“Tomorrow.” A countdown clock ticked in the back of her mind. Halo wasn’t wrong. Ophelia really didn’t want him coming to get her.
Stomach churning, she shut herself in the bathroom, hurried through a shower and dressed in the tank top and jeans she’d blindly yanked from her closet.
Despite her trepidation, she crackled with energy. The newest infusion of strength packed a wonderful punch...but she kind of wanted to curl into a ball and sob.
Halo had broken up with her.
Well. No matter. She blinked rapidly to soothe her burning eyes. This was no time for a pity party. Only thirty-two minutes remained on the clock. Just enough time to walk to the palace while pondering her newest round of life-altering mistakes and ways to maybe, possibly, fix them. Could she?
She sniffled as she exited the bathroom. Vivi had already taken off. Ophelia entered the hallway—Whoa! Her gaze darted. What kind of wild sorcery was this?
While everything appeared normal—claw marks on the stone walls, a bra hanging from an overhead light, a sign on the nearest door blinking Targets Only Entrance—the hallway was empty. Silent. Never, in all her days, had she come upon an abandoned anything in this building.
Foreboding crept up her spine. Had Halo ordered everyone away?
She licked suddenly dry lips. As she made her way outside, through the garden and toward the palace, her bones felt somehow lighter and heavier at the same time, as if they were made of metal, but concrete muscles supported the added weight without problem. But, um, where was everyone?
Soft gold and lavender sunlight bathed lush green foliage, as usual, but again, no harpies. Her confusion only magnified. She didn’t like this. How could Halo get rid of so many so quickly?
What did he plan to say to her? To do?
He had questions, no doubt. But would he believe anything she said? Though her newest transformation had amplified her instinct to kill him, making it more difficult to control the other beasts, she had kept everyone in check. She even managed to slow the speed of her attacks. Her plan was working. Surely he could be made to see—to accept—that.
But probably not.
The urge to sob increased. Until roars erupted in the back of her mind, distracting her. The lioness, hydra, and boar rattled their cages. Alerting her to a problem? This place smelled different. Wrong. But also, somehow, right.
Her ears twitched, catching a soft whistle of wind. An unusual arctic breeze swept in, chilling her in seconds, her cotton and denim no match. Not without a certain Astra by her side, anyway.
How should she proceed with him? The guy had recognized her in that beastly form, then worked to kill her as gently as possible. A miraculous feat. Now, he was upset with her, his trust in her beaten black and blue. And rightly so. Ophelia had done to him what Nissa had done to her.
Ouch. That one hurt.
If this whole situation had been an audition for the position of Astra partner, Ophelia had failed miserably. So Halo might have done his best to stop her from morphing into other beasts if he’d known the truth? So what? A good harpy found a way to overcome, no matter the situation or adversary.
How had she ever forgotten that?
Her shoulders drooped. Why did she always blow up her life? How could she make things right? And seriously, where had everyone gone? What was the deal with—wait! What was that noise?
Quickening her pace, she broke past a line of trees, coming upon the marble fountain depicting Nissa in battle—and countless harphantoms.
They stretched out before the fountain, training with swords, spears, and an assortment of other weapons. As they moved, they blinked in and out of focus, slipping between the natural and spirit realms with seamless precision.
She’d never been this close to a harphantom without having her Astrian shield, and she only knew the basics about their origins. Harpies transformed into phantoms by Erebus and his twin brother. Entombed underground in untold agony for thousands of years. Freed by Taliyah.
Taliyah’s second, Dove, stood on the palace steps, dressed for war. With her white hair plaited and her alabaster skin bathed in sunlight, she appeared colder than ice. “Your enemy shows no mercy. Do you?”
Shouts of “No!” blended, becoming a song of malice.
The harphantoms preferred to train in the duplicate realm. But how—nope, no need to ponder that one. Ophelia huffed a breath. Halo. Of course. He must have created an invisible doorway. One of his specialties.
Well, well, well. A point to the Astra. In essence, he’d trapped her here, attempting to bench her from the task, as expected, perhaps putting her out of Erebus’s reach. Not a bad move. Far more merciful than, say, imprisoning her in trinite—which might be more effective. Now, at least, she knew her new mission: Win back Halo’s trust and get her strength the right way. In front of his face, not behind his back. No more working against him.