Over the next three days, their little crew fell into a rhythm of sorts. Things had settled down in the world. There’d been no more natural disasters, and a mountain in Gyeongnam seemed to have quieted. Apollo was still being MIA and the cabin had become a God-Free zone.

A good thing, but Seolhyun figured one would just pop in, most likely in Jisoo’s bed or something, where they’d least expect them. But even though there’d been no godly interference, it was like watching the countdown clock on a time bomb. They all were just waiting.

Each day had been filled with training, training, and more training. Parts were worse than any days at the Ephensy, because everyone stopped and watched when it came time for Seolhyun to break out the Ether.

Heechul and Jennie had lined up several large rocks they’d found scattered about, and Seolhyun’s job was to make tiny, itty, bitty pebbles out of them. And that worked. Say, like a few feet away. But the further away she got, the worse her aim became.

Sweating under Hyejeong’s loose shirt, she grunted as she pulled from where Ether rested just below her ribcage. The power of the Gods mark tingled as the fifth element crackled across her knuckles.

Under the canopy of trees, Hyejeong and Lisa stopped their sparring to watch.

Focusing on the element, Seolhyun felt her senses sharpen. Using Ether was like being connected directly with the earth. She could feel the vibrations of the grass and soil under her feet, as well as the dozens of scents carried on the low whisper of the wind.

Ether crackled over her right arm as she threw her hand out. A bolt of lightning erupted from her palm, shooting across the ten feet and smacking into the right edge of the huge rock. With a loud crack, the thing splintered.

Jennie darted out of the way, doubled over and about to kiss the ground.

“Whoops.” Seolhyun winced. “Sorry?”

Rubbing her back, she waved it off and limped toward where Lisa was trying to hide her laughter. “Shut up,” she grumbled.

“You should’ve known better than to be that close,” Yuna replied calmly.

Seolhyun sighed and turned to Jennie. “I have terrible aim.”

Jennie nodded. “It’s slightly off.”

Peeking at Hyejeong, Seolhyun found that her attention was now on the sparring Rose and Lisa. The two Myxs were excellent fighters and equally matched, and Hyejeong was in full Instructor mode, calling out commands in her deep, coaching voice.

Seolhyun found herself missing that one-on-one attention.

Heck, she was missing a lot of attention.

One thing had been certain over the last three days, something was definitely up with Hyejeong. It wasn’t that she avoided her. Every night she joined her in bed, pulled her close, and held her. Nothing progressed further than that, even though she could sense she wanted more.

Seolhyun bit her lip as she turned to the last rock, shaking out her shoulders. Jisoo had gotten up and was standing next to her sister, watching the two sparring. As she lifted her head, a sincere smile spread across her lips and those gray eyes glittered. Hyejeong laughed at whatever Jisoo had said.

Fear made Seolhyun’s skin tight as it replaced the panic. She rubbed at her temple, forcing her breath to draw in and out evenly. No one was going to die. There would be no more deaths. There couldn’t be. Everyone had suffered enough already.

But there was Fate. There was no such thing as paying dues when it came to Fate.

“Seolhyun?” Yuna’s soft voice drew her out of her troublesome thoughts.

She nodded and focused on the last rock. Calling upon Ether, she let it go. The bolt of blue lightning was incredibly intense, shattering in its power. Silence and then another loud crack followed. This time it hit the rock in the middle and the thing didn’t explode, but was reduced to a pile of dust.

Jennie let out a low whistle as she stared at the dust and the scorched soil below. “Remind me to never piss you off.”

Seolhyun cracked a smile as she backed off, letting the buzz of Ether settle back down. Bending at the waist, she snatched up her water. Over the rim, she watched Lisa deliver a spin kick that knocked Rose back several feet.

Hyejeong clapped. “Perfect, Lisa.” And then to Rose, “You hesitated. If you hadn’t, you would’ve blocked that kick.”

Nodding, Rose stood up and dusted herself off. She quickly fell back into stance and went at it again.

Seolhyun tossed the bottle back down and turned to Jennie. Out of rocks to destroy, she was handed off to Heechul to work on elements.

Off a little from the main group, Heechul raised his hands. A gust of wind picked up. Branches rattled, and fresh, tiny leaves swirled in the air as the wind barreled toward Seolhyun.

Seolhyun raised her hands, and unlike before she’d Awakened, she met the air element with her own. Amazing how the air element had been her greatest enemy before, but now was only a mild annoyance.

Jisoo and Yuna even got involved in the later part of the day. Yuna worked with the air element and Jisoo set about creating small fires and controlling them. Seolhyun couldn’t picture her fighting, but at this point, everyone had become a warrior.

Hyejeong watched her sister with narrowed eyes and a tight jaw. Finally, she left the two girls and stalked over to where Jisoo had several piles of twigs burning.

“What are you doing?” Hyejeong demanded.

Jisoo looked up. “I’m becoming a fire bug.”

The humor was lost on Hyejeong. “I know what you’re thinking.”

“Well, if that’s the case, then that’s embarrassing.”

Hyejeong’s back went rigid. “Unless you’re practicing starting campfires, you’re wasting your time.”

“But–”

“You don’t need to do this.” Hyejeong waved her hand over the piles of burning twigs and the flames fizzled out. “I don’t want you involved in any of this.”

Jisoo drew herself up to her full height, which meant she only came to Hyejeong’s shoulders. “You can’t stop me, sis.”

Ah, wrong thing to say.

“You want to bet on that?” Hyejeong growled, her head dropping so that she was eye level with her sister.

Undaunted, Jisoo held her ground but dropped her voice. “Do you expect me to sit back and play card games while everyone else is doing something important?”

“Yes, I do, actually.”

Jisoo laughed humorlessly. “I can help.”

“You’re not trained.” Hyejeong’s hands formed into fists at her sides. “And before you say it, you’re not everyone else.”

“I know I’m not trained, but I’m not freaking useless, Hyejeong. I can help.” They were in an epic stare-down Seolhyun hadn’t seen before, especially not from the easy-going Jisoo. “And asking me to sit back and watch everyone else prepare to risk their lives while I do nothing isn’t fair.”

Hyejeong opened , but Jisoo rushed on.

“I know your over-controlling behavior comes from our dad, but you can’t protect me forever and you can’t continue babying me. It’s a waste of time, because even if you forbid me to get involved, it won’t matter. You can’t stop me.” Jisoo took a deep breath. “I need to help.”

Something in what Jisoo said caused Hyejeong to string together a grenade whose pin had just been pulled. She took a step back, placing hands on her hips. Seolhyun almost expected her to drag Jisoo into the cabin and lock her in there, but instead, she jerked her head in a curt nod. “Okay. If this is what you… need, then okay.”

Seolhyun was stunned into silence. So was Jisoo. Without another word, Hyejeong returned to where Rose and Lisa waited.

Jisoo’s eyes met Seolhyun’s and she shrugged.

They practiced at that for the rest of the day and even went as far as to use the air element against the rest of the Myxs, forcing them to break the hold. Air users were the most common, which meant over half of the Demons used air. It was one of the reasons so many Myxs died in battle against them.

So they had to deal with it.

Meanwhile, Fire and Earth were rare among Genuines. Hyejeong and Jisoo were the only two Seolhyun knew who wielded fire, and she hadn’t met a Genuine who controlled Earth. The Water element came in handy if the user was near water or in the rain.

Seolhyun was squared off against Rose. Not that long ago, she would’ve experienced a twisted sort of satisfaction at taking her down, but things… things were so different now.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Rose nodded.

Slowly, reluctantly, Seolhyun raised her hands and drew the air around her. A vicious stream of wind formed just behind her fingers, and then slid through them. Like with Ether, her aim wasn’t great, but it struck Rose below the chest, knocking her right on her back. She fought to just sit up, and Seolhyun wanted her to, because from there, it was easier to break the hold, but the element pinned her shoulders down to the grass.

“Rose, come on. Use your core muscles,” Hyejeong said. “Push through it.”

Seolhyun hated this, hated this so much.

Another scream as Rose slammed her hands down into the short blades of grass. Her fingers dug in, tearing through dirt. Clumps came up as she pushed up into a sitting position. Seolhyun started to smile, but Rose powered up quickly and rushed her.

She cut through the element, arms wrapping around Seolhyun’s waist as she smashed into her. They went down, a tangle of arms and legs. The back of Seolhyun’s head smacked off the ground. Starbursts exploded behind her eyelids. Air rushed from her lungs in a painful grasp.

The sound of applause was thundering, and Jisoo yelled, “Girl fight!”

And then there was silence. No one moved. Seolhyun liked to think everyone was preparing for a massive Elpis -smack from her.

“Damn,” she grunted, blinking several times.

Using her arms, Rose lifted up and grinned at her. “Well, that was fun.”

***

Later that night, Seolhyun was on the hunt and Hyejeong was her prey. After training, she’d disappeared. After dinner, she’d disappeared again, and hours had gone by since then. It was a few minutes past midnight, and Seolhyun knew she wasn’t on patrols, Angel Jennie was.

Prowling through the lower floor, Seolhyun hoped to burn off most of the nervous energy. There was another long night ahead, made worse by where her thoughts were.

“You look pissy.” Rose’s voice rattled Seolhyun out of her thoughts.

She stood outside a small room that held only a couch and a desk. Bookcases lined the wall, but most of the shelves were empty. The only light came from the little lamp peeking over the back of the couch.

“I’m not pissy.” Seolhyun was confused, frustrated and paranoid, tired and… okay, she was a tiny bit pissy.

Rose tucked a stray strand of hair back. A moment of silence passed and then, “I know what you did.”

Seolhyun stared at her blankly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Rose made a show of slowly closing her book with air element and putting it aside.

Biting back a groan, Seolhyun walked into the room and leaned against the desk. “What?” She demanded, folding her arms.

Her former arch-nemesis stared back at her unflinchingly. In some ways, they were a lot alike, constantly at one another’s throats.

But it was more than that.

In a flash of disturbing insight, Seolhyun knew why they’d become sandbox enemies so very long ago. When she was younger, before her Mom had yanked her out of the Ephensy, before Rose and she hated each other, they used to be decent. That was, until one day, Seolhyun had said something terrible to her.

Even at the age of nine, Rose had loved her Genuine stepmother and Jasmine, to the point that the rest of the Myxs thought something was wrong with her. Most of the Genuines ignored their Myx children, especially the ones who hadn’t birthed the Myxs. Stepparents in their world were truly step-monsters. But in Rose’s world, her Genuine stepmother must’ve loved her dearly. Every Monday, after spending the weekend with her stepmother, she would talk about all the wonderful things they’d done together; shopping, watching movies, and getting ice cream.

None of the Myxs had that with their step-monsters. Jonghyun used to lock Seolhyun in her bedroom when her Mom wasn’t home.

So naturally, they’d been jealous.

They’d chalked her constantly about her love of her stepmother. Destroyed the dress she had bought for Rose by spilling blackberry juice on it. Hid the tiny photo album Rose carried with her all the time… It had been pink stripes, full of these pictures of her and Jasmine, her Genuine half-sister. Full of love.

Once Seolhyun had found a card Rose’s stepmother had written to her, tucked away in one of her textbooks. She had ripped it to shreds in front of her, laughing as she cried.

Then one day, while they were all running laps, Rose had stopped to stare at a visiting Genuine Council member. Her face had taken on this glow that none of them understood. It looked like respect and wonder. But that couldn’t be right. Because, as Myxs, they didn’t stare at Genuines in open admiration.

After class, Seolhyun had found her sitting in the courtyard with her friends. Followed by Chanmi and a few others, she’d stormed their circle and stood in the middle. And she’d said the biggest, meanest thing she could ever say to another Myx.

“You have more Genuine blood in you than Myx.”

Rose pretty much hated her after that, and honestly, Seolhyun didn’t know how she had forgotten that. Then again, she probably chose to forget what’d started their sandbox hate. She always voiced Rose’s hatred toward her as a product of her general iness, when in reality she herself had been nothing more than a bully.

It seemed too late to apologize now, and knowing Rose, it wouldn’t change anything, not that Seolhyun expected it would.

Rose watched her now, head tilted to the side as if she knew where Seolhyun’s thoughts had gone. She smiled tightly. “You let up on the air element while we were fighting.”

Seolhyun’s mouth dropped opened, but she rushed on.

“I wouldn’t have broken your hold if you hadn’t let up. I felt it lessen– the pressure, and I didn’t realize right away that you did it, but I figured it out,” she said, as if she wanted to prove that she’d been smart enough to see through it. “What I don’t get is why you did it. You could’ve pushed me straight through the ground. Gods know you never had a problem coming after me before. What’s so different now?”

Unfolding her arms, Seolhyun gripped the edge of the desk. She had no idea what to say. Rose was right. She had let up on the air element, and that wasn’t the only thing she called her out on. A few months ago, if she’d had control over the element then, she would’ve tossed her around the forest for the fun of it, maybe even thrown another apple at her face. Anything was possible.

Seolhyun tugged on her hair, pulling the thick locks over one shoulder. Rose waited for her explanation, and Seolhyun felt her cheeks redden.

Still waiting, her eyes narrowed.

Blowing out a low breath, Seolhyun rolled her eyes and tossed her hair back over her shoulder. “Okay. You got me. I did let up, and I did it because I remember how much it to be held down like that and be helpless. I hated it when Jimin did it to me.”

“She… she did that to you?”

“In training,” Seolhyun said, dismissing where her mind was obviously going with that. “Anyway, I just couldn’t do that to someone else, even if that person is my enemy from childhood.”

Rose watched her a moment, then cracked a smile. “And that’s coming from Seolhyun, Ephensy dropout extraordinaire and psycho Elpis.”

Seolhyun’s lips twitched. “Ouch.”

Turning her head, Rose hid her grin but quickly sobered as she faced her. “You’ve changed so much, Seolhyun.”

Part of Seolhyun wanted to deny it, but it was true. As she stared back at the girl, she realized they’d both irrevocably changed. There was no going back to the girls they’d been over the past summer.

Rose sighed and her nose wrinkled. “So… this is awkward.”

Seolhyun laughed. “Yeah, it is. I feel like I need to insult you some more.”

She leaned back in an arrogant sprawl as she raised her hands. “Do your best.”

“It’s too easy,” Seolhyun said, letting go of the desk, feeling the blood rush back into her fingertips. “I’ll just wait for you to do something to tick me off. I’m sure it won’t take long.”

“Probably not,” she replied. “I’m surprised you’re not all up Lisa’s .”

Seolhyun’s arched a brow. “Trying to tick me off so soon? I’m surprised.”

Rose shrugged and then there was a pause. “Lisa told me that you saw Chanmi twice. Was that… was that true?”

She nodded. “I saw her when I went to the Underworld, and she visited me right before I escaped.”

Thick lashes swept down. “Was she okay?”

And then it hit Seolhyun. It wasn’t concern for Chanmi or anything, but the reason she was asking had to do with Jasmine. “Yeah, she was more than okay, happier than she was before she passed.” A lump formed in and she focused on the empty bookshelves. “She said my mom was there, too, so I’m sure your parents and Jasmine are there… and they’re okay.”

Rose drew in a choked breath, and like Seolhyun, she suddenly became focused on the edges of the couch arm. All Myxs had been trained to show no pain, and Gods forbid they cried. The whole show-no-weakness mantra was hard to leave behind.

Seolhyun dropped down on the cushion beside Rose and picked up the book she’d been reading. Turning the book over, her brows flew up as she got an eyeful of the hotties on the cover. “Wait, is this book about aliens?”

Rose snatched it back from her. “Yes.”

“Really?”

“But the girl on the right is a Hybrid.” Then she tapped on the other girl’s face with one thin finger. “And she can be my neighbor alien any day.”

Seolhyun laughed outright, and it did feel a little odd to be laughing with Rose of all people, but she smiled a little.

Then a sudden sharp slice of pain shot from behind her eyes and across her temples. Wincing, she stood and took a deep breath. “Do we have any Tylenol around?” Another shot of pain, like fire streaking through her brain. “Or, I don’t know, something?”

“I’m sure there’s something– hey, hey– are you okay?” Rose’s voice suddenly sounded so, so far away, but her hand was on Seolhyun’s arm.

“Yeah, I’m… okay.” Seolhyun took a step and felt a tremble in her legs. Muscles twitched, gave way.

An explosion flashed white in the dimly lit room, blinding her temporarily. She thought she screamed a warning. She thought she turned to move in front of Rose, but when the intense white light receded, she wasn’t in the little room anymore.

The circular chamber was made of sandstone and lined with marble pillars. Strange glyphs covered the walls, runes that matched the ones gliding over her skin. There was nothing in the room… no couch or bookshelves or Rose, but she wasn’t alone.

“What the hell?” Seolhyun demanded.

Standing before her was a God, one who looked like he wasn’t much older than her. The winged cap he wore hid most of his hair, but light brown wisps poked out from underneath. He wore a white chlamys cloak.

The God gave a little smile. “Don’t kill the messenger.”

And then he blinked out.

“What the fu–”

Then she saw her. She