defense circle.”
That made plenty of sense. We took the main street leading to the town plaza, where a gushing water fountain marked the very center of the Vale. Spending some time in the area, we paid attention to the smallest details, like Thayen had advised. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. If anything, I was beginning to feel as though this was the last place the clones would think of hijacking.
Recognizable figures emerged from one of the side streets as we walked toward the northern edge of the town. Voss, Chantal, and Richard spotted us, their eyes widening with surprise. My heart skipped a beat, thrilled to see some familiar faces again. Soph was just as excited, but Thayen stopped her before she could raise a hand to wave at them.
“Careful,” he whispered. “Safety protocols first.”
“Right. You’re absolutely right,” Soph replied.
Thayen put on a smile, and we mirrored his expression as we looked to Voss, Chantal, and Richard. I felt terrible playing this part, but it had to be done. We’d learned enough about the clones to know that they were most adept at blitz attacks.
“We were just on our way to the Great Dome!” Voss said as they reached us. He tried to shake Thayen’s hand, but the vampire stepped back.
“Safe word,” he demanded.
“Dude, we picked Richard up along the way,” Voss replied, seemingly in no mood. He was angry. “We lost Soul and Kelara. We got separated in a clone attack. Don’t you want to hear how that went?”
“Safe word, then we can talk,” Thayen shot back, his claws already extending.
Voss shook his head slowly. “Fine. Have it your way.” A split second later, his wings burst wide, each feather replaced with stainless steel blades. We were dealing with clones, and the war had just spilled into the Vale.
“Did you hear him?” Chantal’s copy sneered, mimicking Thayen in a derogatory mumble. “Safe word. Safe word. Like that’ll do you any good.”
The fires of Eritopia burned through me, insatiably pink and furious, as my skin began to glow. There wasn’t much left in me, but I was willing to put it all into this battle. I took a step forward, which was enough to make the three clones flinch slightly. “Remember what Derek said,” I told Thayen. “We should try to take out as many of them as possible.”
Richard’s clone bared his fangs at us, growling.
“We’ll need one alive so I can push my glamoring further,” Thayen said.
“Fine by me,” Jericho muttered, fireballs bursting in the palms of his hands as he assumed an attack position.
Around us, the humans of the Vale realized that something bad was about to go down. Some were quick and wise enough to move back and slip through the adjacent alleys in a bid to distance themselves from the impending brawl. Others gathered on the edge of the sidewalk, foolishly curious.
I waved my hand and released a wide barrier, enough to push them back and send them a message. A few of them stumbled and nearly fell over, but soon they all understood that this was the worst place for them to be.
And as Richard’s double pounced, I unleashed my Daughter powers. I’d had enough of these clones. I’d had enough of the madness and the mindless violence.
Tristan
Adrenaline coursed through my body, making me unable to sit still for more than a second at a time. Unending and I had left Joy unconscious and under a death magic sleeping spell that was bound to wear off at some point. Anunit had pushed us into a conflict with the extremely volatile guardian Reaper, and while we’d yet to understand why she’d chosen to show up in the first place, we knew she was waiting beyond the shield. We had to deliver what we’d promised.
In order to do that, however, we needed Loren or Sissa to take us to the Mixer. It was inside the village somewhere. “I feel so guilty right now,” I muttered as we cautiously headed back to the riverbank. The campfire was roaring, and the soul fae were still gathered in their familial clusters, laughing and eating and drinking. Loren threw his head back at something his daughter had just said, and his face lit up when he saw us.
“Tristan, Unending!” he exclaimed. “Welcome back!”
“We’ll be okay,” my wife replied before she gave Loren the broadest smile she could muster. “You seem to be having a good time. Forgive us for stepping away. We just had some private matters to discuss.”
Loren waved