Seconds passed. Nothing happened. He waited, unable to breathe.
Still nothing happened.
More seconds passed.
“Nothing is happening,” he roared. “Why is nothing happening? Make her live—”
“Dude. Chill,” Taliyah injected. “Look.”
He looked and shouted with relief. The organ sprouted arteries, and those arteries grew, attaching to the dead ones. Light burst through her cells and spread. It was working!
Color returned to her cheeks. The wound in her chest was closing.
Taliyah wiped her hands for a job well done. “By the way, Rue the Day. It goes without saying that I’ll make a new coin purse from your testicles if you harm my sister again.”
“There will be no need. If I harm her again, I’ll give you my testicles as a gift.”
Blythe sucked in a breath and opened her eyes. “Ow!” She blinked, attempting to focus. “Wait. My plan worked?”
He yanked her upright and clutched her against him, hugging her with every ounce of his considerable strength. “I love you. I love you so much, and if you ever ask me to kill you again, I will put you over my knees and spank you!”
She hugged him back with all her might. “Sorry I couldn’t tell you what I’d done. I was afraid the task might skew in Erebus’s favor if you knew the truth.”
“Tell me you are all right,” he demanded, cupping her cheeks and searching her gaze.
“Are you kidding? I’m better than all right. We’re legends now.” She shifted her attention to Taliyah, who lingered, unabashed. “Admit it. You’re jealous, sis.”
The General sniffed. “Only the tiniest bit. Hardly at all, really. Oh, and Papaw Chaos says the task is complete, with Roux the winner.”
The remaining Astra flashed to the field, gaping as they formed a circle around Roux and Blythe.
“I honestly didn’t think he would do it,” Silver said.
“Is Roux my new hero?” Ian asked, scratching his temple. “Did that just happen?”
Throwing back her head, Blythe laughed, and Roux had never felt so alive. But now he needed to be alone with hisgravita. To inspect every square inch of her to make sure she was truly well and whole.
He flashed her to their bedroom, tossed her to the mattress, stripped her, and looked her over. She didn’t stay still for long. No, she jolted upright to wrap her arms around him. Then she fell back to the mattress, bringing him with her.
“Your turn to make a grand gesture to me,” she purred at him.
“I will, oh, I will,” he vowed.
And he did.
EPILOGUE
“All right,” Blythe said, taking Isla’s hand. “You ready, sweetheart?”
The little girl nodded. “Ready.”
Mother and child stood before Roux, who appeared a bit nervous.
“Do it,” he agreed with a nod.
“On the count of three. One. Two—” Blythe urged Isla forward and together, they ghosted inside Roux. This time, they weren’t trying to hide their presence, and he wasn’t resisting. Even better, there were no screams. He’d told her the prisoners had begun to weaken, as if he were draining them of strength, using them as fuel for thealevala. All but one.
They entered a dark void reminiscent of a midnight sky beyond Ation. Roux waited for them there.