the back of my head.
The Hermessi had been strong enough to push the spell bubble off its trajectory, nearly keeping it grounded. It had taken great effort from Nethissis and Acantha to get it up and off Calliope—enough to make their bodies suffer. The damage to their biological systems would pass, but I hadn’t seen exertion like this in millennia. It wasn’t natural. But it was also eye-opening, as connections began to form in my head.
Maybe this was why the Word had intervened earlier. The Hermessi’s powers had grown to the point where they could tamper with swamp witch magic—previously indestructible spells were now at risk… This wasn’t natural. And it certainly wasn’t okay. There was supposed to be balance in nature, and the Hermessi had blown that up in the pursuit of completing their ritual.
“Vampire blood didn’t help, either,” Eva told us. “I gave Acantha and Nethissis a significant amount, yet they were still weak, their recovery a little too slow for what we needed inside that spell bubble.”
I nodded slowly, giving both swamp witches a loving smile. They were like my daughters, as apprentices, and I couldn’t bear the thought of losing them. Acantha seemed to notice my concern. “We’re okay, Lumi. We’re just worn out. That’s all. At least we made it down here without splattering all over the place.”
“Yeah, I’m perfectly okay with not turning to mush,” Fallon added.
“You’d have broken some bones, but you would’ve recovered, especially from that altitude,” Amelia replied.
“It was still scary. I doubt any of us want to be incapacitated at this point in time,” Fallon said with a cool smirk.
“The Hermessi’s power is becoming dangerous even to the swamp witches,” I said, reducing the entire team to a most saddening silence. It was finally sinking in, this truth I’d been processing for the past couple of minutes. “The closer they get to the five million fae they need for their ritual, the stronger they are. I fear that their retaliation will only get more violent, going forward.”
“And the Reapers here aren’t helping, either.” Taeral sighed. He brought Varga and the others up to speed on everything that had happened since we’d reached this world, including his own experiences with the scythe and Baethal. Amelia took a moment to notify Phoenix that we were back together again, after which she put the pink water issue to rest, once and for all.
“Until now, we only had theories as to how the primordial fluids work. We understood that the pink waters reacted to us, and in several instances responded to our needs. However, we had zero certainty that we could simply think about our desired destination, and then poof! We’re there. However, looking back now, it does make sense. Thinking of Hellym, without even realizing it, got us to Hellym. Thinking of Death… well, it brought us here. So, now, we know for a fact that the pink waters are timeless wormholes whose destinations we can actually control.”
Nethissis smirked. “You could’ve taken it all at face value and tried your luck either way. In hindsight, it’s better that you didn’t. At least we’re all together now, and in the right place.”
We were still at a stage where we had more questions than answers. However, our resolve remained indubitable, unshakeable. In fact, we were more determined than ever to see this to the very end, while I kept most of my Word-related concerns to myself. There was no point in troubling them with this—not until I figured out a few things, first.
“So, she lives up there?” Riza asked, nodding at the waterfall building.
From where we stood, even with the trees surrounding us, we could still see it rising in the distance between branches and gaps in the foliage. “That’s the general consensus,” Taeral replied.
Varga came up to me, wearing a sheepish smile. “Lumi, I have a favor to ask,” he said. “You’re the most powerful here, in terms of energy. Can I syphon some off you? My legs are jelly, and I think we need all the strength we can get for what comes next.”
“Of course, young prince. Take as much as you need,” I replied.
Invisible tendrils penetrated my head. I could feel them reaching deep inside my mind, suckling raw energy. Fortunately for him, I was full of it. I motioned at the others in Varga’s team. “The rest of you need to have at least one of the healing potions you brought with you. I assume Acantha and Nethissis prepared some of