Erik and I trained with weapons, swords, crossbows, knives, and of course, dealing with demons. For that, we made forays into the world with Blaz, pinpointed a demon and went after it, or them as the case sometimes was. Once a week until killing demons was as easy as using one of my blades. And in some ways it was easier. Because to kill a demon took love, you had to do it with love, not anger or hate or fear because all those did was feed the demon and make it stronger. With Marcella in my life, it was easy to fight for love. Easy to hold onto the emotions she built in me.

And I wondered if that was why I needed to be a mother. I wondered if I would have been able to face Orion without that love in my life. I questioned Erik and he had given me a smile that was sad and full of regret.

“I think you’re right. A mother’s love is like nothing else, there is nothing stronger in the world than a love between a parent and child. Orion can’t face that, he has no concept of that power.”

I hoped he was right. I doubted Orion would be easy to kill, him or his four generals. But for that moment, I knew I was doing everything I could.

Blaz and I flew with Ophelia, working out strategies for fighting in the air, every day we worked and I grew more and more comfortable with being on Blaz without being tied to his back.

Coyote helped me increase my speed, learning how to anticipate the attacks of a supernatural who outranked in me in that department. Every person I had around me helped me to train, to strengthen and prepare for the coming battles. Because I was sure there would be more than one.

And every spare moment I had, I played with Mars, held her close, kissed her nose, and promised her I would come back for her. Begged her to understand how much she meant to me. That I would leave because I had to, not because I wanted to.

She just cooed and smiled up at me, which only made what was coming that much harder.

Because the six months was swiftly coming to an end. Six months of peace, of being safe and finding my center, of getting stronger and prepping.

Liam had given me the three things I needed more than anything else.

The time to prep myself, the people who could help me, and a love I would fight for to the ends of the world and back.

I held the violet-skinned book in my hands, open to the page I’d been reading. Marcella was sleeping softly in my bed, her tiny hands curled up under her chin. I reached over and brushed my fingers across her forehead.

“Don’t wake her, she just got quiet,” Erik said from the doorway, and I gave him a wry grin.

“I know. But there isn’t much time left,” I whispered.

“No, there’s not. You finally break down and decided to read the book?”

I let out a sigh and nodded. I held it out to him, knowing the page he would read was one I had memorized. It was the only page that mattered to me. The rest were vague. This one was to the point.

“And when the darkness comes, and a plague sweeps the world, the Blood of the Lost shall be the one to save us. Two things must she do. Find the Destroyer so they may bring their blood together, and bind herself to the darkness.”

Erik’s eyes were on my face. “Find the Destroyer?”

“Peta’s elemental. At this point, that is all I know. I don’t even have a name. Cactus just shakes his head when I ask. He doesn’t know, or maybe he doesn’t remember.”

“And the other part?”

I stood and shooed him out of the room, shutting the door behind us as we stood in the hallway. “You bound Bert to you, didn’t you?”

Erik stiffened. “You can’t mean to bind Orion to you.”

“Yes, I think that’s what it’s asking me to do. He can’t kill me then.”

My uncle let out a tired breath. “That is true. Are you sure, though? You can pick up on their thoughts when you bind yourself to them.”

I shrugged. “It will keep me safe longer, and keep Orion on his toes then. It may even give us the edge we need to keep ahead of him and his generals if I’m picking up on his thoughts.”

“But first you have to find him and then bind him to you.”

I nodded and Erik put his hands on my shoulders. “I’ll show you again how to do it.”

He did, and it was simple. Blood on blood, and one phrase. “To thee, I bind my blood and thoughts, to me I bind your life.”

Easy peasy.

Right.

And then the day to leave was there, sneaking up on me like a thief in the night, there to steal my most precious of precious things.

I held Marcella in my arms and she cried softly, sensing something was wrong. I didn’t fight the tears that streaked my face. “I’ll come back for you, little love. I’ll come back.”

I was leaving most of my friends behind. Erik, Coyote, Cactus, and of course, Catya, those four were staying to act as guardians for Marcella and Zane. Daisy would be her surrogate once I was gone. Blaz, of course, was coming with me, as was Peta.

And of all the people I didn’t expect to show, a tall blond figure stepped out of the shadows.

Faris. I glared at Blaz. “What did you do, go back and get him?”

And left him in a local village, not far from here. I knew you wouldn’t want him around Marcella, but he can help. You know that.

My anger slipped away. Because all that meant nothing as I breathed in the smell of my little girl, a hint of sunshine and baby powder, and a scent so indefinable, I could only call it ‘baby.’ My baby.

And I was leaving her.

Erik took her from me. “She’ll be safe here, you know that. You know Orion has marked her as the one to claim now. And he will find a way if she isn’t in the monastery.”

Of course, I knew all that, but it was good to hear again, to help me make my feet walk away from the piece of my heart that now beats outside my chest. I climbed up Blaz, my body stronger than it had ever been, my mind clear and my heart full of love.

The three hags were there, watching, swooning with desire for the emotions I was giving off. I did my best to ignore them. To remember that was another price I had paid.

Bao slipped up beside me. “And now the last piece. I will take your memories of this place, to give us safety.”

I bowed my head, as did Blaz, Peta, and a reluctant Faris.

“I can still recall this place,” I said, but the name had already slipped from my mind. Bao smiled.

“It will go as you fly away, piece by piece until all you love will be safe again.”