burst into tears. Sofia held the boy close, but he was impossible to console.
“My own mother…”
“I’m sorry,” Derek said to him. “I’m deeply sorry you were dragged into this.”
“She wants to kill me…”
“We’re not going to let her get anywhere near you,” Sofia replied, holding back tears of her own. “You’re safe with us, Thayen.”
“But… I don’t understand. Mothers are supposed to love their children unconditionally,” Thayen said, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Not all mothers are meant to be… mothers.” I sighed. “Case in point, Petra Visentis. She’s looking to do the same to one of her sons. It’s unconscionable… and frankly, I’m shocked. I thought she’d gladly die for her children.”
“She talked a good game,” Nethissis interjected. “But to Petra, it was always about the mission. About the Darklings. And given how things went between you two, Esme, I think we all know which son she’s coming for.”
This wasn’t the first time I’d experienced this kind of crippling fear. Falling in love with Kalon had made everything harder, more painful, though I didn’t regret any of it. But knowing that Petra was now looking to kill Kalon… I couldn’t stomach the thought.
“Neither Petra nor Danika will get what they want,” I said firmly. “I can promise you that.”
“Mother wants to kill Kalon?” Moore’s voice silenced the group, and I whirled around to find him standing a couple of feet behind me, accompanied by an equally stunned Tudyk and Ansel. Trev’s gaze was dark and full of hatred at the mention of Petra’s name due to her connection to Luna’s death. Now the woman he loathed most was coming for his best friend, too.
“Oh, Moore,” I uttered quietly, not sure how to explain any of this.
“Yes.” Trev intervened, squeezing the boy’s shoulder. “And you and your brothers need to really examine your loyalties. I understand that you love your mother despite all the wrongs she’s committed against you, but this time she’s going to kill your brother. Will you stand by and let that happen?”
“No!” Ansel shouted. “Never!”
Tudyk shook his head. “Absolutely not. Valaine is our only hope, and we understand that. I will do whatever it takes to protect Kalon, just like he did to protect us.”
“Moore?” Trevor asked, but the boy didn’t reply. He just stared at his boots, tears falling and seeping into the dried dirt. It was a horrible question to ask a kid, but we had no choice. He was still a fighter, and we couldn’t afford any risks. We’d come too far to lose it all.
“I’ll deal with him,” Ansel muttered, leading his brothers away. “We’ll be at the shelter. There are rocks that need our attention.”
“Go ahead,” Trev said. “I’ll catch up in a bit.”
We gave the boys a minute to get out of earshot before resuming our conversation. Derek was brought up to speed with everything that had happened in his absence. Soul introduced him to Dream and Nightmare. Moments later, Time joined us with assurances that both interdimensional pockets were functioning perfectly, and that Kalon remained safe for now. Tristan and Valaine were working hard and digging through memories with Phantom and Morning by their side.
Mira was visibly disgusted. “I can’t believe the Darklings have gotten to this point. Killing their own children to bring back an absolute monster...”
“They will do whatever it takes to bring back the Spirit Bender. If anyone can destroy everything we’ve worked for, if anyone can tackle the Unending and push her back, it’s him,” Time said. “And he’s got one hell of an edge with his death magic knowledge.”
“Then we must do whatever we can to stop Danika from reuniting the twelve shards,” Derek said, earning nods from the entire gathering.
“Well, we know she’s not touching Thayen.” Rose gave the boy a reassuring smile. “Kalon is under our protection, too, and—”
“And I’m certainly not going to let Petra touch him,” I cut in, crossing my arms. Blood boiled in my veins as I thought of the high priestess and the many ways in which I could kill her. My hatred of her made me quite... creative.
“So that’s one shard they’re not going to get to,” Derek said. “What of the rest? We must stop this now. Lumi killed Drezel because she had no choice, and we couldn’t stay even a second longer to get his body away from Danika, I’m afraid. That means she has three pieces. What should we do about the other Whips?”
Kalla let out an audible sigh, drawing our attention. “Based on the Darklings’ movements