I spun, searching for more doors. Down the way, Quinn ripped a door off its hinges, and Mac poured a potion onto a lock to break it.

“We’ve nearly got them all,” she shouted. “Cordelia already released most.”

The little raccoon had vanished recently, which meant that Carrow was in trouble. It was the only reason she’d have left the job of freeing the prisoners.

The rest of the group appeared to have things under control, and I could no longer fight my desperate desire to find Carrow.

I raced from the hall, heart pounding. The main passage outside of the dungeons was full of red cloaks. Half of them poured blood from grievous wounds. They shouldn’t be able to stay upright, but their abilities defied the laws of nature.

I reached for one and tore his head off, viciousness surging through me. Blood spurted, coating my arm and shoulder, but I didn’t care. I tossed the two pieces away like the refuse they were and went for another. I had no idea if they could rise again without their heads, but it was worth a shot.

I moved quickly, embracing my vampire speed as I searched for Carrow. All around, battle raged. The witches shot colorful bursts of magic—green banshee blasts, blue stunner spells, pink pain shockers.

Overhead, the ceiling was partially transparent like the rest of the temple. Lightning struck from the sky; Eve sending blasts down at the cult members as they attacked.

There was so much chaos and bloodshed that it felt like Anat had achieved her will, after all.

No.

We would stop this. We had to.

Finished with the red cloaks, I sprinted away, drawn by Carrow. I could almost feel her, that pull that was so uniquely her. Though our bond was still broken, the memories that had returned strengthened our connection.

Finally, I sprinted into an enormous room with a tall statue on one side. At its base, a golden-haired woman pressed her hand to the statue.

“Carrow!” I shouted her name just as she disappeared.

Gone.

Carrow

The ether spun me through space and spat me out in an eerily empty field. Smoke crawled along the ground, and a diffuse light emanated from the sky. It was dusk here, the dim light creepy as it illuminated several skeletal trees.

A shiver raced down my spine as I spun.

“Hello?” Where the hell was I?

Behind me, I spotted a woman. She was about fifty yards away, walking closer with a graceful, powerful stride. Her form flickered, alternately covered in blood, or dressed in pure white robes. The robed version of her was beautiful—shockingly so.

The bloody version of her . . .

That was terrifying. Her long dark hair was replaced by a matted, crimson mess, and her body—entirely naked—was coated in slick, red blood.

Smoke rolled along the ground in front of her, bringing with it the sound of war and an adrenaline rush that made me shake. Terror shot through me, followed by calm. The feelings alternated, so fast that it made my stomach turn. I nearly fell to my knees and vomited.

It felt just like the visions I’d had, only stronger.

I forced myself to stay upright.

As she approached, I realized that she spent more time in her gruesome form, the beautiful white-robed woman rarely appearing.

Shit. That couldn’t be good.

She was only ten feet away, so close that her power felt like it could crush me from all around. I bowed, instinct driving me. “Goddess Anat.”

She inspected me for a long moment, her form temporarily beautiful and clean, white robe gleaming. “Finally, you’ve come to end this farce.”

Thunder echoed in her voice, making my bones shake. “Farce?”

“The people who have taken my will and twisted it”

Thank fates, maybe she would be reasonable. “I’m here to stop them.”

“Good.” Her form flickered red, and she lunged for me, claws outstretched.

I darted back, fear shooting through me. Her claws swiped across my chest, and pain flared. Blood poured down my shirt, and I gasped. Anat hissed, fangs protruding as she reached for me again. Terror drove me, and I stumbled back, out of her grip.

Her form flickered again, and the beautiful goddess reappeared, the blood gone. She looked at me with vague irritation. “You need to be faster. With the cult in residence in my temple, my dark side is more powerful than it should be. That is why I called to you. Only you can stop this.”

“You were the voice in my head?”

“Both voices—my dark side and my light. The dark side wanted you for the same reason the cult does. If they force you to complete the ritual, I will rise again—death and destruction made form, and the entire earth will fall. The light side of me—the person I am this moment—knows that only you can stop this.”

“Why me?”

“Fate. Your power is growing, but even I don’t know what you really are. But you were the one that I could reach, and you are brave and strong enough to stop this.”

“How do I stop them?”

“They’ve cast a spell and are siphoning my magic from this temple to fuel their miserable lives. They do not die, even once they are grievously injured.”

“I’ve seen that.”

“You must break the spell they have cast on my statue, which is a conduit for my power. They’ve desecrated my crown, which represents both sides of me. The left side is peace, the right side is war.”

“They tore off the left side of the crown. I saw it.”

“Yes. Find that piece of the crown and return it. You must also destroy the spell they have etched into the ground at my temple. Tear up the floor if you must. When their spell is destroyed, they will fall without my magic to sustain them.”

“Destroy your temple?”

“I can repair it.”

“Then I can stop the red cloaks.”

“Go.” She flicked her hand, and the ether pulled me in. The last thing I saw was Anat, her form turning red once again. Then I was spinning through space.

A moment later, it spat me out in the large temple room. The sounds of battle raged, and I spun around.

Grey stood right in front of me, face white and eyes dark with worry.

“Carrow.” He pulled me to him, hugging me hard.

My heart swelled, threatening to beat its way out of my chest. Thank God he was there. Thank God he was whole. So much emotion filled me that I thought I would burst. This depth of feeling would be a problem for later. For now, I didn’t fight it. I hugged him tight, then pulled back.

“Where did you go?” he demanded.

Blasts of magic exploded behind him, colorful and terrifying. I’d never seen so much all at once. It was like standing in the middle of a war zone.

“I saw Anat. We can stop them by repairing the crown on her statue and destroying the dark red lines on the floor.”

His gaze flicked to the statue, understanding dawning. Then he looked at the floor, where a dark red line was painted into the ground. Magic radiated from it, sparking against my calf.

“Destroy the lines?” he asked.

“Tear up the floor if you have to, but we need to break the spell that is feeding her power into the cult members. It’s what keeps them alive even after their throats have been slit.”

He nodded. “I’ll deal with the lines. The witches can help.”

I nodded. “Be careful.”

He gave me one long look, his eyes sparking with something I couldn't quite identify, then sprinted away.

I pressed my hand to my comms charm. “Eve? We need to find a broken bit of stone that was once part of Anat’s crown.”

“On it.”

I looked up, spotting her darting low to look at the crown then off across the sky.

All around, the battle raged. I slipped away, leaving the witches and my friends to keep the cult occupied. My lungs burned as I sprinted through the temple, searching for a broken bit of stone. It was a distinct shape, but how the hell were we going to find the things in a city this big?

Ten minutes later, when panic was starting to rise, Eve’s voice echoed out of my comms charm. “I think I’ve found something. Meet me at the statue.”

I spun around and raced back to the main room. The halls were full of fighters, witches against red cloaks. The witches were tearing up the ground, using their magic to gouge the stone and destroy the red line. I prayed that we were only destroying the magical shadow of the temple and not the ancient floor itself.

The red cloaks tried to stop the witches, and the fighting was fierce. I dodged blasts of magic that exploded all around, ducking under the flying fists of red cloaks who sought to block my way.

As I sprinted back into the main temple room, I spotted the torn-up floor around the red line. Grey had done his part. Now Eve and I had to do ours.

“Up here,” Eve shouted from above.

I looked up, spotting her. She darted down into the room, forcing her way through the semi-transparent roof. A huge piece of stone was clutched in her hands.

“That’s it!” I grabbed it from her, inspecting the shape.

One of the red cloaks roared, then another. They’d spotted me holding the piece of Anat’s statue, and rage echoed in their voices. They sprinted for me. Eve turned toward them, shooting lighting from her palms.

“Go,” she shouted. “I’ll cover you!”

I tucked the broken piece of stone under my arm like an American football and ran toward the statue. It soared thirty feet overhead. How the hell was I going to climb it with this thing in my arms?

As if she’d heard my worry, Mac appeared at my side, shoving her brown shoulder bag at me. “Here!”

“Thanks!” I shoved the stone into the bag, looped it over my back, then began to climb the statue.

It was rough going, the stone smooth and slick. I found handholds in the dress and kept climbing. All around, the sounds of battle raged. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of more red cloaks converging. Most were bloodied and beaten. They should be dead.

My friends fought them, trying to buy me time as I climbed. Quinn had adopted his panther form, and he tore into the red cloaks viciously. Mac threw potion bombs with deadly accuracy and Eve shot lighting. Seraphia worked steadily in the background, destroying the red line painted into the ground with a pickax that someone must have conjured for her. The witches formed a barricade between me and the attackers.