The cliffside came into view soon after the crash of the ocean waves against the rocks below reached Aiko's ears. Zehra slowed their pace, her horse's hooves tapping loudly against the stone in an awkward beat that didn't match the rhythm of the sea. It grated on Aiko's nerves, but her horse was no better. The cacophonous song was enough to make her head throb, or maybe that was a result of trying to put the pieces together before they arrived. Zehra was harboring secrets and Cinere was wary of them. Maybe she didn't even want to stop. If she did, she would have to face the truth. What that truth was, she had no clue. All she knew was that her flame shrank back from it, and it was never a good sign when her very soul tried to escape something.

But she couldn't run away—not until Felix was safe. Zehra was the only one who knew how to get to him. Stay calm. Think and watch closely.

They stepped out into an open clearing overlooking the glittering sea far below the edge of the cliff. Wind ravaged the open air and threatened to tear Felix's cloak from Aiko's shoulders. Its icy wrath nipped her nose. She shivered and tucked into the soft fabric of the cloak. Sunlight spilled over her, but it seemed distant, unable to touch her with its warmth. This is how I remember the mountains of Ienaeus described: bitter cold shunned by the faraway sun. Her flame sprang to the surface to warm her skin. As she breathed deeply to calm her racing heart, she surveyed the area. The mountains loomed over their backs and the ocean cried below, but there was no door. No ghostly figures holding Felix locked up in a cage. There was no prickly air of magic either.

"Are you sure these are the cliffs of... whatever?" she asked, wrinkling her nose as she swept her gaze over Zehra.

The huntress swung down from the back of her pure white horse, graceful as ever. Her skirt fluttered around her legs and her hair was tousled by the wind, but her eyes were steely and her lips set in a tight frown as she studied something in the distance. "The Cliffs of Saal," she corrected. "Yes, this is the place. We'll be able to cross over to the world between worlds from here."

Something flickered in Aiko's chest. She swallowed hard against the rising unease that fought to close her throat. "How do we do that? I've only ever been able to... open a door—I guess—with Mae."

Zehra knelt down and brushed her fingers across the smooth rock, lost in her own world. She rubbed her dirt-coated fingers together, brow furrowing. "Move the horses back and tie them up."

"Yes," Aiko agreed, though every fiber of her being did not. The harsh stone ground barely registered against her feet as she climbed down from her mount. She moved stiffly to take the reins of Zehra's horse, like wading through a haze.

An old, crooked tree jutted out from the rocks against the far mountain wall. It was spindly and thin, but large enough that it would contain the horses until they could leave. She carefully tied the reins around the thickest part of the tree's trunk. She gave her horse a parting nod, smiling as it gazed back at her with soft brown eyes. Clasping her hands behind her, she turned back to Zehra and the open platform overlooking the sea.

"Without the Pure or the Reapers here to open the door," she began, "we'll have to perform the rites ourselves." Her foot tapped thoughtfully against the stone and she pinched her lips into an even tighter frown. Aiko wondered how she always managed to frown more. Finally, Zehra waved her hand at Aiko. "Give me some space. I'll get things set up."

"Right."

Aiko stepped back just as the huntress breezed past her and dug something out of her horse's saddlebag—a jar filled to the brim with something red. Aiko swallowed, hoping it was paint and not blood. Oblivious to her discomfort, Zehra rummaged around in the bag some more until she finally shuffled away with a sigh. Narrowing her eyes, she glanced at Aiko's things hanging from her horse's back. She grabbed Aiko's staff. "I need to borrow this."

Something in Aiko tensed, squirming uncomfortably in her belly, and she squeezed her fingers into fists at her sides. Felix had given her that staff so that she could defend herself. He was meant to teach her how to use it. It was something they shared, something that brought them together in the same way that his cloak over her shoulders connected her to him while he was away. Without him, the cloak was her shield and the staff was his hand. Now, she only had her unruly powers which barely listened to her. They favored Cinere, the new self-proclaimed phoenix god. The arrogant wench who laughed at Aiko's suffering, who wore her face as if it were her own. Cinere was everything—powerful, beautiful, desirable. Aiko was nothing. And somehow, she claims she is me.

Swallowing hard, Aiko banished those dark thoughts to the back of her mind. "Go ahead," she muttered. Her life wouldn't end simply because Zehra touched her staff. Besides, she had no energy to argue. There was no stopping Zehra once she set her mind to something.

Zehra didn't wait for approval before she took the staff and smashed the glass bottle of sticky redness onto its tip. The blood-like paint dripped from the end of Aiko's gift, which made her gut wrench uncomfortably. The huntress, however, didn't seem to care. She set about her task, drawing red lines and symbols all across the rocky ground. They formed an uneven and squiggly circle—or perhaps it was meant to be something less round, but Aiko couldn't tell. She hung back and out of Zehra's way, biting her lip and keeping her arms wrapped around her middle as her anxiety steadily grew with the flame in her chest. She didn't know it took so many steps to open a door. Mae always made it look easy; if he had fingers, she had no doubt all he would need to do was snap them and the world between worlds would swing open for him. For Zehra, it was quite the process.

Finally, when her shapes and squiggles were satisfying enough, the huntress stepped into the center of the mess of crimson and held the staff rigidly upright at her side. She surveyed her work with a frown before twirling the staff expertly, shaking the last of the thick paint from it, and holding it out for Aiko to take. "Thank you," she said.

Aiko only nodded as she accepted her gift back. One end was smeared with red like it had been kissed with rouge. Her lip curled at the thought and she stepped back.

Zehra stood still as a statue, hands clasped in front of her. She mumbled a prayer under her breath as her eyes fluttered shut. Slowly, like ripples cascading over the surface of a pond, the markings on the ground began to glow, spreading out from Zehra's feet. A similar glow enveloped her, silver like moonlight. It was faint and dimmed out the moment she fell silent again.

Gripping the staff, Aiko frowned. "Is it... working?" Despite her time with Mae and the Core, magic still felt foreign and strange. She suddenly sympathized with Felix's many guarded but confused stares when she tried to explain it to him. Truthfully, she had always been lost in the sea of divine gifts the same way he was. I should apologize to him, though he's probably forgotten all about those times.

Zehra dropped her hands to her side with a soft sigh. Her eyes traced the patterns around her as she spun to take them in again. "Not yet. It's missing something."

"Missing?"

The huntress pinched her lips thoughtfully and cupped her chin. When her gaze lifted to meet Aiko's, her blue eyes were striking, glowing slightly like Mae's. Something lifted her expression.

Aiko. Her flame rose higher, warming her skin. Her feet shuffled back of their accord. A faint flicker of panic stirred deep within her, but it was disconnected from her thoughts. It pulled from the same place as the voice that coiled around her.

She ignored the warning. I have to get to Felix—only Zehra knows the way, she snapped. Determination rolled through her, as proud and powerful as the ocean below them, but even it could not quell the prickle of fear beneath the surface of her skin.

To her embarrassment, Zehra only took a few steps toward her. In a flourish, she extended her hand as if she was asking for a dance. Her gaze was steely, but not unfriendly. "Give me your hand."

Memories of Felix in the forest rose unbidden to the surface of Aiko's thoughts, of the time she and Mae had shown him the world between worlds. His face twisted in discomfort when she asked the same thing of him, and his snide remarks echoed in her mind. It made sense now why he was so unwilling. She licked her dry lips. "I quite like my hand," she found herself saying. "Will I get it back?"

The slightest twitch of Zehra's lips was the only answer she received, aside from the hiss of Cinere in the back of her mind. Sparks danced around Aiko's fingertips as she lifted her hand to Zehra. If I wish to get to Felix, there must be a show of trust. That is how you play the game.

Zehra took Aiko's hand and held it palm up. If she noticed the sparks that flickered around Aiko's fingers, she gave no hint to it. Instead, she reached behind her back with her other hand. Aiko didn't have time to question her before a dagger ripped across the palm of her hand, spilling her blood on the blade and Zehra's curious drawings on the ground. Searing pain shot along the path of the cut and Aiko inhaled sharply, biting back a scream. Flames enveloped her hand and she wrenched it away.

"Zehra!" she cried. She cradled her injured, shaking hand and curled her fingers over the wound to keep it from spilling more blood. Already, it was sticky and covered in scarlet. The wound throbbed.

Zehra didn't answer. Light shot up from the symbols, bright enough that Aiko squeezed her eyes shut and fumbled back. The air creaked as magic stirred in the wind that billowed around them—it wasn't the warmth of Mae's fire or the blazing heat of the Core. It was icy, slicing Aiko's flesh with unseen claws. It snuffed out her flames before she could wrap herself in their protection. Gritting her teeth, Aiko peeled her eyes open, squinting against the light. A hollow, black portal had opened up before her, its edges shimmering like a heatwave. Zehra stood between her and the door, illuminated in a white glow. Her blue eyes simmered with anger.

"I'm sorry, Aiko. Only a Bright Soul can open the door once the Pure have laid the groundwork," she said, shifting the dagger in her hand. Streaks of white appeared in her black hair, steadily growing as the light around them began to fade. She looked eerily similar to the Pure she hunted and devoured. "You will not be able to cross into the other world. This is where I leave you behind."

With the cold eyes of a predator, her dagger at the ready, Zehra lunged for Aiko's throat.

First of all, sorry for the wait. I've been struggling mentally with writing this book and it took a toll on me. However, I am still determined to finish, so I ask for your patience. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me! I know it has taken me a lot longer to write this story than I intended.

Second of all, sorry for the cliffhanger. But not really. I do love leaving people suspended! :D How are we feeling? I feel like I miss Felix a lot and I'm just dying to get back to him, but maybe that's the Aiko in my brain talking. Or is it the Cinere???

And third of all, as I was reading some earlier chapters trying to get back into the groove so I could finish this one, I realized two things: one, I forgot the horses for several chapters. I apologize to the horses for this. And two, I somehow got mixed up and kept calling Aiko's staff a spear. It is, in fact, a staff and not a spear. It has no sharp end, which was Felix's point when he gave it to her. I'm very sorry for any confusion this has caused lol. The first draftiness is getting to me.

Anyway, see you all in the next chapter!