewen!" Halimah finally found her voice. "What are you doing here?"

Ewen just responded by wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace.

Halimah held Ewen tightly. "Not only is the king using his weapon now, but Saedyn came to the castle without knowing I was no longer here. He's in danger."

"I know," Ewen said grimly. "Sera told us about how you escaped."

Another explosion sounded from somewhere in the distance, and the whole castle shook.

"Just what is happening?" Ewen threw out a shield of solid air to protect them from any falling debris.

"The day angel rebellion," Halimah explained quickly. "The king wants to use his weapon, so they're rising up against him. The queen of the night angels is bringing her forces as well."

Ewen was shaking, and Halimah suddenly realized that she was too. "You're safe," Ewen whispered.

"I'm safe." Halimah smiled. "Are the others here?"

"Yes. The former gods and their partners are here along with Lyria, Maliq, and Fern. Professor Lethco and Crow too."

"Come on"—Halimah grabbed the green-haired boy by the hand—"let's go look for Saedyn. Cora, do you . . ." They had lost the day angel along the way. Halimah just hoped she was alright as the two of them hurried up the staircase and down a long hallway. As they turned the corner, a familiar figure came into view.

"Crow!" Halimah called out.

Crow whirled around. Even from a distance, Halimah could see that his eyes were wide, and his face was pale and terrified. "Halimah!" he exclaimed as he hurried over to greet them. Crow's hair hosted pieces of stone and dust, and his clothes were powdered with the same sediment. "I was with Lyria, Maliq, and Fern, but then we got separated. And I don't know where the other gods are either."

Suddenly, golden light flared outside as the sky was momentarily engulfed in the blinding radiance. Then a moment later, a loud roar sounded. Halimah cracked open an eye. It was the night angels. The army of violet blurs slammed into the king's guards with a cry. Blades clashed and magic crackled. For a second, Halimah spotted Navi, Nihira, and Sey among them.

"I found him," Crow's said suddenly. "He just used his magic! I—I can sense it!" Crow quickly crouched down and set Gloria on the polished floor. "Gloria, stay here. I've got to run."

"Wait!" Ewen called as Crow took off at a sprint down the hall.

Halimah and Ewen shared a glance, and then the two of them hurried to close the gap. Just then, a silver-winged figure crashed through a window in front of them. Halimah instinctively flung her hands up to create a shield as glass shards flew in every direction. When the dust cleared, Crow had vanished.

Before Halimah had time to wrap her head around what was going on, another crashing noise sounded as the window behind them shattered. Then Ewen was yelling as an armored day angel grabbed him and leaped out the window.

"Ewen!" Halimah cried as she ran over to the window.

The day angel was gone, and Ewen was tumbling through the sky.

Halimah took a running jump and threw herself out of the window. The wind hit her full in the face as she plummeted down after the green-haired boy. In a flash of pale pink light, Halimah was suddenly tumbling through the open sky directly above Ewen.

"Take my hand!" Halimah yelled. The wind whisked her voice away.

Ewen's eyes were wide as he looked up at her, and the green-haired boy extended his fingers toward Halimah. His mouth was moving, but Halimah couldn't hear over the roar of the wind.

They were falling faster and faster with each passing second, and the floating castle was growing smaller and smaller. Day angels and night angels alike filled the air, and metal clashed against metal. Halimah ignored all of them. Her eyes were glued to Ewen as she stretched her fingers toward him.

Then her fingers brushed Ewen's, and the world faded in a flash of pale-pink light.

The two of them crashed through the roof of the castle in a heap as the world rematerialized around them. "Halimah," Ewen said breathlessly. His eyes were still large.

The two of them were in the middle of a deserted hallway. Windows were broken, and sections of the castle wall missing completely. "Ewen," Halimah said, still shaken.

Ewen gave Halimah's hand a squeeze. "Let's go find the others."

Chapter Thirty-Six

Crow's heart was pounding in his ears as he sprinted through the halls of the castle. Where was Saedyn? He could feel the white-haired boy's magic.

Crow flew up another staircase and skidded around the corner of the landing. He flailed his arms out as his momentum sent him careening into the wall. After hastily tugging off his shoes and socks, Crow continued to run barefoot over the smooth floors.

The presence of Saedyn's magic was getting stronger. After turning the corner, Crow came to a stop.

"Crow?" It was Saedyn. The white-haired boy was standing in the middle of the hall, wide eyed.

"What happened?" Crow asked quickly as he hurried over. "You're you again!"

"The king actually believed that I was you at first." Saedyn's face was deathly pale. "I was worried when he mentioned that Halimah was no longer here, but then he started using that weapon of his, and my cover was blown when I tried to stop him. We fought, and now the king is really, really, angry. I've been running away from him ever since. He used his magic to create creatures to attack me—wherever I run, they can track me down. I think I just got the last of them, but the king won't give up that easily."

"Let's find the others."

"I've tried to use my magic against him," Saedyn panted as they ran. "But he's just too fast—he dodges whatever I throw at him." Magic flared as the two of them blasted one of the king's magical creatures out of the way.

"So you can't escape," a deep voice purred from behind them.

Crow's blood turned to ice.

"Run!" Saedyn screamed as he threw a blast of silver soul magic in the direction of the king's voice. Metallic feathers blurred behind them as the white-haired boy pulled Crow along. The two of them sped down the stairs, refusing to look back.

A blast of navy light hit the wall right where Crow's head had been just a split-second before.

"Weidler of Void, Wielder of Soul," the king called, "I'll admit that you had me fooled. And do you know what I do to people who dare to take me as a fool?"

Crow ran faster. No, no, no. He didn't want to hear the answer.

"Don't listen to him!" Saedyn pulled Crow through a doorway leading to a spiraling staircase.

As they sprinted through the door frame, Crow waved a hand. Void filled the air as the doorway collapsed on itself. Crow was confident that neither of them knew where they were going at this point. All that mattered right now was getting away from the king.

Without warning, the large window in front of them exploded with a bang, and both Crow and Saedyn were knocked off their feet. Crow barely had time to throw out a shield as glass shards rained down around them.

The king of the day angels was perched lazily on the window frame, and his navy eyes glinted. Crow slowly got to his feet. He knew the king was fast enough to block them if they tried to run.

Silver light flared as Saedyn created a protective shield against the king. "Don't worry," he told Crow quietly. "He can't get through the shield."

The king's lips tugged upward in a smile. "I might not be able to break your shield myself, but what happens when your magic dies out?"

Saedyn silently glared at the king through the pulsing shield.

The king's eyes flickered. "You'll find that I'm very patient. I'll just wait here until you use up the last of your magic."

Crow stepped in front of Saedyn, and his eyes caught on something attached to the king's belt. A cloth pouch glowing faintly with an icy blue light. The Flames of Ice. So the king had it on him after all.

The king stepped forward from the window, and a whip of icy magic materialized in his hands. "I've changed my mind. I'm losing my patience." The king smiled awfully as he brought the whip crashing down through the air with a deafening crack.

A small fracture formed in Saedyn's shield from where the whip had struck it. The shield flared silver as Saedyn hastily repaired the gap as the king's whip came down again and again and again.

Crow turned back to Saedyn in a panic to find beads of sweat dripping down the white-haired boy's face. "Do you think he's close enough to blast him with your magic?" Crow asked worriedly.

"I thought so when I used my magic against him earlier." Saedyn's brows were knitted together. "If he dodged it then, he's more than capable of doing it now."

The castle shook again, and both Crow and Saedyn staggered back toward the wall.

Magic crackled as the whip ruthlessly bit into Saedyn's shield. If this kept up, Saedyn would use up all of his magic. That would lead to a burnout. And a burnout could be fatal. But Saedyn's eyes blazed with determination as he continued to hold the shield in place.

There wasn't much Crow could do, but he had to go with the best of all the bad ideas. Raising a shaking hand, Crow shot a blast of void magic at the pulsing silver shield. The moment his magic touched the surface, both magics vanished as they canceled each other out.

"What are you doing?" Saedyn asked as all the remaining color drained from his face. Then Saedyn screamed in warning as the whip flashed through the air.

Crow made to whirl around, but it was too late. His back was on fire as the king's whip lashed him. Crow's vision swam, and red spots blossomed as he collapsed to his knees.

"Move out of the way, Wielder of Void," the king said lazily. "I still have use for you."

Crow shook his head as he fought through the pain. He lifted a shaking hand and sent a blast of void magic at the king.

The king brushed the magic away as if it were nothing more than a gust of wind. "It seems like we're going to have to do this the hard way—" the king suddenly trailed off as a clucking noise sounded through the staircase.

Gloria. Crow's head was spinning too much to think straight. He watched in shock as the chicken flapped up the stairs, clucking angrily at the king.

Disbelief fell across the king's face as he stared at Gloria.

Silver light and darkness exploded as Saedyn and Crow blasted the king with their magic at the same time. Gloria's unforeseen distraction had worked in their favor.

When the light cleared, the king staggered and collapsed to his knees. His metallic feathered wings were ruined, and his skin was covered in angry welts. And then with a rush of wings as he leaped out the window and disappeared into the sky beyond.

"Do you think he'll be back?" Crow whispered after a long moment.

Saedyn frowned faintly. "His strength has decreased significantly. I don't know."

Brown-speckled feathers came in and out of focus as Gloria brushed her soft head against Crow's hand. "Gloria," Crow said softly, "I thought I told you to stay in the hallway."

Gloria clucked as if to say, And if I did, where would you be now?

Crow smiled weakly. Silver light flared faintly as Saedyn made to heal Crow's wound.

"Wait." Crow turned painfully to look up at Saedyn. "You shouldn't—you're already low on strength."

"But you're hurt. I can't just leave you like this! Oh, Gloria, where are you going?"

"Gloria?" Crow's vision swam again.

Hurried footsteps sounded on the stairs from somewhere far away. Lyria and Gwenevieve appeared around the corner a moment later, with Gloria leading the way in front of them.

"What happened here?" Gwenevieve asked weakly.

"The king of the day angels—" Saedyn explained quickly. But whatever he said next was lost as Crow blacked out.

✦ ✦ ✦

When Crow came to, the pain had vanished. His back was sore, but that was about it.

Crow blinked to find Saedyn, Lyria, and Gwenevieve staring down at him. "How long was I out?" Crow asked in a rising panic.

"Only about five minutes," Saedyn reassured him.

"The king has the weapon," Crow blurted out as he suddenly remembered.

Gwenevieve's eyes widened. "The weapon?"

Crow nodded.

"Can you stand? We need to find the king."

Saedyn helped Crow to his feet, and the four of them took off down the stairs. "As I said earlier, the king was injured badly," the white-haired boy informed Gwenevieve and Lyria. "It's very likely that he's still somewhere in the castle."

Lyria was carrying Gloria in her arms, and the chicken clucked softly as they ran. "It looks like all the fighting moved outside," the curly-haired girl observed. It was true; the hallways were empty and covered in piles of rubble.

Just then, a rumbling began to shake the air. The disturbance was back. Crow quickened his pace. "It's coming from the throne room!"

Turning the corner, they nearly crashed headfirst into a group of people running in the same direction. After skidding to a stop, Crow looked up to find Halimah, Ewen, Thuc, Lianna, Favian, Rania, Fern, Maliq, and Professor Lethco.

"Saedyn!" Halimah exclaimed. "You're okay!"

Thuc and Lianna rushed over to embrace their son tightly.

"The king has the weapon," Lyria told the others worriedly. "We think he's in the throne room right now."

Rania nodded grimly. "We came to that conclusion as well."

"We need to hurry," Fern said as she took off at a run, and the others followed close behind.

"Where's the queen of the night angels?" Halimah asked suddenly. "She has the power to stop the weapon!"

"She led a group to the mines," Favian said. "She suspected the king might be there, but she's not the only one with the power to stop his weapon. The power of the four gods can too. After all, it was how we stopped the king the first time."

They reached the throne room in no time and burst through the doors. Crow nearly stumbled as powerful winds hit him square in the face. The once elegant room was a wreck. Pillars had collapsed, and piles of rock lay scattered over the cracked floor.

The king of the day angels stood in the middle of the room, his tattered wings dragging on the ground behind him. His hands were raised above his head, and the Flames of Ice orb pulsed in his fingers. Icy light and wind were spilling from the orb, and the king's long silver-blue hair was blowing in every direction as he stood in the center of the storm.

There were cries from the sky outside as day angels and night angels alike fled from the growing tempest.

"Stop!" Lyria cried desperately. "You'll kill your day angels as well!"

"Silence, girl!" the king whirled in a crazed sort of way.

"You'll kill yourself as well!" Maliq yelled.

The rage vanished from the king's face as it was replaced by a deadly calm. "As long as I take everyone down with me, so what if I fall?"

Fern sent a blast of fire at the king, but the howling winds whisked it away.

"Goodbye," the king said with a smile. His navy eyes glinted. "It's truly a shame things had to go this way."

An explosion of icy light engulfed the room, and everything faded to white.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

"Take my hand!" Thuc extended his hands.

Halimah quickly took the former flame god's in one hand and Gwenevieve's in the other. The moment the four gods were connected in a circle, a surge of magic thrummed through Halimah.

"Follow my lead," Gwenevieve instructed as a glowing golden light began to form between them.

"What are you doing?" the king demanded. His figure was barely visible through the light, and yet his tone turned panicked when he seemed to realize what was happening. "Stop, stop! I command you to stop!"

"Get ready." Gwenevieve's voice rang.

Suddenly the wind was roaring so loudly that Halimah's eardrums began to rattle. Then there was an explosion of ice-blue light as the king hurled the full force of the weapon at them.

Golden light shot into the air like a pillar before spreading out to fully engulf the ice. Halimah felt Thuc and Gwenevieve's hands tighten around hers as they braced for the impact. The force of the blast seemed to shake Halimah's very bones as the ice crashed into their shield of light. And for a long moment after, all she could see was gold.

Halimah clung tightly to the hands of her fellow gods as they stood their ground. She squinted against the brightness, and all the while the roaring was growing louder and louder and louder.

Then everything went silent, and the light cleared to reveal the king of the day angels gaping at the four of them in shock. The Flames of Ice orb lay in pieces on the ground at his feet, and its blue glow faded as it died out.

Halimah staggered back as Thuc and Gwenevieve let go of her hands. Ewen was there in an instant to help her balance. Halimah looked around at the others.

Lyria, Maliq, and Fern had identical expressions of shock on their faces. Rania's mouth had fallen open in awe, and Lianna was standing in front of Crow and Saedyn, still shielding the two boys with her body.

"What have you done?" The king's eyes narrowed in rage, and the muscles in his jaw worked furiously.

"We stopped your weapon." Gwenevieve's voice rang through the deafening silence. "It's over."

The king of the day angels dropped to his knees.

"We should block the exits so he can't escape," Thuc suggested.

Seeing that the gods were exhausted, Rania, Lyria, Saedyn, and Fern hurried over to stand in front of the large arches leading to the open sky beyond. Eyeing his every move, the four of them formed a loose circle around the king. Maliq walked over to block the throne room's doors and folded his arms over his chest.

"What are you going to do with me?" the king hissed, trying and failing to rise to his feet.

"I don't think that should be for us to decide," Lianna spoke up as she glided over to stand beside Halimah and the other gods. "The day angels and night angels should be the ones to decide your fate."

"The queen should be back soon," Thuc added. "I'm sure she'll be more than happy to put you in your place."

"Life isn't fair," the king spat bitterly. "It isn't kind. No, it's a cruel journey of pain and misery and anger. Happiness is just an illusion. There's only power. That's what's real."

"You're wrong." Halimah's voice was braver than she felt as the king turned his attention to her. "Happiness isn't just an illusion. You've just never found it, Your Majesty."

"You know nothing, girl," the king said softly.

Halimah refused to back down from his gaze. "I may not have been alive nearly as long as you have, but I've found happiness. I've found friends who have walked with me through the dark until I could finally see the light again."

The king's navy eyes glinted. "I was going to exterminate the night angels once and for all. They robbed me of my happiness. And in turn, I would be the most powerful ruler of them all. Everyone would bow before me."

"Power doesn't equal happiness, Your Majesty."

The king glared at her before suddenly collapsing on the ground.

"Leave him," Gwenevieve told the others with a frown. "It is up to him if he wants to get back up or not."

Ewen looked skeptical. "I wouldn't trust him not to try anything."

But the moment the words left his mouth, there was a blur of metallic silver too fast for the human eye to keep up with. The king of the day angels materialized directly behind Saedyn on the other side of the throne room, and his navy eyes glinted. Before Halimah could even let out a scream, the king had clawed his bare hands into Saedyn's chest.

The king's smile was a horrible one. "It seems like you aren't the only ones who can act."

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Crow's mouth was open in a scream, but no sound was coming out.

Saedyn's amber eyes met Crow's as he hit the floor at the king's feet. His blood stained the white tiles crimson as it steadily pooled beneath him.

I, the white-haired boy mouthed as he choked on his own blood. But before he could finish, his eyes turned glassy and unseeing.

The king of the day angels was laughing hysterically, but all Crow could hear was a dull ringing in his ears. Then he was screaming. All the light faded from the room as Crow's void magic roared to life.

"Crow," someone's voice reached him. He couldn't tell who was calling him. Everything was muffled.

"Stay back!" Crow panted as his magic swirled around him.

"Wielder of Void." The king of the day angels just sneered at him. His hands dripped with blood, and his robes were splattered with red. "That's right, Crow. Kill me. The two of us are more alike than you think. My death will be your awakening. You'll complete what I couldn't."

No, a soft voice at the back of Crow's mind said. No, it said a little louder this time. "No," Crow whispered. Slowly, the light returned in a flood.

"No?" Shock flickered over the king's face for a split second before it was replaced with an amused smile.

"No," Crow said firmly even as tears slid down the sides of his face. "I won't kill you. I've figured out your secret, Your Majesty. You enjoy torturing and breaking others because it makes you feel better about yourself. You wanted to become king because you wanted people to respect you. And maybe you could have been if you had a little kindness."

"Nonsense." The king shook his head. But there was something flickering behind his eyes.

"I've learned what it's like to not be alone," Crow said quietly. "What you've done is unforgivable. Even so, I'm sorry no one ever showed you the way back to the light. I refuse to become you. And that is why I can't kill you."

The king of the day angels just stared at Crow. But Crow's vision was still blurred too much for him to notice the dagger in the king's hand before it was too late. Someone was screaming behind him as the king hurled the blade through the air.

Crow watched the dagger spiral through the air in slow motion. The surface of the blade glinted in the dying light.

Before Crow could fully register what was happening, there was a rush of silver wings as a dark-haired figure plucked the dagger out of the air before landing behind the king. Even from where Crow was standing, he could hear the words Cora whispered. "Crow might not kill you, but I can."

Cora shoved the dagger into the king's chest. The king's expression was frozen in shock as Cora twisted the blade deeper. "This is for my brother." Cora yanked out the blade, and the king of the day angels collapsed to the floor, coughing as blood trickled from his mouth. Cora grimly took a step backward.

The life faded from the king's eyes, and his stare became blank and unseeing.

Without a second glance at the king, Crow ran over to Saedyn's lifeless body. He dropped to his knees. Crow's vision swam as fresh tears threatened, and he placed a trembling finger on Saedyn's wrist. There was no pulse.

Unable to look into Saedyn's unseeing eyes any longer, Crow closed them with a shaking hand.

"He's not dead," a voice said softly.

Crow turned slowly to find Professor Lethco solemnly walking toward him. "Not dead?" Crow repeated. His voice was a broken sound.

"Well, he's not completely dead yet," the cat amended softly. "I used my magic to freeze him in time. You can still save him."

"How?" Crow croaked.

"Your void magic. Only you can heal him."

Crow gently placed both hands on the white-haired boy's chest—directly over his heart. The blood warmed Crow's hands as he summoned his void magic to him. The lazy tendrils spiral into the air as he closed his eyes and slipped into the dark.

After what felt like an eternity, Crow opened his eyes. Saedyn's unbound white hair was splattered with red, but even though the blood remained, the wound on his chest had healed.

"Crow." Saedyn smiled weakly.

Crow smiled back as he blinked away the stinging in his eyes.

Suddenly Thuc and Lianna were there as they swept both Crow and Saedyn into a tight embrace. Then Halimah and Ewen joined as well, followed closely by Lyria, Maliq, Fern, Gwenevieve, Rania, Favian, and Professor Lethco.

The booming of wings sounded as the queen of the night angels swept into the wrecked throne room. Her eyes instantly fell on the king's lifeless body.

Everyone turned to watch as Cora stepped forward and dropped into a deep bow at the queen's feet. "Your Majesty."

The queen looked down at Cora. "You killed him."

"I had to."

"I was prepared to battle him to the death." The queen smiled faintly as she motioned for Cora to stand. "But it looks like you got there first."

As Cora rose to her feet, she seemed to remember that she was still gripping the blade she had used to kill the king. The blade clattered to the floor a moment later with a sound that echoed through the silent throne room. "He murdered my brother," Cora spoke at last. "I wanted to kill him ever since that fateful day. So why? Why am I shaking?" She stared hopelessly at the queen for an answer.

Sey landed next to the queen in a rush of violet feathers. "Taking a life isn't easy. In fact, it shouldn't be easy." The night angel offered Cora a small smile before turning to address the queen. "On a different note, every last night angel has been freed from the mines. The rest of our night angels are chasing down the remaining guards as you commanded."

"I'll go talk with those day angels later," the queen said with a sigh. "Please, let me help teleport you all back to the ground."

Halimah took a step forward. "Ewen and I have somewhere to go first. We'll meet up with the rest of you later."

The queen of the night angels nodded as she raised her hands. "Then I wish you the best of luck."

Crow took one last look at the ruined throne room before everything vanished in a flash of golden light.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

"I can't believe it." Navi was still in shock as she slumped down against the doorframe to their headquarters. "The king is dead!"

"We've succeeded." Nihira patted her sister on the shoulder. The twins were covered head to toe in cuts and bruises, but their spirits couldn't have been brighter.

Ewen looked up at the tower-like building with wide eyes. "This is the headquarters to the rebellion?"

Halimah nodded. She had been filling Ewen in about everything that had happened during the past week as they followed the sisters down the empty streets. The night angel army had just departed, and the day angels were still keeping a close eye on the king's guards.

The two of them followed Navi and Nihira through the door and into the building. They walked in silence up the spiraling staircase until they reached the hidden door built into the stone wall.

Eve was sitting on the couch with the two other male night angels from before. The moment she saw them enter, the night angel rose to her feet. "We heard noises outside." Eve's voice was no more than a whisper. "Explosions and the clashing of blades."

Navi hurried over to take Eve's hands in her own. "We won," she said breathlessly. "The king of the day angels is dead."

"Dead?" Eve's eyes widened as she stared at Navi.

Halimah smiled at the night angel. "His reign is over."

Eve's eyes filled with tears as Navi squeezed her scarred hands comfortingly.

Both of the males on the couch had identical looks of shock on their faces. They shared a look before turning back to the others. "Thank you," the male on the right whispered. His voice was hoarse from years of unuse.

Navi and Nihira just smiled radiantly.

✦ ✦ ✦

Halimah and Ewen returned to the Temple of Fire an hour later to meet up with the others. Halimah turned to look around the entrance hall. Crow and Saedyn were sitting on the floor next to the staircase with Thuc and Lianna, and the four of them were talking in quiet voices. Gloria was fast asleep in Crow's lap—the chicken was just as exhausted as everyone else.

On the other side of the stairs, Gwenevieve, Rania, and Favian were helping each other heal their many cuts and scratches. Lyria, Maliq, and Fern stood nearby. All of them looked as if they had seen better days, but they were smiling among themselves.

There was a patter of light steps, and then something furry leaped up to perch on her shoulder. "Halimah, Ewen," Professor Lethco said with a flick of his tail, "welcome back."

Halimah and Ewen stayed the night at the Temple of Fire. When morning arrived, they ate in the dining hall as usual. All of the former gods were going to depart today to their designated temples. They decided the previous night that the best thing to do would be to inform the citizens of Hali about the fall of the king and the fighting that had taken place at the castle.

After they finished saying their farewells to everyone at the temple, Ewen offered his hand to Halimah. "Are you ready to go home?"

Halimah looked up at the green-haired boy to find his eyes sparkling. She smiled as she laced her fingers through his. Ewen smiled back. Then the world faded in a flash of green light as the two of them were transported back to the Firefly District. The moment the light faded, a strong blast of salt-tinged wind hit Halimah in the face. Laughing, Halimah brushed her hair out of her eyes as she squinted against the bright sunlight. The Temple of Life was just up ahead.

Chapter Forty
One Month Later

Crow walked down the familiar streets of Hali Central with Saedyn. A lot had happened during the past month. For one thing, the night angels and day angels had agreed to overcome their differences and start over as one united people.

Crow couldn't help but smile as he led Saedyn up the stairs to his apartment. True to his word, Crow was determined to attend school, and Professor Lethco had helped him register at the academy he taught at in the Firefly District. To Crow's surprise, Saedyn decided to join the academy as well. The white-haired boy had never been to a proper school before and claimed that it would be a good learning opportunity.

Right now the two of them were in Hali Central to collect Crow's belongings from his apartment. The new school semester was scheduled to start in a week, and they would be moving into on-campus dormitories for the next few years.

Crow's apartment was exactly the way he had left it all of those months ago. Crow walked over to the large window at the back of the living room and drew open the curtains. Sunlight spilled in through the glass and washed away the shadows as it cut through the dusty air.

"If you had the choice to redo your life as a normal magic wielder," Saedyn asked softly, "would you take it?"

"No." Crow didn't need to think about his answer. "My void magic . . . It's been a long struggle, but I'm thankful. The void magic was never a curse like I initially thought."

Saedyn's amber eyes sparkled with understanding as he nodded. "I'm glad."

✦ ✦ ✦

Crow was sitting on the floor of his dormitory room as he excitedly pulled on his shoes. Today was going to be his first day of school.

He was sharing a room with Saedyn, and the white-haired boy was standing in front of the mirror on the door of the dresser, looking at his reflection in the glass. Both of them were dressed in the uniform of Firefly District's magic academy.

Saedyn's eyes caught Crow's in the glass and the two of them shared a smile.

Gloria clucked softly as she hopped over to brush up against Crow's ankles. She clucked once in a way that said, If you don't go now, you'll be late for class.

"Ready?" Saedyn asked as the two of them made their way over to the door.

Crow grinned. "Ready."

And together, the two of them stepped through the doorway and out into the sunlit hallway beyond.

Epilogue

Professor Lethco walked along the sandy beach next to the Temple of Life. The night was silent, and the inky sky was full of twinkling lights. He tilted his head upward to watch the colors swirling among the stars. The two moons of Hali hung in the air like pearly orbs.

The cat stopped and turned to look over his shoulder at the trail of pawprints he had left behind in the powdery sand. It was time to head back, so the professor turned and made his way toward the golden fields of grass. The sky was slowly lightening. Then, stopping in the middle of the swaying field, Professor Lethco raised his head to watch the sun rise over Hali.

✦ End ✦